11:38 am. A blank artboard stares at me, and I feel that knot forming in my stomach. Deadlines loom over me, internal reviews scheduled to check progress, an exciting new project to work on—and my mind is blank. That’s it, I think, catastrophizing. My creativity finally shrivelled up and died.
There’s a common myth about creative work in which people assume those inclined to creativity and expression have a never-ending well to draw from. Brilliant ideas should come instantly from those with the gift. On the contrary, many designers (and writers, and artists, and any profession involving the production of ideas) have experienced “the wall”, a moment in the process where the struggle to create seems insurmountable, and you wonder how you ever managed to have ideas before.
It’s an equally widespread (and untrue) myth that only certain personalities can excel in creative pursuits, and only certain professions benefit from design thinking. We tend to sort each other, and ourselves, into a narrowly-defined “creative” or “uncreative” labels, which result in very limiting assumptions and judgments. But any person who encounters problems, especially problems without an immediately clear cause or clear solutions (which is most of us, right?), can benefit greatly by learning to access a creative state of mind.
This “wall”—this blankness of mind and the struggle over finding effective solutions—can be overcome by a variety of techniques grounded in how our minds best function when faced with open-ended questions and uncertainty. There are conditions where ideation comes more freely, and where resistance becomes a sign you either need another perspective, more information, or your unconscious mind is about to connect dots you would never consciously connect.
I have been intrigued in the last several years by the science behind creativity. To create is a human instinct, a skill that can be improved upon with practice and the understanding of how exactly ideas form and develop. On my explorations into the topic, I stumbled on this book: Creative Acts for Curious People, written by Sarah Stein Greenberg, the executive director of the Stanford d.school (otherwise known as the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design). Not a scientific study exactly, but a collection of assignments developed by creative thinkers throughout the years aimed at helping people access the creative part of their minds.
The book opens with an example of a small team of graduate students who travelled to a hospital in India to design a solution to improve the delivery of quality, accessible care. The team came across a simple, incredibly effective process that led to improved patient outcomes and the creation of a business further supporting their initiative. This introduction is followed by sections of different exercises curated by the team at the d.school, provided as a resource for people driven by curiosity to better access their innate ability to not only generate ideas, but act upon them.
The 81 exercises are meant to be explored based on the goals of the reader, with recommended “paths” offering a guide, depending on what particular skills one wants to develop: observation, collaboration, idea generation, critical thinking, storytelling, and more. You can also carve your own path, flip through the pages randomly, follow a structured approach, or pick up the book whenever you feel “the wall” approaching and want a fresh approach to break through.
The strategies may seem whimsical and detached from what problems you’re solving, at first. After experimenting with some group activities a few times, a colleague provided the feedback, “These seem fun, but what’s the point? How does this really help us get to a specific solution?” He was skeptical of the utility when applying to a real-world context. And, fair. At first blush, it may not be obvious how a change of mindset or new way of brainstorming can help us arrive, quickly and concretely, at a deliverable that functions well.
The goal of this book isn’t: “How to help a team of marketers arrive at an award-winning ad campaign idea”, but rather, “how do you train your mind and change your team dynamic to create the conditions in which you can arrive at a fresh new idea—which may very well be the basis of a successful campaign”.
Reframing how we see problems, changing how we engage in conversation, and entering a space of possibility without being too quick to dismiss our own thoughts creates the mental environment necessary to let ideas bubble up to the surface. An exercise designed to overcome the blank page, or to gain momentum when ideas are gathered, or to drive each other to think more broadly—the immediate benefits of these assignments may not be apparent. But they do make a difference in how we engage with our work and with each other, which can only benefit, not hamper, our goals: providing effective solutions for our clients and their audience.
11:39am. The blank artboard remains before me, taunting me. But over the years, I’ve learned to plan for the initial wave of anxiety when starting a new, ambitious project, and I’ve gathered tools in the toolkit to confidently navigate uncertainty. And as the creative landscape continues to shift and evolve, it never hurts to grab a few more. Creative Acts for Curious People certainly provides a structured, thought-provoking resource worth pulling from the shelf, flipping through to a new exercise, and diving into the work.
Creative Acts for Curious People
by Sarah Stein Greenberg, Stanford d.school
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Meet blog author Kristen Mallory,
Senior Graphic Designer
Read her bio here
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