More perspectives on creativity

More perspectives on creativity

‍

What do you think and feel when you hear the word ‘creativity’?

It’s one of those words that has almost become a command or an expectation – the need to present yourself as ‘creative’ to get the attention of an audience.

Everyone will have their own interpretations which will range from a chosen style to specific creative endeavours and may stretch to include learned methods or personal practices designed to exercise a ‘creative’ muscle.

In the Mybridity world of resources and workspaces to support productive remote working, we see the opportunity to build environments to embrace the solving of valuable problems; spaces designed to allow opportunities to think and work in a manner of your choosing – creativity by whatever definition has the most meaning for you.

Make it personal.

The volume of magazine space, airtime and web content published every day can make this an overwhelming topic. Let’s keep it simple. We want to personalise a workspace that keep us energised and engaged through the four seasons. We are not aiming to be reincarnated as Kelly Hoppen! There is an excellent article on Autonomous detailing an extensive list of ideas to support creativity in a workspace. Here is a shorter view of 6 easily achievable ideas we’ve used in own workspaces way before Mybridity was a thing and which will be part of any discussion about bespoke workspace design.

Break free from the past.

Define the space with colour. It could be a feature wall, a statement piece of furniture or even a rug. The choice should be personal, not taken from the latest Tik Tok trend although you can, of course, change colours as often as you like or remove colour altogether! The idea is to break the flow of neutral colours and avoid recreating the anodyne office scene you’ve chosen to leave behind.

See the light.

At the design stage of the project think about how to get the most natural light to your desk space through the passing hours and seasons. Interior lighting will also be influenced by your definition of creativity. If you are lucky you can still have a space to hide away but calm, still, thinking, or detailed focus, call for a different approach to lighting, as may a preference for alternative working hours when artificial light will dominate.

Did I mention biophilia?

It pays to make sure the budget for the project includes developing the planting or landscaping that will become the view from your workspace. This doesn’t need to be a project in its’ own right although, if you have chosen the bespoke route, the energy rises thinking about how close we can get to nature and the benefits that can bring. Consider window boxes to add more colour or a trellis to support climbing plants and soften the scene.

Move it!

It is well recognised that being sedentary for long periods is bad for us. Bad for us physically and bad for us mentally so it follows that we should be designing in the option to move position. The obvious example is to use an adjustable height desk but alternatives include alternative seating arrangements or built in spaces at different heights or of different sizes. It could be an expression of quirkiness but the benefit is the opportunity break the moment and avoid physical or mental ‘drift’ – the very antithesis of creativity!

How do you do?

As with lighting, let’s take some time to consider what the optimal desk space set up will look like. What size, position, shape and features. My preference is for a clear desk with room for an easily accessible A2 Rhodia pad (grid paper, of course!) and shaped so I can swing round to join video calls without having to bend myself out of shape. I can scribble, write, practice or doodle to work out different ideas.

Sometimes, there is joy in going back to basics and plotting answers to challenges on a white board (the old sort, with the right kind of pen, a duster and cleaning fluid!). Ideally, the whiteboard will be somewhere that forces you to get up and get physical. Does this matter? Maybe it’s a generational thing but, as brilliant as many apps are, if I’m solving for a new or different challenge I prefer not to open the same apps from the same seat and stare at the same blank page.

Margin notes

Creativity doesn’t need expanse but if we are planning a new workspace then there is a brilliant opportunity to make it personal. Of course, you could use background filters on your video calls and or ask your AI engine of choice to be creative for you, but where is the humanity in that?!

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

‍