- Creativity, it's a concept that fascinates us all,
and it's one of the hardest topics I discuss.
As designers, it's something we are faced with every day,
and it's something that is highly sought after.
In design industries,
creativity is seen as like a source of power
or a type of prestige that ultimately allows
us to work on great projects.
So what makes us creative?
Where does it come from?
And is there a way to get more of it and increase it?
In this video, I'll be answering a question
from Rana Sarmad who asks,
how would you compare creativity to experience?
And does more experience mean more creativity?
Well, to answer this question,
it will help to discuss the differences
between creativity and experience,
and the synergy they have in order to develop
your potential and harness your creativity to be successful.
So what is creativity?
Now, when we think of creativity,
it's easy to think of the traditional stereotypes
such as playing an instrument, drawing, painting, sculpture,
and writing to name a few.
After all, they are called the creative arts,
but there is so much more to creativity
than the stereotypes.
I believe creativity is a force of nature.
It's an energy, a light we all have inside us.
It is in our nature to interpret and understand the world
around us and transmitted back out into the world
in our own way.
Make no mistake, we are all creative.
To be human is to be creative.
We are creative every day with our dreams, our spontaneity,
our imagination, our conversations, our thoughts,
our choices, and our actions.
You can be creative right now and leave a comment, like,
and subscribe to this channel.
So if we're all creative,
then why are we all not artists and designers?
Well, design and art is applied creativity.
To create art and design is a conscious act
and a choice to think and work towards a creative goal
and make conscious decisions.
Now, not everyone is interested in
or compelled to be consciously creative.
So how does that differ to experience?
Well, unlike creativity, which is in our nature,
experience, needs to be stumbled upon,
sought after, and acquired.
When considering experience,
it's important to note the difference
between professional experience and life experience
and how creativity relates to both.
Professional experience is everything you learn on the job,
the way you deal with clients,
the methods you use when approaching a project,
and your design process.
These are all developed as you learn
and gain professional experience
and progress in your career.
In contrast, life experience is
everything else you learn in life.
This could come from the relationships you form,
mistakes you make, the values you hold, circumstances,
the opportunities you choose to take,
an act of creativity you perform and practice.
Ultimately, professional and life experience will become a
never ending cycle and fuel each other.
For those starting off in their creative career,
who often lack professional experience,
it will help to keep in mind how one sees
that own creativity and how it will need to be harnessed
in a professional capacity in order to be successful.
Now, professional experience will not make
you more creative, it will simply make
you more focused and appropriate.
However, life experience can inspire
and power your creativity.
Without life experience, we have no memories, no knowledge,
no information, no experience of practicing,
nothing to react to, no ingredients to base
our creativity on.
And without professional experience,
we can lack the ability to shape our creativity
into practical solutions.
Think of creativity as your potential and your light.
If you can draw, good.
You're a brilliant painter, amazing.
You've got a knack for coding, awesome.
You're a master in Photoshop, great.
You can come up with profound ideas, brilliant.
If you are any of those things then you may be able
to shine pretty bright,
but all these skills really offer is a degree of potential.
I have seen so many creative and talented people in my time
who have shown really bright,
they'll have been unsuccessful in a professional capacity
for a variety of reasons.
They don't choose to go professional.
They don't know how to capitalize on their creativity.
Lack of professional experience can leave one a bit naive.
They struggled to channel their creativity
for a specific goal.
They lack experience and initiative,
and they lack consistency.
Now, if you want to be creative in a professional capacity,
it's professional experience that opens doors
to where you want to go
because to be successful requires a lot
more than creativity.
Young and inexperienced designers will typically have a lot
of creative potential and perhaps some life experience,
which is encouraged in school or university.
Though, in the professional world of design,
you will need skills and experience
to apply your creativity they may not have taught
you in school like discipline, judgment,
and how to channel your creativity
to solve specific problems.
It can be difficult for new designers
to do this in a professional capacity
because they won't have worked on many projects,
especially big projects with a wide scope
of problems to be solved.
Think of life experience as your journey and your power.
Life experience is incredibly valuable
because it ultimately fuels your creativity.
