The Secret To Creativity…

Every designers’ dirty little secret is that they copy other designer’s work. They see work they like, and they imitate it. Rather cheekily, they call this inspiration.

~Aaron Russell

Or to put this into a slightly similar phrase…

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”

~Albert Einstein

The latter quote by Einstein is the topic that myself and two others have to talk about, for 20 minutes, for a university project and I thought it would be great to get some responses from you guys…

Here are some questions to consider:

• How true is this statement?
• How does hiding your sources make you more creative?
• When does inspiration become plagiarism? (Great discussion in Aaron’s article)
• Have you ever copied someone’s work? Or parts of? (Be honest)
• How much of someone else’s idea can we copy before it becomes a copy?
• Is there such thing as an original idea?

Further Creativity Resources

Here are some high quality resources on creativity:

• Creatitivity in Schools by Sir Ken Robinson
  Great thought provoking video on education (highly recommended).
• The Brain As A System & The PO Creative Tool
  A great essay on Dr. Edward de Bono’s work.
• How To Be Creative
  Some great methods on how to be creative.
• How To Boost Your Creativity
  Some sure fire techniques to get your creative juices flowing.
• Accidental Plagiarism
  An article highlighting how we can accidentally plagiarise others.
• Subliminal advertising
  A video showing how subliminal messages communicate to us.
• Is Lateral Thinking Necessary for Creativity?

Smart Ass Marketing

When I was going through submissions for the Logo Of The Day website, the Design Encyclopedia logo was suggested and when I went to check out their website, I read the top three lines of their website and was pleasantly surprised that I could stay updated to their website “through their rss ass”. See the screenshot above or visit the website yourself.

Although this got a laugh out of me, I didn’t really think anything of it until I read that they were a division of Under Consideration and seeing though they know a thing or three about marketing I wondered if this little number was purely a mistake or a smart marketing move by the guys over at Under Consideration. Personally, I think it is a marketing ploy, and a clever one at that.

What makes me think so? The fact that there is a huge RSS watermark behind the text and the fact that the header hasn’t changed since 2006, however, I should note that on close inspection it does say RSS not ASS.

Update: Armin from Under Consideration had this to say:

I never noticed the ASS text until someone pointed it out literally after 30 minutes from when I uploaded that header image. Since then, every two or three months I get an e-mail from someone telling us about it. It takes five minutes to change the header but for some reason I now enjoy it being there. It’s like the arrow in the FedEx logo. Sort of.

Anyway, thought I would share this one with you and hey I guess the marketing ploy worked… I’ve written a blog post that has gone out to to 12 500+ subscribers and I’ve sent out a Twitter message to 6500+ followers which then got retweeted many, many times -  Not bad, eh?

What’s your take? Smart? Dumb? Honest mistake? Vent your spleen.

80 NEW Creative, Smart & Clever Advertisements

I know you see many creative advertising posts, but I went out and tried to find some of the lesser known creative ads of which you can see below. This is a follow up to the post 192 creative advertisements.

You may also like these posts:

• 56 Awe Inspiring Creative Photographs
• 92 More Awe Inspiring Creative Photographs

Read more »

192 Creative, Smart & Clever Advertisements

Here are 192 of the best creative, smart and clever advertising messages that I have found across the web in recent times. They have used some great techniques and ideas in all of these ads and I think they are brilliant!

You may also be interested in:

• 56 Awe Inspiring Creative Photographs
• 92 More Awe Inspiring Creative Photographs

Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

How To Spot and Work with Graphic Engineers

In this truly EXCELLENT guest article Prescott Perez-Fox* goes through the inner workings of the obsessive creative designer and shows how to effectively spot and get the most out of one. A extraordinary and must read article - trust me.

It is an unfortunate truth that in our society, engineers are underrated. Compared to the scientists, architects, and politicians they work with, the engineers remain relatively unknown and are just those behind-the-scenes ‘elves’ who hold the ship together.

Are engineers disrespected, under-appreciated, overworked? Is their role in society valued and rewarded? This debate is ancient, and it comes back into the light whenever something big goes terribly wrong. NASA scientists landed men on the moon, NASA engineers mixed up feet and meters resulting in the loss of an expensive satellite. You see my point.

What is A Graphic Engineer?

