I like to consider myself a pretty creative person. Heck, I do it for a living. However, I've noticed that creativity and creative ideas tend to present themselves whenever they see fit, and rarely when they are forced. This is an especially unfortunate trait for my creativity to have because I am in the field of marketing design. Over the years I've researched and stumbled upon seven nearly sure-fire ways to spark my imagination and creativity. Keep in mind that every imagination is unique and all of my methods may not strike a chord with you the same way they do with me. But I do hope that at least one will bring you some inspiration to keep your work unique and intriguing - or assist in any situation you may need some outside-the-box thinking for.
1. Clear Your Mind
The greatest obstacle in creating something completely original is the frustration that tends to flare up when you can't get your imagination to give you its goodies. When you try to convince your imagination to generate something on the spot, it sometimes works. It depends on the mood of your subconscious that day. When you're frustrated and you try to force your imagination, it never works. If my methods don't work for you, I recommend you do what ever it is that allows you to take a step back, separate yourself from the problem, do something fun for a while and come back to it with a fresh set of eyes and a positive frame of mind.
2. Music
Find a genre that you can fall into. For me, it's Chopin, Vivaldi or Radiohead, depending on my mood. The first step is to clear your conscious mind of your stresses, fears and surroundings. Then you play your music. Classical orchestra, classic rock, African drum - what ever you can use to close your eyes and fall into. Try to stay away from anything you know from a movie or that reminds you of a memory. The goal here is to meditate with the music and let it guide your mind into generating new images in accordance with the song. When music takes your brain in an emotional direction, or when it inspires images in your head, that's called concurrent association - a brain's pairing of sound with images or feelings. This is an invaluable tool when trying to generate original ideas.
3. Drive
Your goal here is seemingly simple: empty your mind of all your stresses, tasks and negative energy. Embrace the world around you and let it embrace you. Not only should this loosen up your imagination, it can also make you happier and more relaxed in general.
4. Hike
Go to your local national or state park and just go for a walk. Your focus should be on soaking in as much as the atmosphere and scenery as possible as you go. This also gets you a little exercise, and maybe even people watching will help to clear your mind and look at your problem with a new perspective. Getting a new perspective is a wonderful ability as it's almost like having another person on your team.
5. Exercise
Being active is extremely important these days. I don't think it's any more important than it used to be, it just seems to get harder and harder to maintain an active lifestyle. Exercise when ever you can and you'll be happier, healthier and more creative. When fronted with a project that stumps you, exercise harder. The release of endorphins that occurs when a body is pushed physically can do wonders for the creative process.
6. Past Achievements
This works best for me when I siphon through old completed or especially half- completed projects. I find myself often muttering to myself "Oh yeah, I forgot about this project. This would have gone so much better if..." BAM! Creative idea. Doesn't apply to your current project? Keep rummaging. Even if you don't find anything that directly applies to your current project(s), it's bound to at least get your creative juices flowing and refill your idea bank for later projects.
7. People Watching
This is my favorite and most productive technique, especially when designing something for a consumer product. Go to a crowded place and empty your mind by subtly observing the people there. This can literally be ANYWHERE that there is a constant flow of new people to observe and absorb. This may seem awkward at first, but 99.9% of the time, nobody will notice what you're up to. Before long, you will probably find yourself quite entertained. Observe their mannerisms and how they interact with each other, the world around them, and even with themselves. There is no better way that I know of to step outside yourself and get a fresh outlook on a task than to stop thinking about yourself and your task and focus your attention on the goings-on of passer-bys.
This is a guest post from Rebecca Chelsey, a designer with a creative side that she enjoys utilizing on both personal and business projects. Her work as a designer has taught her a great deal about communicating with people and helping them find inspiration. Outside her life as mother and wife, she also works for Homeseasons, which has simplified the holidays with 4th of July decorations, Halloween Holiday arrangements and ideas for every holiday in between.
P.S. I'd add a #8 - Journaling. You can doodle, draw, collage and all kinds of stuff ~MLMcC
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