Note: I wrote this article back in 1995. But while the wow factor of technology has become routine in the advertising world today, the idea this article presents is still as relevant as ever.

After more than two decades of technological evolution, creativity isn’t what it used to be. I don’t mean that the pool of creative advertising talent is shrinking, I mean the way creative people go about creating is different.

It’s more than exchanging typewriters for computers or art tables for graphic design programs; it’s a complete shift in the creative process.

It started when IBM introduced the first affordable desktop personal computer. With a monochrome screen, no hard drive, and an unbelievably slow microprocessor, it proved that a computer could be a practical office accessory.

As desktop units became more accepted in the workplace, other computer manufacturers began churning out armies of clones, with prices always falling and quality always rising.

After years of fearing new technology (remember all those “technology gone wrong” and “evil computers take over the world” movies?), at last it was okay to have a computer.

Trouble was, most people didn’t understand them or feel comfortable with them since they were built by technophiles for left-brained people. Creative types just couldn’t relate to this and stuck to typewriters and X-ACTO knives.

Then in 1984, in a burst of media pretension, Apple introduced the Macintosh. It happened during the NFL Super Bowl on January 22 with a 60-second Orwellian epic, directed by Ridley Scott (the guy who directed the movie Alien), in which a young woman lobs a hammer at a big screen image of Big Brother, ala George Orwell’s 1984. As one industry guru put it, “The commercial changed advertising; the product changed the ad business; the technology changed the world.”

I don’t know how much this overblown commercial changed advertising, but the product did change the ad business. And the technology certainly changed the world, or at least our perception of it.

Suddenly, it was not only okay to have a computer in the office, it was desirable. While the original Mac was primitive, it offered a new way of thinking about computers. For the first time, here was a computer built for right-brained people.

Visual thinking was the key, with friendly on-screen icons like folders and trash cans and a mouse to move the cursor around the screen. And with the introduction of PageMaker software and Apple’s laser printer, ad agencies and in-house communication departments could finally produce quality work on the desktop. Plus, you didn’t have to be an “artist” to become a graphic designer.

Since then, the wave of changing technology has washed over us again and again. But the really interesting thing isn’t how technology has changed but how technology has changed all of us in the ad business. Not only are we working more creatively, the way we work at creating is different.

Just look at how writing has changed. Time was when writing was a linear process. You sat down at a typewriter and tapped out a first draft, edited it, then retyped it. No matter how many drafts you went through, you always ended up with a fixed manuscript that looked and felt official and unchangeable.

With computers, it’s different. It’s more than just typing on a computer screen. Now you are free from linear thinking. Copy can grow naturally from any starting point. If you get stuck, just write the next few paragraphs and bridge the gap later. If you make a mistake, just delete and write it again. Writing and editing, once two separate stages, are now one and the same.

Graphic designers have gone through the same experience, with the fixed progression from thumbnail to full layout giving way to a constantly evolving on-screen design. The printout of a design at any given stage is just a copy of the growing “ideal” design inside the computer. And never does a design reach a true final stage; it’s always open for improvement.

Is this good? I think so. Technology is often criticized for taking us further away from the natural order of things. But in my experience, technology brings us closer.

Today, creating advertising can be more organic and free flowing than it ever was with typewriters or paintbrushes. With such a low barrier to entry, there’s more bad advertising than ever. But there’s also more good advertising than ever.

And the technology we have created and with which we create is also hard at work creating us. We have become like our work — ever changing and evolving. Where will it end? It won’t. Change has become the only constant.

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According to research cited by PsyBlog (one of my favorite blogs), brainstorming may not be as effective as people are lead to believe.

I wrote about brainstorming in The Secrets of Successful Brainstorming on my main website. And because I’ve conducted brainstorming sessions with clients, I know firsthand that there are limitations to this technique and that it’s hard to get brainstorming to work just right.

According to PsyBlog, problems such as people slacking in groups and fear of being evaluated can result in a group producing fewer and lower quality ideas than people working alone.

I can verify this from personal experience, though I have found that poor results come primarily from the wrong group mix, a rigid company culture, and inexperience with brainstorming.

In one brainstorming session for a magazine subscription service, I specified the people I wanted to attend. But when I got off the plane and drove to their office, I found the CEO and the company’s current ad agency reps in attendance.

The CEO intimidated his employees and killed ideas he didn’t like while the agency guys focused on defending their “territory” and disallowing any ideas that might show them up.

