This month's media: The Creative Independent

Wednesday at 2:30 PM, part of the team gathers for the editorial conference. "Ding!" goes the computer, signaling to the video call participants that someone has digitally raised their hand. "We've already talked a lot about print media in our Media of the Month," the speaker notes from his webcam. And it's true. Sabir, Surf Sessions, It's Freezing in LA … Certainly wonderful media outlets, but all of them have gone through the printing press at some point. We love paper (we even started a series of interviews on how media outlets choose their paper) but we also love the internet. Médianes is a media outlet on the internet! So we started listing websites we really liked. The ones that are beautiful, the ones that are interesting, and the ones that offer original features. There are many, and we now want to shine a spotlight on them. This change of direction manifested itself last month through the pen of our creative director, Christelle Perrin, who introduced you to It's Nice That. I now have the tall order of following in her footsteps and introducing you to a fairly recent discovery: The Creative Independent. A site that brings together plenty of resources for creatives in which all forms of art are represented alongside every facet of the creative process, from the most exciting to the most anxiety-inducing.

Genesis

The site was created in 2016, co-founded by a former Pitchfork editor, Brandon Stosuy, who is now its editor-in-chief. But at the risk of disappointing you, the story of Creative Independent doesn't begin with a group of determined friends deciding one day to launch a site against all odds. There is actually Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform. Fortunately (or not) this affiliation is discreet. I must admit, I hadn't even noticed it, although a logo does appear in the banner and the company's involvement is clearly mentioned on the "About" page. Ultimately, the connection between the two is easy to understand. On one side, a platform whose role is to enable creatives to launch their projects and, on the other, a site that gathers resources for artists, writers, musicians, and so on. In short, those who create. Ultimately the two offerings complement each other. But fortunately there is no advertising (for Kickstarter or anything else), no promo codes, and the site rarely mentions the platform to fund its projects (for example here, even if other alternatives are suggested). Now that introductions are made, let's move on to the site.

A Story of Mucus

Let's take a moment to look at the logo: a spiral in pixel art that actually captures the ambition and values driving the editorial mission of the Creative Independent.

On one hand, the spiral, evoking a return to origins, the early stages and reflection on the creative process as a whole, rather than its end result. "We love spirals because they allow us to return to a central idea over time, which all creative people must do to create what they shape," the site explains. Make no mistake, this isn't just any spiral, but that of the most famous shell-bearing gastropod that has become their mascot: the snail. "We think the snail is a good mascot for TCI because it is biologically compelled to leave its slime (process, path) everywhere. You could say our goal is to highlight the (often hidden) "slime" of the artists we speak with. You could say we are a growing archive of slime." So be it.

Beyond the content, we love the style at first sight, which perfectly matches the philosophy of TCI, which aims to highlight all forms of artistic expression. A blend of digital and physical, sound and image, mixing pixel art, collage and hand-drawn work. And then there are surprises here and there, little gems to discover scattered about. On its presentation page for example, you get excerpts from audio messages from its readers, or rather from its "Anonymous Snails". Or even this page which offers you a series of snail GIFs.

Simple content, but not too simple

When we talk about short, easy-to-consume content, we sometimes call it 'snacking.' This format, sometimes dismissed for its simplicity, is executed here in an effective, coherent, and rather clever way. On the interview page, you're confronted with a massive wall of colored tiles. At a glance, you know what you're going to read about and who's being interviewed, because each interview is titled in a format that any SEO manager would dream of: Interviewee + their profession + the subject they'll discuss. The result is that you want to click on everything, and it only takes a few minutes for your browser to be buried under tabs.

You might find it cold, mass-produced (there's a new interview every day), and very formulaic. The titles look alike, there are no visuals, the interviews are short… But in this simplicity there's a fairly likeable authenticity, something raw and sincere. You get the feeling of being in a room filled with dozens, even hundreds of fascinating personalities whose conversations you can catch snatches of with half an ear. At one moment, you hear producer Kwudi explaining how he turns his limitations to his advantage, and then you turn toward musician Laufey explaining how she stays true to herself in her creative process. You feel almost overwhelmed by the range of personalities from different backgrounds offering their advice and experiences. And it's great.

Interviews are only the tip of the iceberg. On TCI you'll find essays on imposter syndrome, tips for using Instagram better as an artist, or even printable zines (more paper, sorry) on creative anxiety. The Creative Independent hosts guides on a host of topics. Becoming a full-time poet may not have crossed your mind yet but after reading this guide you'll definitely be thinking about throwing it all away to dedicate your life to exploring your tortured soul. Want to properly archive your digital works? TCI has a guide. Prefer to create a board game? TCI has a guide. Want to do your taxes? No? TCI has a guide anyway. In short, TCI has everything you'd need and everything you didn't think you needed. It's always well-written and it's nice to read about subjects that are sometimes difficult, anxiety-inducing or even depressing, with care to respect your limits, others, and yourself.

At the risk of ending on a melancholic note, I must express a regret to you: the site seems to be running slowly. All those wonderful things I told you about were published years ago. To this day, only interviews are still published regularly. But can we reasonably expect a site that has made the snail its mascot to move at full speed? To answer that, I conclude this presentation with a quote as an ode to slowness, found on their site: "Snails are slow. Their only method of movement consists of contracting and releasing the tension of their powerful abdominal muscles, which turns out to be a very slow process. We admire the slowness of the snail. We appreciate the slowness of the snail and we think it helps it navigate better in its self-proclaimed journey". Be slow and happy exploring!

To go further:

• Weight, texture, ink, grain: a series of insights from experience to help you choose your paper.
• Printing means paper media. Which elements change from one paper type to another? What are the consequences? We present you with practical examples.
• Abundance doesn't necessarily translate to audience. So how can you produce less and better? We offer you a few ideas.