Top tip 2: KISS

Keep It Simple Stupid! Challenge yourself to do one creative thing - don't make life too complicated. Check out Voice's How to guides for straight-talking help.

Top tip 2: KISS

Keep It Simple Stupid.

The clue is in the title. Keep your Arts Award simple! Divide it up into little chunks and tackle each "chunk" at a time. Let me say, that just because it's simple, it doesn't mean it's stupid. "KISS" means keep it so simple that anyone can work out what you're doing with minimal effort. You could almost think of it being "Keep It Simple & Straightforward" if you hold issue with the use of "Stupid". But, I digress.

Deciding your creative challenge can be a difficult part, for any level of Arts Award, but the thing to consider is if it's actually feasible, and if it's measurable. If you set your challenge to "Get Better At Painting" how can you measure that? Set yourself a finite goal – instead of getting better at painting, how about "Paint with depth".

This phrase first originates from the American engineer Kelly Johnson referring to the requirement that a military aircraft should be repairable with a limited set of tools under combat conditions, remember this when making your plans – bare in mind "can I do this if x,y,z goes wrong". If your plans are simple, this needn't be an issue! Simple plans don't rely on much else for them to happen, and their scale can easily be modified based on the situations you find yourself in. This is truly the hallmark of a simple plan – Flexibility.

So, to summarise:

  • Bitesize Chunks
  • Achievable, finite Goals
  • Flexibility

This is but a drop in the ocean of applications for KISS, outside of your Arts Award try to keep requests and directions simple when talking with other people.


Read all of our top tips here.

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Author

Joshua Gould

Joshua Gould Contributor

Voice Web Administrator/Social Media Man/Struggling Actor/Human.
I try to get as involved in the arts as I can be, more often than not by getting up on stage, but also by reviewing shows! I'm JoshGould95 on all social media, so if you've got a show you want me to too look at, hit me up!

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