Creativity: Where? How?

Take a journey with me back to one late afternoon, in 2023, while returning from the office on one of the days I was to be at work (working a hybrid role is so awesome). It was at Agidingbi, here in Lagos State. There was a little hold-up right in front of the Lagos State Government office, where the flags of different African nations were raised. How the Nigerian flag, that has just two colors got my attention and inspired me about the simplicity of branding and the power of Brand identity is the crux of what I am about to tell you. (You can read the article I wrote on the above here: https://shorturl.at/iyGJT).

This made me realize that inspiration for anything, including design, can come from anywhere, anything and at any time. Some believe that there are only specific places creativity can be gotten from. Some creatives focus on visiting websites. Some focus on taking breaks; going away and coming back to what they were working on, as a form of relaxation and recovery. I went on to ask a couple of creatives where they usually get their inspiration for creativity from.

“Design inspiration websites like Muz.li, Abduzeedo, Behance, Dribble, Pinterest” said one young OG (a person who has been around for long) in the design space. This is usually the first point of call for most creatives, where we quickly visit these sites for immediate inspiration when working on projects. “Sleep, travel, play some sports, take a walk, touch some grass (not the one you are probably thinking of 👀) and try new things,” said someone else. Another said, “visit the park or go on a picnic”… not all of us have the time for this sha 😫, not when clients or your account manager is on your ass asking for the creatives like it was needed yesterday. 

“Find a woman to love you, if you are a man, and vice versa… leave MacBook and Windows alone. Inspiration will show!” said an experienced creative 😎, whose head has definitely been rubbed. A CEO of a creative agency responded to me by saying, “Just passively absorb anything. And expose yourself to a lot of stuff.” Someone who has mastered the art of last minute magic responded and said, “Taking my time till the client almost arrests me 😂” is how he gets creative inspiration.

The summary of all these is that creativity and inspiration aren’t always inborn. They are sometimes stirred up, reached out for or just fall on our heads like the proverbial apple from the tree (or was it a real life event 🤔). Whether it is from movies, social media, food (the colors, combination, etc), music, nature, people, art, websites, projects other people have done, or the master of them all: RESEARCH, know that creativity can be gotten from anything, anywhere and at any time.