What Should Christmas Mean To Graphic Designers?

I already wrote about one aspect of being a graphic designer and the holidays in my previous post; “Holiday Seasons Equals Graphic Designers Nightmare.” Just because it’s the time to spend precious moments with family and friends and traveling doesn’t mean the creativity doesn’t stop flowing. In fact, I make the argument that when we are torn from our computers and forced to stay away from work is when some of the best ideas flow and we’re desperate to get them down before they vanish into the netherworld created by too much food, drink, or fatigue.

I didn’t touch up on the other aspect of being a graphic designer or digital artist during this time of year until now; answering the question – what do you want for Christmas (Hanukah, Kwanza, Ramadan, Winter Solstice, Snoggletog…)? What do I – a graphic designer – want for Christmas? Besides the obvious?

The obvious answer is either more work if I do not have enough, or more time if I have more than enough work and not enough hours in the day to finish! As I posted on twitter, the only thing I really want is a cleaner office, a couple of HP printers (and ink and paper…) and severs and new Wacom Tablets to all of my graphic designer friends who do not already have one. – No, seriously that is all I really wanted for Christmas.

That, and a lot of cool toys for my sons and good things for my wife to wear; I wanted that more than anything else.

At some point we have all that we could ever want and need in terms of material goods – having some super-sized HP printers would be nice to have but I have a half dozen really good professional print shops in range that could do things for my clients and me that I couldn’t imagine doing any my own. Do I really need a new server or will a more powerful desktop computer be enough? All I’m left with is my original want; more work and more time to do it.

These are all things that I could actually get, easily. It’s all a matter of money and putting myself out there. What I can’t get is what I really want but don’t dare vocalize to anyone else. I want the same level of creativity that I had when the world was new and I was full of boundless and unrestrainable creative energy. I wish that I could return to a time when I was surrounded inspiration and my mind was not full of the negative voices of mean-spirited critics.

Then the question remains – why can’t I go back? I can’t go back in time but I can reconnect to that era of personal creativity by silencing the negative memories inside my melon and seek out new sources of inspiration. Heck, I could even revisit some of the older sources, too.

If that’s the case I can get what I really wanted for Christmas; it’s just a matter of fetching it for myself since nobody else can do it for me.