How To Be More Creative

http://s.barcampphilly.org/presentations/759

• Speaker: Joe Zeoli
• Contact Info: @joezeoli
• Description: Learn about what makes us creative & how to practice being creative.
• Format: Talk
• Room: F50
• Time: 2014-11-15 02:15 PM

Creativity

the ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination - http://dictionary.com

• Don't need to be in creative industry to be creative
• It requires both sides of the brain

Why is it so hard?

• It's a maze - boundaries are just preconception!
• Think OUTSIDE of the box

Preconceptions

• So we can understand the world
  • Purpose of a table
• They mold as we get older

Kids

• They are unbaised
• Don't carry pre-conceptions
• Less afraid to be embarrased by their ideas

Adults

• Thanks things they already done and mold them together

That HA! Moment

• Best ideas come in at random times

Good Ideas

• Build out of a collection of existing parts
  • Car parts scattered in a room

Traits

• Creative architects tend to be procrastinators
• The more you wait, the more time you have to think about it

Types of Thinking

The Box

• Convergent thinking

  • Inside the box
  • One answer
  • 1+1=2

• Diverging thinking

  • Outside the box
  • Spontaneous, free-flowing, non-linear
  • Alternative uses
    • Uses for a brick
      • Break out of preconceptions
      • Use brick as humans
    • Uses for a table
      • Stand on it!
  • Lateral thinking puzzles
    • Firefighter puzzle
    • Carpenter, truck driver, mechanic
      • All females
  • Remote associates problems
    • cotage - swiss - cake
    • opera - hand - dish
    • health - take - less

Connections

• Have a ton of terrible ideas

  • More ideas, better chance of having a good one
  • Emerge over time
  • Pixar's Up
  • First idea isn't best idea

• Step away and do something else

• Listen or watch something funny

  • Laughter relaxes us
  • What to do with a box

• Give youself restrictions

  • We're not good at making decisions when there's a vast amount of decisions.
    • Name 10 cities (hard)
    • Name 10 cities around you (easier)

• Break down the problem

  • Break down toaster to invidual parts
  • Make completely different

• Create a range of solutions

  • Standard to whacky

• Don't be afraid of a blank canvas

  • Put anything down

Teamwork

• Huge way to bring out creativity
• Roadblcks can become sparks

Multitask

• We're terrible at multitasking
• Can't think about positives and negatives at the same time

The Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono)

The White Hat - Only the facts

• What do you know about
• What are the facts
• What you need/want to know
• Where do you go to find out hte information

Red Hat - Our Feelings

• Feeling now
• Solution best based on feelings
• Prejudices
• Gut feelings

Black hat - Devils' Advocate

• Things to be cautious about
• Where to be careful
• Difficulties
• Why this doesn't work

Yellow Hat - Glass Half Full

• Good about this
• Positive outcome
• How this could work
• Value of this

Green Hat - New Ideas

• Create another way to do this
• How to solve this problem

Blue Hat - Process

• Summary of everything
• What's next
• Action plan

Questions

• Drawing it out on a whiteboard!
• People will follow by example - start throwing bad ideas (set bar low and working the way up)
• Ask for feedback while in progress
  • Stop being so invested in your project
• Dribbble and Behance = art porn
  • Seeing something will trigger something
• Google Diverging Thinking Problems
• Creativity can be measured
  • More you do it, stronger it becomes
• Podcast: you are not so smart
• Right brain/left brain is a myth
• Connections - you use it or lose it