CREATIVITY

Ideas and thoughts on Creativity:

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns. Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way. It is also a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing...it makes life more fun and more interesting." - Edward de Bono

"Out of limitation come creativity." - Debbie Allen

"A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed limitations." - Gerald G. Jampolsky

"Problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them." - Albert Einstein

"Can anybody be given a great degree of creativity? No. They can be given the equipment to develop it - if they have it in them in the first place." - George Shearing

"Creativity and artistic endeavours have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music." - Herbie Hancock

How have you tried to facilitate and encourage your own creativity?

Creativity is a component which each everyone of us has, although it is how we express our own creativity which makes us differ from everyone else. Not everyone has the same idea of what is creative and what isn't, I feel that everyone is creative because we all have imaginations. Our imaginations allow us to build a fantasy where we are able to combine our individual thoughts, opinions and emotions to create something that is unique and different from everyone else. I do feel like creativity is built in everyone of us, but only a few people are able to use it to their potential. People like Madonna, Picasso, Andy Warhol, these people are icons and have shape the world we live in today. If we look at Music, artists such as Lady Gaga, you can clearly see the resemblance of Madonna's younger career being relived in the 21st Century. As technology is constantly evolving, we are able to develop the past and improve it with the materials and components we have today. Although we do have to remember that without the past, I do not think that we are able to move onto the future because there would be nothing to move on from.



- Did you experience limits/blocks on your own creativity?

I would say that I did not experience any 'Limits' to my creativity, I would say that there have been 'blocks' or obstacles which have tried to stop me from doing what I want to do. But I think that nothing has really limited or blocked my creativity, you learn to overcome what's in front of you and you move on from it, by overcoming and working out what you need to do, I think that you'll achieve something that is far greater than you've ever achieved. Especially if there is a lot of blocks or obstacles trying to stop you from reaching your goal, it makes it even more satisfying when you find an answer to overcome it, its then that the final result will be yours.


- How easy/difficult was it to be creative while still working to the brief?

I found that it was actually quite easy and hard at times when working to a brief. The easy parts was that the Brief gave me a clear instruction of what to do, like for the AS magazine, the brief was to make a music magazine, not a fashion or a lifestyle but a music one. At first I wanted to make a fashion magazine instead, but as I had to follow the brief, I was able to bring in aspects of Fashion into it. I was able to keep the core of the magazine Music related, but then I added elements which made it fashion forward but still kept the music concept right on top of my mind.

- Did working within conventions stifle your creativity?

I don't think that working within conventions stifled my creativity, I feel that I was able to combine an aspect of any idea into my product all the while still sticking to the conventions of the product. For example with the digipak I created to go with my Music Video. I did not follow the usual conventions of a digipak as the majority of the digipaks out there feature pictures of the artists or bands predominantly so the audience can easily spot it if they wanted to buy it. Instead of following this, I chose to take a different path with using shots I had taken when we went to London to shoot the scenes for our music video. Even though this doesn't fall into the 'coventions' of a digipak, I found that the end result was quite effected in being professional looking, and also to creating a sort of 'brand' for my band without actually featuring them on the digipak or the poster.

- To what extent did you need to work with others and ‘bounce ideas’ off other people to be truly creative?

I would say that working around and with other people definitely helped me develop my ideas, I was able to listen to what their ideas were and I was able to give them feedback about what I thought about it and visa versa. By working together or just being around people while you are trying to generate new ideas definitely helps, because you may hear something another person has said that you probably wouldn't have even thought off and you could take an aspect of that and include it into your work

How much of your creativity was about trying to picture things in your mind’s eye?

I would say that a my imagination was able to picture the creative ideas I had in my mind, I found that this was very helpful when it came to trying to figure what what my final product would look like. Like with my music video, I was able to visualise the shots in my mind and incorporate it where I thought it would be most effective.

- How much of your creativity was about trial and error?

I would say that my creativity definitely depending on trial and error, some things that I picture in my mind don't look the same in real life. For example with our music video, I thought that it would actually be a good idea to ghost the people while we were in London. But when I watched it back, this didn't look so good so we just kept the picture normal.

- To what extent was a lack of confidence an issue in terms of your creativity?

I would say that a lack of experience affected my confidence in terms of my creativity, I wasn't sure that if my ideas were 'right' or 'wrong' and if it even fitted to the brief. But when during the process of making my products, I began to be more confident with my creative ideas.

- To what extent was a lack of technical competence/confidence an obstacle to your creativity?

To an extent, the lack of technical knowledge did limit me from portraying the creative ideas I had in my mind. But when I had learnt how to use the technical equipments and software, it was very easy to bring my ideas ti life and show them through my work.