Creativity Archives - Page 2 of 2

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs. ~Ansel Adams

This weekend I participated in the second Photowalks Detroit (Facebook page) event hosted at The Henry Ford Museum. I was hesitant at first to attend because I’m not a professional photographer and I only have a simple point and shoot camera. I thought my photos would look very amateur compared to others’ photos. Some of the people who attended the first photowalk in Royal Oak promised that it wasn’t necessary to have a fancy camera. They also reminded me that if the person behind the camera has a creative eye, then the photos will turn out great. I had nothing to lose by joining the group on their museum adventure.
I believe it’s important to explore paths outside of your comfort zone every so often because you’ll always take away something beneficial from the experience. The Henry Ford photowalk was an excellent experiment in creativity. What I lacked in camera technology I attempted to make up for in the angles at which I took the photos. It was fun to play photographer for a few hours and bond in real life with friends who I initially connected with online.

Check out the stream of photowalk tweets and the Flickr group. My photos are tagged as EstrellaBella10. Thanks a million to Becks Davis and Dave Peckens for organizing a great event!

If you live outside the metro Detroit area, I highly recommend forming a similar group, or doing some research to see if one already exists.

Creativity is a very in-demand skill…and not only for the design and communication industries. Creativity can be applied to any job in any industry. There are always ways to improve products and services. Workers who think creatively are needed to help a business operate successfully.

I write a lot about creativity on this blog (hence the title), so I was interested when I saw a link on Twitter to a test that shows you how creatively you think. Hat tip to @joshlinkner for sharing this test from the Flanders DC site.

The results of this test are divided into two sections – your personal score on the creativity index and innovation in your work environment. An explanation of the results is also provided. I found the results to be very in line with my personality and my work environment. My only complaint about the test is the five possible answers:

this is not at all typical of me
this is not really typical of me
this is more or less typical of me
this is pretty typical of me
this is completely typical of me

I found it difficult to choose between some of the answers that are closely related, such as “not at all typical” and “not really typical”. Regardless, the results were very accurate and I think this is an interesting test. Give it a shot and see if you get the results you expected.

Photo credit

**Image obtained from Mashable

We all have our favorite “fall out of our chairs” laughing YouTube videos that we constantly watch and share with friends. Two stellar videos that stand out in my mind are “Charlie bit my finger – again!” and “Whistle Tips with Bub Rub”.

So imagine my excitement when I learned these highly popular vids and others are the inspiration behind Shirts Taste Good, a company that designs and sells YouTube-inspired T-shirts. I first read about this startup from a post on Mashable, and I immediately shared the link on my Facebook page because I think it’s an insanely creative idea that has massive potential for success. This is one of those “why the heck didn’t I think of that?” ventures. I can think of about a dozen friends who would find it absolutely hysterical to get one of these shirts as a birthday or Christmas gift.

The prices are pretty reasonable, with new shirts released each week starting at $14.95 and the more popular ones at $17.95 (plus shipping).

My only gripe is the color selection. Each shirt only comes in one color right now, and while I love me some Bub Rub and Lil Sis, I’m not big on black T-shirts. Hopefully color variation is a next step in a Shirt Taste Good’s business plan.

The company currently offers a pretty good selection of YouTube classics, but you can submit your favorite video for consideration if it didn’t make the cut. Wonder what the “Leave Kwame Alone” shirt would look like? 😉

Writing is an enormous part of my job, and thankfully, it’s an activity I love to do. Regardless of the amount of time I spend writing on a weekly basis, there’s always room for improvement. Anyone and everyone who has a passion for writing (particularly if you’re creating and sharing content online for a business purpose) should avidly read Copyblogger.

I wanted to share this recent post about writing and creativity, Do You Have These 11 Traits of Highly Creative People? because it’s perfect for anyone who’s recently hit a creative roadblock or wants to add some zest to their writing. The author elaborates more on the 11 traits of highly creative people, but here’s the brief version:

Highly creative people:

Have the courage to try new things and risk failure.
Use intuition and logic to make decisions and produce ideas.
Like to play, since humor and fun are the ultimate creative act.
Are expressive and willing to share what they feel and think to be themselves.
Can find order in confusion and discover hidden meaning in information.
Are motivated by task rather than by external rewards.
Have a need to find solutions to challenging problems.
Will challenge assumptions and ask hard questions to discover what is real.
Can make connections between old ideas to produce new insights.
Will push the envelope in order to expand the boundaries of what is possible.
Are willing to test new ideas and compete with others based on results.