However, in another instance, I ran a brainstorming session with a much more compatible group from a nonprofit. Everyone felt comfortable with everyone else, no big bosses or authority figures attended, and the session produced well over 100 ideas, some of which we developed into new and effective ads and mailers.

PsyBlog suggests ideas for making brainstorming more effective:

• People should be encouraged to list ideas before coming to brainstorming sessions.
• The number of ideas produced by each person should be monitored.
• Problems should be broken down and group members should brainstorm components.
• Groups should take breaks from each other.
• High standards should be set for the number of ideas.

These are all good ideas, but for the most part, this is what I and others have advised for effective brainstorming all along. However, none of this will work if the group is made up of the wrong mix of people or if the company culture has crushed the spontaneity out of their employees.

I have found that creative people tend to take to brainstorming faster than “business” types. But if you get rid of authority figures, change the venue to a relaxed location, and invite people who enjoy spending time with each other, I’m convinced you can get brainstorming to work for nearly any group.

In addition to the brainstorming article, I wrote an entire series of articles on creativity that address these issues. Click the link and scroll to the bottom of the page.

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I’ve been busy recently writing articles for everything other than this blog. So here’s a short reading list for a little direct marketing extra credit.

First, Melissa Data recently published The Ultimate Marketing Survival Guide for 2009. I wrote the lead article, “Direct mail remains the king of direct marketing.” Just in case you thought direct mail was dead or that tweeting is better than mailing, this article will disabuse you of that faulty assumption.

Next, there’s a fun little article over at Copyblogger titled The 3 Secret Persuasion Techniques Every Kid Knows. You parents will relate to this one. I don’t have children, but I know they’re often tuned into persuasion better than many adults.

Feeling a little burned out? Mary Jaksch asked me to submit some tips for Write to Done in a post titled 7 Easy Ways to Energize Your Creative Powers. If you’re a professional writer, you can’t just wait for the muse to drop by. You need a few techniques for flipping the switch on creativity when you need it.

Finally, there’s one of my regular columns for DM News, one of the most recent is Problem Solver: Is it smart for an online business to use direct mail? I discuss how you can’t let a particular medium dictate your marketing strategy and ways to use direct mail to build your online business.

This should keep you busy for a while.

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According to a study cited by Fast Company, urban living makes you stupid. But spending a little time in nature can give your brain a boost.

Natural settings, it seems, apply less of a load on our cognitive processes, compared to the flurry of inputs and choices an urban environment – with all its people, traffic, technology and artificial shapes and sounds – makes. Somehow this has knock-on effects deep in our brains. Of course this study simply exposes the results, and an understanding of the mental mechanisms that drive this behavior is much more complex. But it’s clear that our brains developed as we evolved in a natural environment.

And at least the study found that the beneficial effects of a natural environment counteract the negative effects of an urban one–to sharpen up your brain, you simply need to go outside and find a park to stroll in.

I think this has some importance for writers, designers, and others who spend a lot of time sitting inside staring at a computer screen for hours at a time. You gotta give yourself a break now and then or your brain locks up.

Some people can just crank it out all day long. But I start to get fuzzy after two or three hours. So I look for excuses to change the scenery.

If it’s spring or summer, I’ll take a walk around my property and futz with my roses, kick mulch back into the landscaping beds, or prune a bush or two. If it’s fall or winter, I might rake leaves, shovel a little snow, or clean out a gutter. Fun, huh? Well, it’s more fun and refreshing than staring at my computer in a fog.

At the end of the day, regardless of weather, I walk or bike around my home town (which has done a good job of maintaining plenty of green space). This is a little tricky in the winter, but even now with six inches of snow, I get out and about. I’ve always known that time outside recharges my batters pretty fast. Five minutes can give me creative juice for a few more hours.

Writing is largely about managing your brain. The cure for fatigue or writer’s block is right outside your window.

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You’ve just been handed an assignment to write a direct mail package for a new product your client is introducing. It’s an important launch. You’ve been asked to be fresh, dynamic, and creative.

So, you pour yourself a cup of steaming coffee, turn on your computer, and settle in to give birth to an epic campaign. However, when your fingers hit the keyboard … nothing happens.

Nothing.

You write a few words. Delete. Then write a few more. Nothing. You try again and again to piece together a complete sentence, but you begin to realize that you have no idea what to say. You have no ideas. You’re dry.

Now you start to sweat and find yourself glancing frantically at the clock every five minutes. You can feel that deadline creeping up on you. Your stomach turns and you begin to wonder why you ever took on this assignment. You wonder why you’re even in this business.

