The Art of Disciplined Creativity

The Art ofDisciplined Creativity Denise R. Jacobs Refresh Boston May 2011

The Art of Social Media The Artist: @denisejacobs The Medium: @refreshboston The Subject: #creativityhabit

The Artist Still Known as Denise Jacobs Speaker, Trainer, Author, Pan-Creative

OnCreativity

“Creativity is about embracing paradox. Creativity is the merging of two incongruent ideas.”- Frank Chimero, Build Conference Nov. 2010, The Shape of Design

What’s the point?Concepts, ideas, tips to help you instill practices that will encourage you to become even more conversant and better able to collaborate with your creativity.

We are alchemists

“Creativity is magical, but is not magic.”- Charles Limb, Your Brain on Improvisation TED talk

Structure, Discipline, Path

The Art ofDisciplined Creativity

ThreeFacets ofThe Way

Three Facets of The Way1. The Path of One2. It Takes Two3. The Way of Many

The Path of One

The Path of One1. Habits to release2. Habits to incorporate3. Outcomes

Habits to Release

Habits to Release• Fire your inner critic• Get over impostor syndrome• Eliminate distractions

Fire your inner critic

Exorcise those evil voicesFEAR (“false evidence appearing real” or “f*ck everything and run”) causes unnecessary inhibitions which obstruct the generation of new ideas on a biochemical and neurological level.

Get over impostor syndrome

Drop comparisons

Eliminate distractions

Communication addiction

Habits toIncorporate

Habits to Incorporate• Show up everyday• Gather up goodness• Get it down• Get physical• Relax. Open. Let go. Receive.

Show up everyday

Clarify and strengthen habit fields

Work with time

Be willing

Gather up Goodness

“We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.”- Goethe

Collect and Curate

Tools• Zootool.com • Evernote• Imgspark.com • Diigo• Scrnshots.com • Delicious• Vi.sualize.us • Flickr• Emberapp.com

Get it down

Capture ideas as they come

Sketchnotes, mind-mapping, etc.

Get physical

Take a walk

Balances your brain

Think with your hands

Relax. Open. Let Go. Receive.

Calm your brain cells

Suck at it (or be wrong)• “Being right keeps us in place. Being wrong forces us to explore.”• – Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From

“An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.”- Dr. Edwin Land

Reframe #fail

Delegate

Outcomes

Outcomes• Express. Produce.• Flow

Express. Produce.

What you produce is unique• Find your voice and sing your song• Create what you want to see/use• (Gather like an aficiando and) Repurpose like an artist

Find Flow

The stage is set for Flow• Clear a space – work area, time, head• Have a goal: know what you want to achieve and what it looks like• Have the necessary materials on hand• Eliminate distractions• Practice• Don’t force it

It Takes Two

It Takes Two• Externalize• Invite

“Creation does not have to be a tormented process – it can be a peculiar, wondrous, bizarre conversation and collaboration between you and the strange external entity that is not quite you.”- Elizabeth Gilbert, Nuturing

Externalize

Genius

“Genius is being able to understand the essence without having all of the information….Genius is the ability to see through to the essential.”

Bring out your inner GeniusAs opposed to “being” a genius, consider that you have a genius – a mystical spirit that accompanies you and inspires and helps you to create fantastic work.

MusesThree original muses:• Melete - practice or occasion• Aoide – voice or song• Mneme – memoryMuses were thought to be the true speakers for whom an artist is merely the mouthpiece. Muses inspire people to do their best.

Ideas & Creative Spark“The world is being circled by ideas and creativity that wants to made manifest and are looking for portals to come through…”

“…If you don’t do it, it will find someone else.” - Elizabeth Gilbert

You are an avatar for ideas

Extend an Invitation

You’re Doin’ It Wrong“My f*cking book won’t tell me its name!”“Well, if you’re going to talk to it like that, it’s not going to tell you anything.”

Sweet talk your ideas

Engage in regular dialogue

The Way of Many

The Way of Many• Collective Ideation• Collaborate: Share and learn,• Teach and Master

Collective Ideation

The Goal:To be whirling in a melee of ideas!

Incubate

Ideas are a network…not an event.

• Ideas are cobbled together from whatever we have nearby (or invite to come to us)• Ideas are borne from chaotic social environments

Intellectual diversity• Immerse yourself in intellectually diverse environments

This will allow for slow hunches

Slow Hunch tips• Give ideas time to simmer, to develop into hunches• Ideas often have long incubation periods: they fade into view over time• Share hunches with others – this sets the stage for the aha/eureka moment

Collaborate: Share and Learn

Share time and mind• Invite others to wonder with you• Share mistakes – show your imperfections (both you and others can learn from it)

Make little betsThe creative process is a hands-on experiment.• Try something. Get feedback. Refine. Get more feedback.• d.school process: observe, suggest, tinker, review feedback, reiterate

Teach and Master

“To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach.”

Taking it up a notchTeaching combines everything that has been mentioned and takes knowledge and ideas to a whole new level.

Disciplineis Victory

The goal: creative confidence“…the confidence that, when given a difficult problem, we have a methodology that enables us to come up with a solution that nobody has before.”David Kelley, Ideo

It does work

“Chance favors the connected mind.”– Steven Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From

“Inspiration favors the creatively disciplined mind.”- Denise Jacobs, The Art of Disciplined Creativity

Shameless Self-Promotion #1 The CSS Detective Guide CSSDetectiveGuide.com twitter.com/cssdetective Get 35% off at PeachPit.com with the discount code “NETMAG”

Shameless Self-Promotion #2 InterAct With Web Standards: A Holistic Approach to Web Design InterActWithWebStandards.com twitter.com/waspinteract

Thank you!denisejacobs.comdenise@denisejacobs.comtwitter.com/denisejacobsslideshare.net/denisejacobs

http://thecuriousbrain.com	5637
http://www.scoop.it	516
http://www.popwuping.com	502
http://blogbrevity.posterous.com	298
http://www.yucezerey.com	239
http://digimolek.com	160
http://for-the-love-of-creativity.tumblr.com	101
http://paper.li	95
http://afleury.posterous.com	44
http://alvarograsso.tumblr.com	24
http://popwuping.com	21
http://nokia.vrudenko.qs.local	20
http://us-w1.rockmelt.com	17
http://www.perspagina.com	13
http://safe.tumblr.com	10
http://doctus.lv	10
http://shaggydog.tumblr.com	8
http://a0.twimg.com	7
http://speakerrate.com	5
http://www.twylah.com	5
http://viktorbjork.collected.info	5
http://rmaptest.com	5
http://design.collected.info	5
http://gentesinbufanda.tumblr.com	3
http://nokia.qs-dev.com	3
http://translate.googleusercontent.com	2
http://feeds.feedburner.com	1
http://translate.google.com	1
http://zonhub.home	1
http://twitter.com	1
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net	1

The Art of Disciplined Creativity

by Denise Jacobs on Jun 11, 2011

Accessibility

Categories

Tags

Upload Details

Usage Rights

31 Embeds 7,760

Statistics

The Art of Disciplined Creativity — Presentation Transcript