Two handmade name tags, one proud dad, and a glimpse at how the next generation may be redefining the creative process.

For my new job, it’s been recommended that we wear name tags so everyone can more easily learn names, get one another’s attention, and simply make the enviro feel a little more personable.

So, I casually asked my son if he’d be willing to make me a couple.

These are what he came up with.

I have to admit, it’s little things like this that make me incredibly proud of him. Not only because they turned out so well, but because these are the first original “wearables” he’s ever designed for me.

As I looked them over, though, something else caught my attention.

Before he ever picked up a marker or started assembling the finished pieces, he mocked up both concepts on the computer.

That fascinated me.

Every one of my college instructors drilled the same process into our heads:

Sketch first. Refine later.

Fill sketchbooks with rough ideas. Explore. Experiment. Iterate. Get the ideas down and out into the open as quickly as possible.

Then move to the computer for the polished, hard-edged, streamlined version.

It made perfect sense.

But my son grew up differently.

His generation doesn’t instinctively reach for a sketchbook the way mine did. They’ve had touchscreens, keyboards, and digital tools practically since birth. To them, opening a design program may be just as natural as grabbing a pencil was for me.

Technology is familiar territory.

It’s as familiar to them as the wonderfully horrified expression on a baby’s face after tasting lemonade for the first time.

Have you ever seen that reaction?

My case in point.

So maybe the creative process isn’t changing because it’s wrong.

Maybe it’s simply evolving.

For many young designers, the computer may already be the sketchbook.

They may begin on the computer, refine on the computer, and stay on the computer.

And honestly, that realization is pretty fascinating.

AI complicates this entire conversation, of course.

But that’s a whole other Notes post.

There was another moment that made me smile.

My son wanted my opinion before he continued working on the final pieces.

He said:

“Dad, I want you to review a couple of concepts before I continue.”

Concepts.

I mean, honestly, who talks like that?

Designers.

I had to laugh.

To be clear, his mom and I aren’t steering him toward any particular profession. Whatever path he chooses is entirely his own.

We’ve only ever asked one thing of him:

Do your best.

Period.

That’s enough for us.

Still, I couldn’t help but notice something familiar.

When I was around his age, I was making homemade name tags for family members, inventing my own fonts, and creating accompanying graphics.

It’s one of my earliest creative memories, right alongside the countless markers, colored pencils, and boxes of Crayolas I had as far back as I can remember.

The similarities aren’t lost on me.

The difference?

He’s already further along than I was.

He understands perspective in ways I certainly didn’t at his age.

Truth be told, try as I might, I didn’t really begin to crack that particular code until my freshman year of college.

True story.

So, yes:

Way to go, son.

Way to go.

I’ll wear these originals proudly.

And when someone asks where I got my name tag, I’ll simply smile and tell them:

“I know a guy.”

Maybe he’ll make one for you, too.