Your software, hardware and skills in CAD determine a large part of your design success—whether internally at your firm or during client-facing work. But another factor plays a huge—and undervalued—role in engineering, architecture and design achievement: creativity.
In Adobe’s State of Create report, 80% of 5,000 respondents said creativity was key to driving economic growth. But only one in four say they live up to their creative potential. And 75% say their employers prize productivity over creativity.
We clearly need to be more creative. But how? By using these three simple tips to boost your design creativity.
- Use Resources to Generate Better Ideas
Creativity doesn’t simply just happen. It’s motivated by your environment, the content you consume, and dozens of other inputs. Fire up the following tools regularly to generate more creative ideas, more often:
- Inspiration Grid — This website provides inspiration via stories and photos from creatives in every industry.
- Behance — Showcase your creative work and discover the work of others using this engaged online community.
- Design Snack — Design Snack takes online inspiration to a whole new, customizable level. This tool gives you the power to create your own inspirational portfolio. Simply curate your favorite images and most inspiring work—the perfect way to jumpstart creativity when it flags.
- SketchFab — SketchFab allows you to view inspiring models, and upload, embed and share your own.
What’s your favorite site or source of inspiration? Let us know in the comments!
- Adopt Tools to Manage Design Projects
When a project is poorly planned or disorganized, it’s extremely difficult to be more creative. Juggling overdue tasks or tracking down missing work doesn’t inspire your best work. However, using tools to better brainstorm and manage projects makes creativity much more likely to flourish. Try the following on for size:
- XMind — Mind mapping tools help you brainstorm, communicate and capture creative ideas. XMind is available in three different versions: a free version, a plus version and a pro version.
- Lucidchart — This tool makes it dead easy to develop mind maps and organizational charts that keep your creative ideas flowing.
- TT, WeTransfer and Dropbox — These cloud file-sharing tools make collaborating on 3D files quick and easy. They offer numerous storage plans for larger files, and will save you a ton of time.
- GrabCAD — Similar to GE.TT, WeTransfer and Dropbox, GrabCAD allows 3D professionals to collaborate with coworkers through an easy-to-use CAD file manager. This tool enables you to sync local files and collaborate on projects, revision rounds and brainstorming sessions.
- Hack Yourself to Improve Creativity
You can actually hack your brain and body to enhance creativity. It’s safe and easy, too. Seriously, science rules. Here are a few ways to do it:
- Get Moving — Exercise can spur creativity. And there are a ton of exercises you can do right from your desk at work. Take 10 minutes to get your body moving. It’ll translate to heightened brain function and an increased capacity for creativity.
- Give Yourself the Blues — A study conducted by the University of British Columbia found that when exposed to or surrounded by the color blue, test participants were able to think more creatively. The color blue boosts brain performance and activity, resulting in better creativity. You might not be able to repaint your office on the fly, but you can change your desktop background!
- Think Like Mozart — To view your project in a new light, employ Janusian thinking. It’s the ability to “imagine two opposites or contradictory ideas, concepts, or images existing simultaneously.” The tactic was used by Einstein, Mozart, Edison and Van Gogh when they needed a creative jolt.
What are your favorite creativity tools, tips and hacks? Let us know in the comments!
More Free Hacks, Tools and Habits to Boost Creativity
Over at 3Dconnexion, we’ve created a free guide specifically for 3D professionals who wish to improve their creativity. With 25+ pages of expert creativity advice, The Creativity Handbook for 3D Professionals is help you improve your creativity and career!
Download The Creativity Handbook for 3D Professionals today!
Feature image credit: opensourceway via photopin cc
