Creative Thinking Process – turning new, imaginative ideas into reality

Creating – Turning new, imaginative ideas into reality

A creativity definition that appeals to me is

                “the ability to bring into existence something new…”[1]

I also like

                “Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality.”[2]

It is creating something new that I love. I love the creative thinking process of designing and developing new things. It takes my mind on so many journeys. The options. The variations. What’s possible? There are so many elements. So many possibilities to be factored in. Each project has multiple elements. All the parts need to be factored in to creating the final result.

For me creativity is the orchestration of ideas, putting them into practice, resulting in something beautiful.

4 Stages of the Creative Thinking Process

This process of creative thinking was being considered by Graham Wallas in 1926 in his The Art of Thought. He was building on a 3 step process for creating new ideas by Hermann von Helmholtz, from the 1850s, by adding the 4^th point.

4 Stages of the Creative Process according to Graham Wallas:

• Preparation
• Incubation
• Illumination
• Verification

Preparation – drawing all the parts together – collecting ideas – understanding what is required

Incubation – mulling it over – combining the parts – factoring in all the options

Illumination – the a-ha moment – realisation – solution in seconds

Verification – will it work? – test the theory – develop a protype – sketch

In these steps the creation happens following completion of all these.

To turn this into a practical, rather than theoretical model, I’ve added in a ‘Creation’ step after ‘Illumination’.

Creation – Turn your ideas into reality – paint – photograph – plate up – write – take action

With ‘Creation’ added ‘Verification’ turns into an evaluation phase.

Verification 2 – evaluate your creation – contemplate – consider improvements – enjoy the product

Chris Mattson wrote an article about the 4 Stages of the Creative Process and how they fit into his life. The article also provides more information on the creative thought processes.

Experience For You

So many articles are facts, or information with no direct link to the reader. I’m interested in giving readers’ experiences.

This week as you are working on a creative process recognise how the 4 or 5 steps progress your project. 

For those who think creativity is not part of their world see how it comes into play when you’re preparing a meal. For those of you who are culinary whizzes this creative process will make a lot of sense. 

Let me know how creativity shows up in your life in the comments below.

Where are you applying 4 stages of creative thinking?

Applying the 5 Stages of Creative Thinking

These creative thinking processes can be applied so many ways.

Examples include:

• An Artist who
• prepares the colour palette, brushes and canvas – preparation
• creates preliminary sketches to determine the content & options for the final layout or composition – Incubation
• realises what composition will work best – illumination
• paints the beautiful artwork – creation
• admires the finished product – verification

• A Chef who
• does the shopping and chops the ingredients for a fine meal – preparation
• combines the ingredients in the right way for the right times – incubation
• works his/her magic on the feast – illumination
• plates up each course and delivers them to diners – creation
• evaluates the flavours, appearance of the meal & hears the praise from diners – verification

• A Fashion Designer who
• collects gorgeous fabrics from around the world – preparation
• designs options for the selected fabric factoring in texture, pattern & final garment – incubation
• sees the best option – illumination
• creates the pattern, cuts out the fabric and sews the selected garment design – creation
• checks the fit, hems the garments and delivers them to the lucky recipients – verification

If you’d like to know about your Creative Type click here.

This creative thinking process really works. How do you apply it in your life?

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[1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/creativity

[2] https://www.creativityatwork.com/what-is-creativity/