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Creative

The importance of unusual connections

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September 23, 2016 | 5 min read

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“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something.” (Steve Jobs)

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It’s true isn’t it? Great creativity is about connecting the right dots together. That’s why the best ideas seem so maddeningly simple. Airbnb, Tinder, Tasty, Volvo’s Life Paint and P&G’s ‘Like A Girl’ - all connected by a beautiful simplicity that leaves you wondering how on earth anyone hadn’t thought of it sooner.

But of course, it isn’t easy. Finding the right dots to connect – or maybe stumble upon – is what we’re all looking to do, every day. The real creative genius lies in the ability to uncover the dots that others might not be able to see. To leave your prejudices at the door and think just enough outside the box to create something original. (But, not so far out the box that people will start giving you strange looks.)

So how do you see the dots that other can’t see? By seeking inspiration from new and unusual places. Ever hear of the phrase “you’re too far into the forest to see the trees?” Well sometimes you need to try a different forest. Or maybe an ocean!

hybridscape

Let’s take the story of Nike Air Max shoe range. Today it’s the iconic centrepiece of the Nike sneaker empire, but back in the 1980s, Nike was struggling to build on its promising foundations and losing ground to competitors.

To change fortunes, Nike decided to bring in a corporate architect by the name of Tinker Hatfield to join the sneaker design team. It was a left-field move, but Hatfield didn’t allow his unfamiliarity to change his approach. Rather than create what he thought a sneaker should look like, he took inspiration from his own field.

Specifically, he looked to a single building: the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris.

Many Nike employees travel the world to seek inspiration from different experiences and cultures, and for Hatfield, his eureka moment of inspiration was to come from this odd-looking structure. While traditional buildings offered privacy by concealing what was inside, the Georges Pompidou Centre showed everything. The tubing, the mechanisms, and the people – all were on the outside instead of in.

The initial public reaction to the building’s design was mixed to say the least, but Hatfield marvelled. While architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers would not receive critical acclaim until years later, Hatfield applied the concept to the Air Max one. The result was iconic ‘air bubble’ and the rest, as they say, is history.

It’s unusual and unexpected connections such as these that can drive our industry forward and it’s the theme of this year’s European Creativity Festival, to be held next month in Barcelona.

Headlining the festival in 2016 is an exciting series of 1-on-1 ‘Connections’, pairing together entrepreneurs, innovators and disruptors from all kinds of industries, to give an alternative view on challenges we face.

Iepe Rubingh, founder of Chess Boxing Global will be sitting with chef Joel Serra Bevin to discuss creativity in entrepreneurial initiatives. Helen Zaltzman and Lawrence Zeegan will talk about creative uses of language and imagery in communication. While dance choreographer Cesc Galabert will get together with composer Marco Trombetti to look at how creative collaboration works within holistic performance.

Russian inventor Genrikh Altshuller suggested that 95% of ‘new problems’ have already been solved, probably many times over, and probably in other industries. At the European Creativity Festival, we’re looking to prove that theory bringing together talent from across the full breadth the continent to see which problems we can solve. Will you join us?

The 3rd European Creativity Festival is hosted by the Art Directors Club of Europe and takes place 13-15 October at the Disseny Hub in Barcelona.

From dancers to designers, and chefs to chessboxers - come and immerse yourself in creative hybridisation. Tickets start from just ¢36 – find out more at www.europeancreativityfestival.com

Merce Segu, Executive Director, Art Directors Club of Europe

Tel: +34 93 256 67 65

Email: press@adceurope.org

Web: www.adceurope.org

Twitter: @Adceurope.org

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