I strongly believe that teaching something is one of the best ways of understanding one's own motives for doing it. So, the chance to teach Creative Process at IED Firenze was a welcome opportunity to investigate into the way I deal with the visual design creative phase in my work pratice at Studio Kmzero, as well as in my personal side projects. Helped by a talented bunch of students that forced me to move in the uncharted territories of exquisite corpses, pongo portraits and fame design, i enjoyed the fun of learning stuff about making stuff.

Here's my personal unabridged humble decalogue, distilled from this year and last year's cycles of lessons. Feel free to comment, adapt, misquote and criticize.  

1 - Question what you know
Always start by posing questions.
Make them as uneasy as you can.
Answer to them, and to their opposite.

2 - Create your process first.
More rules in your creative process means more unexpected results.
Total freedom leads to follow old habits.
Set some rules, then play using them.

3 - Switch your autopilot off
Don’t mistake your standard creative routines for your style.
Trust the skills you developed, bur remember that you risk repeating yourself.

4 - Be quantitative first, qualitative later
When brainstorming, don’t get attached to any idea.
Try to finish your first draft quickly, so that you’re still fresh to find an alternative.
Don’t edit, just create. You’ll edit later.

5 - Escape the comfort zone
Switch the pc off, use new tools, make constraints and tight deadlines.
Look for the error and the unexpected.
If something scares you, that’s the direction to go.

6 - Steal the excitement
If anything inspires you, feel free to put it inside your creative process.
Any creation is a unconscious remix of what we know.
Make it conscious: when you follow beaten roads, just try to travel further.

7 - Believe in everything you do
Your creativity is a gift for you and others to enjoy.
Your work and your ideas are the most important thing in the world.
If you don’t believe it, why should other do?

8 - Do it for someone special
Your creative ideas are made for someone.
Maybe it’s you, maybe someone else.
Just be sure you know who are you working for.

9 - Tell a story
Storytelling is an ancient, powerful art.
A story creates emotions and makes your ideas memorable.
Don’t forget to design your own narratives.

10 - When you feel you are onto it, never let it go
If you’re on the right track, switch your doubts off.
Get the thing done up to the last detail.
And when you’re done with it, start again.