The Creative Process Starts Before Anything Is Certain

Key Takeaways:

• The creative process starts before clarity exists

• Uncertainty is a feature of the creative process, not a flaw

• Waiting for certainty delays real creation

• Every trusted design begins as something unfinished

• The creative process rewards momentum over perfection

There’s magic in creating something from nothing.

That quiet space before it exists —before it has a name, a shape, or proof it will work.

When something is still just an idea. Unclear. Unfinished. Unproven.

I feel this every time I start a new design from scratch.

An empty canvas.

You don’t know if it will work. You don’t know if it will be “good” yet.

You just know it wants to exist.

That’s the part of the creative process we don’t talk about enough.

Why the Creative Process Feels Uncomfortable

As we gain experience, we try to outgrow that feeling.

We call it being practical. Responsible. Strategic.

We start looking for certainty. Proof before permission.

Guarantees before we begin.

But the creative process doesn’t work that way.

Every meaningful product. Every good design. Every system people trust—

Started in uncertainty.

With a first step taken before clarity arrived.

What the Creative Process Really Looks Like

Not polish. Not trends. Not perfection.

The creative process begins with movement, not answers.

A rough idea. An imperfect version. A decision to move forward anyway.

That’s how trust is built — not just in products, but in yourself as a creator.

If You’re in the Messy Middle, You’re Doing It Right

So if you’re staring at something unfinished right now —a product, a concept, a direction —

And it feels messy. Unclear. Uncomfortable.

That’s not failure.

That’s the creative process doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.

That’s creation.

That’s where the magic actually lives.

P.S. What are you in the middle of creating right now

— even if it doesn’t look like much yet?