Redefine Creativity

This post is from Kelly Garrett Zeigler, VP of Consumer Data and Insights at Vans, a VF Company. Kelly is also an incredibly talented human centered design advocate/practitioner with a heart for innovation, and we are fortunate to have her on our team as a coach at the d.school. You can find and follow Kelly here.

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What does it mean to be creative? Am I creative?

These two questions have been ringing in my head since the pandemic began. I would venture to guess I am not alone.

Everywhere I turn there is some article or stat about people experiencing an uptick in creative endeavors over the last year or so, and that has left me wondering what “creative endeavor” really means, and why they’re so important.

To top that off, I work for a brand whose purpose is to “enable creative expression.” No pressure. So personally answering these burning questions has been hard — but critically important — for me.

No, I am not a visual artist. I can’t draw a straight line even if I try really hard. I am very much a novice to visual art. But I do believe we all are inherently “creative” because we have to be, whether we know it or not.

For me, creativity isn’t a privilege or luxury reserved for an elite few. It’s also not a monolithic ideal with a narrow manifestation via the arts. It’s a capacity and responsibility that lives in all of us.

For me, our 7 year old daughter is my daily muse. When I tell her, “No, you can’t have another dress for your doll,” she repurposes old socks and scissors to make something else. Even constraints fuel her creative juices! It’s a reminder that creativity is the little voice inside you that sees a "Yes," or a “What if…,” even when everyone outside is vocalizing a "No."

Creativity solves problems.

Every time I see someone leveraging their imagination to create some aspect of the world that doesn’t exist today, that is creativity at work: those that fight for social justice are using creativity to challenge us to see a world where equity is the cornerstone. They paint a portrait that is too vivid to ignore with their sweat, blood and tears. I see it today in the fight for racial equity. I hear it in the rhythmic /melodic improvisation of hip hop and jazz. I saw it in the intricately designed braided-hair styles of the past that looked cute, but actually revealed escape routes to guide slaves to freedom.

Creativity inspires change and mobilizes communities.

Our children’s collective creativity has been manifested in how they have engaged in a new form of learning via screens and apps in a locked-down world. God bless all the teachers who where creative enough to imagine a world where education was flipped upside down and out of necessity molded our children’s minds into masterpieces.

Creativity provides encouragement to learn.

Every time I see a new invention born out of necessity I see a problem solved… a creator behind it dared to birth something new into the world for the benefit of others.

Creativity is progress.

And me, am I creative?….If I ever used my imagination to see a problem in a new way, fought to make the world different in some small way, or just dared to make some aspect of the imagination real, then yes I too am creative. And I dare to believe that, because you are breathing, you are "creative" too! As a Christian, I often catch myself stargazing at the end of a rough day, it makes me pause and consider the beauty of God’s creation…which also includes you and me.

Creativity is gratitude.

Imagination manifested is creativity personified. No artist skills required.

All views my own.

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