The design profession has it’s engineers too, and they are just as underrated as their sciencey counterparts. Their arena isn’t space tech or tall buildings, but rather packaging die lines and website code. I’m not talking solely about the production people, proofreaders, mechanical artists, programmers, etc., but rather those individuals who dedicate themselves to becoming Graphic Engineers. The Graphic Engineer (GE) is not identified by his job title or his skill with software, but rathey by his mindset, his personality, and his work habits. He is someone who views the world differently and approaches every problem from a slightly steeper angle of incident.

The GE is a valuable member of any successful design team, and a good engineer can make everyone’s job easier, but they’re not always easy to manage or to work with. Here’s how you might identify, and then accomodate your GE, to get the most out of him, and your team overall.

How to spot a Graphic Engineer

The Graphic Engineer:

Is obsessed with Details.

Not just the obligatory ‘detail-oriented’ that every job description in the world includes, these people go above and beyond what most folks would consider ‘a closer look’. Spotting a misused Em Dash from 30 meters is just the beginning. Editor: One of the 15 signs you’re a bad graphic designer.

Values the methodology, sometimes over the results or the time frame.

Embodying the philosophy that “anything worth doing is worth doing right,” the GE will go out of his way to ensure that any process is done to the letter, including documentation and feedback, which often go overlooked. He’s the one most likely to create immaculate CSS style sheets, even if it’s just for an internal login page. Table styles in InDesign, layer comps in Photoshop? Most likely put together by a GE. Best practices, after all.

Never accepts good enough.

Along with his obsessive nature, the GE has an overdeveloped sense of duty, and never leaves a job unfinished. For that matter, he re-defines the word ‘finished’, and will take those extra precautions to ensure quality. After all, it’s his butt on the line when something goes wrong. Just like NASA.

Lives in a world that always needs fixing.

Rather than simply striving to make the world more enjoyable or more beautiful, the GE strives to solve problems, correct errors, and iron out all manner of wrinkles in the day-to-day of our profession. It’s a very blue collar approach to graphics but show me where the leak is.

How to get the most from your Graphic Engineer

Now that you’ve identified your groups GE (raise your hand if it’s you! - Editor: You got me spot on!) , you have to understand a few things about how he works. Because GEs are unlike regular employees, a bit of tact is required to get the most out of your engineer.

Give him space.

This is both physical and metaphorical. Clearly, all GEs work better with a larger desk, larger monitor, more sunlight and square footage, and an ergonomic chair, but at the same time, I’ve never met a GE who worked better with bosses hovering and peering over his shoulder. In fact, that’s probably the easiest way to get shoddy work when you need it most. (Editor: Amen)

Ask his opinion.

Personalities aside, GEs always have opinions. And those opinions are often based on independent research, industry knowledge, trial-and-error, prior experience, and good old fashioned gut instincts. In other words, those opinions are valuable and ignoring them simply isn’t smart. GEs want to improve their general situation (they live to fix leaks, remember?), so their advice is usually constructive. Also, ignoring those opinions can lead to bitterness, depleted productivity, and the wording of those same precious opinions and ideas.

Let him rant.

Since engineers are often under tremendous pressure, they may need to let off some steam. (pardon the metaphors) So let them. Do whatever you can to get the most out of your GEs, even if that means shaking things up in your studio. Ranting often brings to light feelings and thoughts shared by many members of the team but why not let your hardest thinker explain why the current situation has gone pear-shaped.

Learn from him.

The engineer is naturally a teacher. By providing knowledge, he helps elevate everyone around him and thus feels less aliented. Also, this makes his job easier because the rest of the crew is meeting him half way (or at least part way). Considering GEs are often well versed on the latest trends, languages, software techniques, and professional happenings, you might actually learn something when he pulls out the “well, actually” during a meeting.

If you’ve never spared a thought for the Graphic Engineer, now’s the time. Next you need him to tidy up a messy style sheet, extend a poorly cropped photo, or a revive hand-me-down Mac, show a bit of appreciation and understanding. Graphic Engineers are the glue that hold together the gears of the creative industry. Imagine your life without them.

*Prescott Perez-Fox is a brand developer and designer in New York City. He blogs about design and branding at his site, Perez-Fox . He also happens to have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics with a concentration in Aerospace, but that’s hardly relevant.

