By Grace Muthoni
The creative process is the flow of thoughts and actions that leads to the final shape of an idea.
We prefer to admire the best designs in the industry and marvel at their simplicity, beauty, and efficacy while looking at creative work.
How can each individual be more creative at work without feeling trapped? The most important thing to remember is that creativity isn’t supernatural, inherited, or simple.
This article will detail a creative process that you will go through when generating ideas and creating fantastic work to understand the power of creativity.
1. Preparation
This level requires you to immerse yourself in the material thoroughly. This process usually starts with a creative brief and includes brand research, target audience research, and inspiration from outside sources.
For example, if you’re a writer, you’re probably reading other works in the same genre. If you’re a musician, you’re probably listening to music that inspires you.
An artist will be looking at all the background research, while an entrepreneur or marketer will look at previous market research and what the companies have done before.
Graphic designers and digital artists belong to the same creative class.
2. Incubation
For most creatives, this is where the magic happens. This phase of the creative process involves letting the thoughts marinate in our subconscious after observing all of the facts from the preparation phase.
The incubation step is where you take a break from the problem and do something else, such as grab a bite to eat, go for a fun outing, or watch TV.
3. Illumination
Illumination is the “lightbulb” moment when inspiration strikes you like a bolt of lightning.
When two unconnected thoughts bounce around in your head for a while and collide to produce something great, that’s when the best ideas happen.
When this moment occurs, you might run to your sketchbook or keyboard to scribble it down before it passes you.
4. Evaluation
Evaluation is a very tricky part, where you have to sort through all of the ideas and decide which one’s work and which ones don’t.
It is usually when client feedback enters the picture, and you, your team, and the client weigh the pros and cons of various options before deciding which one is best for the problem at hand.
5. Implementation
You have done the work, narrowed it down, and decided on a direction. The final product gets produced in implementation, where experience, knowledge, and work hours come into play.
The writer’s final draft, the artist’s finished piece, the musician’s live performance. After this stage, the satisfaction of a job well done makes all the hours of hard work worth it.
People in creative industries spend thousands of hours repeating and perfecting this process to figure out what works for them, but that doesn’t mean only designers and writers can use it.
Conclusion
These techniques will not only help you understand the creatives you work with, but they will also help you be more creative in any field.
Invest 100% of your time and energy into honing your creative ability. Do not procrastinate on your efforts. Set goals, enlist help, and set aside time each day to improve your skills.
Use these stages in your job to help you create more innovative, creative work that will wow your clients and yourself.
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