OMFG I Wrote a Book!
Design for Hackers: Reverse-Engineering Beauty (Wiley & Sons, September 2011) will help you see like a designer does.
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UPDATE The finalists have been chosen! Thanks to everyone who participated. Vote (NOW!), but please feel free to continue the conversation in the comments below.
How do you keep yourself thinking creatively? Maybe you just go for a walk, you do some yoga. Maybe you spar at your local boxing gym, or fire a gun at a firing range. Maybe it’s a website full of inspiration that you visit, or a simple blog post somewhere that gives you inspiration. The best answer to this question will win a copy of The Guerilla Art Kit, by Keri Smith – which will teach you to start an artistic revolution through your creativity. Whatever it is, be creative – and share it with us. Here’s how the convertition* works:
- Submit your ways of being creative: do this by @ replying kadavy on Twitter, or simply leave a comment here. Also, if someone told you about this convertition, be sure to mention them, for Karma’s sake (they get clout in the convertition for telling you about it). Your creativity tip can be something you try yourself, or a website, article, book, or blog post that keeps you creative. Need some ideas? Check out my blog post, Eight Life Hacks for Creative Thinking. There may be ways that you stay creative that you hadn’t realized. (This blog post, by the way, is ineligible for submission. Sorry, I only wish.)
- Not required, but encouraged: include “#cr8” in your tweets so everyone can follow along.
- Be one of the finalists: Out of all of the submissions, I’ll pick no more than ten finalists. My admittedly unscientific criteria will be the following:
- Originality of idea: while it may really keep you creative, simply saying “painting” is not likely to land you there – unless your presentation is really interesting (see next).
- Presentation of the idea: Simple tweets and links to blog posts certainly stand a chance, but why not make a quick video of your creativity inspiring activity of choice – or some other format. The only requirement is that it can be shared on the web for all to see. Your presentation should arouse curiousity, entertain, or simply better explain how said activity keeps you thinking creatively.
- How many people you get to participate in this convertition: As mentioned above, be sure to share who it is that told you about this convertition (and remind your friends to say you sent them). Remember socializing is a good way to keep yourself thinking creatively.
- Get voted for: After I pick the finalists, and present them in a new blog post, I’ll ask all of you to vote – via comments – for which tip you like the best. It’s tempting to tell all of your friends to vote – and as such, this is totally permissible and encouraged.
So, how do you stay creative? Blog it, tweet it, whatever – take two minutes to share it with us, and you can win this excellent book. The deadline for submission is Midnight PST, Tuesday, February 3rd. Has passed.
Here’s a video version of the call-for-entries you might enjoy, too:
About the book (via Princeton Architectural Press):
We are living in a golden age of self-expression. The explosion of user-created content on blogs and social networking sites moved Time magazine to name “You” their 2006 person of the year. But while we may be spending a lot more time in virtual worlds, we have not lost the urge to make our physical world more meaningful. By leaving art and ideas in public places, you can affect someone’s day—change their mood or their mind—and maybe even change the world in the process! more >>
*convertition: sort of a competition, but more of a conversation: convertition.
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Image via alicepopkorn
jelling said,
January 28, 2009 @ 3:53 pm
One thing that has worked for me (particularly in music situations) is to use a deck of “Oblique Strategy” cards. Originally created by Brian Eno, the deck is made up of random suggestions such as “Honor the hidden intention of your error.”
In addition to being useful in a solo creative scenario, I’ve also found them useful as a tie-breaker in group situations, or at the least, a reframing device.
More details are available at the official site: http://www.rtqe.net/ObliqueStrategies/
Mary said,
January 28, 2009 @ 4:32 pm
Foolproof, fail-safe creativity exercise:
1. Assemble a committee consisting of as many whimsical people as possible. Extra points for flat-out silliness.
2. Put as many tables together as needed on the patio at the Shanty (Brew Pub near downtown Tucson at 4th Avenue and 9th Street).
3. After everyone has had at least one beer, start to brainstorm. You’ll need to set up an easel or dry-erase board. The people at adjacent tables won’t mind. They’ll play too. There are rules: (a) No one is allowed to drink domestic beer. I recommend Harp on tap (the Shanty is an Irish pub). (b) Someone at the table must eat a pickled egg. That person will fart profusely, which stimulates silliness and thus creativity. (c) There must be a designated driver. That person’s brainstorming suggestions will not count.
