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Ah Ha

One of my favourite writers on creativity, Arthur Koestler, has a unique way of describing three kinds of creativity:

ARTISTIC: Ahhhhhhhh!
SCIENTIFIC: Ah-Ha!
COMIC: Ha-Ha!

In The Act of Creation, Arthur Koestler lists three types of creative individual - the Artist, the Sage and the Jester - which are you?

Artist

The Artist looks for beauty, elegance of form and solution. It is probably the role closest to the common perception of creativity. For the Artist things have to fit and feel right - this role is about synthesis, poetry and intuition. When the Artist knows something is right this is the "Aahh" moment.
Sage

The Sage is the problem solver, using tools of analysis to dissect the challenge into its component parts and see how they work. This is a role for the intellect fired by flashes of inspiration - the scientist, inventor and crossword puzzle solver. When the Sage discovers something this is the "Ah ha!" moment.
Jester

The Jester is an often undervalued role, especially in business. The Jester pokes fun at things and plays with them, taking them to pieces and rearranging them in unusual ways. The Jester often produces ludicrous results - the "Ha ha" moment - but very often this is what is needed to break out of a conceptual rut. Like the court Jester of old, the creative Jester can think the unthinkable - and say it.

How creative can you be on the back of a business card?

I liked these by www.gapingvoid.com

Bubble-us helps you brainstorm on-line...

Try it out...it's easy and it might help you to be more creative!

http://bubbl.us/edit.php

Objectified trailer

A new documentary film by Gary Hustwit,director of Helvetica coming to a screen near you soon!

Trend Report: Green, Co-mingling Perspectives

An really interesting presentation about "green" trends and where we go next...

Trend Report: Green, Co-mingling Perspectives

View more presentations from Tim Stock. (tags: economy recession)

Understand Innovation in 5 Minutes

This presentation explains the difference between innovation and invention...and why innovation is so important. Take a look and think about it...

Understand Innovation in 5 Minutes

View more presentations from Gordon Graham. (tags: online elearning)

More Warm up Exercises

"Do you know me?"

Each person is given a nametag and an index card. The name tag has the name of another person in the group on it. Everyone is told to circulate, meet, mix and mingle to gather information, insights or stories about the person on their tag from group members. The opening line "Do you know me?" is used to help generate clues and conversation. The index card is to be used to write down the information collected. At the end of a designated time - about 15 minutes, each participant introduces their "name tag" and its person to the group.



A brand called me!

Each person is given a blank name tag. Explain to the group that corporations are recognized by a specific logo or symbol. (McDonalds arches, Apple Computer's Apple, etc.) They are given 2 minutes to draw their personal logo. This logo should reflect their personality, their interests, major or any thing they would like other people to know about them. Then give the group time to mingle and see what each others logo looks like. When it looks like the entire group has mixed, instruct everybody with a similar logo to form a small group. You may be surprised at how many similarities there are in your group.

Color Jacuzzi:

The object of this small group exercise is to get the group to quickly meet the other members. The facilitator calls out a color of the rainbow: - for example RED:

Red typically is the stop/turn- off color - so each member of the group quickly tells what is the one thing (that they can disclose in public) that is really a turn off to them .

Orange: is the motivation color - what motivates them

Yellow: is the inspiration or creativity color - what was the best idea they've had

Green: is the money color - what they plan to do for money, or the dumbest thing they ever did for money.

Blue: is the sky's the limit color - what is your favorite fantasy about your future

Indigo: is an odd, or different color - what is the most daring thing they ever did.

Purple: is the color of royalty - if you were ruler of the universe for a day - what is the first thing you would do?

The 10 rules of effective language

I liked this, Dr Luntz has just written a book about this subject Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, it's What People Hear by Dr Frank Luntz (£15.99, Hyperion)

This is from www.psychologies.co.uk

From 'Words That Work' by Dr Frank Luntz

1. Simplicity: use small words. The more simply an idea is presented, the easier it is to understand – and, therefore, the more credible it will be.