The author admits most people don’t naturally possess these traits, but they aren’t difficult to attain. So here’s the timeline: Act creative, become creative, success will follow. I’m sure the length of each stage varies from person to person, but I truly believe that creativity is the key to not only a successful career, but also to a more happy and productive life.

We all possess talents and characteristics that make us unique, but many people (myself included) wish they were better at something. I’ve always wanted to be more artistic. Art class in high school was the class I dreaded the most because I can’t draw, sketch, paint, or sculpt for the life of me. No matter how much I try to convince myself that I can learn to scrapbook or create cute little handmade gifts for friends and family, I know deep down it’s not going to happen!

On that note, let me introduce you to my very talented and creative friend Lindsay (aka Herban Girl) who I just learned has some amazingly artistic skills. Lindsay recently seized the opportunity to open the virtual doors on her online shop, songbird notes, where she’s selling handmade note cards. Her shop is hosted through Etsy, which is pretty much the coolest place to buy products directly from independent designers and artists. Lindsay’s cards are unique because many of her designs feature a Japanese influence (she relocated to Japan with her husband for a few years).

I admire Lindsay for capitalizing on her talent and taking the initiative to share her passion and creativity with the world. I know what my next purchase will be…:)

Sometimes I wonder if people buy it that I truly believe Michigan is brimming with creative talent. I’m constantly saying people in Michigan have so much to offer and are doing amazing things, but the many dark clouds hanging above us (i.e., all the bad things happening in our state) frequently overshadow all the positive news.

If anyone living here, specifically in metro Detroit, doubts that we’re a talented bunch, then I challenge to them to come to the next Tweetea event. They undoubtedly will be proven wrong.

My previous American Idol blogging gig for The Detroit News prevented me from attending these weekly Tuesday night events, but I finally made it to my first one this week. The Tweetea attendees traditionally meet at Goldfish Tea in Royal Oak. Whether or not you’re a tea aficionado, the uber-cool, Chinese-inspired decor and friendly staff are reason enough to check out Goldfish Tea.

Hubert Sawyers (@HubertGAM) is the brains behind Tweetea. He organized the first meeting last winter and envisioned it as a way to simply meet people. Hubert is a big stickler on health and wellness and has a passion for tea, so hosting the Tweeteas at Goldfish Tea made perfect sense. He started pushing the word out about these events by creating the #tweetea hashtag on Twitter (you can also follow @Tweetroit on Twitter for the latest Tweetea updates). To his surprise, 15 people showed up to the first Tweetea, and the weekly attendee numbers have been steadily increasing ever since.

Hubert makes this very clear: Tweetea is more than a business networking event. The point is to take something away from the event that you can then share with others. Something educational – not just a stack of business cards that will potentially collect dust on your desk or in your Rolodex. The intention is to meet people and build friendships. Then in time, those friendships may develop into a business relationship. And if that doesn’t happen, who cares? You’ve gained a few good friends in the process.

The Tweetea attendees aim to pick a different discussion topic each week. Hubert credits this idea largely to Dave Murr (@DaveMurr). It’s gone over well so far. We initially planned to talk about video blogging (or vlogging for you more techie people) at the Tweetea this week because Hubert’s in the market for a new camera, but the discussion topics ended up focusing more on how the fall of the Big 3 is affecting our region and the role social media plays in our world today. Here’s a breakdown of some of our discussions:

Social media is not a natural extension of PR.
Many companies are jumping on the social media bandwagon without first creating a strategy, which is threatening to ruin social media’s credibility for the rest of us that are using it wisely.
Facebook cause pages are effective in raising money if used correctly.
The nonprofit industry will benefit most from social media in the future because it’s all about advocating, not advertising.
Corporations would do a lot more in sales if they kept their employees happy.
We need to find the next generation of corporations/brands that are using social media in the right way for new case studies.
Detroit gets so much negative press, but only people who live here truly understand that we have an active core of advocates in southeast MI.

The knowledge I gained in the few short hours at Tweetea is invaluable. It’s also incredible how much you can learn about someone during one conversation. Who would have thought that Adrian Pittman (@adrianpittman) has a devious plan to overthrow Detroit City Council? 😉 All humor aside, Tweetea gave me the opportunity to get inside the heads of some of metro Detroit’s most talented residents. Here’s a complete list of everyone who attended this week:

@HubertGAM
@3sixteenweb
@tinawebanalytic
@DaveMurr
@jennimurr
@michaelstuertz
@adrianpittman
@khalidh
@montilee

Have I said enough to convince you to attend Tweetea? If you decide to come, what topics would you be most interested in discussing with the group?