4. Brainstorming is not a debate. No one can dis, critique, or in any other way assess other people’s ideas. Stream-of-consciousness brainstorming gets the creativity ball rolling, and stopping to analyze a suggestion is like putting out a foot to stop the ball.
5. The person at the easel writes down ALL the suggestions except those from nondrinking onlookers. If that person becomes impaired and his or her writing illegible, he or she must Pass the Marker.
6. Popcorn fights are permissible. They get the creative juices flowing.
7. The next day, after a breakfast of dry whole-grain toast and Apri-Seltzer (one part Alka-Seltzer, one part apricot nectar), examine the suggestions on the dry-erase board. If you barf on it, go back to bed. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE BARF. After it dries, you can chip it off, carefully, so as to preserve the suggestions.
8. When the threat of barfing has passed, examine the suggestions. Half of them will appear to have been made by individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder. Squint at them (at the suggestions, I mean, not at the individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder). That will help you distinguish the ingenious suggestions from the preposterous ones.
That’s it! Now you and your committee are on your own. Step 1 is creativity. Step 2 is logistics and budgets and stuff like that — all outside the purview of this convertition.
WARNING: Wait at least two weeks before repeating this creativity exercise. Move it to Bob Dobbs, on Tucson Boulevard and 6th Street. The Shanty will not allow you back in.
Adelle said,
January 28, 2009 @ 5:52 pm
I’d like to suggest Fuel Your Creativity for all your design inspiration needs. Hope you enjoy it!
Cheers!
sj said,
January 30, 2009 @ 11:26 am
A habit I picked up from Tom Peters was to go to the bookstore once a month or so and grab a couple magazines from industries NOT related to your own. Bring a notebook, and jot down any notes or ideas that you find interesting, whether they’re related to the problem you’re currently dealing with or not.
Now that I travel (too much), I buy a magazine before each leg of a flight and do the same thing. Since I’m paying for them, I also rip out pages that intrigue me, sometimes evernoting them or filing them for later reference.
Most of the really good “ideas” I’ve come up with at work are just remembering something completely unrelated and adapting it to our situation. And I couldn’t do that without exposing myself to a bunch of stuff outside of my industry and cataloging it for later retrieval.
Also, I hang out with David once a week and my mind EXPLODES with ideas. His aura or whatever.
Joe Avella said,
February 2, 2009 @ 11:37 am
Dave,
Here are some things that get my creative juices flowing:
Coffee
Scotch
Watching bad TV; better yet, cheesy movies
Casual conversations with friends over a few drinks
Jogging
A long shower
Ryan said,
February 2, 2009 @ 12:42 pm
Here’s the trick for me: (I’m a graphic designer, so a lot of times I’m looking for visual, typographic, or conceptual inspiration)
Get away from the computer. Get as far outside of your normal life as possible. Drive to another state if you can – fly to Rome, otherwise take a walk to a new neighborhood. Look at things while you walk; architectural details, the way light is hitting something, a neon sign. Keep walking, don’t stop. Let your mind wander – think about how these things might relate to a projects you’re working on, and slowly little connections will hopefully begin to form. Go back to the computer and key up some music that matches your mood. Listen to whole albums, don’t use random – it will tempt you to skip tracks or shift your focus too much. Now start designing.
If all that fails, a long shower with Joe Avella always hits the spot.
Idea Sandbox - Share Your Creativity Tips, Join the Convertition said,
February 3, 2009 @ 2:17 pm
[...] Kadavy at Creatively Creative is holding a “convertition” to pick the best creativity tip. David has created this [...]
Gordon said,
February 3, 2009 @ 3:45 pm
Part of the way I stay creative…is to keep a notebook handy and jot down ideas. (Or, if I’m online, open up backpackit or Google Docs and type them out).
It sounds ridiculous, but it helps me in that I can often revisit old ideas, and while executing them…other ideas come into play.
Another thing is to move to some household chore – doing dishes or cleaning a room. Doing something simple, unintellectual, and relatively easy helps cut down the worry about finding a new idea…I find that I’m even more creative when I’m not forcing myself to be.