2. Brevity: use short sentences. This is less about self-restraint than it is a matter of finding exactly the right piece of the language jigsaw puzzle to fit the precise space you’re trying to fill.

3. Credibility is as important as philosophy. If your words lack sincerity, if they contradict accepted facts, circumstances or perceptions, they will lack impact. Tell people who you are or what you do. Then be that person, and do what you have said you would do.

4. Consistency matters. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Remember, you may be making yourself sick by saying the same exact thing for the umpteenth time, but many in your audience will be hearing it for the first time.
5But offer something new. If something doesn’t shock us or bores us, we move on to something else. If what you say generates an ‘I didn’t know that’ response, you have succeeded.

6. Sound and texture matter. The sounds and textures of words should be just as memorable as the words themselves. The rhythm of language is in itself musical.

7. Speak aspirationally. Messages need to say what people want to hear, to touch people at the most fundamental, primal level, by speaking to their deepest hopes, fears and dreams. The best speeches make idealists of us all.

8. Visualise. Paint a vivid picture. Take M&M’s: ‘Melts in your mouth, not in your hand’. The slogans we remember for a lifetime almost always have a strong visual component, something we can see and almost feel.

9. Ask a question. A customer complaining to the shop manager that her meat has too much fat in it is less effective than if she asked: ‘Does this look lean to you?’. Similarly, asking ‘What would you do if you were in my shoes?’, puts direct pressure on the recipient of your complaint to see things your way. Making a statement in the form of a rhetorical question makes the reaction personal.

10. Provide context. You have to give people the ‘why’ of a message before you tell them the ‘therefore’ and the ‘so that’. Some people call this framing. I prefer the word context, because it better explains why a particular message matters.

Do you like optical illusions? Then you'll love these...

Michael Bach is a specialist in visual illusion and he has developed a web site with over 80 optical illusions.

So take a look here

Business and Generosity...Generation G

I just picked up this really interesting post on a friend's blog

It's about GENERATION G (a new "recessionary" trend from trendwatching.com)

GENERATION G | "Captures the growing importance of 'generosity' as a leading societal and business mindset. As consumers are disgusted with greed and its current dire consequences for the economy—and while that same upheaval has them longing more than ever for institutions that care—the need for more generosity beautifully coincides with the ongoing (and pre-recession) emergence of an online-fueled culture of individuals who share, give, engage, create and collaborate in large numbers.

In fact, for many, sharing a passion and receiving recognition have replaced 'taking' as the new status symbol. Businesses should follow this societal/behavioral shift, however much it may oppose their decades-old devotion to me, myself and I.”

You can see the whole article http://trendwatching.com/briefing/

Need help with naming your business?...

Then this is the place to go..."The Fantabulous Breadline Design"

As there are going to be so many freelancers out there now with the new "auto-entrepreneur" scheme, this handy little web-site could be just what you need to help you think of names for your business...

Take a look... "flyingweasel.com" is memorable, non?

The Swankiest Homeless Shelter in the World...

"Klaus Weigelt sat on a red leather sofa beneath a sun-yellow, gold framed oil painting and watched the smoke from his cigarette as it floated towards the chandelier above his head.

"Not long ago, I was down and out in Berlin," said the former electrician. "Now I'm sitting in the lap of luxury."

Weigelt, 57, is a resident in Haus Schöneweide in a suburb of south-east Berlin, a refuge for homeless men which, following a €100,000 (£98,000) refit, has been dubbed the swankiest homeless shelter in the world.

Before its revamp, the shelter, which was tiled in blue from top to bottom, resembled the cold interior of a butcher's shop. But Berlin-based concept artist Miriam Kilali took it on herself to rip out the scruffy and less than inspiring decor, and lobbied politicians, furniture shops, designers and friends for materials and funds.

Now Italian wallpapers, gold trimmings, parquet flooring, red carpeting and crystal chandeliers have replaced the tiles, lino flooring and strip lighting that previously defined the face of the three-storey house. The overall effect is of a chic boutique hotel with Mediterranean undertones that would not be out of place in a trendy Berlin quarter.

