Do you ever feel as though you are in a creative slump? One of my students flat out told me that she hadn't done any work on an assignment to create a portfolio of six ad campaigns because she didn't have any ideas.'None?' I asked. 'Not one.' she replied.
Curious, I asked what she had done to attempt to find some ideas. Had she looked down the back of the couch? Had she dropped a tab of acid?...or perhaps something a little more mundane like reading the brief carefully and looking for clues in the products themselves? The truth was she didn't have any ideas because she hadn't done any work.
Laziness is not conducive to having ideas and certainly not useful in exploring where they might develop (too many people stop when they think they an idea that might work - but I subscribe to thought that nothing is more dangerous than an idea-if it is the only one you have).
The bottom line is that creativity is work (magnum opus, opera, operation...).
Forget about being visited by the muse.
Step one is to address the problem to be solved. The likelihood that you will serendipitously arrive at a viable solution is nil if you haven't prepared your mind with the facts and information - the raw materials - creative problem solving.
Step two is to have some fun. Play with ideas. Join things up in surprising new ways.
Make a start.
And if you get stuck try reading A whack on the side of the head
. It might help. Anything is better than just sitting there looking worried.
Curious, I asked what she had done to attempt to find some ideas. Had she looked down the back of the couch? Had she dropped a tab of acid?...or perhaps something a little more mundane like reading the brief carefully and looking for clues in the products themselves? The truth was she didn't have any ideas because she hadn't done any work.
Laziness is not conducive to having ideas and certainly not useful in exploring where they might develop (too many people stop when they think they an idea that might work - but I subscribe to thought that nothing is more dangerous than an idea-if it is the only one you have).
The bottom line is that creativity is work (magnum opus, opera, operation...).
Forget about being visited by the muse.
Step one is to address the problem to be solved. The likelihood that you will serendipitously arrive at a viable solution is nil if you haven't prepared your mind with the facts and information - the raw materials - creative problem solving.
Step two is to have some fun. Play with ideas. Join things up in surprising new ways.
Make a start.
And if you get stuck try reading A whack on the side of the head
. It might help. Anything is better than just sitting there looking worried.
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