Creativity takes many forms and has many applications, in the arts, sciences and business – including composition, discovery, problem-solving and new product development.
These articles will help you boost your creativity in whatever field you work.
These articles examine the creative process from different angles, including the effect of environment, different thinking styles, and the roles played by different people in a team environment. They also draw inspiration from artists and thinkers including Brian Eno, Mozart, Thomas Heatherwick and Roger von Oech.
The emphasis is on drawing out the practical implications of each subject, offering you tips and advice that will help you improve your own work.
Is It Better to Be a Creative Generalist or a Specialist?
What the Clangers Really Said (and How it Can Make Your Work Better)
What Daily Meditation Can Do for Your Creativity
RSS Creativity – Routines, Systems, Spontaneity
How Interruptions Can Make You More Creative
Why You Need to Be Disorganised to Be Creative
What Amadeus Shows Us About Creativity
Four Questions You Must Ask Before Beginning Any Creative Project
Getting in Touch with Creativity – Roger von Oech’s Ball of Whacks
25 Years of Creative Whacks – An Interview with Roger von Oech
Brian Eno – 77 Million Paintings
Creative Synaesthesia – If You See What I’m Saying
The Thinkubator and Other Creative Envioronments
The Ingenious Thomas Heatherwick
3 Steps to Realising Creativity
Creativity Beyond the Creatives
When you love your work, being ‘blocked’ can be incredibly frustrating. And if you rely on your inspiration for a living, it can be costly as well. These articles look at different types of block – and what you can do about them.
What Writer’s Block and Stage Fright Have In Common
What’s the Difference Between Incubation and Procrastination?
10 Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block
Is Burnout Inevitable in the Creative Industries?
Few subjects cause as many arguments as the assessment of creative or artistic work. Whether you’re arguing with a friend about your favourite films, or negotiating the sign-off of a major project with a client, it’s hard to establish a definitive judgment that everyone will agree with.
These articles will help you have more constructive conversations, by establishing criteria and delivering effective feedback that doesn’t puncture too many egos! They also examine the question of how important it is for a creator to follow her own standards, as opposed to incorporating feedback from others.
‘Too Many Notes’ – How Not to Give Feedback on Creative Work
5 Tips for Giving Feedback on Creative Work
What Seamus Heaney Taught Me About Giving Feedback
6 Tips for Dealing with Feedback on Your Creative Work
Three Ways to Assess Your Own Creative Work
Should Artists Give the Audience What They Want?
Mark McGuinness is a business coach and trainer specialising in work with creative artists and innovative companies. Since 1996 he has worked with professionals in all kinds of media – including novelists, actors, graphic designers, visual artists, classical and popular musicians, DJs, composers, copywriters, film directors, programmers and architects.
He has also consulted for organisations including Channel 4, the BBC, Transport for London, The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, Gist, Vodafone, BT, The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Arts Council and Arts & Business. To hear what Mark’s clients say about him, read his testimonials page.
Mark’s own creative medium is poetry, which he writes about on his poetry blog. He originally qualified as a psychotherapist, and holds an MA in Creative and Media Enterprises (with distinction) from the University of Warwick.