CREATIVE TECHNIQUES – By @EvaMenovsky
By Eva Menovsky
CREATIVE TECHNIQUES
I made a list of all the creative techniques that we learned over the first term of SCA.
As Marc describes Creativity: an expression of an original idea that provides value.
Or to put it in a mathematical solution:
Creativity = knowledge + problem + divergent thinking + collaboration
Knowledge comes from collecting the dots.
Collecting the dots means experiencing different things, doing things you wouldn’t normally do, reading/ watching/ seeing different things.
The more diversity you experience, the better your creative work will be.
Marc always describes it as being a squirrel, how a squirrel collects its nuts to be fed during the winter, that’s how creatives should collect dots.
Collect dots, so you can survive the periods of hard work and darkness and still take inspiration from them.
Most creatives solve problems.
One technique we learn is thinking backwards.
Think backwards = everything solves and creates problems.
These means think of something that solves a problem, now think of other problems it creates.
From that, you make a wish.
I wish… that it wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
From that, you create a well-defined problem.
Well defined problems = “wouldn’t it be great if…” / “I wish…” / “what I really would like to see is…”
Where you can see what the problem really is. The more well defined you make it, the better and creative your solution is going to be.
As Marc always says, a problem well defined is a problem halfway solved.
From our problem, we write Get To By’s.
Get to by’s are an easy way to make your own brief.
Get: the mindset people have
To: the desired mindset
By: what are you going to give them as a solution
To find your target audience you need to write persona’s.
Think of the kind of person that might buy your product and then ask yourself:
What are they called? Where are they from? What do they do?
What do they like and what do they dislike? What are their desires and fears?
Why do they buy the product? Or why don’t they buy the product? Why do they buy or not buy it?
Before getting into your creative mind state Marc teaches us to be playful children.
Playful child means being a kid again. Where you express all your thoughts, without thinking about, even when it’s stupid.
Children are extremely creative until they get a self-conscious, you stop expressing your ideas/thoughts cause you think they might be dumb or stupid.
From our most stupid and dumb ideas, come the best ones.
Techniques to use to provoke or test your divergent thinking:
Sticky-test is used to see how good your idea is, you rate your idea with the following technique from 0 to 10
Simple: What’s the core of the message? Communicate it in our sentence.
Unexpected: Do something no one has ever done before.
Concrete: Use sensory language, make it understandable for everyone with one message at the core.
Credible: Make sure it fits the brand. Would the brand actually do this? Does it compliment their values?
Emotional: People care about people, connect with human beings on an emotional level. Make them laugh, cry or entertained.
Story: Story drives action. Help people see how an existing problem might change. Humans engage with story.
And that spells our SUCCES
(Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath)
SCA then teaches us to scamp, scamping are quick drawings of how your ads/ideas might look like.
Put all your ideas on paper with a key line, to show how it would look in the real world.
12 Creative Techniques for Scamping:
1. What’s the logical conclusion?
2. What’s the illogical conclusion?
3. Beat up the enemy.
4. Use the medium.
5. Remove all the words.
6. Remove all the pictures.
7. Play with scale.
8. Create a skewed world.
9. What’s it like?
10. Tell the truth.
11. Celebrate the problem.
12. Make it a game.
Another technique is the 4 R’s:
1. Re-expression: Re–express the idea in a different way or point of view.
2. Revolution: Revolution is turning an idea on its head. Taking assumptions and reversing or removing them.
3. Related worlds: Think of a related world and use ideas from that world.
4. Random: Forcing a connection with a random object. Take any book, and pick a random word. Try to come up with as many ideas as possible.
List of opposites is used when you want to break the rules. Think of 4 elements this product has. The shape, colour, size? When is it used or what is it made of?
Write those down and think of all the opposite of that element.
6 hats is also used to see how good your idea is, although this works more when your idea is fresh.
Blue: Process – What thinking is needed? What do we need to do? When is the deadline? Who’s doing what? Organising and planning for action.
Green: Creativity – Ideas, possibilities, solutions. What’s next? What else? What if…? What about…? What would happen if…? Make a good idea great.
Yellow: Benefits – Why is it great? What are the benefits? Who wins? Why is it useful? There is beauty om everything if we look hard enough.
Red: Gut – What’s my gut telling me? How do I feel? Share your emotions.
White: Facts & Figueres – What do I know? What do I need to find out? How will I get the information I need? What facts, figures, stats and sources can I find.
Black: Problems – What can go wrong? What isn’t right? What’s not working? Be brutal with your babies.
(Six thinking hats by Edward de Bono)
Collaboration starts when you work together with your partner, your colleagues or mentors.
