Uncle Ru's Blog

This stop motion animation, Maker vs Marker, has made my top 10 animation of all times. I've seen several creative animations but I particularly like this one because the street fighter and Dragon Ball Z influence. With Jonny Lawrence being the animator and the music by  Brian Sadler, this piece reveals creativity at its best!

  - Uncle Ru

I’m not sure if people thought of this, or maybe I’m just “mentally challenged” to discuss unwonted subjects but I like it. The question, “who came first the chicken or the egg?”, is easily answered by saying the chicken, but in this case which one is the chicken? Creativity or inspiration? Is the above illustration correct? Are they the same thing? And can one survive without the other? Right!! We've got the questions lets have a crack at the answers.

Creativity in the dictionary and on the web has several definitions and opinions so lets go with this one; "the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.". I like this because its long and uses a bunch of words. Alright, we know what creativity is, lets take a look at inspiration. Not as long as creativity, but the definitions we'll use is; "The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative.". Right!! So that answers a couple of questions nicely. The fundamental difference is that one is external the other internal, one is the vehicle the other the driver. Based on the clear definitions above we've discovered together that the driver is none other than inspiration (cheer!). So yes inspiration is the egg and from the egg develops the clucking sound of creativity. On that note I'd like my vehicle to be a 2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4, thank you (I was being creative there).

Inspiration and creativity are two separate entities, even though they are inextricable where you need one to get the other. Impossible?! I think not! Remember inspiration is a stimulation whether extravagant  or diminutive, anything can spark up an inspiration which then allows you to exercise your creative muscles. Inspiration and creativity are married and don't intend on getting divorced at all. As a matter of fact, it was love at first sight and they've been indivisible since. I quite like it that way as well.

Great! Now here is a little challenge if you dare, next time you come up with something creative take a note of what inspired your creativity. List the things that tend to inspire you the most and be amazed at how it is possible for your creativity to be a point of inspiration for someone else. It's like your creativity laying an egg.

Two men met at a bus stop and struck up a conversation. One of them kept complaining of family problems.

Finally, the other man said: “You think you have family problems? Listen to my situation!"

So he explains: “A few years ago I met a young widow with a grown-up daughter. We got married and I got myself a stepdaughter.

Later, my father married my stepdaughter. That made my stepdaughter, my step-mother.And my father became my stepson. Also, my wife became mother-in-law of her father-in-law.

Much later, the daughter of my wife, my stepmother, had a son. This boy was my half-brother because he was my father’s son. But he was also the son of my wife’s daughter which made him my wife’s grandson. That made me the grandfather of my half-brother.

This was nothing until my wife and I had a son. Now the half-sister of my son, my stepmother, is also the grandmother. This makes my father, the brother-in-law of my child, whose stepsister is my father’s wife, I am my stepmother’s brother-in-law, my wife is her own child’s aunt, my son is my father’s nephew and I am my OWN GRANDFATHER!!”

The invention of the smart phone has really revolutionised and picked on this generation regarding the way we do everything on a daily basis. Some say it’s a curse others say it’s gold dust, nonetheless the mobile phone dictates our lifestyle.

Whether we like it or not, want it there or not, the mobile/smart phone evolution is here to stay and will continue to adapt as time progresses. I said earlier it ‘dictates our lifestyle’ which is married with the self-assessing question, “what would I do without my mobile phone?”. Honestly I think the smart phone is way more gold dust than a curse simply by how it has made life and business so much easier and convenient. Your daily schedule, bank statements and account management, gaming, photography, socialising & networking, Internet browsing, education & studies, even your alarm clock. All these things are all neatly packaged in a device that is happy to reside in your pocket, weighing less than the thickest book you ever read and adheres to your demands. I’m a graphic designer and I happen to have an iPhone 3GS (still have my eye on Samsung) and as a professional being able to review a design brief, communicate via email to clients, and even up date my website while on the go is parallel to convenience heaven. Now if that wasn’t intriguing enough it gets better and more innovative every year, how impressive is that? Scary even!

So we’ve established our lives as we know it, wouldn’t be where it is without our smart phones. However, despite how remarkable the technology and it’s priceless impact is, it does have a few pebbles amidst the gold. Probably best explained through this written illustration; I see more ‘down-titled’ heads on the train or bus everyday than actual eye contact and pleasant human interaction as simple as a smile. Social connection and engagement with complete strangers and/or lifetime friends is indirectly or directly ‘puppeteered’ by our smart phones. Ever got an inappropriate call because you forgot to put it on silent or texting while someone is in conversation with you? Though relatively minuscule and simple issues, human interaction has been on a steady decline while smart phone technology confidently rises. Could this pose a problem in the future? That’s another blog entry.

I guess to sum it up I love my phone (even though I want a Samsung), you love yours, its here to stay to keep us virtually connected, ahead in life and on top of our business. However always remember the 101 course we did when we were born where the simplicity of non technological interaction is irreplaceable, that’s what makes us who we ultimately are, human. Just be human with a smart phone.

Heard this statement on TEDtalk: Smart Laugh with comedian Rory Bremner's One-Man World Summit. I found it was brilliantly hilarious how Rory presented the impersonation of Donald Rumsfeld, so I decided share it graphically.   

Fresh business cards, ready to roll out. www.reueljones.com #graphicdesign

1st set of Mic'd Up T-Shirt designs. Exciting stuff for 2013 coming up! #youthcafe

-by Uncle Ru (Reuel Jones)

1) What wouldn't you do?

Well essentially thinking outside the box is stepping into the realm of the unusual for the usual, if you get what I mean. So just think what you wouldn't normally do and give it a shot, especially in the brainstorming phase where every idea is a good idea. Level Zero.

2) Ask your insane friend

Why not do a little survey amoung your friends to get perspective on the topic. Particularly the ones you know that are down right insane, they would come up with things you probably never would have imagined.

3) Know the history or study

Sometimes understanding the history of the subject allows your creative thought more landscape to frolic and play around. With much knowledge comes much responsibility. 

4) Just let it happen

Like I mentioned before when you are in brainstorm phase all ideas are good ideas, so don't hurt yourself trying to get out of the box, sometimes it just happens. Like a moment when you are walking down the street and you kick a 7up can and it turns 94.5 degrees right, stopping on the left side of a pregnant lady's purple shoes. BOOM!!! Uh huh, just like that an idea hits you and your out of the box ideas take you by storm... Just let it happen.

5) Have fun

Yea just have fun with it. Out of the box experience is kool, even if it happens once in a blue moon. 

This is so true, the things we #designers go through. smh