Tom Nemitz said,
February 3, 2009 @ 5:31 pm
To stay creative, I employ several methods because none of them are 100% fail-safe:
I talk with people whose personalities I connect with. Notice I didn’t use the word “creative” there — it doesn’t have to be creative people who spur ideas and get one’s mind rolling, just people that one connects with and can verbally jive with. Several of the people I routinely rely on for these convo’s are the furthest thing from creative as you can get, but their different perspective combined with shared experiences can lead to interesting places creatively.
I watch movies from my childhood like Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, Back to the Future or Beverly Hills Cop. Its silly, I know, but I’ve seen these movies so many dozens of times that its almost like hitting the “reboot” button on my subconscious. Like I said, silly. But it works.
I keep a notebook handy where I write down funny things people have said to or around me, sketch things I encounter, etc. Reading and looking at those notebooks is a real source of energy.
When all else fails, drink Pabst Blue Ribbon. PBR me ASAP!
Abraham said,
February 3, 2009 @ 8:46 pm
To me the trick is to pun pencil to paper (or pen to paper, or brush to canvas, or fingers to keyboard, or hand to mouse, etc, etc) and just do stuff until I have something of merit that will solve the design problem at hand. I think inherently everyone is creative, the problem for me often is that I have a lot of discordant ideas in my head. Once a multitude of different ideas and iterations are committed to a more tangible medium (if these ideas are completely unrelated to each other), then one can sit down and edit to come up with a solution to the problem at hand. So I guess to quote the shoe ads “just do it”.
PS. It also helps to be either highly caffeinated or slightly drunk when this is happening.
Jame said,
February 3, 2009 @ 10:52 pm
Finding creativity? I walk outside. I like in Oakland, and the streets in Oakland and Berkeley are a never-ending source of amusements. And sparks. Broken, beheaded parking meters turn into herb gardens or planters. There is the free bike phenom where you pick up a bike on a corner, and leave it on another corner. At the farmers market, and interesting ice cream shops flavors like saffron and jalepeno inspire my creativity. Back to the street: typical examples, seen on stop signs (via stickers or graffiti) –
1. (stop) war
2. (stop) pollution
3. (stop) driving
4. (stop) hate
And my new fave replacing stop driving?
(stop) hammertime
Each street sign let’s me connect with either memories, or just fun new types of expression.
Just saw this post so I didn’t get to retweet.
(@jameane)
vinnie said,
February 4, 2009 @ 12:35 am
Has their really been no mention of pot yet? To some, maybe it’s just a cheap fix of creativity, to others, it can be a flashlight.
Mark McGuinness said,
February 4, 2009 @ 11:36 am
Hi David,
I’d like to propose Deborah Frances-White of http://www.the-spontaneity-shop.com/, whose advice on ‘doing the obvious’ was the basis of my latest post at Lateral Action: http://lateralaction.com/articles/be-original/
All the best with your competition.
Patty said,
February 4, 2009 @ 1:04 pm
Stop thinking about yourself and think about how to help others…
I find giving back to others is the best way for me to stay creative. I direct my thoughts and energy towards other people and other initiatives. By taking the focus away from myself and seeking to serve another person, I am freed from the stalemate and creative blocks that I experience when thinking only of myself. The energy that is being used for this external purpose in a new way helps me develop fresh ideas and a new perspective that enhance my ability to be creative.
Some ways to switch the focus from ourselves to others…
Volunteer
Help a friend
Commit a random act of kindness
Make art for others to enjoy
Post a blog with helpful information
Plant flowers in a public space
Tatoosh said,
February 4, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
Everyone has little things they like to do to inspire creativity. I really believe in cross fertilization. Bringing in ideas from outside your normal field of expertise. But how do you go about looking for new inspiration? – GO OUTSIDE YOUR ROUTINE.
If you like to walk, walk somewhere different. If you like read, read something different. Talk to new people. Break your personal boundaries, do some things you might fear, keep an opened mind and stay curious. Those new experiences will fuel new sparks for your creative fire.
kadavy said,
February 4, 2009 @ 6:49 pm
Thanks everyone for the great tips – I’ve posted the finalists. Vote for your favorites, and get your friends to vote for you: http://www.kadavy.net/blog/posts/creatively-creative-10-great-tips-to-stay-creative/
Feel free to keep submitting tips though, for conversation’s sake.
Eight Life Hacks for Creative Thinking said,
April 25, 2011 @ 12:42 am
[...] So the overriding themes for me are variety, curiosity, and health. What works for you? Tell us and win a book! [...]