FITC: Day Three

How to Create More, Better, Different

Jason Theodor is from Blast Radius. I thought it was cool that he did his entire presentation on his iPad.

His definition of creativity is that it's the act of connecting things in unexpected ways. He wants to make creativity more accessible to everyone.

His presentation was very interesting because I had never looked at the creative process or creativity in this way.

IBM's consensus revealed that 1500 CEO's surveyed think that creativity is the number one trait in a potential employee.

Creativity is broken down into three parts: Action, Connection, and Deviation. Or in other words, "do, glue, skew". When you have all three of these in balance, you can create magic.

Jason's formula for creative method: .<#>!
What does that mean? 
Period (.): Focus
Greater Than Symbol (<): Induction (get all your ideas out there)
Number Sign (#): Analysis/Synthesis (analyzing and realigning)
Less Than Symbol (>): Deduction/Differentiation
Exclamation Mark (!): Evaluation

CREATIVE TYPES
We all have creative kryptonite. It's the part of us where we have a creative weakness that we need to improve on. It might be Action issues, such as procrastination, where we have lots of ideas, but never get around to creating anything. It might be Connection issues, where we have trouble getting our message across. Or it might be Deviation issues, where we have difficulty expressing our self.

The Consumer: Their Action, Connection and Deviation never overlap. They simply consume what others output.

The Empath: This is the student. They understand how things work, but they don't have a lot of experience yet.

The Mimic: They have very strong Action, but they are weak on the Connection and Deviation.

The Crazy: They are fresh out of school, are full of big ideas, but they aren't usually able to Connect or Act on them.

The Dreamer: They have trouble getting started, they don't have much creation.

The Outsider: They have lots of ideas and Action, but no one can relate to them. An example of someone like this is Henry Darger. He worked as a custodian during the day and wrote the longest fantasy story ever in his spare time. It was discovered only after his death. 

The Producer: They have lots of experience, they know how to Connect, but they might not Act.

The Creator: They have a balance of all three - Action, Connection and Deviation.

There are different paths you can take to become a Creator type. 

The Action Path: They are a Taker first, then become a Mimic, then become a Creator. Andy Warhol is an example of someone who took this path.

The Connection Path: They also begin as a Taker, then move on to being an Empath, then a Dreamer and finish off as a Creator. Albert Einstein is an example of someone who took this path.

The Deviation Path: Again, they start off as a Taker, move on to being a Crazy, then an Outsider and eventually a Creator. Wile E. Coyote is an example of someone who took this path.

ACTION TOOLKIT
Common barriers for people are time, fear and procrastination. The best way to fix this is with picks and dynamite.

Picks are used for slow, long term changes. It's about building it into your routine so that you end up enjoying and it's no longer just a part of your routine. Create a 10 minute wedge, which is wedging 10 minutes of practice into your routine everyday.

Dynamite is used for immediate change, say, if you have a major deadline coming up fast. Try streaming, which is just getting all your ideas out. Story dice work well too. They're dice with little pictures on them. You can make up a story based on the pictures that show up when you roll them. Make sure you write down your bad ideas as well as your good ideas. If you write down your bad ideas, your brain automatically starts to try to solve that bad idea. Also try the Law of 1%, which is getting all of your bad ideas out of the way so you can eventually get down to that 1% of good ideas.

CONNECTION TOOLKIT
This is about finding focus. In advertising it's the creative brief. What's the key message? What is the problem or goal we are trying to solve? Who is your audience? What is the purpose? This one is fixed with lassos and mortar.

Lassos are the temporary superficial fixes. Pick a random work and connect the thoughts that go with it, like brainstorming. Try tangentometry, which is making connections that loop to make a story, then double check to see if it relates to your focus. Have boxes or moleskins in which you can capture your ideas in the moment.

Mortar is the longer lasting, deep fix. Do a lot of research on your focus! This will help you understand your purpose/goal and audience. Immerse yourself in experience. Go to conferences. Practice, practice, practice!

DEVIATION TOOLKIT
Break your default and get out of your groove. This is fixed with lenses and blindfolds.

Lenses are about experimentation, testing, listening to a different voice. Try content on content. For example, what would a certain song sound like if you could only use 8 bit sounds. An example of this is Lego. They take the same pieces and little people, but they apply it to pirates, or Star Wars, or outer space. Try the Through the Looking Glass method. Try making it awful on purpose. It makes your brain work to try and fix it. Also try recombining your lists. You might find new ideas.

Blindfolds are about expressionism and being free. Try working in a darkroom. It can be enlightening and scary. Try sleepworking. If you hit a wall, just sleep on it. When you relax, you let your true self express itself. Try the fail budget. Work on things you're passionate about that has nothing to do with your work.

Jason's entire presentation can be found here: http://www.slideshare.net/jted/jason-theodors-creative-method-and-systems

Making Contrast With Details

McBess is a French illustrator. He graduated from Supinfocom for 3d animation, then went to London to work with the Mill, an Oscar-winning VFX company. He created a fictitious band called The Dead Pirates, for whom he created a music video/short. CH + CH loved the short and wanted McBess to create another one for them. Here it is:

The whole idea blew up and the band even has fans. Threadless got them to make some t-shirts even.  And there's even a Dead Pirates iPad app. So, McBess decided to put together an actual band called the Dead Pirates to go with all the merchandise he created. haha. He says they're not very good, but they're fun.


Here is some advice McBess gave us during his presentation:
Know your audience.
He uses a grid for his isometric drawings.
If you work to perfection, you'll never get anything done.
Keep your stroke width consistent throughout.


MCBESS' INSPIRATION


Kid Acne

Dave Cooper

Chris Ware