Life experience is the ingredients that inspires
all creativity and includes things
such as listening and learning, reading and research,
the act of practicing your craft, making mistakes,
visiting art galleries, or museums,
traveling and experiencing culture, listening to music,
using our imagination, experiencing emotions,
meeting different people,
thought provoking conversations and debate,
watching movies and challenging yourself and others.
Each of these life experiences provides
us with an opportunity to develop, diversify our thinking,
and build skills.
They present us with an opportunity to grow
and experience new ideas, perspectives,
and challenges that we may not otherwise have had.
If you want to be more creative,
I would recommend you seek out more life experience
over professional experience, why?
Because this ultimately inspires our passions,
interests, our direction, and our creative light.
Keeping this life experience in mind,
we use our desire and energy to create,
to express these new found thoughts,
feelings, and perspectives.
When it comes to applying this in a professional capacity,
it's how well we are able to channel our life experience
through our creativity and use it as inspiration
to produce creative solutions for a specific purpose
that determines our success.
Think of professional experience as the pathway
and your torch.
Professional experience is also valuable
because it ultimately focuses your creativity
and includes things such as collaboration, criticism,
team work, focus, and process.
Professional experience is not creativity,
it's more practical.
It's simply knowing how to channel your creativity
to meet briefs and solve specific problems appropriately.
Let's take the design process, for example,
a design process is typically practiced,
tested, and harnessed over years of professional experience.
Does this make you more creative?
I doubt you know,
however, what a good design process does is turn
your creative light into a laser beam.
So if life experiences your power and your creativity is
your light, then professional experience is your torch
to focus your creativity.
This is something that took me a little while to build.
I was in a full time role for several years
as an in house designer.
I feel I have always been really creative.
My light has always been quite bright,
but as a young designer,
I was a little naive suffering from lack
of professional experience and guidance.
For a long time, I was going nowhere.
I applied for so many jobs, and I'll admit
that the first couple of years were pretty tough.
Interview after interview, I was always told
they love what they saw, but I always missed out
because I never had enough professional experience
or someone else had more experience than I did.
Looking back on this now, I see that really,
they were telling me that I had a lot of creative potential,
but they just weren't seeing good examples of how well
I channeled my creativity appropriately.
Now, I could have easily slipped through the net, given up
and been another designer with a degree
who didn't work professionally,
but I stayed hungry and determined to succeed.
After a few years, I was able to build
up my professional experience,
and got better at channeling my creativity
into solutions clients were willing to hire me for,
I was able to use my professional experience,
my torch to better focus my creativity.
Then I went freelance where I had lots of opportunities
like working at over 40 different design studios,
working with many senior designers,
and learning new ways of tackling projects.
Here, I had the opportunity to unleash my creativity
to its fullest potential.
Personally, I don't think I am any more
or less creative today than I was say, 10 years ago.
But with time, determination, and professional experience,
I have learned a lot to become more adept
and proficient at channeling my creativity
for appropriate solutions that clients want to pay me for.
So if you are struggling with your creativity,
perhaps the question you should ask yourself is not,
how do I be more creative?
But how do I focus my creativity?
How much creativity do we really need, anyway?
It is not something that can be measured,
but it is something that can be focused.
So remember, life experience is power,
creativity is your light,
and professional experience is your torch.
If you want your light to shine brighter,
then get more life experience to power your light.
And if you want to better focus your creativity,
you should seek to gain more professional experience.
If you are starting out, feel your creative
and you love it so much that you want a career
that allows you to express your creativity
and get paid for it.
It can be tough at the start
to acquire professional experience,
be patient and keep applying yourself.
If you keep learning and practicing,
in time you'll gain the professional experience
that will help you channel your creativity
and achieve your goals.
Now, if you feel you are really creative,
but struggling with how to focus it,
then try and improve on your design process.
Remember, a combination of life experience
and professional experience will help fuel your creativity.
So what do you think,
do you believe more experienced means you are more creative,
share your thoughts in the comment section.
And if any of you have any other questions regarding design,
be sure to pop them in the description
or email me at creative@garethdavidstudio.com,
and I will look to get back to you with a thorough answer.
Also, be sure to hit that subscribe button
as there will be more designed Q and A video is
like this future.
Until then, have fun guys, and I'll see you next time.
(upbeat music)