Creative Thinkers Connect the Unconnected
Because creativity utilizes the ideas of others, there’s great value in being able
to connect one idea to another—especially to seemingly unrelated ideas. Graphic
designer
Tim Hansen says, “Creativity is especially
expressed in the ability to
make connections, to make associations, to turn things around and express them
in a new way.”
Creating additional thoughts is like taking a trip in your car. You may know
where you are going, but only as you move toward your destination can you see
and experience things in a way not possible before you started. Creative thinking
works something like this:
THINK
COLLECT
CREATE
CORRECT
CONNECT
Once
you begin to think, you are free to collect. You ask yourself,
What
material relates to this thought?
Once
you have the material, you ask,
What
ideas can make the thought better?
That can start
to take an idea to the next
level. After that, you can correct or refine it by asking,
What changes can make
these ideas better?
Finally, you connect the ideas
by positioning them in the
right context to make the thought complete and powerful.
