Who Are Creatives?

Who Are Creatives?

 If you were asked to draw a picture of a creative person, what would your picture look like? Would it be a stereotypical hipster with Warby Parkers or Ray Bans, whose every sentence began and ended with a swear word. Would it be someone with long hair and a beard? Someone with a smoke in one hand and scotch in the other?Physical misconceptions in such matters can be as misleading as perceptual ideas of creatives. The beauty of creativity lies in the fact that it cannot be contained by a single definition.

Why, then should creatives be branded physically and psychologically limited to the artsy kind or person? “Be creative”,“Work your magic,”or “Has creativity stuck yet?” are some insane phrases thrown at  advertising creative professionals in the business. The concept of creativity is often confused with the expression of creativity. Creativity can be expressed in multiple forms. It is the product of perseverance of ones passions.

All fields of life, be it art, science & technology, politics, economics, finance, or media, comprise of creatives in their own right. As humans, we have both hemispheres of our brain. The left brain is known to be the logical and controlled side, while the right brain is known to be free spirited and passionate. As humans, we’re naturally programmed to use both hemispheres of our brain but eventually we gravitate towards a side that we find appealing and interesting.

Creativity, simply put, is energy. The output of that energy depends on its user and his or her ability to reproduce it in one way or the other. We tend to pursue our passions based on the influence of people, or based on our responsibilities and resources. Although advertising is only one creative outlet, many people still believe that creativity is limited to advertising professionals, designers and artists.

Creativity could also be misinterpreted as a product of rebellion. In his book ‘Serious Creativity – Using the Power of Lateral Thinking to Create New Ideas’, Edward De Bono bears witness to the popular misconceptions. He states that the hemispheric racism has made the only left or right brain theory almost believable and stereotypical.

Creativity and art are mistaken to be synonymous. Creativity need not necessarily be crazy. It can be experimental or conceptual in nature. In the simplest form, creatives bring into being something that wasn’t present before; they do the new. There is a need and scope for creativity in every field, be it creating an absolutely new product or service, solving a problem or dealing with competition.

There is a difference between artistic creativity and creative thinking. Advertising creatives today are required to be creative yet culturally relevant and strategic. Creating an environment of freedom of expression can bring out the best ideas. A step towards embracing  and encouraging creative potential across departments has emerged in the form of agencies expanding the creative discussion beyond the creative department. At such times, a well written brief inspires a team in more than just one direction and is a great check point or reference.