If you were to ask any given long-time resident of Michigan if they’ve ever used their hand to represent the state and point out where they’re from, I can pretty much guarantee you they would say yes. I know I’m guilty of that on several occasions! Well, fellow Michiganders, there’s no need to resort to turning your hand into a map anymore to proudly show those out-of-staters where you reside. Let me introduce you to Michigan Mittens, created by Erich and Connie Hahne from Clarkston.

The couple dreamed up this crazy-idea-turned-reality while driving home from a weekend at their Upper Peninsula cabin. The maps are embroidered into the palms of the mittens – the Lower Peninsula on the right and the Upper Peninsula on the left. They sell for $20 on the Web site, www.michiganmittens.com. The mittens are made from Angora wool (perfect for those bitterly cold, dead-of-winter days). Read more about it in this Flint Journal article.

I think this is a fantastic way to give tourists a token to take back with them and Michiganders a fun and unique way to sport their pride during the harsh winter months. It also gives hope to other Michigan entrepreneurs who want to jump-start the economy and prove why small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy. Kudos to you Hahne family!

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCAD to native Detroiters) is home to a very creative and thought-provoking exhibit now through Jan. 20, 2008 titled “Words Fail Me.”

According to Matthew Higgs, a New York-based artist, curator and writer, the exhibition explores visual art’s ongoing, and often times uneasy, relationship with language: A century-long entanglement between word and image. The phrase “words fail me” alludes to language’s limits and limitations, a scenario in which language might be considered insufficient or possibly even inadequate, where words become less certain, more blurred, and consequently, open to interpretation.

As evident from the photos above, the exhibit encompasses a variety of different works from artists depicting the many ways words can form art. From drawings by Anne-lise Coste that resemble illegible scrawlings on diary pages (first photo) to Carl Pope’s menagerie of colorful posters (third photo) that expresses a variety of bold and often conflicting viewpoints, “Words Fail Me” will make you crawl out of your mind’s shelter and allow you to form your own opinions as to why the artists chose such phrases to resemble art. As a bonus, a series of lectures and presentations will also accompany the exhibit. The next one is Oct. 10 and features Carl Pope.

As a person who lingers on the words of others and appreciates music mainly because of the lyrics that accompany the sounds, I would highly recommend this exhibit to anyone who can look beyond the surface and discover the true beauty of this type of art.

I’m discovering more and more reasons every day to appreciate metro Detroit (although it can be difficult most days to stay positive amidst all the negativity). Props to my girl Lauren for finding a great article in the Chicago Tribune titled “The lights come back on in downtown Detroit.” It’s good to see people from other cities (especially a writer from a city as vibrant and addicting as Chicago) giving a lil shoutout to our D-town. Slowly but surely, I think we’re movin on up….

This past week, I received a cordial invitation from my good pal Julie to the launch party of BrainGain Marketing, Detroit/Michigan’s ONLY social media focused PR and marketing agency. The small gathering took place at Buzz Bar in Detroit, which was great for me because I’ve never been there, so it added to my newfound interest in visiting as many hip places as possible that I’ve never been to before. This up-and-coming, ubercool (my new favorite prefix to all words is uber) social marketing company targets creative, young and talented people throughout the state who are the next influential wave of social media. Heck, they’re a bunch of creative, young and extremely talented people themselves, so they know exactly how to reach out to their targeted audience.

Julie and her colleagues also have created a cool Web site called MiLife MiTimes (Mi = Michigan…get it?). The site offers a fresh perspective on life in Michigan for and by those who can’t help but love the state that’s been taking so much political/social/governmental slack recently. Most of the articles focus on artsy, innovative topics about music, entertainment, outdoor recreation, eco-friendly info, fashion and forward-moving companies. I find myself tapping into the site at least once a day to see what new and fun things are going on around the state, and to confirm my sometimes questionable decision of choosing to live and work in Michigan. It’s great when companies like BrainGain come along because it helps reinforce that decision and pools creative talent together who have the same thoughts and interests. Our state definitely needs more people like the BrainGain team to help fuel the creativity/social media fire and provide a resource for young, enthusiastic people like myself (and so many of my friends) who are itching every day to make a difference in the communications 2.0 world.

What’s even better is that now anyone can post an article on the MiLife MiTimes site. Just go to Submit a Story on the main page and let your thoughts run wild. Of course, the article must be ubercool (there’s that word again), and will be reviewed by staff prior to posting. I know I will be contributing articles in the near future to help play my part in spiffing up the way people think about Detroit and Michigan in general. It’s up to us young and talented folk to dig deep and uncover all the hidden secrets of our state, because if we don’t do it, then who will?