Creativity
The fuel for imagination
Creativity is the spark that turns curiosity into possibilities
and possibilities into things the world hasn’t seen yet
Creativity is not something you do, it's something you are.
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- Rick Rubin
We are all creative — engineers, researchers, artists, writers, surfers…
When people say, “I’m not creative,” what they usually mean is,
“I’m not very visual,” or “I don’t know how to draw,” or “I’m not good with design tools”
But creativity shows up in many forms
in how you solve problems, approach challenges, connect ideas or bring people together
To think outside the box, you have to step outside the “I’m not creative” box
You are creative
You might just need a little creative confidence
Try this
Think of 3 ways you are creative
Creativity is putting things together in new and useful ways
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Is making a sign for a beach cleanup creative?
Is using an old T-shirt to wrap a present creative?
It depends.
Creative ideas solve a problem
and open a new way of doing something
often by bringing together ideas in new and unusual ways
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Making a sign for a beach cleanup isn’t creative if you’ve made the same sign many times
But finding a fresh way to tell people about the cleanup can be creative
Try this
Write down 3 new ways someone could inspire people to join a beach cleanup
Creativity thrives in constraints
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It's common to think that being creative is to be free to imagining ideas without any limits or constraints. Turns out the opposite is true. Researchers have found that constraints bring out more and better ideas. Constraints force a direction, clarity and focus.
Constraint
Dr. Seuss' editor challenged him to write a book using only 50 words
Result
A classic: Green Eggs and Ham
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Constraint
Remove 80-90% of the water from shampoos and conditioners
Redesign packaging without plastic or dyes that pollute the ocean
Result
Everist waterless shampoo, conditioners and beauty products
Constraint
Design fishing gear that catches fish without harming marine animals or leaving ghost nets behind
Result
Companies like Bureo and Fishtek Marine are reimagining nets using biodegradable materials, escape-friendly designs and smart lights that dramatically reduce entanglement and bycatch.
Try this
Pick something that creates waste. Packaging, clothing, products you use every day
Write down one constraint. Less water, less plastic, less energy?
Imagine a new way it could work.
Creativity needs freedom
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Freedom from what? And aren't constraints good for creativity?
They are, but at the right stage
Once you understand your challenge and your constraints, your mind needs freedom to wander and generate as many ideas as possible. It can feel messy, silly, even uncomfortable…and that’s what makes it great. Let your ideas come without judgment, criticism or expectation.
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The more different ideas the better - this is called divergent thinking
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Our goal is not the perfect idea. It is lots and lots of ideas
- IDEO, the design company behind many famous innovations
Ideas to let your mind wander and be more creative
Is it strange? Impossible? Crazy?
Perfect.
SeaBin started with an idea that sounded simple and impossible:
What if we put floating trash bins in the ocean?
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Seabin's became a global ocean-cleanup innovation.
Try this
Pick any product, a water bottle, a lunchbox, a backpack
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Write down 100 different ways it could be redesigned. Yes, 100.
Your first ideas will be obvious. Then it gets interesting.
Take a break, go for a walk, come back — and keep going.
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Have fun exploring ideas
Creativity takes courage
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Exploring lots of ideas, no rules, no judgment is fun. But you reach a moment when you have to choose which idea is the one you want to try.
The process of narrowing down your ideas is called Convergent thinking.
Imagine a funnel
Lots of ideas pour in, only a few pour out
Letting go of ideas you like
Picking a direction even when you feel unsure
Committing to something that feels risky or new
It takes courage to create
But it doesn’t have to be stressful
You can take the emotion out of the decision by focusing on a few basics:
Do you want to do this?
Are you excited about it?
Is it possible, legal and helpful?
Do you have the time and resources?
That’s it.
Try this
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Write each idea on its own sticky note
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Group similar ideas together
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Remove duplicates or ideas that are basically the same
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Give each group a name
For example: robots, trash bins, flashlights
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Choose the group that excites you the most
Give it a +1
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For each idea in that group, give another point:
+1 if you have the time and resources now
+1 if the idea is interesting and possible
Bacteria that eats plastic +1
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Subtract –1 if an idea is magical, impossible, illegal or harmful:
–1 Shipping ocean trash to the moon? (not possible)
–1 Burning pollutants? (harmful)
–1 Sneaking into an aquarium at night to “borrow” a sea turtle for research? (illegal and silly)
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Add up the numbers — the idea with the highest score is the one to try first
Congratulations! You have an idea to explore
Creativity takes practice
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You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
— Maya Angelou
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Some people think creativity is a sudden spark or something only artists have, but it’s really a skill you build by practicing every day
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Here are a few ways to build your creativity:
1. Try the 30 circles challenge
Get a sheet with 30 blank circles
You have 3 minutes to turn as many circles as you can into something else — planets, pizzas, buttons, emojis, cells, bubbles, wheels…
Think quantity, not quality
The goal is to get your mind to move fast
2. Change one thing
Pick an everyday object — a spoon, a sock, a backpack, a notebook
Now change just one thing about it
The material
The shape
The purpose
The size
The audience
Even small changes can lead to big ideas
3. Combine two unrelated things
Robots + jellyfish
Shoes + seaweed
Apps + coral reefs
Tennis balls + solar power
Drones + manta rays
Pick any two things that don’t belong together
Ask: What if I combine them?
This is how biomimicry, new apps and even entire companies begin
4. Practice noticing
Look around and choose one thing — a cloud, a shell, a sign, a light, a building
List 10 things you notice about it you’ve never noticed before.
Patterns and ideas often come from noticing what others skip
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Try this
Inspired by the New York Times 10 minute challenge
1. Look at this image for 10 minutes, uninterrupted
You'll start getting bored. Stick with it. You'll start noticing new details
​2. Write about this experience for 3-5 minutes
You might wonder
Where is this sea turtle?
How old is it?
Where is her mother?
How long might it live?
What experiences await her in the ocean?
5. Add constraints to make it fun
Give yourself a rule:
Draw a creature using only triangles
Explain something using only 6 words
Design something without using plastic
Write a story with no letter ‘e’
Constraints make your brain work in surprising ways and they build creative agility.​
Creativity has rules
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1. Let go of ideas of how things should work
You can't grow a new garden over weeds
2. Give your favorite ideas a break
They might be stopping you from getting better ideas
3. Allow your worst possible ideas to come up
Yes, 'the worst' ideas have been the inspiration for great innovations
4. Play
When we were kids we were extremely creative. As we grow older our creativity often does not get nourished, but its still there. Creativity is most alive when we play and experiment
5. Explore
If you are interested in the ocean, explore a completely different field. Maybe architecture, cooking or psychology. The most interesting ideas come from mixing things from unexpected sources
6. Laugh
The only way you can fail being creative is taking it and yourself too seriously. There are no bad ideas, no embarrassing questions, no judgment of what is better. What matters is to give yourself permission to participate. If things feel off, laugh
7. Ask 'why not?'
Absurd ideas can lead to breakthroughs.
Elephants inspire coral restoration. Why not?
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One more..
Enjoy the process to get in the flow
Practice and soon enough
being creative will feel natural
