Do you struggle to come up with ideas? Almost everyone experiences the feeling of being "stuck" from time to time, but how do you get yourself unstuck?
Hannah explores various types of creative sticking points, and share tips on how to overcome them.
5. A photo series in collaboration with people from 27 countries
“A fascinating glimpse into the lives of the people behind the camera,
and how ways of life vary around the world.”
~Ana Swanson, Washington Post
6. A series of illustrations of the Modernist architecture we’ve lost
“A lovely tribute to lost mid-century gems”
~Christopher Zara, Fast Company
7. What some of today’s most successful people would tell their younger selves
“An inspirational project”
~ Anna Papachristos, APLUS
8. now I’m a creative content consultant :)
you can find out more about me at worderist.com
28. you don’t know what to do
AND/OR
you don’t know how to do it
AND/OR
you think you’re “bad” at this
AND/OR
you’re constantly interrupted
AND/OR
you’re not enjoying what you’re doing
is one (or more) of these things the problem?
50. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
stuff that’s nice to have:
- topics they are keen to explore*
- a bit about who they’re seeking to attract**
- some examples of content they wish they’d made
*this often goes awry - instead of topics, I frequently see product or service offerings listed here
**this can also be problematic; lots of companies target very broad audiences - sometimes this is helpful, but often it’s not
66. contact lenses sight
vision
optical illusions
spot the ‘x’ puzzles
seeing jesus on a slice of toast
change blindness
colour blindness
how do people see the world?
optics
think ‘bigger’
68. privacy / data security
to bypass censorship
to access content (TV / music / gaming)
to get the best deals (money saving)
what do people use VPNs for?
rather than thinking about the product or service, think about why people use it
70. mattress bed
sex
sleep conditions
sleep problems
what happens if you don’t get enough sleep?
dreams / nightmares
babies / children / parents
relationships
sleep
snoring
pets
hygiene bed bugs
allergies
what’s connected to the product or service?
79. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
so I set my own constraints
& focus on just one topic area
(I set a timer on my phone for 15 minutes - if I find myself thinking about another
topic I’ll jot down a quick note, but I won’t allow myself to disappear down an
unrelated rabbit hole during that time period)
83. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
“You have to set up the narrow parameters that you
work in, and then within those, give yourself just
enough room to be free and play.”
~ Trey Speegle,
mixed-media artist
94. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
but I can share what works for me
right now
(through practice my process has evolved over time, and I fully expect it to further evolve in the future)
98. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
Specific to the client or company sector…
- What are journalists are writing about?
- Why are they writing that stuff?
- What seems to be shared a lot?
- Why is that being shared?
- What’s resonating?
- What are competitors doing?
- What seems to be working?
- Why is that working?
- Data sources
- What’s publicly available?
102. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
Specific to the client or company sector…
- What can we do which will feed into what journalists are writing about?
- What could we do around the most resonant topics?
- Is there something a competitor has done which we could do better?
- Or do differently?
- Is there anything we could do with a public data source?
- Is there a way we could get data that isn’t readily available right now?
103. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
Broader stuff…
- Is there a topic which resonates with me, which I could explore within this
space?
- Is there something that’s been created in a totally unrelated field which I
could apply here?
105. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
Specific to an idea I’ve generated…
- Is this possible?
- Has this been done before?
- What’s new or different?
- What evidence do I have that this will resonate?
- Is this right for the client or company?
- Is this on-brief?
121. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
& in my experience following a process
yields more reliable results
than sitting around trying to
conjure ideas out of thin air
128. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
people tell me that when they compare their own work to that of others,
they feel like they’re coming up short...
that other people are ‘better’
at this than they are
153. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
if you work somewhere where you’re
constantly interrupted leave that space
(I’m not suggesting you quit your job, but go work in a cafe, a library, from home
- anywhere where you can limit those interruptions)
216. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
“there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time,
there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time,
there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time,
there’s no time, there’s no time,
there’s no time…”
224. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
“there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time,
there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time,
there’s no time, there’s no time, there’s no time,
there’s no time, there’s no time,
there’s no time…”
241. @hannah_bo_bannaWorderist.com
often I find a completely unrelated
creative exercise works better
(than a creative exercise directly related to whatever I’m working on)
261. you don’t know what to do
AND/OR
you don’t know how to do it
AND/OR
you think you’re “bad” at this
AND/OR
you’re constantly interrupted
AND/OR
you’re not enjoying what you’re doing
ask yourself if one (or more) of these things is the problem:
262. internal blocks
self-inflicted constraints
(seeing limits which aren’t there)
OR
too many possibilities;
not enough focus
external blocks
brief is too constrained
OR
brief is too open
do you know what to do?
constraints don’t fuel creativity; but neither does unbounded freedom...
we need balance
263. inspiration
what’s out there?
what excites me?
what sparks my curiosity?
do you know how to do it?
creativity is not the ability to conjure ideas out of thin air…
it’s process & practice
generation
making connections
validation
is this possible?
does this make sense?
what’s new or different?
264. other people’s ‘bad’ ideas are
invisible
you are not comparing yourself or
your work to reality
do you think you’re ‘bad’ at this?
remember: you only see other people’s ‘good’ ideas
265. shut down *all* interruptions
close email, slack, social media,
etc
put your phone on flight mode
work somewhere else if you
need to
are you constantly interrupted (or interrupting yourself)?
when you’re interrupted, it takes an average of 23 minutes to get back on track
266. are you trying to work in a way
that doesn’t work for you?
time
space
solo vs team work
are you not enjoying what you’re doing?
to do good creative work, you need to be in a good place
is pressure the problem?
remember:
we’re not working in a life or
death environment
is your work not satisfying you in
the way you thought it would?
make things just for you