“In the two earlier posts in this series, we talked about the need for innovation, the importance of imitation to help develop early artistic successes, and the differences between imitation and plagiarism. Now, we’ve come to the real meat of this topic: How do you build innovation into your creative process? What can you do to put your artistic voice into a project?

For this post, I’ve collected a list of techniques that I use in my own design process. If you’re a new artist, these suggestions should provide a solid foundation for exploring your sense of creativity. For everyone else, I hope you’ll find these methods a perfect complement to your existing processes and add them to your private bag of tricks.”

Read this article from Grim Visions.

“Louise Nevelson is quoted in “Awe Manac” by Jill Bodonsky as saying “If you have creative work, you don’t have age or time.”

I have to agree with that statement. Many days when I am writing I lose track of time. Time seems to melt away when I am involved in a creative activity.”

Read this article from Albert Lea Tribune.

“Should we wait for the apple to fall on our heads?” The opening line by Shiva Subramaniam of Tata Consultancy Service and Founder, The Paper Clip, at the CRN creativity workshop, set the ball rolling for an engaging session on structured creativity.

Held at Interop Mumbai today, the session saw an expert in Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats, Subramanian focus on innovation, creativity, Six Thinking Hats, Lateral Thinking and cross-cultural skills.

“It’s time we have Chief Creativity Officers,” Subramanian insisted. According to him, for the IT industry to truly prosper there needs to be a conscious effort towards formalizing creativity. “Creativity should be a compel, a mandate.”

Read this article from CRN.

“”Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”"

Why did Apple’s ad resonate so well with you? After all, how much time do we spend disagreeing. Admit how happy it can make you when your manager praises you for executing well on an assignment. I know I feel it. No “think different”. More like “think excellence”.

But that Apple ad. It was damn good, wasn’t it? Seemed to reach inside us to something else beside the praise we get for doing an assigned job well. It was celebrating some thing in each of us.”

Read this article from Cloud Ave.

“But why is it that whenever we, as people who wish to be creative, wish to be inspired, we always look to things around us? You always see poignant scenes of artists searching for inspiriting muses, of photographers waiting for perfect moments in time, of writers chasing for new topics and ideas. We constantly look around at our surrounding hoping to find someone or something that will spark new sparks of creativity and allow us to create monumental pieces of work. But why is it that when we want to be creative, we always look to things around us? And never INSIDE of us?”

Read this article from Fuel Your Creativity.

“A major factor causing procrastination is lack of creativity. This find its roots deep in a freelancer’s own life, and specifically in the freelancer’s head. I have discussed the twelve bitches of life which cause me to lack inspiration from time to time. These are the dirty dozen who should be avoided at all times!”

Read this article from FreeLance Shack.

“No sooner had I posted yesterday’s version of this exercise, than James Sherrett of AdHack sent me Google’s presentation from Advertising Week. While much of it doesn’t fit the true definition of social (community, conversation, sharing) it offers some great examples of what you can do with the many platforms, APIs and technology available to us all.

It’s also evidence that in the world of advertising and marketing you better make sure you have plenty of developers in the midst of your “creative” department. And always be thinking in terms of participation, not messaging. The story isn’t the story you tell, it’s the one you inspire. Here are some favorites.”

Read this article from Edward Boches.

“Most of us know what a creative idea was in the days before social media. The TV spot epitomized it: a clever message that got your attention, etched itself into your memory (at least temporarily), and maybe got you to take action. But it was a one-way message, controlled by the sender, void of any role for the viewer.”

Read this article from Edward Boches.

“You’ve heard of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In a nutshell, as humans, our basic needs are: Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem and Self-Actualization. To read more, go here.

Creative people, those who are making things – books, businesses, design, art – have additional needs. Recognizing these needs and making sure they are met are essential to applied creativity.

When we don’t acknowledge our needs, we’re allowing life to dictate our experience. Knowing your needs and being willing to take action to make sure they are met will make the already challenging work of creating much easier.”

Read this article from Journey JuJu.

“A viral video has been doing the rounds. It’s been made by a bed company, Bensons for Beds, based in Cheshire.

It’s billed as an attempt to break the word record for mattress dominoes. It’s had about 600k viewings already. It’s a simple idea well executed. And actually we learn rather a lot about the company in question from what at first glance seems like a rather whimsical vid.”

Read rest of article from BT Tradespace.