Is there a bias against creativity? Amanda Enayati People routinely reject and show bias against creative ideas, Amanda Enayati saysPoll of CEOs: Creativity is the single most important leadership trait for successPeople reject creativity because of uncertainly -- but it's needed to help us through uncertaintyInnovator: Build confidence by treating fear of creativity like a phobia of heights or snakes Editor's note: CNN contributor Amanda Enayati ponders the theme of seeking serenity: the quest for well-being and life balance in stressful times. (CNN) -- Creativity has taken center stage in recent years, with a slew of books, articles and TED talks extolling the virtues of imagination and exhorting young and old to go out and exercise their creative muscle. In a 2010 IBM poll of CEOs worldwide, creativity was identified as the single most important leadership trait for success, enabling businesses to rise above an increasingly complex environment. It would appear that we suffer from a bias against creativity. Why the bias?
17 Designers Dish Their Best Advice Terry Lee Stone asks a group of seasoned design pros: If you could give young designers one piece of career advice what would it be? In other words: early in your career what do you wish someone had told you? Their thoughts may surprise you… 1. “What did I know? “What did I not know? 2. “Almost any situation gets better when you ask yourself this: How can I be most useful right now? Find More Advice: 29 Things That All Young Designers Need to Know. 3. “Emphasize your peculiar talents. “Also, think about your portfolio as a whole design statement and try to make the presentation format fit the work. 4. “Early on, if anyone had been able to tell me exactly the right thing, I would have dismissed it as preposterous because the world has just changed too much in unforeseen ways. “However, here’s my advice: get a second degree in something totally different— neuroscience, medicine, linguistics, or whatever feels right. “Design is what all humans do when they have intent and act upon it. 5. 6.
Reimagine CBC The Portfolio of the Future Ignacio OreamunoPresident IHAVEANIDEA I know it makes me sound old but eleven years ago I was job-hunting for my first art director job. Since I’d decided to study web and art direction at the same time, I had a combination of interactive and print campaigns in my book. Fast forward five years and suddenly traditional print portfolios began getting more interactive, as gutsy juniors added banners to their print campaigns. “How wrong he was,” I thought last year, as I looked at the juniors attending Portfolio Night 9 in Amsterdam, armed with all sorts of tablets, mobile applications and laptops. This is the first time since the days of the Mad Men that portfolios have truly transformed and it puts a lot more pressure on creatives trying to get that dream job. Here are the most important trends I see leading up to this year’s Portfolio Night 10 event. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In February we will be digging deep into what the portfolio of the future will look like this year.
Jonah Lehrer: Fostering Creativity And Imagination In The Workplace Beethoven would try as many as 70 different versions of a musical phrase before settling on the right one. But other great ideas seem to come out of the blue. Bob Dylan, for example, came up with the lyrics to the chorus for "Like a Rolling Stone" soon after telling his manager that he was creatively exhausted and ready to bail from the music industry. After going to an isolated cabin, Dylan got an uncontrollable urge to write and spilled out his thoughts in dozens of pages — including the lyrics to the iconic song. Scientists are now learning more about how such moments occur, says science writer Jonah Lehrer. "Moments of insight are a very-well studied psychological phenomenon with two defining features," Lehrer tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies. Scientists have determined that people in a relaxed state and a good mood are far more likely to develop innovative or creative thoughts. Nina Subin Interview Highlights On outsider knowledge On hard work On the link between depression and creativity
6 Steps for Designers to Successfully Partner with an Illustrator Illustrators of work shown, clockwise starting at top left: Mark McGinnis, Edward McGowan, Daniel Krall, Kate Hindley and Susy Waters Pilgrim. (Editor’s note: This post was contributed by Hannah Fichandler with Connecticut-based, marketing and communications company Taylor Design. This post originally appeared on the company’s blog 247 Main.) I can’t draw. Well, that’s not entirely true. I’ve been fortunate to work with wide range of illustrators, not just in style or personality, but also locale. I’ve also been fortunate to have 99% of these collaborations work out really well. So, that got me pondering: What is it about my process of commissioning an illustration that is so successful and enjoyable? 1. 2. I have a collection of illustrators’ reps sites bookmarked, as well as an ever-evolving list of links to individual artists’ site. Note: This step can take a long time, but I feel this research is critical. 3. I usually make initial contact with an illustrator by email. 4. 5. 6.
Explore Video: Five-Year-Old Girl Provides Insight on Popular Logos If the cute voice of the 5-year-old doing the voiceover on the video doesn’t make you smile, then certainly her opinions on popular logos will—either because of her lack of knowledge of some brands and obvious indoctrination from others. Adam Ladd, a graphic designer from Cincinnati, sat down with his 5-year-old daughter, Faith, and showed her more than two dozen logos, recording her reactions to them with a Phil Wickham song, aptly titled Eden, playing in the background. Faith obviously has no clue about some of them, and thus describes them as a typical 5-year-old might, comparing them to a marble, a shooting star or a parade elephant (sorry, Republican Party, you have your work cut out on this little one). Others, though, Faith knows quite well. PHOTOS: The Evolution of Corporate Logos
Le « story telling » et la gestion de projets Le 8 février dernier j’ai assisté à une conférence sur le storytelling par monsieur John Sadowsky organisée par Rezonance. La conférence avait comme titre “L’art du storytelling: devenir leader grâce au récit”. L’idée de base est que l’être humain adore les récits, qu’il s’identifie davantage à une mission, un objectif s’il s’inscrit dans un récit cohérent et authentique. J’ai été attirée par cette conférence car j’ai eu la chance il y a plusieurs années d’avoir une formation sur l’utilisation du conte en entreprise. Tout en écoutant monsieur Sadowsky et après avoir lu son livre, “Les sept règles du storytelling” écrit en collaboration avec Loïck Roche, j’ai imaginé comment cette approche pourrait être utile aux chefs de projets pendant tout le cycle d’un projet. Démarrage du projet Prenons par exemple, le cas de ce client fictif de Marakoudja qui a l’idée de développer un site internet pour gérer les recettes personnelles de chacun. Conception et planification du projet Clôture Closing
Harvard Seeks to Jolt University Teaching - Teaching By Dan Berrett Cambridge, Mass. A growing body of evidence from the classroom, coupled with emerging research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, is lending insight into how people learn, but teaching on most college campuses has not changed much, several speakers said here at Harvard University at a daylong conference dedicated to teaching and learning. Too often, faculty members teach according to habits and hunches, said Carl E. In large part, the problem is that graduate students pursuing their doctorates get little or no training in how students learn. "It really requires someone to be doubly expert," Mr. Such approaches would demand much more of students and faculty. "We assume that telling people things without asking them to actively process them results in learning," Mr. Many colleges routinely hold seminars on teaching and learning. The Hausers wanted their money to have a broad effect across Harvard's departments and disciplines. Confronting Misconceptions Mr.