56 Awe Inspiring Must See Creative Photographs

I was researching creative photographs on DeviantArt for a university class and these were the ones I liked best. What do you think?

For some further reading on photography check out photography tips for designers. If you liked this post, why not subscribe?

For more check out this post:
92 Must See Creative Photographs.

All photos are linked to their original authors. There are a few that just link to DeviantArt’s homepage as I could not find out who the original author was.

Read more »

How To Boost Your Creativity

I have previously written an article on how to be creative however, it didn’t tell you how to boost your creativity.

Below are some great ways of stimulating your brain to get great ideas - fast.

Change Your Environment

Decorate a wall with old product packages, put up king size posters of your favourite designers, rip out pages of a colour catalogue and pin them up, find music that inspires you, create interesting lighting by sticking distorted paper in front of the lamps and - if you own the place - redecorate in an inspiring manner. Alternatively, cover the walls with paper and let yourself go with paints and brushes. It is a fact that decorating a work environment with flowers increases the generation of new ideas by 15% (Roger Ulrich, Ph.D., Behavioural Scientist, Texas A&M University, 2004).

Why, Why, Why Technique

Ask ‘Why?’ several times until you explore undiscovered parts of the problem you’re working on. You’re creating an advertisement. Why are you creating an advertisement? Because they need one. Why do they need one? Because they’ve got this interesting product to show off. What makes the product interesting? It glows in the dark. Why does it glow in the dark? Because (…). Suddenly, you’ll find yourself with more information to spin around.

Use Different Mediums

Got process colours? Go mix them and paint something. Draw something. Take whatever ideas you’ve got, redraw them by hand, and see if they turn out different. If possible, cut it into pieces and put it together another way.

Write Your Own Brief

Write your own brief, and include as much information as possible. Try to define the problem clearly. If you’ve got one from a client, rewrite it in your own words.

Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats

1. White - State the facts and figures
2. Red - State the emotions.
3. Black - State the negatives. Use judgment and caution.
4. Yellow - State the positives.
5. Green - Ideas that come by seeing things in a new light. Suggest alternatives, proposals, provocations.
6. Blue - Sum up what has been learned. It controls the debate. To see it in action.

To see it in action.

What if? Technique

If you’re stuck half-way in a design, let your mind wander. What if this was seen mirrored? What if these two switched positions? What if I inverted the whole thing? You could also go further by making stories and creating characters. What if this illustration could come over and give its opinion? Sounds too much like an acid trip for me, but some people have success with it. What if it was (put in whatever adjective you can think of)?

Use mind maps

Brainstorm, preferably with a partner, and draw a mind map. There is nothing that is as effective as mind mapping, as it has a tendency to grow and grow as you explore the topic. This can of course be combined with other techniques. Mindomo is a great web based app. Freemind is another good alternative, written in Java.

Don’t be critical

You can’t both be creative and critically judging at the same time. These are two difference processes that should take place in two different phases of the process. Write down everything, no matter how badly you’re trying to tell yourself it sucks. Get it down. There are no bad ideas, just bad decisions.

Criticism belongs later in the design process, when you’ve got so many ideas and concepts that you can begin being selective.

Osborn’s Checklist

Apply the following check list and see if it generates any new ideas or perspectives. Try to avoid being held back by assumptions of how things should be done.

Put to other uses? As it is? If modified?
Adapt? Is there anything else like this? What does this tell you? Is the past comparable?
Modify? Give it a new angle? Alter the colour, sound, odour, meaning, motion, and shape?
Magnify? Can anything be added, time, frequency, height, length, strength? Can it be duplicated, multiplied or exaggerated?
Minify? Can anything be taken away? Made smaller? Lowered? Shortened? Lightened? Omitted? Broken up?
Substitute? Different ingredients used? Other material? Other processes? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Someone else?
Rearrange? Swap components? Alter the pattern, sequence or layout? Change the pace or schedule? Transpose cause and effect?
Reverse? Opposites? Backwards? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? Transpose ‘+/-‘?
Combine? Combine units, purposes, appeals or ideas? A blend, alloy, or an ensemble?

Force associations and connections

Pick a random word from a dictionary, a magazine, a website or wherever, and try to force connections between the word and the problem you’re solving. This could and should be combined with mind mapping and sketching.

For further creative techniques visit MyCoted.

What other methods do you use to get ideas fast?