No Creative Process is the same, find yours and embrace it.
Last week a big friend of mine told me how curious she thinks my creative process is.
Marcela and I are working together for about six months leading a product design team for Bradesco, during this time we got to know a lot about how each other deals with deadlines, pressure, daily routines, problem-solving, etc.
The assumption made me question myself about what is a typical creative process?
I’m confident to say that as we are all humans with different backgrounds, everyone has its own way to access creativity.
And as we can’t do things that we don’t know, the first step to becoming a better creative is to understand how our brain deals with solving problems.
1. Creative process
Think that each mind has its own “key” to unlock further potential. Knowing where that key stand means you can use it to access parts of your brain that will help you to see things more clear.
What Marcela notice during this six months working with me, were patterns.
Every time I was under pressure to design a solution for any kind of problem, rather than focusing all my strength on the issue itself, I usually started doing something else.
So I rather leave the problem as it is, and come back after 2–3 hours with a fresh mind and the solution that felt impossible then, now comes like magic. It hardly fails.
Most people don’t leave, they keep trying, a lot of them succeed because that is how their brain works, but a whole lot doesn’t.
The “uncommon” group of people that needs another way to unlock creativity can’t overlook it, we all need to find the right keys and use them to accomplish the great work that we seek.
This process became a pattern for me. I realized that it’s the best way for me to come up with ideas that otherwise wouldn’t be born if I kept focusing on actually looking for those ideas.
But let’s face it, doesn’t matter if you manage to find your way to unlock the door of creativity if when it’s exposed, there is nothing inside. So let’s go further about that.
Think that each mind has its own “key” to unlock further potential. Knowing where that key stand means you can use it to access parts of your brain that will help you to see things more clear.
2. Creativity
The creative process is one thing, creativity is another.
While one is in the foreground, battling every battle with swords and shields, the other one is everlasting research, it’s what mages and maesters does for their kingdoms.
Stephen Gates from Crazy One Podcast says that creativity is no different from being an athlete.
If you think of football players, they need to go through the off season. They lift weight, train a lot, have strict diets and prepare themselves regularly to accomplish their best efforts in the field.
If you want to be effective, you must never stop training.
Creativity is pretty much the same.
As creatives, we need to surround ourselves with great things that keep us always inspired, and we can never stop looking for more.
If you want to be effective, you must never stop training.
A spark of an idea can come from anywhere, it can originate from a movie we watched, a song, an art piece but we can’t depend only on this supportive inspiration sources.
If you are a Product Designer, you need to surround yourself with great products, analyzing it, hacking all the way through and consuming it 24/7.
If you are an Art Director in an agency, you need to watch as many campaigns as you can.
You need to “train” it by doing it regularly.
Only by these means you will have enough content inside your creative room to be unlocked by the creative process.
To be great doing the work you love, you need to unlock your full potential.
The difference between you and your heroes is that they found their way to open their minds and keep their creativity always plentiful.
Do it yourself, and you will find your spot on the frontline of the industry.
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