Will Holloway – Creative Director
A question I get asked quite frequently as a Creative leader is whether creativity can be learnt and whether there is such a thing as a ‘creative person’?
As a fully paid-up member of the Creative’s Union (I’ve got the beard and tattoo to show it), you might expect that my answers to be: “No, you can’t teach creativity, some of us are just born creatively gifted. Oh, and get your tanks off my lawn!”.
But can I say something that might shock you?
I don’t believe this at all (sorry to my creative brethren). I believe that creativity can be taught, that we all have the ability to be creative and I believe the idea that there are creative ‘rockstars’ and the rest of us are uncreative drones who have no business contributing to the creative process at all is outdated and, frankly, pretty offensive.
Luckily for me, Smarts also share a similar belief to me. We don’t believe that ‘creative people’ and ‘non-creative people’ exist, everyone is creative and everyone in our agency contributes to the creative process because we all bring something unique to the idea-creation process. We all process information in a different way and our own unique filters strengthen the finished product.
So, if creativity can be learnt, what do we do at Smarts to ensure that we’re one step ahead of the competition?
The short answer to that question is that we practice creative curiosity.
Creative Curiosity is the ability to be interested and engaged in learning more about the world around you and the culture you consume.
It’s the ability to be open to new experiences on a daily basis.
Creativity is the end result of our habits and actions – meaning that everyone can be creative on a daily basis if they choose to be.
There’s no such thing as a ‘creative person’, there are just people who are more passionate about adopting habits that increase their creativity.
The easiest way to be more creative is by being open about the world around you and constantly seeking novelty – new and interesting things. At Smarts we foster creative curiosity by hiring people who bring their passions to work, by nurturing creative curiosity through training and by giving everyone the opportunity to contribute to our creative output.
The great thing about creative curiosity is that anyone can indulge in it – we can all seek out new things every day – this could be swapping your daily meal deal for food you’ve never tried before or by choosing a new way to walk to work. It’s not just about actually doing it, being open to new experiences and change is what makes you more likely to be creative.
If you want to know more about creative curiosity and how we at Smarts invest time in sharpening our creative chops, then let us know and we can talk you through how you can practice creative curiosity.