Ever felt stuck? Really stuck? As in.. what am I doing and does this really matter? If you are having doubts – or maybe just need inspiration Stefan G. Bucher’s book 344 Questions: The Creative Person’s Do-It-Yourself Guide to Insight, Survival, and Artistic Fulfillment (Voices That Matter) might be helpful – or at least amusing to read. The book has hand-written illustrated flowcharts, lists, and more than 344 questions to provide a glimpse of where you are going (or should go.) Stefan Bucher is a designer, author, and monster maker (on his website the Daily Monster he animates monster doodles, and monster apps.)
The book begins with the Stefan G. Bucher stating “Let’s be clear: I want this book to be useful to you. There are many great how-to books and biographies out there, and even more gorgeous collections of current and classic work to awe and inspire. But looking at catalogs of artistic success won’t make you a better artist any more than looking at photos of healthy people will cure your cold. You’ve got to take action!”
The questions in the book are designed to help you examine your life and career, where you want to be, and how to get there all done in Stefan Bucher’s unique, quirky, hand-lettered style. Can you name 10 things that reliably stress you out? What are the five things that are most important to you in the work you produce? Do you need inspiration? Are you a virtuoso? Would you like to be a virtuoso What would be fun about it for you What would you have to give up in exchange How can you walk down two streets at once?
The book which is meant for you to write in and use as a workbook has flowchart boxes that you can write and draw in. The book is about the size of your hand – and Bucher did most of the writing in the book – but he also has over 38 creative people contributing pages of questions and flowcharts. These contributors include Arem Duplessis: Design director of the New York times Magazine, Patton Oswalt: comedian, writer, and actor and Stefan Sagmeister: designer.
Are you a creative person? Are you searching? In life? In the bookstore? In the web? As the cover says- this book might be for you – and as Stefan G. Bucher says at the beginning of the book – make sure you get a pen or pencil and write in the book as you go.
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Stefan G. Bucher
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