I’ve been talking a lot about the creative process lately. The reason for this is very simple. Creativity is important, especially today when only a dozen take full advantage of it. Creativity is not a talent, neither it is a skill. You are not born with it but it is something that you cultivate and develop over time. This post will hopefully shed some light on how to develop your creative mind.

The following list was extracted from an article located over here. I’ve added a short summary and my own interpretations.

  1. Relax, and create ideas each day.

    The more your practice your creative mind the better it will become. It is like training a muscle. The relaxation part is also very important. Speaking from my personal experience, the best things I’ve done happened in a state of complete relaxation away from problems. I call this state of the mind hackmode.

  2. Expand your possibility box.

    The more you see/experience the more options you will have to mix and match. The creative process is all about coming with interesting combinations.

  3. Notate everything.

    Uou have to free up space in your brain for newer stuff. Write down all your thoughts, otherwise you will forget them.

  4. Change your location.

    I am going to add change everything. Change is good. Very good! Don’t be afraid to change things.

  5. Create fast brainstorming sessions.

    Brainstorming is a powerful tool. How many times you’ve come home packed with ideas after talking with your friends. This is a form of brainstorming. This is the reason why going to events is an excellent opportunity to not only brainstorm but also to introduce some change (see the previous point).

  6. Stop creating rules where rules do not exist.

    Question everything! Don’t be a braindead. We can think for ourselves.

  7. Eliminate some of your fears.

    Don’t be afraid to do what you want to do. Don’t be afraid to share your discoveries. Don’t be afraid of failure. It is a part of the process and the sooner your realize it the better.

  8. Find new ways of doing something.

    There are always ways to do things differently. Find them!

  9. Stop trying to analyze and create at the same time.

    Too much analyzing has never brought any good to anyone. As soon as your start analyzing the creative process is over. Separate these two processes as they never work at the same time. First create the idea, then analyze it.

  10. Don’t worry about who gets the credit.

    Your ego is evil! Spend time to figure out how the idea will work rather then who gets the credit.

  11. When you do work with a team (art director, client, advertiser, etc.), build on each other’s ideas.

    Be open to the people you work with as that will enable the creative process.

Make sure that you go through the article pointed above as that will give you further insights that could come very useful.