'Creativity: there are no rules'

The second book I finished for my reading weeks is by Sir John Hegarthy, ‘Hegarthy On Creativity: There are no rules’. The basis of the book is ‘ideas’ with each chapter adding upon the last, giving advice on how to develop and nurture ideas. Like I did with Bobette Buster’s book, I have chosen a few of my favourite quotes…

Ideas are the ‘building blocks of creativity (…) without an idea, you have nothing’… Creativity is nothing without ideas, however big or small. Hegarthy feels that ideas should ‘blend, subvert, develop, and bounce off other ideas’. They’re about reinterpretation not supposed ‘originality’. I agree with these thoughts as the nature of an idea is really fluid, therefore the process taken to get to one should also be fluid. By blending and bouncing off previous concepts, your ideas have the possibility to take many different forms. Plus nobodies idea is ever ‘original’ as they would’ve had to of had some inspiration and sources to produce their reinterpretation. Something Hegarthy emphasised was having fearlessness, hope in the unknown, ‘What’s the point in producing something that follows a formula? None.’ This resonated with me as I think it’s difficult to sometimes have faith in your own creativity, over-thinking things.

This links to the next point Hergarthy made about emotion; let go and see where your emotions take you, do not ‘over-rationalise’ an idea. With creative ideas ‘exploration is essential’ to their development and overthinking ‘can kill an idea’. Hegarthy suggests channelling raw emotion into the creative process of an idea whether angry, uncomfortable, or happy. Jackson Pollock, one of my favourite artists demonstrates this creative process perfectly. Pollock said “I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them” instead of portraying his emotions literally, Pollock channels his feelings into his brush. Each stroke has energy, “expressing an inner world”. Art is storytelling, ‘the very fabric of our thoughts’. If the idea is the foundation, then ‘the story is the vehicle that delivers it, making it memorable and provocative’. Pollock’s emotions for example act as the idea/concept, and the style of art is the vehicle through which he tells his narrative visually. Pollock possesses the school of thought Hegarthy describes as ‘Creative Chaos’. There’s no restricting structure, therefore more creative freedom. The other process is a smooth and calculated one, structured in harmony to timetable. This process is more restricting creatively, but more ‘sensible’ than the first in terms of business output. However Pollock as an artist has more freedom than a marketing company needing to please clients.

One page that stood out to me was discussing juxtaposition in advertising. As Hegarthy comes from a marketing/advertising background he emphasised the need for visual contrast. Contast is employed to sharpen and intensify the visual impact on the viewer. For example to make Black seem darker, place it directly next to white. Hegarthy designed an ad for Levi Strauss in 1982 proving the power of juxtaposition from a marketing perspective. The message Hegarthy was trying to get across is still relevant now, and struck me in just 6 words. It’s hard to be different, to ‘escape the confines of conventional wisdom’ but Hegarthy assures us that once you do so, your work will be far away from imitative. ‘In a world that zigs, zag.’

Hegarthy’s next point on cynicism really spoke to me and the way that I a lot of the time act towards my work. Cynicism ‘the death of creativity (…) it infects your work and thinking’. Our creative capacity is down to ourselves. If we let cynical thoughts of our own or other people inhibit our processes then we are stopping ourselves from being able to fully express what we want and maybe need to let the world know. Hegarthy encourages us to have creative ignorance, to ask more questions, be child-like. Question your surroundings, society, and the future because as ‘transmitters’ our next pocket of inspiration could be anywhere.