Pushing Our Creativity

What keeps you up at night in terms of your creativity? That's what a group of us at WE were asked by Greg Morgan of the School of Visual Concepts at a recent creativity workshop in Seattle. Creativity is not just about getting from A to B. The key is purpose and knowing what you bring to the table.

Here are just a few things we learned in this truly idea-packed day.

Why creativity matters. As creatives, we're tasked not just with coming up with cool, innovative ideas, but to also sell our ideas. We have to sell to our clients. We have to sell to our end audience. Creativity and persuasion go hand in hand. We dove deep into the importance of creative. It adds meaning. It's emotive. It gives something deeper meaning and makes you look at something different.

Creative inspiration. Where do you find inspiration? To quote Greg: "creativity = pill; inspiration = will." Wouldn't it be great if creative ideas just fell into our lap? It's important to have the will to seek out inspiration because the reality is creative ideas likely won't magically appear. Or, if you don't have that will, surround yourself with people who do! Some of my favorite sources we talked about:

• Go out into nature. Studies show that when we can experience nature – air, space, light – it actually relieves the brain and helps open our mind to accept new thinking.
• Practice seeking out the abstract. We tend to be good at the literal, so find abstract images or things; study them and consider what makes them unique. Could it give you a clue for how to tell a story in a different way
• Learn from other people's stories. Find a mentor. Attend storytelling lectures. Observe children.
• Deconstruct something that works. Ask questions about it. Find why it works and why it matters. This trains us to find purpose in things.
• Journal. Harvest your creativity by keeping a special journal just for ideas you see or find. It could be a receipt with a cool logo on it, a sketch you've made of something you've seen, a word or phrase that resonates.

The key to remember with finding inspiration is you really never know when you'll tap into these inspirations.

What is good brainstorming? Ever tried the throw-spaghetti-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks method? That's not what we're talking about here. In the workshop we tried our hand at Brain Writing (vs. brainstorming) some blue sky thinking. This method gives everyone the chance to be heard. We practiced Big to Small, a great method to keep from getting overwhelmed by details. Disruption is a method we worked on to challenge ourselves to look at opposites. Stepping away from worrying about what is/is not possible can open up new ideas and connections we otherwise would have overlooked. These were just a few we learned.

I'm curious what your best tips are for pushing your own creativity?

This learning opportunity was an offering as part of WE's Learning and Development team. Connect with me to learn more about WE and the learning opportunities here. #WELearnDev