Creative Something

John Cleese explains the secret to reaching a creative state of mind.

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:47:32 -0600

Watch this video of the English actor, writer, comedian, film producer, and all‒around creative genius, John Cleese explaining what he’s learned about creativity, writing, and problem solving.

An invitation to explore the ecstatic truth.

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:10:15 -0600

“Sometimes real life doesn’t give you all the right material,” writes Jonathan Harris, “So you have to invent something that’s true to the feeling you had, the feeling you’re trying to get across, even if the thing you invent didn’t actually happen. It’s an idea from Werner Herzog. He calls it the Ecstatic Truth.”

Jonathan continues, “A lot of people don’t understand that…They get all hung up on details. Did this happen, did that happen. But it’s not always about what happened.

“Sometimes it’s more about how you felt when you were in it, what it made you think of, what it could’ve been, or what it almost was. It’s less about what happened, and more about how it really was, which is something else and something more.”

A photograph that has been digitally manipulated may not accurately reflect what was captured per say, but it may better represent what the photographer or editor felt that moment was like.

The same could be said of countless books, blogs, designs, and the stories we tell one another.

Think of the stories you tell or the photographs you take. Are you trying to capture the wrong thing? Rather than trying to capture a moment, as it is, what if you captured the feeling or experience instead?

Photo by Kevin Dean.

A world not quite our own.

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:12:42 -0600

Somewhere in the heart of Brooklyn, NY, is an old deli. Decrepit and dirty, the deli sits on the corner of a small street, void of any functioning automobiles or beating hearts.

This isn’t your typical deli, though. In‒fact, you couldn’t stop by and buy anything from this deli. You wouldn’t even fit in the door. This deli is a part of an art installation titled “Trainset Ghetto” by the artist Peter Feigenbaum.

Peter takes pieces from miniature train‒set collections and adds a bit of his own touch with materials such as cast plaster, polystyrene plastic, chipboard, basswood, green foam, and tempera. The installation isn’t a unique reflection of the real world, as much as it is a powerful ‒ and yet tiny ‒ sampling of how the artist views the world.

In an interview with The Morning news, Peter explains what inspired him to create a miniature, ghetto world:

I guess I have this fascination with urban wildness–it’s a way for me to objectify an urban experience that’s quite different from my current scenario. Nostalgia for an era that I never experienced? I was also inspired by a lot of location-heavy graffiti and crime films from the late 1970s/early ’80s as well. I also have a dark sense of humor!

Often we feel as though art should imitate the real world as it surrounds us, as it’s defined in history books. But through creativity and intuition ‒ and a dark sense of humor ‒ Peter has created a world not quite all his own, and not quite historically accurate. It’s something unique to outsiders. It’s something original and inspiring and simply fun to look at.

26 of the best creative people on Twitter.

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:00:00 -0600

Twitter is a powerful resource for finding people who share ideas and inspiration.

It’s no surprise that creative thinkers, designers, artists, writers, and educators have literally flocked to Twitter in order to connect with one‒another and share ideas and insights. With over 12 million people using Twitter every day, finding those who tweet the most inspirational, creative insights isn’t easy.

Here’s a list of 26 of the best creative people on Twitter today, so you don’t have to spend days looking for them:

Fred Wilson

A VC from New York City, Fred always links to insightful and entertaining stuff.
Mark Mulligan

Vice President and Research Director with Forrester Research.
Maria Popova

Interestingness curator & semi-secret geek obsessed with design, storytelling & TED.
Mccasal

Digital Creative Director, Webdesigner and usability advocate.
Atley Kasky

Likes letters and the equally vital spaces between them.
Corey Thompson

Art, Advertising, & Design dude.
Official Mfg. Co.

Thing Makers making things.
Frank Chimero

Illustration. Design. Web. Model United Nations, Russia. Yankee Racers, founder.
Noah Sparks

Igniting potential in families, learning & creativity with technology & games.
Pelle Martin

PELLE. Creative Director in2media.
Oran Parker

Cranks out the creative goods, as well as a decent dose of truth from time to time.
Dan

Brands post rewards for big ideas, Creatives own their ideas until they get paid for them.
Mike Brown

Catalyzing innovative success.
Jessica Tillyer

Writes stories. Designs ideas. Likes you.
Ana ottman

Obsessed with entrepreneurship, creativity, and self-care. Feisty feminist.
Scott Belsky

Leading Behance and the99percent in the noble pursuit to organize the creative world.
Daniel Pink

Author of DRIVE: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us.
Patrick Algrim

Principal at P41 Studios. Connoisseur of the human‒centered revolution!
Benjamin Reece

Director, entrepreneur, & father. Founder of film and digital studio Deltree, New Orleans.
Tim Hurson

Founder ThinkX, founding director Facilitators w/o Borders, author Think Better.
Mark McGuinness

Writer, coach, trainer, entrepreneur. Helping you create remarkable things.
Matthew May

OPEN Forum Idea Hub columnist, design thinker and writer, seeking elegance in any realm.
Chuck Green

Communications designer, author (Random House, Peachpit, Rockport).
99%

It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. Think tank on execution in a creative world.
Ben Pieratt

Yeah, just follow him.
David Armano

Communicator, designer, strategist, thinker, doer, dad, biker, karaoke junkie, and imperfect soul.

