The Art of Creative Thinking; the perfect book for creatives that also happen to have a day job.
For me, this is the perfect business book. It’s an opportunity to learn hints and tips about how to develop a creative mindset and apply it in any context. The examples given are from the stories of well-known artists, all told by an expert in creativity, business and art; Rod Judkins, Lecturer at Central St Martins College of Art.
Here’s a few of the things I found out:
Dali designed the Chupa Chup wrapper (yep, he actually did)
Artists usually don’t just paint, they dabble in a lot of creative activities, they can’t help it
Healthy rivalry is as important in the art world as it is in business (thinking Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, think Turner and Constable)
There are very few new ideas- everyone takes inspiration from the ideas that went before (according to the author, Harry Potter isn’t so far off Star Wars) but if you’re inspired by something, probably best to just create it and get it out of your head
Sometimes you need to break stuff, imperfection is much more interesting
The Art of Creativity is a helpful reminder of what it takes to learn from others and never to strive for perfection. Unless you’re designing a lollypop wrapper that is.