Definitions of Creativity
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Depending upon which source you select, they range from articulate to clever, and fall into two categories.
- Aesthetic creativity This is creativity of artists (such as writers and musicians) whose output reflects their personality or emotion, a situation, a point of view or a perspective.
- Creative problem-solving This is creativity for everyone else. As the name suggests, this kind focuses on understanding the true problem, followed by generating potential ideas to solve the problem. The solution doesn’t necessary need to be unique, crazy or unusual. (In other words, it doesn’t need to be a Big Idea.) However, much creative problem solving now – especially in business – often relies upon Big Ideas to differentiate between companies or brands, attract the attention of end users (current or prospective), or reinforce purchase decisions or habits.
The line between these two types of creativity is often smudgy.
For example, some artists see themselves as visualizing problems. Consequently, the artwork itself is a solution. At the same time, some business executives talk about creative leadership. As an illustration, senior managers compare their work to jazz riffing or they describe their work as serious play.
Below, I’ve included some common and unusual definitions of both types.
- The birth of imaginative new ideas.
- Looking at the same thing as everyone else, but seeing it differently.
- Bringing something new into the world.
- Creativity comes from a world we don’t know we don’t know.
- The ability to discover new relationship and combinations.
- The imaginatively gifted recombination of known elements into something new.
- Effective surprise.
- To take a bet against the unknown.
- The habit of continually doing things in new ways to make a positive difference to our working lives.
- Making connections between ideas where none previously existed.
- The ability to discover new relationship and combinations.
Of all the definitions of creativity, I prefer this one.
Creativity is the act of combining previously unconnected ideas, concepts, information or elements to make something new, unique or useful.
How do you define creativity? Please add your comments below.
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I received many emails from people with their definitions of creativity, adding them to an additional post: “Even Move Definitions of Creativity.”
Creativity begins with changing what is already into existence to something new or unique. This involves changing what is known to something new. It is the ability to bring something into the world by making a positive difference to something into existence.
I realised the link in the article was broken, so I’ve corrected it. The first line of your definition fits with many of the others in the secondary post.