Find inspiration, get over yourself.

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:33:09 -0600

If you’ve ever come up with a really creative idea, you know how great it can feel to be truly creative.

When you think up a creative idea that is really remarkable, it’s difficult to view the idea from a truthful perspective, because you were able to come up with something creative. Why would someone like you need to worry about finding creative inspiration when you know you can come up with such great ideas?

Unfortunately having an ego doesn’t help build creativity, it actually hinders it.

If you’re feeling as though you are a creative genius ‒ and even if you really are ‒ then you’re unlikely to perceive potential ideas around you. If you’re so focused on you, you past successes, or your perceived creativity, you’re not as likely to question the world. By allowing yourself to believe that you are really creative, you’re missing a valuable opportunity to grow your creativity. You’re undoubtedly missing chances to find creative inspiration.

Creativity can’t grow unless you have room for it in your mind. And the fact is: you will always have room to grow. There is no “peak” when it comes to creativity. You can always be more creative.

So do yourself a favor and get over yourself. Leave your ego in bed today. Understand that you will never know enough about the world to not constantly be seeking creative inspiration.

Inside the colorful mind of Brook Reidt.

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:05:39 -0600

Once in a while you stumble upon an artist with such inspirational talent that you can’t help but bookmark their website or blog or online store.

Brooke Reidt is this type of artist ‒ the type of artist that has a powerful style that is all her own, and it shows.

Reflective of her unique painting style, Brooke’s resume beings: “I’m just like you, searching for something.” How many resume’s do you think begin with phrase like that?

Brooke doesn’t only take a creative and unique approach to her CV though, her paintings and illustrations are equally inspiring. Her blog is what this post is all about today however.

If you’ve ever wanted to peek inside the world of a creative artist, now is your chance.

Whether it’s a photo collaboration of her work space, a unique snapshot of the process she uses to create a work of art, or just a summary of her experiences, Brooke’s blog is a creative nest of ideas and insights.

So, while you may be tempted to bookmark Brooke’s website or her online store, you positively have to subscribe to her blog. You rarely get a chance this good to look inside the world of such an inspiring creative artist.

A quick creative exercise you can do today.

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:32:46 -0600

Try this today:

Ask questions constantly, but don’t pursue their answers.

Why do conference chairs typically have gaps in the back of them? What if vending machines had a “Surprise Me” button? Who invented the umbrella, anyway?

Asking questions is the easiest way to gain a new perspective of the world around you. The wondering mind is a creative mind, or so said the great inventor and thinking Albert Einstein. By not actively pursuing the answers to the questions your asking, you’re training your mind to freely think, without constraints. There’s no pressure to know something. You’re simply being a curious observer.

Don’t stress yourself with answers, simply focus on asking questions as often as you can today. To quote Nancy Willard, “Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”

Try asking questions as often as you can today.

Not your typical Public School.

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:37:33 -0600

It’s not every day that you discover a creative group of people that are actually doing something with their abilities.

Spotlight on Public School, a collaborative effort between several creative designers, thinkers, writers, and all‒around awesome people. Or, as the agency says themselves: “The same studio, different professions. Similar tastes, varying favorite Bob Dylan song. Consistently unified love for the Mexican food on the east side of town.”

So what makes Public School such a great source of creative inspiration?

Besides their incredibly creative portfolio of design work, Public School maintains a regular blog on their website where they post interesting projects and work from artists, designers, and general creative thinkers.

After visiting their website, be sure to subscribe to their blog or follow Public School on Twitter. You won’t be disappointed with all of the creative juice they send your way.

Frank Chimero and the lazy hammer

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:06:48 -0600

“It’s exercise. It’s flexing muscles and it’s a valid creative endeavor. I’ve been calling it meta‒content, where a person uses preexisting creative work as a foundation for new work. It uses other art as a reference, and its the stuff that forms the foundation of the internet. But, it also makes things frustratingly meta.”

