Unblocking Your Creativity: NY Advertising Week 2018 Conference Recap

 Every October, the best minds in (and outside of) advertising gather around the figurative campfire to discuss the ever-changing industry landscape for Advertising Week. This year, the likes of David Droga (of Droga5 fame), Will Smith (yes, that Will Smith), Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg (co-founders and co-CEOs of theSkimm), and many other esteemed speakers graced the Lincoln Square AMC Loews, drawing in 98,000 attendees over the course of four days.  So, I was lucky to have a front-row seat to all of the action thanks to Advertising Week’s volunteer program. (As a head’s up, a student pass is $99, but a free volunteer pass comes with perks such as more networking opportunities and a ticket to the Wrap Party.)

 

This year’s most talked-about topics included trending social movements, emerging technology, and big data.  But, as an aspiring art director, I am most interested in going back to the basics: getting to the idea before riding the next big wave of trends.

Although I sat through talks on capitalizing livestreaming and taking advantage of the vertical video format, my favorite was Karina Velasco’s “Go Beyond the Creative Blocks: Let the Ideas Flow to You.”  As a self-taught – and now gainfully employed – graphic designer, creative blocks are my worst enemy because I was not a part of a community of designers until I started college. I didn’t know how to deal with feeling at a loss for new ideas.  I have had moments where creative blocks were so daunting that they affected my ability to design, write, or even doodle in my notebook. I’d fall into pits of “I can’t do this” and have trouble picking myself up.

But I digress.

 

Karina, a Mexican-born author, speaker, and lifestyle designer, is a big proponent of “creative health.”  Like the mind and body, it is important to keep our creativity nourished, exercised, and well-rested. Only then can we have the energy and mindset to focus on our problems, feel free to solve whatever creative problem is ahead of us, find the solution, and – perhaps most importantly – be carefree in our creative endeavors.

In her talk, Karina identified some obstacles that keep us from finding inspiration and acting on our creative whim:

1. Mind
2. Emotion
3. Emotional-mind
4. Morality
5. Validation
6. Rules
7. Scarcity
8. Perfection Syndrome

Many of those mechanisms, such as the mind, emotions (particularly anxiety), emotional-mind, morality, validity, and “Perfection Syndrome” cause us to spiral further into the “I can’t do this” mindset. For example, one might avoid exploring a topic of interest because of what others will say (morality), or only put forward ideas that they think will garner attention and validation from others.  I personally struggle most with “Perfection Syndrome”: I am uncomfortable with putting my name on anything that is less than perfect and original. (To that, Karina says, “Original...that’s an 80’s concept!”) As a creative, the hardest lesson I’ve ever had to learn was that something has to give.  “There is no perfection in creativity” because even the ugliest parts of the world have inspired people.  Perfection is a delusion.

With that, Karina posited five basic ways to get over the creative blocks:

1. Creative Discovery
   Creative discovery is the process of becoming self-aware as a creative being, to meditate and to observe.  It allows our mind to rest and observe, but it is not saying, “I’m too tired.”
2. Creative Exploring
   Creative exploring is staying open-minded and “upgrading” what you want to ask yourself.  If you’re always questioning yourself, change the questions; don’t make them of self-doubt.  An issue with creative exploring, especially in the digital era, is privacy. We tend to overshare and leave no sense of mystery to our thought processes.  Not everyone has to be a part of the process every step of the way. No one is judging your thoughts if you haven’t put them out there yet.
3. Creative Feel
   Creative feel is establishing an emotional balance.  It is letting your desire be your motivation.
4. Creative Connections
   In the same breath as not sharing everything, it is important to surround yourself with your community.  It is also important to create an inspiring environment, whether it be your office or your room.  Creative connections allow for self-alignment; it’s difficult to communicate with others when your thoughts aren’t clear.
5. Creative Health
   Karina circles back to the idea of creative health, which she specifies as knowing how much energy to put toward a project, being properly nourished, and exercising your creativity.

Key Takeaways:

1. As creatives, it is as important to generate ideas as it is to keep ourselves and our creativity healthy.
2. We waste so much time believing that we “can’t do it” (whatever it may be), that we could put that time to better use: We could use it to realign with ourselves and refocus on the work with a different perspective.
3. Holding back in ideating because of what others might think is less productive than keeping our ideas to ourselves until they are fully developed.