Harnessing the Creative Mind

Presentation given at Smashing Magazine Conference in Freiburg, Germany, September 11-12, 2017.

1. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net bruce lee https://youtu.be/APx2yFA0-B4
2. HARNESSINg the mind Alma Hoffmann alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com almahoffmann@gmail.com almahoffmann.com almahoffmann.net
3. A LITTLE (or a lot?) ABOUT ME spanish | english | artist | designer | sketcher | writer | editor | letterer | typographer | photographer | former dancer | wanna’ be architect | curiosity is my middle name | obsessed with learning |wife | mother | friend | aunt| daughter | saved by grace | alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net
5. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net i am a walking, breathing, and living venn diagram
6. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net spanish
7. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net spanish english
8. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net spanish english artist
9. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net spanish english artist designer
10. artist designer alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net spanish english the rest
11. artist designer alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net spanish english i live here
12. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net how does my life relate to this topic?
13. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net curiosity
14. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net desire to understand my mind & how it works
15. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net feeling like my understanding of the world was different
16. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net
17. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net that symbol makes it 5, right? right??
18. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net wanting to know if creativity depended on having a client, a commission, a project
19. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net ?
20. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net we all have minds, right? Right??
21. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net creative enough to call ourselves creative minds? but, are our minds creative…?
22. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net we have moments of brilliance
23. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net
24. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net when we think of creative minds, we think of those we consider geniuses who are those for you? Take a moment, write it down
25. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net of course, we put ourselves at the low end of that comparison
26. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net We are biased against creativity but we’re typically unable to recognize it in ourselves.” “ scott barry kaufman wired to create.
27. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net if you have a mind, you are creative
28. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net it is at the center of everything we do
29. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net you could say that our mind is a powerhouse
30. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net and it has two windows
31. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net the windows are our eyes
32. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net margaret Livingstone vision and art; the biology of seeing Vision is information processing, not image transmission.” “
33. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net the brain dedicates lot of its resources to process visual information
34. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net light has much smaller range of frequencies than sound (differences in wavelength are in nanometers)
35. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net When the light hits the retina, it sends an electrical signal that passes the optic nerve to the thalamus. 
 john medina, Brain Rules “
36. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net nerve cells in the retina convert the light into tracks (movies)
37. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net organized and categorized by each section in the brain
38. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net but what does this have to do with creativity?
39. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net glad you asked!
40. your mind engages in a highly engaging 
 creative process alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net
41. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net to take advantage of it, we need to support the process
42. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net do you ever forget?
43. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net but retrieval is painful when you most needed
44. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net we freeze
45. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net i froze
46. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net I was fired
47. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net learned the value of a daily creative practice
48. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net we treat creativity like an item on a menu
49. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net instead of something we 
 need to exercise
50. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net it is the result of a regular practice that engages motor, semantic, and visual skills.
51. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net bryan lawson how designers think “The control & combination of rational & imaginative thought is one of the designer’s most important skills.”
52. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net what if told you that one such way is to actually draw, doodle, or sketch?
53. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net sketching is really the superhero in the processing of visual information
54. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net
55. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net Jeffrey D. wammes, melissa e. meade, & myra A. fernandes, the drawing effect: evidence for reliable & robust memory benefits in free recall “Drawing enhances memory relative to writing across settings, instruction, & alternate encoding strategies…”
56. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net when did we stop? Why did we stop?
57. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net we became friends with the enemy
58. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net scary propositions
59. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net Live with uncertainty.” “ “ Bryan Lawson how designers think
60. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net of deliberate practice
61. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net deliberate practice “… practice that is purposeful & systematic. … deliberate practice requires focused attention and is conducted with the specific goal of improving performance. James Clear
62. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net who was in the list of your geniuses?
63. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net bruce lee “I don't fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks. I fear the man who practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
64. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net Scott Barry Kaufman & carolyne gregoire wired to create “The quality of our ideas is a positive function of quantity.”
65. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net creators create writers write coders code painters paint artists create poets rhyme musicians compose
66. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net Keep a hobby
67. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net
68. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net Melissinos “ “A writer who does nothing but write is like the moon, which gives off some light, but borrowed from the sun. A writer needs first-hand experience, which only working in another field can give him. Otherwise he is rewriting what he has read in other books.”
69. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net
70. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net
71. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net harness your creative mind: use it or lose it
72. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net thank you!
73. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net references John Medina • Brain Rules • Bryan Lawson • how designers think Scott Barry Kaufman & carolyne gregoire • wired to create Jeffrey D. wammes, melissa e. meade, & myra A. fernandes • the drawing effect: evidence for reliable 
 & robust memory benefits in free recall margaret Livingstone• vision and art; the biology of seeing
74. alma.hoffmann@smashingmagazine.com * almahoffmann@gmail.com * almahoffmann.com * almahoffmann.net questions