The One Song Sketch

One song, one piece of paper. Just doodle.

The point of this exercise was to see what kind of things I created when listening to different types of music; trying not to think about anything too much – just to have a doodle to see if what you listen to affects your creativity.

I just sat down and had a list of shuffle songs playing straight after the other. Occasionally lyrics made me draw certain objects, but usually I started on one main drawing and added parts to it as the song went on.

I tend to listen to anything when designing, but have always thought that what you listen to can change the look or style. I guess because of the tempo, or genre.

My somewhat dubious muscial taste really does cover a wide spectrum. Just have a look at my profile to see what I mean: http://www.last.fm/user/paulrandall so should I choose what I listen to when designing based on the client?

My Doodles

• Song: G-Unit – Lay You Down

• Song: Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Make You Feel Better

• Song: Green Day – Are We The Waiting

• Song: Jamiroquai – Starchild

• Song: The Jam – Town Called Malice

I’d love to see what kind of things you come up with, based on the type of music you are listening to at the time. I have setup a Flickr group for these type drawings, or you can post a comment linking to a TwitPic or similar photo or scan.

They really don’t have to be masterpieces. Jason Santa Maria’s post, entitled pretty sketchy summed this up to me.

So, will I make a more conscious choice of what to listen to when designing? To be honest, I think your mood affects your style much more. If you are relaxed, tense, tired or stressed that will affect you more than listening to Hip-Hop, Dance or Pop but it was interesting to see what got drawn anyway.