Tim Smith Projects

The guilty creative

Who is this chap? You must be wondering, otherwise you wouldn't have clicked on that little icon in the top right. Well, I'm a designer, artist and creative leader, determined to make the world a little more usable, one design solution at time.

I started out my creative journey studying fine art. But it was never about the feeling of charcoal between my fingers, or the raw expression of my deepest inner-most self on canvas. No, I made art simply for others to appreciate. Decoration, not self-expression. For me, creating beautiful images wasn't about the process; it was purely about the end product and who would appreciate it. And it's really difficult to make art for an audience when you don't know who they are or what they want. It essentially resulted in making for the sake of making.

Which felt fruitless.

After graduating with my first BFA from The University of New Hampshire, I realized I had essentially reduced myself to two career choices: make art or teach art. Not particularly interested in either, I instead headed to the Rhode Island School of Design to study the commercial art of graphic design. An anomaly among sensible folk, I proudly possess not one but two BFAs; in fine art and graphic design.

At RISD, I found an outlet for all that "creativity" in projects that had a clear purpose. I learned how to identify an audience and create work that delivered a message appropriate to their needs.

I found my niche.

Now (many years later), I've worked on a lot of different things. I have found along the way that each unique design project offers its own perspective on what it means to create things for a specific audience. I've worked with global brands and tiny startups; on marketing, packaging, software and branding; for rocket scientists and back-to-school shoppers; for a billion email users and half a dozen clinical patients. Some projects I've loved and others I simply have to laugh about. But what I have come to realize, is that it's all art. And it all has a purpose. So my creative purpose has become clear: Make things that help people. And the process that gets me there, is pure, unadulterated, art.



Say hello

Well, that was quite the monologue, wasn't it? If, after all that, you'd still like to contact me about something, you can find me on LinkedIn. Or, if that's not quite your thing, feel free to send me an email directly. I'd love to hear from you!

Tim

Back to menu