Creative Constipation?

Is there such a thing as creative 'constipation'? Why certainly! There are absolutely times when 'it' (a good idea) just won't come out. Writers call it 'BLOCK' and some painters refer to a lack of inspiration as seeing 'BLANK.' So what does an experienced designer working on a mobile learning station (Cart!) call it? Well in this case it certainly seemed like we were creatively constipated. Yup that is the right term because the challenge before us was to design a cart that about the scientific research that is conducted everyday at Lincoln Park Zoo: endocrinology, or POOP research. Yep you got it right, poop is what confronted the team working on this problem at the Zoo.

Amanda Berlinski, one of the Zoo's educators and a team member, said that trying to figure out how to talk about the science of poop study “made my brain hurt.” Developing a cart for their subject presented “so many options for how to convey the message that we care for animals using their poop. Then, finally, after endless hours of thinking of nothing but crap, we finally figured it out. In one of those true “Eureka” moments, we realized that no matter what scientists do with poop, whether they are observing it, identifying it, processing it, or analyzing it… It’s always still POOP. That’s all guests really want to know about… and it’s the story we get to tell with this new cart at LPZ.”

Wow! What a relief it was to finally unload with an option that was truly solid. Take a look at the photo and you'll see Amanda with her arms upraised as she explains that 'Eureka" moment to the Advisory Team at the Zoo.

Creative constipation happens to everyone at one time or another and when it does, you can't force it...you just have to relax and let inspiration do its thing.