Unleash Your Creativity: Essential Tips and Tricks

Creativity is a word that gets thrown around a lot. It is often perceived as something innate. A blessing that some have and others can only dream of. And yet it is something that can be ‘learnt’ to a certain extent and can be enhanced using certain techniques. Creativity is the lifeblood of all fields of design. But even the best designers can find themselves going through a dry spell at times. Here are some tips to get the creative juices flowing again.

Tap into your knowledge base, your surroundings (including the rules, constraints and space), your attitude towards things and your culture. These are key elements that not only define who you are, but can spark your imagination and inspire.

The obvious isn’t always the best. The tried and tested isn’t always the best. There's always more than one way of doing things and hence it’s important to always have an open mind.

Really look and listen. Why? Because the real world can be very inspiring and thought provoking. Observe your environment, people and places. See both the big picture and the little details. You’ll be surprised at what you notice when you look and listen carefully.

Before you jump in and try to find a design solution, think about the question (i.e. the task at hand) and reformulate it. Avoid falling into the trap of having a question that only yields one answer (e.g. 10 +10. The answer to this will always be 20). Instead have a question that opens the door to several possibilities (e.g. ? + ?= 20). So the next time you’re asked to say design a website or a cool item of furniture, reformulate the task at hand and ask meaningful questions.

Combine things that are not usually combined (e.g. sports with kitchen wear or underwater wildlife with technology). Take a cross-disciplinary approach (e.g. combine different fields such as graphic design and biology).

In addition to trying out De Bono’s famous Six Thinking Hats you might want to dabble in different forms of role playing. Put yourself in the shoes of others. Try to see that they see and think the way they think.

• Go for a walk. Never underestimate the power of motion to kick start ideas.

• Hunt down inspiration by attending events, browsing the internet and more.

• Experience new things and get out of your usual routine.

• Daydream.

• Listen to music.

• Say hello to the seemingly absurd.