Most people rank creativity as the most important skill required to succeed in sectors like the global design industry as it allows professionals to come up with unique and innovative ideas or designs that can break the market.

People generally perceive creativity as an inherent gift that some people are born with, however, in reality, creativity or creative thinking is like any other skill which can be honed with long-term training and usage.

While a career in the design industry is generally easier for creative people, it isn’t a necessity and can be an easy skill to pick up. The good news is that there are ways to hone your creative thinking skills if you feel you aren’t a creative person.

This blog takes a look at the concept of creativity and tells you how you can improve your creative thinking skills. You can also learn how a graphic design course in London can be beneficial for your creative thinking.

What do you mean by creativity or creative thinking?

Put simply, creative thinking involves devising new ways to look at a problem and come up with innovative solutions.

Albert Einstein encapsulated this idea beautifully by saying, “Creativity happens when intelligence has fun.” Creativity is essentially when you take an unorthodox or unconventional approach to solve a problem at work.

Why is creative thinking important for a design career?

A graphic design career might require you to come up with innovative design briefs for your clients’ most challenging design problems. A strong sense of creative thinking can help you arrive at cost-effective solutions and original ideas.

Here are a few prime advantages of developing your creative thinking skills:

  1. You can develop innovative solutions which can add value to your business or clients.
  2. You can improve your problem-solving skills not just in your professional life but also in your personal life.
  3. Your creative thinking skills will allow you to approach a problem or a design idea from multiple angles. Thus, you will be able to extract better insights from your research.
  4. Creativity can allow you to come up with innovative and abstract ideas that are out-of-the-box and unique, meaning that no two days will be the same in the workplace.
  5. In general, creativity pushes people to do their best in every project and have high expectations of their own quality of work. Thus, creative thinking skills can improve your professional standards.

What kind of creative skills do you need to become a successful designer?

Here are the most important creative thinking skills that designers are expected to bring to their workplace:

  1. An unending curiosity
  2. An open mind
  3. Drive to disrupt the market
  4. Discipline
  5. Consistency
  6. Confidence
  7. An ability to challenge the norm
  8. Patience

Some other creative thinking skills include artistic creativity, visual reading, an analytical mind and divergent thinking.

Best techniques to bring out your creativity

There are many effective techniques that can help you trigger creative thinking skills. Here are the top techniques which can boost your creativity.

  1. Brainstorming: This involves getting together with a group of people to discuss a specific problem and try to come up with innovative solutions. The general idea of brainstorming is that when you have a lot of potentially creative solutions, you can pick one with the highest quality. Brainstorming exercises your analytical and critical thinking skills, which can help you hone your creativity.
  2. Mind mapping: The process of mind mapping allows you to connect two very different ideas on a single page. The idea is to nail down as many connecting ideas as you can think of associated with a single problem. This allows you to draw connections between two ideas that you wouldn’t have placed together originally.
  3. Lateral thinking: Lateral thinking requires you to look into less obvious lines of reasoning and ideas. This technique of problem-solving and creative thinking is based on the idea that an answer to a problem might not always be in front of you.

What else can you do to improve your creative thinking skills?

Stagnation can be a prime enemy of your creativity. Therefore, you should always work on stimulating your creative thinking skills through different activities.

  1. Consume varied content: Consuming diversified content is one of the best ways to sharpen your creativity. The information you absorb from different sources is combined and repurposed by your brain in different ways to provide unique solutions for your problems.
  2. Keep yourself updated with the latest design trends: If you are looking to hone your ability to come up with creative designs, you should look up the latest design trends in the industry. This hones your ability to predict whether a particularly creative idea has the potential to be viral.
  3. Try to create something new every day: You should remember to challenge yourself and train your brain to think outside the box. Trying to come up with at least one creative design every day can hone your ability to generate design ideas even in creative limbo.

You can also look into pursuing a creative course like a graphic design degree to further your creativity and critical thinking skills.  

The London College of Contemporary Arts (LCCA) offers a great BA (Hons) Graphic Design programme that can be the first step into the creative world. This course can teach you how to convert your creative ideas into stunning real-life visuals and images. You will also learn how to portray a strong message through your artwork.

The course provides you access to state-of-the-art studio spaces and design infrastructure that gives you an accurate insight into how things work in the design industry. The coursework also includes a fair amount of business subjects that can help you hold down a managerial role in any creative industry.

Click here to check out other features of the graphic design programme at LCCA today.

Frequently asked questions

Question 1: How can a graphic design degree at LCCA hone my creativity?

The graphic design curriculum at LCCA has an eclectic mix of creative subjects like visual communication and storytelling, which can help you create different narratives through your work. You will also receive guidance on practical creative skills like designing and illustration.

Question 2: Can honing my creative skills boost my career prospects in the field?

Yes! The creative industries like graphic or fashion designing are always looking for candidates who can think out-of-the-box or visualise the bigger picture. Honing your creative thinking and problem-solving skills can make you an attractive candidate in these industries.

Question 3: What kind of career prospects can I expect as a graphic design graduate?

Being a graphic design graduate can open up a lot of career opportunities, including the following:

  1. Digital media developers
  2. Picture editors
  3. Art directors
  4. Illustrators

Question 4: Can my creative thinking skills be useful even if I switch career domains?

Yes. Your creative thinking skills will come into use even if you decide to seek a career in a different design field like fashion design or illustration.