Creativity vs Crazytivity

We live in the culture that is saturated with information so putting your message through requires lots of effort and creativity. The easiest way to be spotted in the information clutter is to be different. And being different is often erroneously labelled as being creative.

One of the most important characteristics of successful thinkers is their ability to focus.

How many times has it happened to you that you spent some time and energy thinking about something and you ended up with a bunch of interesting ideas on all other problems except on the one that you had actually been required to think about? This will happen every time unless you manage to maintain a clear focus on the subject that you are thinking about.

The world is full of so called artists and creatives who are struggling to be different and unique. They are sometimes strangely odd and bizarre in their appearance, behaviour and attitudes without firm arguments that could back up their extremely different views and ways. They pose as unhappy creatives that nobody understands or smarty pants who are always full of new ideas that only they and nobody else finds interesting. They like to distinguish themselves in business meetings by always offering new ideas and right solutions to any problem that may arise, or they stand out from the crowd by stubbornly disobeying standard rules and forms of business behavior. 

It is a lot easier to be different than to be creative.

Coffee cup with four handles will certainly be different, but how will that idea improve your coffee drinking experience? Never mistake being different with being creative. When commenting on something different people tend to categorize it as something creative, not because it is really creative but because they do not have prior experience about the thing and do not know how to describe it in another words. So the safest way to explain it is to call it creative.

Beware of crazivity when doing creative thinking. Whatever idea you might have, always think of the values that it brings to the world. If you are a graphic designer, industrial designer, advertising and branding person or if you are developing products and services for the consumers, always ask yourself whether your idea brings values to other people and not just to yourself. 

Crazitivity never works in practice.

It might work in the short run, but once people realize that there is nothing for them in the particular idea, they will simply turn their back on it. 

Creative ideas are always born from unconventional thinking.

Sometimes ideas may seem very simple; sometimes they may seem grand and revolutionary. In the end, it is always better to have a simple idea that will create huge value than a new and bombastic idea that will bring little value. If you want to be a successful creative person, you'd better concentrate on ideas that walk the walk and not on those that talk the talk!