And still the clock is ticking ….

Sound familiar? It has happened to all of us in the creative business. Some call it creative block. Others call it a slump. But whatever the term, the result is the same: frustration, stress, missed deadlines, or poor quality work.

The problem here is more than a tight deadline. It’s our society’s concept of creativity. Generally, we think of creativity as that mysterious “AH-HA” experience, where an idea seems to leap magically into our head in a bright flash of inspiration. But this “AH-HA” feeling is just a synapse firing in our brain. It’s an electro-chemical event over which we have no control.

However, what we CAN control are the events that lead up to and follow that sudden spark. Creativity isn’t just a moment. It’s a process. And despite what you might think, the process isn’t disorganized at all. In fact, it follows definite steps that you can apply to your everyday work to help free your mind and unleash your creative powers.

The Creative Process

In general, the creative process includes these four steps:

1. Search for new information.
2. Transform that information into new ideas.
3. Evaluate all the new ideas, keeping only the best.
4. Act on the best ideas.

I’m certainly not suggesting that creativity must proceed in a straight line from step 1 to step 4. You’re likely to skip around a bit. But whenever you truly create, you WILL go through these four steps one way or the other.

I have found through experience that creative blocks occur when you try to skip steps and dive right into “AH-HA” without giving the rest of the process a chance to work. Usually, it’s when you skip the first step and don’t collect enough information. Yet skipping any step can force your creative train to jump the track.

Step 1: Search

When you begin any project where you must be creative, start by collecting all the information you can get. Don’t be selective, just scoop up everything in sight. Read, ask questions, explore, and let your curiosity roam free. You won’t use everything, but that’s okay. Even seemingly useless information can help you understand your overall task more fully.

The key here is to look at everything and focus on nothing. Get the big picture and leave the details for later. Don’t make any decisions. Don’t evaluate information at this point. Just shovel up every possible fact. Don’t even organize papers. Simply pile everything into a file folder or a box.

In addition to collecting raw data, look at similar creative efforts. Dive into your swipe file. Thumb through magazines related to your subject or read by your ideal prospect and look at the articles and ads. Glance at newspaper headlines and book titles for new words and phrases which could spark ideas.

Look everywhere and take notes like crazy.

Step 2: Transform

The next step is to turn this collected information into new ideas. Organize everything you’ve collected. Boil down what you have into the essential elements. Sort and categorize.

When you have everything in order, begin to brainstorm. Let your mind run free. Don’t worry about how ridiculous some of your ideas may seem. Shoot for quantity here. Write dozens of headline and teasers. Sketch layout after layout. List random words and phrases. Work as fast as you can. Write down everything. Try to generate as many ideas as possible, even if they seem silly or unworkable.

After a while, set everything aside and do something else. Take a walk. Go golfing. Nap. I know this is hard to do when a deadline looms over you like an angry cloud, yet it’s an important part of the process. The break will allow your brain to do a little sifting and organizing for you. You may get your best ideas when you least expect it — in the shower, sitting in traffic, or in your sleep.

Step 3: Evaluate

When you’re fresh, go over the ideas you’ve generated. Now is the time to play critic. Give thumbs up or down to each idea. List the pros and cons of each. Be merciless. Weed out everything that doesn’t make the grade and keep only the best of the best. If you don’t like anything, or if you think you can do better, go back to brainstorming for a while.

For a time, you might alternate between spitting out ideas and evaluating them. How long you spend on this depends on your deadline and your endurance. When the deadline gets close or when you stop generating any useful ideas, it’s time to move on.

Step 4: Act

Eventually, and perhaps painfully, you will have to choose a single idea. This can often be the most difficult part of any project, because you’re afraid you might miss the “big idea.” Your instincts will tell you to keep brainstorming, but this is where you have to listen to your intellect, not your gut. Take your chosen idea and run with it. If you’ve given the creative process a chance, it’s time to act.

In particular, you must avoid loosing your objectivity by mulling over the problem too long. Sometimes, too much thinking will cloud your judgment. Consider your work a kind of watercolor — too many brush stroke will only produce an brown, ugly mess. Knowing when to stop is one of your most important skills.

The next time you sit down to write a direct mail package, design an ad, plan a campaign, or begin any creative project, try this simple 4-step process. By using your natural creativity in an organized way, you will feed your mind and free yourself to think more creatively, be more productive, and meet those seemingly impossible deadlines.

Do you have a different process or trick you use to break through or avoid creative block and get those writing juices flowing?

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