This is what Frank Chimero is describing in his article “Lazy Hammer”, when he writes about creating work that is 90% inspired by already existing work.

You’ve undoubtedly felt what Frank is describing at one point or another. You have a creative urge, but no message to convey. You want to create something but there is no purpose behind actually producing something. You are working with a lazy hammer. But you don’t have to. If you are feeling creative but don’t have anything necessarily creative to convey, you have an option: collaboration.

Working with someone else is the perfect way to release some of your creative tension, build up new ideas, and improve your talents or creative capacity.

Frank writes:

“ So, I’d say the next time you’ve got the impulse to make something but don’t have a message or story of your own, consider collaboration. Instead of piggy‒backing off of something that is already out there, why not take a look around and see if there is anyone doing something interesting and ask them to collaborate?”

If you’re feeling creative but can’t find the necessary outlet or message, look to partnering with someone. Ask someone who inspires you if you can work with them. Look to the authors, designers, painters, bloggers, and anyone else who is producing great work. Collaborate with them.

And before you do anything else today, be sure to read all that Frank Chimero has to say about toys, meta‒design, and creativity.

What to do when your creativity wears thin.

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:05:55 -0600

Have you ever been working on something creative for a certain amount of time and eventually found yourself feeling mentally drained?

Maybe you’ve tried painting or drawing or writing or designing for a few hours, only to find yourself completely exhausted and unable to press forward due to lack of creativity.

Do you know what it means when the ideas simply won’t come?

Some people believe that they can’t come up with ideas for the simple fact that they’re not creative. But that’s not true. Some would have you believe that if you ever wear thin with ideas, it’s because you’re not a Picasso or Einstein or Edward de Bono. But that’s not entirely accurate either.

The reason you ran out of ideas or began to feel uncreative wasn’t because you’re not creative.

You ran out of creative mojo when you did because your brain was tired. That’s all.

You have to remember that the brain works like a muscle. If you try to exercise it too often you’ll only end up getting hurt. Your brain, like every other muscle in your body, needs a break from time‒to‒time.

So the next time you begin to feel worn mentally thin, or the next time you’re working on something and the creativity seems to suddenly stop, remind yourself that it’s natural. Put away whatever it is you’re working on and take a break. Let your brain relax for a while and the creativity will come back almost automatically. In‒fact, a break could be exactly what you need to come up with even more creative ideas in the future.

Not feeling creative? Maybe all you need is a mental break. Try letting your mind rest for a few minutes today in order to build up your creativity. You may be surprised by the results of a well‒deserved mental break.

Illustration by Pablo Boffelli.

Ze Frank on making ideas happen.

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:55:51 -0600

The 99% ‒ a tremendously inspirational group of people and website/blog ‒ have an interview with the creative genius Ze Frank where Ze discusses how he makes ideas happen.

Ze Frank is well‒known across the internet for his creative shenanigans, like a video that teaches you how to dance properly or “The Show”, where Ze filmed himself discussing interesting things daily for a year.

Getting a peek into how Ze goes about his creative thinking process is an incredible opportunity. If you want to learn how to think like a creative genius, all you have to do is think like Ze. Here’s a bit of creative thinking inspiration from Ze’s interview with the 99%:

Generally, when I have an idea I start with a sense of scale. Let’s say Procter & Gamble has a new toilet paper. If I’m trying to generate ideas around it, the first thing I’d do is take a general imagination run into scale. What happens if you have no toilet paper? What happens if you have way, way too much toilet paper? … I flip back and forth between the extremes until something interesting comes out of it… . It’s a super-cool exercise only in that it forces you to explore the outside boundaries of things.

You should read the entire interview with Ze Frank here.

If you can't think of creativity as an adventure...

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:12:55 -0600

Hellen Keller, a great American author (and, interestingly, the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree) said it best when she said that “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”

Hugh MacLeod, one hell of an illustrator and inspirational creative thinker, took what Hellen Keller said a step further in a recent blog post by stating simply: “I reckon that if you can’t treat what you’re doing like an adventure, it’s not worth doing.”

How mindlessly easy is it to become consumed by the blandness of every day‒to‒day thing in your life? Paying the bills, shopping for things you think you need, doing the same job again and again, going through your day as if your entire life were on repeat.

Creativity is about breaking the mold of boring. But you can’t be creative unless you make an effort. You can, however, easily stir your creativity and create a more purposeful method to your thinking by creating adventure for yourself and your work.

In everything you do, there should always be an adventure you are pursuing. Creativity isn’t about problem solving, per say. Creativity is about the adventure of exploring ideas, creating entirely new thoughts, breaking boundaries. You need adventure in order to truly be creative. You need to view creativity itself ‒ the process of thinking creatively especially ‒ as an adventure if you want to really start thinking.

