This year’s Adobe’s 99U Conference had a number of events that focused on topics that aren’t always easy or comfortable to talk about, but ones that all creatives face. Rejection, being vulnerable, working with constrains and how to get out of your own way were the subject matter for a number of speakers at 99U.
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PSFK spoke with 99U organizer Will Allen, who is the Senior Director at Adobe and Head of Behance. Allen spoke about a number of events that took place over the two day conference, held on May 5-6 of this year. Allen highlighted the importance of talking about what’s going on behind the scenes of creative work. When looking for event speakers every year, Allen said, “We push our speakers to peel back the veil on their work and show participants what actually happens leading up to their completed work.”
Two events that focused on rejection and vulnerability this year included a Master Class with author Maria Konnikova called Get Out of Your Own Way: The Psychology of Creativity and a Studio Session called Idea Sex: How New Yorker Cartoonists Smash Creative Blocks and Overcome Rejection. Allen and the 99U conference organizers believe that we don’t talk about rejection and failure enough. Allen said, “If you’re working in the creative industry as a designer, a photographer, an architect, an illustrator, or an interior decorator, how do you handle people saying no? How do you handle people saying they don’t like what you’ve put your passion into? It’s hard, and surfacing conversations like these is what makes the experience of 99U powerful for participants.”
Constraints, either from clients, the brand you are working for, or your own personal blocks can be a constant issue. The thoughts that you aren’t talented enough, don’t have enough time, and will never be enough is something creatives often confront. An event led by author Ayse Birsel focused on the constraints creatives put on themselves.
Participants were given workbooks at the start of the event and led through a number of exercises and questions where they had to sketch or write out where they’d like their career and life to go. Birsel told participants about her own personal story of rejection and her feelings of failure that ultimately led her to the path she is on now as an author and speaker. At the end of the event, participants were given a copy of Birsel’s book Design the Life you Love, filled with exercises to help steer their career and life in the direction they desire.
The most compelling aspect of the talk was the combination of participants in the room sharing their fears and hopes alongside Birsel opening up about her own struggles. Allen spoke of the conference’s reliance on speakers being ‘real’ and showcasing the difficult parts of their career and work.
“Creativity is hard,” Allen said, “and for participants at the conference to know they are not alone with the thoughts and feelings they encounter throughout the creative process is important.” He finished saying that “when speakers are able to showcase their struggles, the audience’s respect for the speaker goes way up. People can relate to that.”
This article was written by Jennifer Passas from PSFK and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
