Creating for fun, or value?

Creating things. Always enjoyed it. Could be anything. Paper airplanes for example, you're given a resource (paper) and your hands, and you just fold it, press it and shape it until it can float for 20 seconds before falling down. But creating isn't enough, it has to have some sort of value. Right? I don't really know. I mean I enjoy creating things that have 0 value. Simple doodles on some old notebook, never to be seen again. That sort of thing. Or making a website design, of some fictional brand, like "Margate: toothpaste for martians". I enjoy the process and even if I scrap it and never finish it (like many of my projects), that's fine. It was fun. It's like playing a video game. Time pass. Creating things doesn't have to provide any value, maybe.

I suppose the thing is, if I'm enjoying creating something, might as well create something that does end up providing some value. Why, though? Is it so I can feel like I'm improving lives and feel good about myself? It feels good. Or so that I can charge and make some money out of it? Maybe. Money is a nice incentive to build something. It could be the smallest thing, a minor improvement to the smallest cog in a machine. But it's an improvement nonetheless that's done by something you built. Imagined it, and brought it to life. It's beautiful.

Outside of the pure joy of just creating something, the monetary benefits and the sense of enhancing the not so perfect world. What else? Social validation maybe. It's nice to know society appreciates your work. Perhaps teaching or building some sort of design and creative philosophy perhaps. Leaving a legacy? What do I know? I started off building McDonald and Apple logo variations on my grade 4 notebook, and absurd doodles of spiderman and now I'm talking about creative philosophy.

I wanted to study graphic and visual design for a long time. I decided to study electrical engineering instead and then switched over to software. I think an engineering education really did influence my take on creating things. It made me think too much about optimization, trade offs, things of that sort. Which isn't to say it's bad. But It took away some of the pure fun and mindlessness of building stuff. I somehow developed a mindset of responsibility and driving value rather than just enjoying and making things for fun.

I thought about studying filmography too and creative writing. Was never good at it, but again, why does it matter if you're competent or not. If you're doing it for fun, it doesn't matter if you're producing trash. Some (or many) artists will disagree. Creatives hold themselves to a high standard and are usually perfectionists. Which I understand, but again, why? Why not focus on just the pure joy of building things.

I think working in corporate also definitely made me more square. In the sense, following protocols, design guidelines, structure. Again, nothing wrong, but from a creative perspective, having guardrails can impact freedom. It becomes more of a chore than fun. But I suppose it's supposed to be this way when people depend on you. If you're in an organization that has literal countries depending on the quality of your product, you better focus on structure and processes.

Like any other creative, Apple had an impact on me. Sounds cliche, trust me I know, but using iPhone 4S for the first time, the radius and rounded edges of the device on my palms, I can still relive that moment, it's carved into my memory. Experiencing good creations is another joy too. Not just making it. It's a language in its own right. The creators are talking to the users through their creation.

This brings me to ask, what even is a "creation". Does it have to be used? Can there be no users? If you're doing it for fun, then you're in fact the user of your own creation, in this case, consuming "fun" from it. There are so many things to create, from Stop signs, to the benches to placement of letters on a keyboard. Designs on straws, instruction manuals of an electronic trimmer. Highlights of a soccer game to cooking pasta. Creations are everywhere, some bring only value, some bring only fun, some bring both and some bring none.

I want to build things for fun. I would be lying if I said I didn't care about superficial things, like money, validation, value. And of course. Meaning too.