In the last few months as Product Manager of LiveDataset I’ve been contemplating the creative process and how it differs in a technical context.
Three years ago I was at a talk in Denmark by Lego, who have since become the world’s leading toymaker. They were emphasising that for them creativity is a process and that having a defined process is the only way they can continually innovate and churn out a diverse range of Lego sets.
Inspiration
The process went something like this. First decide a theme such as tractors. Then immerse the design team in a world of tractors. Read about tractors, look at pictures of tractors, surround your workspace with tractors.
Then comes the inspiration. When you’ve been dreaming about tractors for a few weeks, it should be possible to design a really cool one.
Evaluation
Evaluation follows. How much will it cost to build? Will the kids be able to build it and might it self-destruct when they play with it? Or will they even bother to play with it? The easiest way to find out is to get some real kids in to mess around with the new creations, observe and go right back to the start of the design process if necessary.
Resistance
I’ve experienced cycles of inspiration and re-evaluation myself. The point is that without the process, it’s very easy to either get stuck looking at a blank piece of paper or lost on a journey towards creating something that no one needs, wants or likes. All this involves far more doing than thinking. Doing is necessary to create the environment for inspiration to land. And doing is required to push through the resistance encountered when it feels the way has been lost or it’s just too difficult to create anything of worth.
Conquering resistance is worth a book in itself. My favourite is the War of Art by Steven Pressfield
My point is that resistance is inevitable whenever trying to do something new, whether it’s building a tech product, visual arts or getting fitter. The only way to conquer this is to do something, even if it means just inching forwards a little at a time. This applies in all domains requiring creativity whether they be tech products, construction toys or fine art.