Yes, creativity can be learned
Creativity isn’t just a talent. It’s a skill — and skills can be learned.
I have something to confess.
Even after over a decade of design education, training and practice I still don’t consider myself a particularly “creative” designer.
Since my earlier years as a budding advertising student, I frequently envied my seemingly naturally talented colleagues who were always endlessly spontaneous and full of fresh ideas. I remember sleepless nights, agonizing over a brief, fretting over coming up with a genuinely unique approach while they just seemed to… “have” it. Without fail, they would come up with some obscure, memorable angle that just killed it. And I would be stumped. What were they doing right, that I was doing wrong? What magic was I missing?
I started becoming obsessed about finding that magical moment. Working on a design assignment often felt like I was wandering in a pitch-dark swamp, hands outstretched searching and reaching for that perfect idea that just doesn’t want to be found. Design to me was all about the tyranny of “inspiration”: that elusive, arbitrary moment of brilliance that gives you your winning idea. I hated it, because as hard as I tried, I never found it — at least not until I started to fundamentally reconsider my approach to design.
My very first design job was as an intern and junior designer at OgilvyOne Worldwide Singapore. It was an incredibly foundational experience for me, but even more so when I learned about its legendary founder David Ogilvy. His constant mantra was about the power of research and honesty. He derided gimmicks and exaggerations, preferring simple truths: truths he uncovered through research and learning and then presented in a simple, memorable manner.
“Good products can be sold by honest advertising. If you don’t think the product is good, you have no business to be advertising it.” –David Ogilvy
This focus on creativity through research and learning was a revelation. Ogilvy wasn’t a creative genius just because he “had” it. He was without a doubt brilliant, but he also had a repeatable process and formula that allowed him to consistently produce results. And if creativity and design can be a defined process then it is something you can learn, not something you had to be born with.
This key insight became my starting point. It gave me the confidence that maybe there is a chance for me yet to continue growing as a designer — “talented” or not. I just needed to learn, understand, practice and refine the steps. Inspired by Ogilvy, my creativity today is almost entirely rooted in empathy and research: allowing myself to be inspired by the stories and simple truths of the systems, stakeholders, users and customers I work with.
“Never write an advertisement which you wouldn’t want your family to read. You wouldn’t tell lies to your own wife. Don’t tell them to mine.” –David Ogilvy
What I’m trying to get at with this story of fledgling design angst, is this: design thinking and its methods are for everyone, not just the select few who hold the title “designer”. There is a method to the madness of creative synthesis and ideation which can be learnt and practiced by anyone. And therein lies the emerging popularity and democratization of design: the appropriation of the processes, mindsets and techniques that designers have long used in their work, applied to broader innovation and less-traditional applications across a wide range of industries. Design thinking has proven to be a huge competitive advantage. Daniel Burka goes so far as to call it the scientific method for businesses to solve their biggest problems, because when design methods become the heart of a business, it inevitably transforms its operations, its people and the way they build products and deliver services.
I’m not saying it’s easy! Anything that causes us to rethink the fundamentals of how we work and solve problems is challenging. If you have ever given the design process a shot—maybe you’ve participated in a workshop of some sort—you might remember those terrifying, early moments of ambiguity and uncertainty. But you probably also remember the surprise when you reach the end of that process and discover a solution you might never have considered otherwise.
That’s my journey so far. If you like to start your own, check out our multi-part series on getting started on learning, applying and advocating for design thinking.
P.S. Before the pitchforks show up, I would like to note that I am not advocating for a rigid step-by-step process as the root of design and innovation. Ingenuity, intuition and inventiveness (among others) will always be essential, unquantifiable qualities of any excellent creative. However, as we practice and develop our individual design process, I believe those qualities will necessarily be honed and refined. Design and innovation is accessible for everyone regardless of training!
