Ideas and practices for regularly gathering sources of inspiration, eliminating blocks to more easily access creative states, prolong them, and leverage their power to develop and execute great work.
5. “Creativity is about embracing
paradox. Creativity is the
merging of two incongruent
ideas.”
- Frank Chimero, Build
Conference Nov. 2010, The
Shape of Design
6. What’s the point?
Concepts, ideas, tips to help you instill
practices that will encourage you to
become even more conversant and
better able to collaborate with your
creativity.
18. Exorcise those evil voices
FEAR (“false evidence appearing real” or
“f*ck everything and run”) causes
unnecessary inhibitions which obstruct
the generation of new ideas on a
biochemical and neurological level.
50. What you produce is unique
• Find your voice and sing your song
• Create what you want to see/use
• (Gather like an aficiando and)
Repurpose like an artist
52. The stage is set for Flow
• Clear a space – work area, time, head
• Have a goal: know what you want to
achieve and what it looks like
• Have the necessary materials on hand
• Eliminate distractions
• Practice
• Don’t force it
55. “Creation does not have to be a
tormented process – it can be a
peculiar, wondrous, bizarre
conversation and collaboration
between you and the strange
external entity that is not quite
you.”
- Elizabeth Gilbert, Nuturing
58. “Genius is being able to
understand the essence without
having all of the
information….Genius is the
ability to see through to the
essential.”
59. Bring out your inner Genius
As opposed to “being” a genius, consider
that you have a genius – a mystical
spirit that accompanies you and
inspires and helps you to create
fantastic work.
61. Muses
Three original muses:
• Melete - practice or occasion
• Aoide – voice or song
• Mneme – memory
Muses were thought to be the true
speakers for whom an artist is merely
the mouthpiece. Muses inspire people
to do their best.
62. Ideas & Creative Spark
“The world is being circled by ideas and
creativity that wants to made manifest
and are looking for portals to come
through…”
63. “…If you don’t do it, it will find
someone else.”
- Elizabeth Gilbert
66. You’re Doin’ It Wrong
“My f*cking book won’t tell me its
name!”
“Well, if you’re going to talk to it like
that, it’s not going to tell you
anything.”
78. Slow Hunch tips
• Give ideas time to simmer, to develop
into hunches
• Ideas often have long incubation
periods: they fade into view over time
• Share hunches with others – this sets
the stage for the aha/eureka moment
80. Share time and mind
• Invite others to wonder with you
• Share mistakes – show your
imperfections (both you and others can
learn from it)
81. Make little bets
The creative process is a hands-on
experiment.
• Try something. Get feedback. Refine.
Get more feedback.
• d.school process: observe, suggest,
tinker, review feedback, reiterate
86. The goal: creative confidence
“…the confidence that, when given a
difficult problem, we have a
methodology that enables us to come
up with a solution that nobody has
before.”
David Kelley, Ideo
88. “Chance favors the
connected mind.”
– Steven Johnson, Where
Good Ideas Come From
89. “Inspiration favors the
creatively disciplined
mind.”
- Denise Jacobs, The Art of
Disciplined Creativity
90. Shameless Self-Promotion #1
The CSS
Detective Guide
CSSDetectiveGuide.com
twitter.com/cssdetective
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91. Shameless Self-Promotion #2
InterAct With
Web Standards:
A Holistic
Approach to Web
Design
InterActWithWebStandards.com
twitter.com/waspinteract