Blog #6: Thoughts on Creativity

As a student of advertising I find the subject of teaching creativity quite interesting. In my undergraduate courses, there was never a class dedicated to the creative process. So when I arrived at UT Austin for graduate school I was excited to hear that Creative Strategies would be a required course for our first semester. I found myself curious as to what the projects would entail and how exactly we would be “measured.” The class was interesting, don’t get me wrong, but the only thing it did was reaffirm my belief that creativity cannot be taught. The exercises, some challenging and stimulating, did not foster the creative thinking breakthroughs I was hoping for. I have never considered myself a particularly creative person. I would use the word observant. But there are definitely moments in my life that fostered creativity more than others (that class unfortunately not being one of those times). When I was younger I was a synchronized swimmer. This was, and albeit still is, a rather unconventional sport to be involved in. I’m not sure how familiar you are with the sport, but it is somewhat like performance art. Every aspect of the routine including the theme, music and costumes is developed from scratch by the team, trio, duet or individual. The freedom to design the routine allowed for some rather creative developments over the years some of which included, the “Cell Block Tango” routine (Chicago musical) and the “YMCA” routine (we wore swimsuit costumes of the Village People). This time in my life stands out as particularly creative because of the “creation” aspect. The task of developing these routines down to the smallest details with little guidance encouraged a creative environment. 

One of the things that I think is important in this situation is the lack of direction. Although, I do think it’s important to know the vital elements and limitations that need to be considered. For example, in synchronized swimming you are given the number of people you are required to participate in the routine, the time limit and the specific “elements” that must be displayed in the routine by all the members. Everything else is in your hands. This type of creative process is structured in a less intimidating way than just a clean slate. 

In the jobs I have held over the years, particularly the more creative design positions, I find this same method works the best for me. Without guidelines I feel lost, but with too many restrictions I feel constrained. I definitely gravitate towards working in groups in organizational creativity settings. I believe there are people capable of being creative by themselves, in fact, many people in their blogs my say that is what works best for them. In the group settings, at least in my experience, it is important for the members to have some “common ground.” There needs to be the ability to relate to one another in order to fully understand another individuals idea and furthermore be able to take that idea and add/expand on it with your own ideas. I believe that is where true creativity happens in an organization. For example, in school I had a difficult group project that stifled creativity when it could have thrived. We were tasked with creating a “branding video” for a company of our choice. Each member of the team, myself included, took the idea and ran with it. But, we all ran in different directions. When we came together for a meeting, it was, well a complete mess. This project had no rules, required elements, or common themes. It was just “make a brand video.” Since we had procrastinated as most students do, we were left with only a few options. We attempted to brainstorm other ideas and build off each other’s ideas but since we didn’t understand where those ideas came from, we were left with what I thought was the worst idea. (Creating a “taco porn” video about Torchy’s Tacos.) I am humiliated even typing that sentence. As it turned out, we didn’t do as terribly as I was anticipating, but needless to say it was not a “fun creative exercise” as the instructor had intended. 

This was perhaps one of the only times I felt that working with a group hindered my creativity. But as I said, I think the importance of a “point of reference” is essential to the environment and so is some semblance of “guidelines.” Each person has their own sense of what creative process works for them and I think we inherently know what will prove most effective. But this is where I think the group dynamic can provide an interesting platform for ideas as those creative processes we have developed can be applied to an outsider’s ideas (that effervesced from their own creative process). The “play on ideas” is where I often find the greatest insights. A theme that I think has been common in the Advertising world of creativity is the “think outside the box” type thinking. It’s about strange, out-there, unconventional and borderline crazy ideas. Like this ad for example... I mean c’mon? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG042nkReBA 

And in that regard I think it is about personal experiences. Every individual has a story. Some narrative that makes them unique and shapes their outlook on the world and despite even the most similar sounding situations, everyone has their story. This plays a large influence on what shapes your creative ability. You either can draw from your vast experiences to enhance your creative thinking or you can reside in your own imagination. Imagination is a gateway for creativity. It’s funny though I find that when you are a child everyone has such wild imaginations with outlandish hopes and dreams and as you become more educated, you slowly begin to be brought down to earth along with your ideas. It’s the people that don’t ever fully get out of their childhood mind that become the greatest successes in advertising. Here is a fun video that appeals to the child in all of us. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw This is of course just my opinion. Lets face it, what the hell do I know? Some more credible people have commented on creativity, a few of which I recall from that Creative Strategies course. Leo Burnett, a pioneer in the ad business, said creativity is “The art of establishing new and meaningful relationships between previously unrelated things…which somehow present the product in a fresh new light.” 

I recalled one of the books we read called Eureka! It Really Takes Years of Hard Work (a play on the “light blub moment”) made creativity seem more of a habit that requires practice. One particular business that I have found a tremendous amount of creativity in is the music business. The immense competition and pressure within the business I think has both a negative and positive effect on the creativity of the musicians. But the ability to write music that is completely original and for it to be so well received by millions of different people goes to show the immense power of creative thinking. Singer and songwriter Jack White shares some of his thoughts on the creative process and the demands that come with being tasked with producing something truly innovative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH4NhlxSrOw