This has got to be one of the best issues of Offscreen Magazine to date. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I say that about every issue. Well if so, it’s only because the quality of Offscreen magazine has been getting better and better with every issue. Especially lately.
Issue 10 is Offscreen’s anniversary issue. It comes with a beautiful black dust jacket. And, as if written just for me, most of the interviews, essays, and featurettes center around writing, creativity, and business. This is my jam.
The articles from issue 10 that I really enjoyed in particular were: the interview with Om Malik about the journey of his writing career; Rachel Nabors’ essay about (not) doing what you love; Stewart Butterfield’s rules of business; Nick Crocker’s lessons learned as an entrepreneur; and, most of all, the interview with Scott Belsky.
Belsky’s interview hit me like a gospel sermon — I felt so encouraged and inspired after reading it. Scott is someone I admire because of his pursuit to help creative people grow in their ability to be organized and to develop a bias toward action. This quote from the interview especially stood out to me:
It is sad when design and business are seen as so distant from one another — or worse, at opposition. ‘Good business’ is about sustainability, scalability, and restraint — all forces that help the design process. […]
[M]ost people in business discount the value of design, and understand only the surface (literally). But designers are no better, often failing to embrace the principles of business to empower their careers and make their creations accessible for consumption.
The potential of creativity — and your ability to sustain yourself and serve others through your creativity — is more about business than it is about ideas. The impact of your creativity boils down to execution, distribution, packaging, marketing, messaging, strategy, leadership… in short, business.