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Yes, You Can Be Creative | Part 1

Combining and Separating

By 'Toto' (Aleksina Teto)Published 6 years ago 5 min read
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Photo by Matthew Henry from Burst

Creativity has been given this reverence of almost divine intervention, which makes it extremely intimidating. But, I'm here to tell you that it isn't as complicated as you think. Even those who feel like they are the least creative people in the world are more than capable at being creative.First off, creativity isn't only art (drawing, painting, writing, music, etc.) Creativity is needed for business, organization, and a myriad of other areas. At its core, creativity is based in logic, and learning how to transfer logic.

Let's talk about some the first easy way you can become more creative:

Combining and Separating

Creativity starts with logic. And, for business solutions, or organization, it might stay logical. For making a story, it can be a matter of bending logic with your select facts. My biggest suggestion is to use the facts of an object, and figure out what other objects have those same defining qualities. A lamp's light-bulb produces light, and a sun emanates light. Now, replace one for the other: inside the lamp shade is a miniature sun.

By taking in literal facts of your surroundings (separating each aspect or detail), you can correlate them to each other. What facts connect?

Questioning

There was a chunk of time that I started really questioning if I was creative at all. I had finished school, was working full-time, and just generally being a 'busy adult.' I began to be mystified by creativity. What is this divine force I would tap into as a child? And then, after it being plastered right in front of me for a few years, I had an epiphany. And, that was that I was still being creative, even if it wasn't with drawing, writing, or music.

I would write down random details I noticed. In moments, I would suspend my super questioning brain, and would make myself pretend that every detail happening in a space was connected. Using this mind game, it would make me use logic to separate every detail and find even the smallest connection. This could even be used for a business summary. Reading through a long report for a client with every aspect of their business detailed, I used this same technique.

Assume everything can be connected, and create that rainbow bridge. Or, figure out what is missing to link two parts. With that document, I created point form notes. In those notes I discovered that they had multiple, completely different demographics outlined in different sections. How can they be connected? With really broad advertising? Or sequential advertising to help target both separately? So, I brought that up! From that I could learn that what they needed was for their initial advertising to target one audience, and once the development was finished, another audience needed to be targeted.

Think of Lego. You get a set, it's intended use is to make a shed. Yes, you can follow the pattern and make that shed. But, then again, you can separate all those pieces and then reconstruct something new. That new thing might just be a cottage (something that already exists in the world). That is the gist of creativity. You take the pieces apart and reconstruct them.

With organizing, you might just document the shape of different objects, and then keep looking at organizational devices, or even objects that look like they have a notch, pocket, or slot for that shape.

Whatever medium your creativity takes, whether the order you clean, the way you sell products, or writing, reorganize to establish your most enjoyable, or orderly answer.

Example

Start with defining what is in front of you, for instance, at my desk I have the following:

  • Multiple medium sized plants
  • A cactus
  • A north facing window
  • A lamp
  • Now, I go in and define each object
  • Lamp:
  • produces light
  • produces heat (old light-bulb)
  • facing away from my desk
  • red

Medium Plants:

  • Shade plants
  • green
  • tall pots
  • Small Cactus:
  • Desert plant
  • used to lots of sun
  • can handle a lot of heat
  • Small enough to fit in a teacup
  • light blocked by tall plants

North Facing Window:

  • Little to no direct sunlight
  • On the larger side
  • Blind open
  • Open a bit

Now we find logical connections, I took that my small cactus isn't getting tons of light. Between the larger other plants, the north facing window, and my heat and light producing lamp facing away, the cactus is in a lot of shadow.

From there my short creative story about my desk would be:

Craving heat, the small desk cactus cranes itself towards the window, attempting to absorb even one ray of sun. He is blocked. Large looming brethren tower above him, snatching every glimpse. A slight heat comes from his other side. Craving it, he sees the lamp in the distance, a yellow light, reminding of the sun he saw as a child. Patches of light leak out of the red metal lampshade. He reaches with his chunky spiked arms towards the lamp, who gives away its warmth and light elsewhere, just beyond the small cactus's reach.

Takeaway

It doesn't have to be that intricate by any means, but I wanted to illustrate how far you can go with just taking point form facts about different objects.

That is creativity.

The biggest thing about creativity is that it is meant to be fun and stimulating. If you don't enjoy writing, or drawing, you don't need them to become a more creative person. There is enjoyable and manageable creative outlets for everyone! Just play, have some fun. It doesn't have to be serious. And, even if you just practice creativity in one way, it helps shape your thought patterns to better your general ability of being creative.

Stay tuned for other creativity techniques

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About the Creator

'Toto' (Aleksina Teto)

A Canadian designer, writer, typographer, and artist.

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