Creativity
I had the chance to work on a few campy ideas at work this week. This is part of my job that I really love. One of my internal clients has an employee contest he wants to run this year, and I got to come up with some fun ways to brand it. I was pretty pleased with the graphics and the copy I ended up with, and one of my co-workers was all, "You're so creative."
Here's the thing about "creative." It's ephemeral. Like, I may see what you're trying to accomplish, and I may have some wacky responses to it that I can mine for some effective, funny promotional ideas. And if that happens, then I'm creative. But sometimes, I don't have much of a response at all to what I'm asked to promote. In which case, I don't think I come up with anything very good (or at least not very fun). So does that mean I'm no longer creative?
Creativity is like artistry. It comes and goes. Sometimes you feel like it's blocked. Other times, it seems like everything you touch turns to gold. Some days, you have a million ideas. Others, you got nothing. So, I guess I'm saying that I have a teensy problem with labeling anyone "creative." Because I'm sure there were days when even Picasso didn't feel inspired to pick up a paint brush.
Here's the thing about "creative." It's ephemeral. Like, I may see what you're trying to accomplish, and I may have some wacky responses to it that I can mine for some effective, funny promotional ideas. And if that happens, then I'm creative. But sometimes, I don't have much of a response at all to what I'm asked to promote. In which case, I don't think I come up with anything very good (or at least not very fun). So does that mean I'm no longer creative?
Creativity is like artistry. It comes and goes. Sometimes you feel like it's blocked. Other times, it seems like everything you touch turns to gold. Some days, you have a million ideas. Others, you got nothing. So, I guess I'm saying that I have a teensy problem with labeling anyone "creative." Because I'm sure there were days when even Picasso didn't feel inspired to pick up a paint brush.
Comments
This is where a certain type of press release comes into play.
Sometimes what they create isn't all that good or is just really self-serving and pointless. When that happens, it's like "Dude, you're whole identity just went down the drain."
Likewise I get frustrated with people who say they aren't creative because they can't paint or play guitar. There are a million ways to create and I've never met anybody who wasn't proficient with at least one of them.
A REAL meaningless press release is the one you write to get some higher-up off your back, just writing one for the sake of politics, because you HAVE to, even though you know the information is not newsworthy. Ick.