Nearly all outstanding ideas follow a similar creative process and this article describes how this process works. Understanding this is vital since creative thinking is one of the most beneficial skills you can possess. Nearly every challenge you confront at work and in life can benefit from new solutions, lateral thinking, and creative ideas.
Anyone may learn to be creative by applying these five methods. That's not to imply that being creative is easy. Uncovering your creative genius demands guts and loads of work. However, this five-step strategy should assist in demystifying the creative process and highlight the route to more original thinking.
To clarify how this method works, let me tell you a little story.
A Problem in Need of a Creative Solution
In 1870s, newspapers and printers confronted a very specialized and highly costly dilemma. Photography was a new and fascinating medium at the time. Readers wanted to see more photographs, but nobody could figure out how to print photographs rapidly and affordable.
For example, if a newspaper wanted to print an image in 1870s, they had to pay an engraver to etch a replica of the photograph onto a steel plate by hand. These plates were used to press the image onto the page, however they generally cracked after just a few usages. This process of photo-engraving, you may guess, was extraordinarily time consuming and expensive.
The man who invented a remedy to this difficulty was named Frederic Eugene Ives. He went on to become a leader in the field of photography and possessed over 70 patents by the conclusion of his career. His narrative of creativity and innovation, which I will relate to now, is a valuable case study for understanding the 5 fundamental elements of the creative process.
Flash of Insight
Ives began his start as a printer apprentice in Ithaca, New York. After two years of learning the ins and outs of the printing process, he began supervising the photographic laboratory at neighboring Cornell University. He spent the rest of the decade experimenting with new photography techniques and learning about cameras, printers, and optics.
In 1881, Ives had a flash of insight regarding superior printing technology.
“While operating my photostereotype process in Ithaca, I explored the problem of halftone process,” Ives added. “I went to bed one night in a state of brain fog about the problem, and the instant I woke in the morning saw before me, apparently projected on the ceiling, the entirely worked out process and equipment in operation.”
Ives swiftly transformed his concept into reality and copyrighted his printing process in 1881. He spent the remainder of the decade improving upon it. By 1885, he had created a streamlined procedure that provided even better results. The Ives Process, as it came to be called, decreased the cost of printing images by 15x and remained the dominant printing technique for the following 80 years.
Alright, now let's explore what lessons we can draw from Ives about the creative process.
The printing process created by Frederic Eugene Ives employed a technology called “halftone printing” to divide a photograph down into a sequence of small dots. The image looks like a collection of dots up close, but when viewed from a regular distance the dots merge together to produce a picture with varied hues of gray. (Source: Unknown.)
5 Stages of the Creative Process
In 1940, an advertising executive named James Webb Young produced a short booklet titled, A Technique for Producing Ideas. In this guide, he made a simple, yet significant assertion on producing creative ideas.
According to Young, unique ideas come when you build fresh combinations of old elements. In other words, creative thinking is not about inventing anything new from a blank slate, but rather about taking what is already existing and mixing those bits and pieces in a way that has not been done previously.
Most importantly, the ability to produce new combinations rests upon your ability to see the interconnections between concepts. If you can build a fresh link between two old concepts, you have done something creative.
Young thought this process of creative connection always occurred in five steps.
Gather new material. First, you learn. During this stage you focus on 1) studying particular content directly connected to your activity and 2) acquiring broader content by becoming captivated with a wide range of subjects.
Thoroughly work over the materials in your thoughts. During this stage, you review what you have learnt by looking at the facts from many aspects and experimenting with fitting various ideas together.
Step away from the problem. Next, you put the matter entirely out of your mind and go do something else that stimulates you and energizes you.
Let your idea return to you. At some point, but only after you have stopped thinking about it, your idea will come back to you with a flash of insight and renewed enthusiasm.
Shape and improve your idea depending on comments. For any concept to succeed, you must release it out into the public, submit it to critique, and change it as needed.
Ideas in Practice
The creative method utilized by Frederic Eugene Ives presents a perfect example of these five processes in action.
First, Ives obtained new material. He spent two years working as a printer's apprentice and then four years leading the photographic laboratory at Cornell University. These encounters gave him a lot of material to draw upon and develop analogies between photography and printing.
Second, Ives began to mentally work over all he learnt. By 1878, Ives was devoting practically all of his time experimenting with new techniques. He was continuously fiddling and experimenting with different ways of bringing things together.
Third, Ives stepped away from the situation. In this case, he went to sleep for a few hours before his flash of understanding. Letting creative issues rest for longer lengths of time can work as well. Regardless of how long you step away, you need to do something that fascinates you and keeps your mind off of the problem.
Fourth, his idea returned to him. Ives awakened with the solution to his difficulty laid out before him. (On a personal note, I often find creative thoughts hit me exactly as I am lying down for sleep. Once I give my brain permission to stop working for the day, the solution arrives effortlessly.)
Ives eventually proceeded to tweak his idea for years. In fact, he enhanced so many features of the technique he filed a second patent. This is an important topic that is often missed. It can be tempting to fall in love with the initial form of your concept, but great ideas always develop.
The Creative Process in Short
“An idea is a feat of association, and the height of it is a good metaphor.”
—Robert Frost
The creative process is the act of forging new connections between previous ideas. Thus, we might say creative thinking is the task of recognizing interconnections between concepts.
One way to approach creative challenges is by following the five-step process of 1) gathering material, 2) intensely working over the material in your mind, 3) stepping away from the problem, 4) allowing the idea to come back to you naturally, and 5) testing your idea in the real world and adjusting it based on feedback.
Being creative isn't about being the first (or only) person to think of an idea. More often, innovation is about linking ideas.
