The Letter That Started It All: A Creative Collage Challenge

After a very busy fall work, and family it’s time to get back into my Monday prompts. There’s something about starting again. That quiet, nervous feeling before you open a blank page. That little moment when you ask yourself, “Do I still have it?” If you’ve been away from making things for a while — whether it’s been a few weeks, a few months, or longer — I get it. Getting back into a creative rhythm can feel like waking up muscles you forgot you had. But here’s the good news: creativity never really leaves you. It just waits for you to return.

So this week, I want to help you ease back in. Not with something overwhelming or complicated — no 12-hour design challenges or 100-day commitments. Just one simple, open-ended prompt that invites you to play again. I went first, now it’s your turn.

This week’s challenge: Pick a typographic letter and make a collage out of it.

Yep, that’s it. Just one letter. One form. One shape.
And from there, you get to turn it into something entirely new.

The Power of One Letter

Letters are such an interesting place to start. They’re the building blocks of how we communicate — we use them every single day, often without even noticing. But if you strip away their meaning, a letter is just a shape. A form. A visual symbol.

Think about how different an A feels from a G.
An R can feel proud and upright.
A C feels open and soft.
A Z slices across the page with confidence.

Each one has personality. Rhythm. Structure.
Typography is, in many ways, sculpture with meaning attached.

And that’s what makes this prompt such a great creative restart.
You don’t have to invent an idea out of thin air — you already have a starting point. Just pick a letter. Any letter. Maybe it’s the first letter of your name, or maybe it’s one you’re just drawn to visually. Then start building around it.

Why Collage?

Collage is one of the most freeing mediums you can work with. It’s forgiving, fast, and full of surprises. You don’t have to draw perfectly or spend hours refining something. You just cut, arrange, and react.

That process — of reacting rather than overthinking — is what gets creativity moving again. When you collage, you let instinct lead. You tear, you layer, you overlap. You let things be slightly off-center, and somehow that makes them better.

It’s like creativity with training wheels — the materials themselves help carry you forward.
And there’s something deeply grounding about using your hands again. In a world of screens and digital everything, collage reminds us of the tactile joy of making something real.

So whether you’re a designer, an illustrator, a writer, or someone who hasn’t made anything in a while — this prompt is about reconnecting with that simple act of play.

Getting Started

Start with your letter.
You can print it, sketch it, paint it, or cut it out. Try using a bold sans serif, a delicate serif, or even a hand-drawn letterform. The style doesn’t matter as much as how it feels to you.

Once you’ve got your base, begin gathering materials.
Old magazines, scraps of colored paper, textures, fabric pieces, anything that feels interesting. If you work digitally, pull textures and photos into Photoshop or Procreate — you can still “collage” digitally just as easily as with glue and scissors.

And here’s the key: don’t think too hard.

Pick a color palette that feels good in your gut. Tear pieces that catch your eye. Layer them around or inside your letter. Maybe your letter becomes a frame. Maybe it becomes the subject. Maybe it disappears altogether in the final composition. That’s the beauty of this — there’s no wrong way to do it.

Letting Go of Perfection

If you’re like me, coming back to creativity after a break often stirs up that little voice that says, “What if it’s not good enough?”
It’s sneaky — that voice loves to show up the moment you start again.

But here’s the truth: you’re not making this to be perfect. You’re making it to reconnect.

Think of this prompt as a conversation between you and your materials. You’re showing up, asking questions, exploring. The outcome doesn’t have to hang on a wall. It just has to remind you that you still know how to make something from nothing.

The longer you spend with it, the more you’ll start to loosen up.
You might start to notice patterns — certain shapes you’re drawn to, colors that feel like you. You might rediscover the joy of surprise, the thrill of watching something become.

That’s the goal here: not perfection, but presence.

Seeing the Letter Differently

One of my favorite parts of this challenge is that you’ll start to see typography differently afterward.

You’ll notice how letters interact with negative space.
You’ll start to appreciate the rhythm of curves and angles in everyday words.
You’ll even find yourself admiring signs, packaging, or random flyers in a new way.

This kind of creative exercise opens your eyes again — and that’s what creativity really is: a way of seeing.
When you strip something familiar (like a letter) of its expected meaning and reimagine it visually, you remind yourself that there are endless possibilities hiding in plain sight.

That’s a skill that carries into everything — branding, illustration, design, photography, writing.
The ability to look at something ordinary and see something more is what defines creative people.

If You’re Feeling Stuck

If you find yourself staring at the page and not knowing where to start, try this:

• Pick one emotion you want the letter to express — maybe joy, calm, curiosity, strength.

• Choose three materials or colors that capture that emotion.

• Begin building, even if you don’t know where it’s going.

You’ll be surprised at how quickly something starts to form when you let intuition take the wheel.

And if your first try doesn’t feel right, start over. Or tear it up and use the scraps for a second version.
Remember — collage thrives on imperfection. The rough edges are the art.

The Real Point of the Prompt

This isn’t really about letters. It’s about coming home to your creativity.

The act of picking a single, simple form and transforming it reminds you that creative energy doesn’t come from external inspiration — it comes from movement. From doing. From getting your hands in the mess again.

By the time you finish, you’ll remember why you started creating in the first place. Not for likes, not for clients, not even for a portfolio piece — but for that quiet moment of discovery when something clicks.

That moment when you look down and realize, “I made that.”

Your Turn

So this week, take the prompt and make it yours:

Pick a typographic letter and make a collage out of it.

Print it, draw it, layer it, cut it, build it.
Use paper, texture, paint, pixels, or whatever you have nearby.
There are no rules — only the joy of getting your hands moving again.

And when you’re done, share it. Post it. Tag it. Or just pin it to your wall as a reminder that your creativity is still alive and well.

Whether it’s messy or minimal, bold or subtle, abstract or recognizable — it’s yours.

And that’s enough.

A Little Closing Thought

Every creative has a “comeback” moment — that first project that wakes something up again. Maybe this is yours.

If this prompt sparks something for you, hold onto that momentum.
Keep making. Keep exploring. The next idea often hides behind the one you just finished.

And if you’re looking for more ways to stay inspired or want to take your creativity a little further — I share weekly prompts, stories, and branding insights over at zachsummers.net.

It’s where I help creatives and small brands rediscover their voice through design and storytelling — one spark at a time.

Now go make something.
Even if it’s just a letter.