The finished work of art, which Kilali said resembles a "living painting", is called Reichtum 2.

"It means wealth," she said. "It's a symbol, an attempt to give the 21 men who live here a sense of self-worth and a decent place where they might find dignity and respect - wealth of sorts after all they've been through."

The smell of stale alcohol and tobacco lingers in the air, a reminder that the residents are chronic alcoholics, most of whom suffer from mental disorders and none of whom are likely to recover. "Nobody really has time for alcoholics," said Kilali. "Children and animals yes, but not ageing alcoholic men.

"When we were trying to raise the funds there was a lot of tension over spending such a lot of money and questions as to why these men in particular should benefit. After all, what had they contributed to society?"

Even the residents themselves were sceptical. "They don't tend to like change, because they've generally had too much change in their lives," said Christoph Brenneis, deputy manager of the home. "But we put together a prototype room and gradually they started to come round to the idea - and even helped with the refurbishment and choosing the decor."

The Guardian, 30 December 2008

Indian Highway at the Serpentine, London...

I loved this image taken from the Indian Highway Exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, London. It's The Nemesis of Nations by Bharti Kher, one of the many artworks from Indian artists on display.

Née en 1969 à Londres, Bharti Kher vit à New Delhi depuis les années 1990. Tout comme son mari, Subodh Gupta, elle fait partie de la génération montante des artistes indiens qui mènent aujourd'hui une carrière internationale. Bharti conçoit de spectaculaires environnements d'esprit surréaliste ou fantastique, peuplés de figures hybrides. Séduisantes au premier abord, ces créatures, allégories de la violence ou de la mort, sont en réalité cruelles ou effrayantes, révélant le malaise et le chaos de l'époque.

Born in 1969 in London. Lives and works in New Delhi.
Bharti Kher’s work collects a wide range of images culled from her daily life and surroundings, and
traces the contours of her urban and immigrant experience. The artist questions our notions of race,
identity and origin, and addresses a number of issues such as class, consumerism and feminism, as
well as the relationships between tradition and contemporaneity. Kher is also known for her resin-cast
animals, life-size sculptures of deer, elephants and hyenas, often covered in bindi, the tiny decoration
applied in India to women’s foreheads.



You can see more of her work here

and find out more about the exhibition here

What If.....? An exercise in Creativity and What Iff'ing

What if we could see smells? You'd know the source of the bad smell in the kitchen--a plant, rubbish bin, wastebasket, old food in the refrigerator. You could see the perfume as it wafted off the girl wearing it--a visible "come on." Since we can see farther than we can smell, you could see who had an orange or banana in his lunch bag from across the room. Visible odors could be socially embarrassing in ways not necessary to detail.

Whether or not the "seeing smells" thought suggests the invention of an smell detecting device, a super sniffer like the ones used by the U.S. military to sniff out enemy soldiers, a main benefit of practicing what-iffing is to train the mind to explore unreality or imagined reality, to think about, for a few minutes, the necessary, logical consequences or facts needed to support such a change in real things. Too often when someone gets a new idea, little attempt is made to think about its logical consequences for a few minutes.

Notice when you mention a "what if" to your friends, their reaction will probably be to laugh and change the subject, or to laugh and suggest one funny consequence. There is little attempt to trace probable consequences thoroughly, to outline a full set of associated realities. By not doing so, we are in danger of cutting off many new ideas.

Try It Yourself

What If.

Choose one of the questions below and then trace the reasonable and logical consequences that would follow. You might be sure to think of both good and bad (and perhaps indifferent) consequences. List or describe (in a sentence or two each) at least ten consequences.
What if anyone could set up as a doctor?
What if each home could run the television only one hour a day?
What if petrol grew on trees and was a renewable resource?
What if exams were abolished in college?
What if our pets could talk?
What if we never had to sleep?
What if we could read other people's minds (and they could read ours)?
What if all marriages were automatically cancelled by the state every three years?
What if everybody looked almost exactly alike?
What if clocks and watches didn't exist and daylight lasted six months?