"How to Be Creative"

One of my professors, the honorable Judith Sweeney-Obryan, shared this article with my Special Topics: Advertising Campaigns class.
I wanted to share some of the key points that stood out to me, and how helpful they were. I often struggle with finding the "perfect" solution and kick myself in the head until it comes. It's often such a struggle for the good ideas to come. It was a nice reminder to hear that creativity is a process and you have to get through all the crappy, cliche ideas before the good stuff can come out. Remember, the best solutions take work.

1. Create a routine.
Establish working routines that follow your mental instincts.

2. Let the assignment set some boundaries.
The specifics of your problem will help center your thinking. How you think about a project comes from it's true nature.
3. Start with basic thinking techniques.

"I always write a thing first and think about it afterwards, which is not a bad procedure, because the easiest way to have consecutive thoughts is to start putting them down."
-E.B.White, essayist

4. Suspend judgment.
"Be fearless around bad ideas. There is no such thing as a bad idea when concepting. Often the worst ideas are your tour guide to the best ones. It wouldn't be a cliche if it weren't so damned true. My ratio of bad to good is probably 50 to 1. I fill pages with bad. I build a monument to good on a trash heap of crap."
-David Baldwin, executive creative director, McKinney & Silver

5. Use both lateral and vertical thinking.
Be abundant and uncritical while also being analytical.

6. Hang tough.
A good idea is tricky. Learn to suspend yourself in a problem without being panicked by the sense of weightlessness that comes with no-idea-yet.

7. Find more than one solution.
"You cannot dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper."
-Edward de Bono, Lateral Thinking

8. Consider multiple points of view.
Every situation has more points of view than you are currently considering.

9. Restate the problem.
Adopt the perspective of a first-time user or someone who doesn't speak the language.

10. Read, stay curious, try to know at least a little about a lot.