07.00 Introduction

Overview

Every creative project eventually has a “done” point. Sometimes that done point is unintentional and unexpected and only happens because you never work on it again and therefore it got as “done” as it every will. Other projects will be iterated on over many years on an endless quest for “doneness”. Occasionally when stepping back to look at a project you may feel an overwhelming sense or intuition that the project is done. Cherish these moments, you deserve them.

Usually deadlines, resources, and other restrictions dictate when a project must be “done” out of necessity. Sometimes everything is able to be completed. Other times multiple intended features don’t make it into the final work. This cannot be avoided.

Creative must “ship” work. The difference between a creative producer and someone with ideas is that the creative producer makes the thing. Is it always a great thing? Of course not. But by consistently making ideas manifest in the world the creative maker hones their craft and improves their creations. And among the many, many failures and unsatisfying projects, there is always the reward for the surprising gem that just works.

In this module we will focus on “shipping” something. It may be everything that we wanted out of the program or it may have none of the things we originally intended. The important thing is to ship something rather than nothing.