Bay Area Graphic Designer - Josh Barton
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Case Studies
    • Print >
      • Times Square
      • NHL Stadium Series
      • Additional Prints
    • Branding >
      • UltraPure Enterprises
      • Additional Branding
    • Web >
      • Aesthetic / Medical
      • Videography

4 Stages of Creativity

4/12/2014

6 Comments

 
Physiologist have debated for years whether creativity is derived in a conscious state or in an subconscious state. Probably the best-written material on the subject comes from Gram Wallace book, The Art of Thought published way back in 1926. In this book Wallace theorizes that the creative process comes in four stages of creative thinking. The four stages are.
Picture

  1. Preparation - Incubation - Illumination - Verification

Stage One: Preparation (the conscious state)

In this stage the aim is to acquire more information about the problem than you already possess. For Barton Designs, this is the stage where we go out and do a lot of market research, and see what brands in your field are doing right and wrong. You might brainstorm, collaborate with others, anything that can help you move towards solving the design "problem" at hand. The stage of preparation may vary in length from a few minutes, as in the case of a brainstorming session, to months or years, as in the preparation for an invention or a crucial experiment where more research needs to be done.

Stage Two: Incubation (the subconscious state)

Stop thinking of the problem and turn your attention to anything else. Go for a run, a hike and take some pictures, blast some people in Call of Duty screaming profanities back that 11 year old's shouldn't be saying or have a few drinks with friends... drinking totally helps. Do anything that stimulates your mind, but does not involve solving your problem. You are going to give your unconscious mind time to digest all the material you gathered in the preparation stage. This is the same principal used to solve “designers block” or “writers block”. For us web designers and company branders, the incubation stage can last from a few hours to days. After incubating, go back to your problem and begin crafting a solution or idea. At the end of this stage, the idea, which has been incubating, is more clearly defined than it was at the beginning.

Stage Three: Illumination (The “Ahaaa!” Moment.)

This is where the idea, which has been incubating, assumes definite form. This is when you say BAM, THIS PROJECT IS GOING TO BE SICK! Better known as the “Ahaa! Moment”. This is the feeling you get when you have been struggling with your thoughts and can’t quite put your finger on what is missing. The idea will appear suddenly and comes with a feeling of certainty. This is a rewarding stage because you really reach a sense of accomplishment.

Stage Four: Verification (the, now I can get paid state)

This is where you challenge the idea that came to you in the Illumination stage. Does your solution work and/or does it need revisions? This is the stage where Barton Designs fine tunes the content we produce and make sure its ready to be seen in the world. After this stage, you need to continue and do follow up verification, reaching out to clients in the future and ensuring that there are no flaws or issues that come up.
6 Comments
Cybil
4/13/2014 04:37:28 am

Very interesting and informative, this process works for me every time.

Reply
Josh Barton link
4/13/2014 09:10:59 am

Thanks Cybil, I appreciate the feedback! I'm off to go hiking and take on stage 2 of this process :)

Reply
Sheila Patterson link
4/14/2014 04:22:06 pm

Good post, and great reminder! Love the bit about Call of Duty, my husband complains about the 11-year olds all the time LOL ;)

Reply
Josh Barton link
4/24/2014 10:06:36 am

Thanks Sheila,

And yeah, I can't BELIEVE those kids!! Not enough soap in the world for those dirty mouths. :D

Reply
Joe Loew link
4/14/2014 11:44:46 pm

Very well written! I thought it was a repost of other info at first.

Your succint application of this technique explains why your creative efforts consistently provided results at Royal.

We tend to dread creativite tasks as an unmeasurable wildcard that that defies a schedule, but not necessarily true!

Reply
Josh Barton link
4/24/2014 10:05:01 am

Thanks a ton Joe, I appreciate those positive comments!

And man, if you didn't know, BY THE WAY I'm glad you encouraged me to pursue my true calling. It turned out that I was in the EMS/Firefighter biz without the right passion working on an ambulance... you gave me that nudge to get into the design position, and ever since I left EMS my life has changed! I'll always have love for my EMS family, but moving forward to design - my true passion - has been unbelievable!

"From Fires to Fliers" - maybe a good book title for following you passions?? :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Alchemist's Design Blog

    Where design, business, and entrepreneurship meet. We like to explain why good design = good business.

    Archives

    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    July 2013
    January 2013
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    Categories

    All
    Bay Area Graphic Design
    Blogging
    Branding
    Budget
    Business Development
    Colors
    Content
    Design
    Environmental Graphics
    Facebook
    Inspiration
    Just For Fun
    Logo Design
    Print Design
    Social Media
    Startups
    Webinar
    Websites

    RSS Feed

    GET IN TOUCH

    We'll get back to you within one business day!

    [object Object]
Let's do this
© 2016 Alchemy 
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Case Studies
    • Print >
      • Times Square
      • NHL Stadium Series
      • Additional Prints
    • Branding >
      • UltraPure Enterprises
      • Additional Branding
    • Web >
      • Aesthetic / Medical
      • Videography