Let’s re‒read what Hugh MacLeod said about adventure for affect: “…if you can’t treat what you’re doing like an adventure, it’s not worth doing.”

So, what adventure will you be going on today?

Why look for ideas where you usually don't?

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:57:22 -0600

If creative thinkers of the past have taught us anything, it’s that a huge part of thinking creatively is being able to connect ideas.

If you want to really think creatively, you need to have the ability to connect a lot of seemingly unrelated ideas together on a whim.

Look at some of the greatest inventions ever made ‒ from automobile to airplanes, refrigerators to the computer ‒ and you can almost always see the different ideas that the inventor worked with. Creativity is connecting things.

But what if you don’t have a wide array of ideas to contribute to your thinking?

Being able to pull ideas together from different areas of thought, from alternate sources, is powerful when it comes to creativity. Want to know the easiest way to ensure that your mind is always full of different ideas and thoughts that will blend well with others? The secret is to look for ideas where you usually don’t.

Whether you look to a newspaper, magazine, or blog that you typically never read, or whether you listen to a different genre of music or try to look at a unique type of art, looking where you usually don’t is a guaranteed way to keep your creativity at its peak.

Try this today: head over to NYtimes.com and browse to a section of the website that you would usually never go to. The New York Times website has a big selection of categories with free articles you can learn from, like science to art, poetry to economics, politics or even opinion. So you’re sure to find something interesting, yet something that you wouldn’t usually see yourself reading into.

So, visit the New York Times website today and read an article or story related to something almost completely random. You may not feel inspired immediately, but what you read is sure to be useful for thinking up new ideas in the future. Without a doubt.

If you’re looking for a little creative inspiration, try looking for ideas where you usually don’t. After‒all: creativity is combining ideas, and the best way to have a lot of ideas is to have a lot of information already in your head.

Illustration by Rosenworld.

14 psychological ways to boost creativity

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 07:14:56 -0600

Psyblog has a great list of 7 research‒based techniques for increasing creativity, the article is definitley worth looking at if you’re searching for creative inspiration.

A few of the techniques listed in the article include: using bad moods to fuel creative thinking, combining opposites, and fast forwarding through time.

If that’s not enough psychology‒based motivation for you, they also have a second list of 7 more pyschology‒based techniques for creative thinking. A few of the techniques outlined in the second article include: working on two problems rather than one, arguing, learning a new language, and stop daydraeming.

So, what are you waiting for? There’s plenty of creative insights in those two articles to help you start thinking creatively today!

Creativity on the decline in America.

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:35:00 -0600

There’s a problem with creativity in America. It’s disappearing.

In what Newsweek is calling The Creativity Crisis, studies are reporting that creativity in America is declining.

Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman report:

Like intelligence tests, Torrance’s test – a 90‒minute series of discrete tasks, administered by a psychologist – has been taken by millions worldwide in 50 languages. Yet there is one crucial difference between IQ and CQ scores. With intelligence, there is a phenomenon called the Flynn effect – each generation, scores go up about 10 points. Enriched environments are making kids smarter. With creativity, a reverse trend has just been identified and is being reported for the first time here: American creativity scores are falling.

It’s frightening to know that creativity has fallen by the side‒lines in America. Without creativity, American ‒ and the world ‒ is in real trouble.

“All around us are matters of national and international importance that are crying out for creative solutions,” the recent Newsweek article explains, “from saving the Gulf of Mexico to bringing peace to Afghanistan to delivering health care. Such solutions emerge from a healthy marketplace of ideas, sustained by a populace constantly contributing original ideas and receptive to the ideas of others.”

While it’s horrible to read about the decline in creativity among Americans, we know what the problem is, and we know how to fix it. Re‒building creative America all starts with you, your community, and the attitudes we have towards creativity in education.

America’s belief in “standardized curriculum, rote memorization, and nationalized testing” is what has been killing creativity since 1990. We need to change that. Whether in our schools or at home, a creative approach to learning and living needs to become a priority…just as math and science has.

What do you think about the creativity crisis? How can you not only focus on building up your own creativity, but also impacting your community to make a difference in how creativity is approached in educational institutions?

Be sure to read the entire article about The Creativity Crisis for more insights and ideas about how to resolve the dilemma of declining creativity in America.

How can we turn this around?

Photo by Laszlo Ilyes.

You have to face your fears if you really want to be creative.

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:46:42 -0600

Facing your fears.

Embracing the idea that you may lose.

Not being intimidated by mistakes.

