Dear young creators,

You young people are a stimulus for renewal. When I taught occasionally (international seminars, lectures, meetings, workshops), I found great satisfaction in meeting young people; indeed, I believe I always gave something and took a lot. You are our guarantee of continuity; we must guarantee you every means to fight and overcome the challenges and battles that await them. But we are faced with a proliferation of creative people, some talented, others not.

This complicates the situation.

What I would like to share is my reflection on the creative process. It’s interesting to think about how the creation of a project takes place in the mind, in the consciousness of a designer; how a result is ultimately achieved; how the process of creation, the formation of something new, actually unfolds. There’s a belief, especially prevalent in school teaching in the field of industrial design, that a design methodology can be taught—exaggerating a bit to make the example more colorful—that students, young people, can be given a recipe for design. I’ve never believed it; I’ve always had instinctively irritated reactions to this idea, which I felt was somewhat prevalent in schools, even the noble German school of industrial design teaching. I’ve always thought—perhaps referring to my own personal experience—that it’s all lies. The creative process is an art that must be supported by a vast array of knowledge and expertise. In reality, there is no single design method, no single way to achieve a final result.

Dear young creatives, don’t get trapped in preconceived ideas. Develop your knowledge to bring original projects to life. Be free, like Steve, and be a little foolish. Well, very foolish!