“Creativity is an energy. It's a precious energy, and it's something to be protected. A lot of people take for granted that they're a creative person, but I know from experience, feeling it in myself, it is a magic; it is an energy. And it can't be taken for granted.” – Ava DuVernay
I get stuck. We all get stuck. Ruts, potholes and detours are a normal part of the journey. One way to get unstuck is to break the current pattern and get out of your head. If you are too close, step back. If you are too far out, zoom in. When tangled up in thoughts, move to action to see where it leads.
I land on the side of a lot of doing – the mechanics of things. I know that I need more magic, to wander and wonder each day amidst the need for order. It’s not a choice between right brain or left brain, work or play, action or reflection. We need more “ands” rather than “ors” to maneuver between opposites and weave both into our being. Clarity comes from both reflection and action.
When we enter the creative zone – the magic, there’s a natural ease, flow and space. We open up to mystery in the ordinary, see the same differently and enter the unknown with curiosity. Staying in the present invites and welcomes ideas, connections and insights as our preconceived notions and rules fade to the background.
When we put our guard down on order, allowing creativity to ensue, time stands still and rushing ceases. While I would have rather had something other than a pandemic to hit the brakes on busy, it certainly has put us all in a space where we have to think differently, challenge our assumptions and be open to what comes next since it’s difficult if not impossible to predict and clearly delineate the near future.
There is a comfort and certainty in mechanics. Structure helps make sense of the abstract and it can also bind us if we aren’t checking the validity of the systems we abide by. Frameworks of processes and procedures create efficiencies and consistency. It also leads to “check the box” living.
As we begin to reopen and re-enter the #otherside, we have an opportunity to create a hybrid for ourselves where we don’t go back and we dare to create something unfamiliar and new. We can integrate both magic and mechanics into our days to go deeper and find meaning beyond busy. To dream and then to execute on those dreams. To work and play. To produce and to do nothing. Moving between divergence and convergence. Right brain to left brain, and back again.
Design Thinking can help us redefine how we look at things, how we make old things new and fresh. There are five stages to the design thinking process.
Empathise
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
We certainly have had a master class this past three months on empathy. While we are all in this pandemic together, those generous professionals on the front lines of health care and service businesses have been risking a lot serving the rest of us who have had the opportunity to work from home (albeit on nonstop zoom meetings).
While I’m not thrilled to wear a mask, I will to honor and respect others who have sacrificed more than me and have a different and valid perspective. That’s the heart of empathy. To understand there’s more than me and to allow others to express themselves as they wish. Empathy is one of the domains of emotional intelligence – where we move from self-awareness into outer-awareness and connectedness. When we allow diverse vantage points, we can expand our horizon to allow all voices to be heard.
Empathy and defining the problem create the baseline for new scenarios and possibilities. There are several ideation methods that the Interaction Design Foundation outline:
Brainstorming – You build good ideas from each other’s wild ideas;
Braindumping – Brainstorming done individually;
Brainwriting – Like brainstorming, but everyone writes down and passes ideas for others to add to before discussing these.
Brainwalking – Like brainwriting, but members walk about the room, adding to others’ ideas.
Challenging Assumptions – Overturn established beliefs about problems, revealing fresh perspectives.
Mindmapping – Mind mapping is a creative and logical means of note-making.
Storyboarding – You develop a visual problem/design/solution-related story to illustrate a situation’s dynamics;
SCAMPER – Question problems through action verbs (“Substitute”, “Combine”, “Adapt”, “Modify”, “Put to another use”, “Eliminate”, “Reverse”) to produce solutions
Analogies – You draw comparisons to communicate ideas better.
Prototyping and testing allows for the new ideas to be put into action to see what works and what doesn’t based on user testing. When the design is vetted and tested, adjustments can be made followed by models, processes and procedures to operationalize and execute new ideas consistently.
Design Thinking weaves both “magic” and “mechanics” together to come to new understanding and framework to move into uncertainty creatively and with rigor. Let go of the “or” and embrace “and” along with “what if” and “why not.” Mechanics AND magic.
“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” – Edward de Bono