If you want to be creative, you have to be unafraid. Unafraid of losing. Unafraid of getting hurt. Unafraid of being wrong or looking like a fool. When the Wright brothers took their first leap off of a small cliff to prove that they knew how to really fly, do you think they were afraid? Of course they were afraid. But they weren’t afraid of falling to their death ‒ per say ‒ rather, they were afraid of not risking everything to succeed.

If you want to be creative you have to face your fears once in a while. You have to understand that you might lose, and that’s okay. Be different. Be bold. Take a risk. Make a leap.

Original “man in a hot air balloon” illustration used in this article was created by Kevin Cornell for A List Apart.

Einstein's advice.

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:30:00 -0600

“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.” ‒ Albert Einstein.

One of the most powerful and easy creative thinking techniques.

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 07:12:30 -0600

There is a simple and easy way to discover creative inspiration almost every day.

It’s a technique that creative thinkers have used for hundreds of thousands of years, and it works so well that doing it has changed nations, fueled entire revolutions, and will continue to inspire and motivate the world forever.

What is this big method of discovering inspiration?

Simply asking: “Why?”

Really, that’s all there is to it. Asking “Why?” is one of the most powerful ways to inspire your creativity and get you thinking.

Taiichi Ohno was a man who helped bring the Toyota motor corporation up to new standards in the 1950s. Ohno believed that exploring the world around us by asking “Why?” was such a powerful tool, he made it a traditional part of the service provided by Toyota.

Ohno must have been onto something, because studies have helped show how asking “Why?” can help you think abstractly and achieve goals.

Asking “Why?” is all you need to feel inspired. Start asking why you do what you do, or why you do it the way you do it. Ask yourself why someone else does a certain thing or why society believes in specific values. And do it today…

Starting right now: ask “Why?” more often.

Creativity, art, and a piano.

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:22:07 -0600

While the internet can be a fast‒moving mess of copycats and half‒hearted works of art, there occasionally comes along an individual who takes pride in not only their work, but also in their creativity.

PianoImpro is the type of creative artist that really stands out online. As a creative musician, PianoImpro takes works of art ‒ submitted by readers, or not ‒ and creates an improvisational song based on the artwork. “Piano improvisations and compositions about photographs, paintings or poems,” as the musician states himself.

Rather than waiting for inspiration to strike him, PianoImpro has reached out to an entire different world of creativity in order to find motivation for his music. And the results of his creative search sound absolutely beautiful.

His method is unnatural and the resulting songs are uncanny. Even if you’re not a big fan of the piano, you’re sure to feel inspired by at least listening to one hit from PianoImpro.

Creativity and your wandering mind.

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 07:29:38 -0600

How often have you found yourself staring out the window of a classroom, office, or bedroom, thinking of something apart from the moment, work, or relationships?

Daydreaming ‒ moments when your mind seems to wander and imagine things almost on its own ‒ hasn’t received the best rap over the past couple of decades. That needs to change.

Many years ago daydreaming was viewed as a type of mental disability. If you daydream, you’re in danger of psychosis, some would say. The great psychologist Sigmund Freud labeled daydreaming as “infantile and neurotic.” So is it any surprise that daydreaming is shunned in schools and at many companies?

Daydream and you’re likely to be associated with slackers and the unmotivated.

But the truth is far from the generalizations and misunderstandings that have been made around daydreaming. Research is quickly showing that daydreaming not only builds up the mind, it can also improve your thinking and creativity by allowing your mind to use a default thinking network while also focus on task or problem.

In a recent New York Times article ‒ Discovering the Virtues of a Wandering Mind ‒ John Tierney gets us the details of daydreaming and creativity. John explains:

Studies have found that people prone to mind wandering also score higher on tests of creativity … “For creativity you need your mind to wander,” Dr. Schooler says, “but you also need to be able to notice that you’re mind wandering and catch the idea when you have it. If Archimedes had come up with a solution in the bathtub but didn’t notice he’d had the idea, what good would it have done him?”

Illustration by Frits Ahlefeldt.

Creative Something

John Cleese explains the secret to reaching a creative state of mind.

An invitation to explore the ecstatic truth.

A world not quite our own.

26 of the best creative people on Twitter.

Fred Wilson

Mark Mulligan

Maria Popova

Mccasal

Atley Kasky

Corey Thompson

Official Mfg. Co.

Frank Chimero

Noah Sparks

Pelle Martin

Oran Parker

Dan

Mike Brown

Jessica Tillyer

Ana ottman

Scott Belsky

Daniel Pink

Patrick Algrim

Benjamin Reece

Tim Hurson

Mark McGuinness

Matthew May

Chuck Green

99%

Ben Pieratt

David Armano