Creative Patterns
Creativity is often seen as exclusive to certain 'creative' or 'artistic' individuals, with their ideas seemingly appearing out of nowhere. However, there is a clear thought process that precedes every creative breakthrough with the identification of patterns being at the centre of it. While some people may have a natural inclination for this type of thinking, it is a skill that can be cultivated and nurtured in everyone.
Art is theft - Picaso
Creativity is not the creation of completely orignal ideas, but rather the synthesis of many existing ideas into a new idea. In this way, a creative indiviudal steals ideas from all around them. There are three key factors that enable them to achieve this:
1. Openess to new concepts
The willingness to be open to ideas and experiences allows an artist to have a large bank to call upon when synthesising new ideas. The greater the range of ideas to draw on, the more possibilities that are available to the artist.
2. Understanding ideas
It is vital to understand the ideas and experiences that are being taken in. An understanding of these ideas provides many more connections for pattern recognition, and makes the synthesis of new ideas easier.
3. Recognising patterns
Recognising the connections between the bank of ideas provides the trigger for the synthetis of new ideas. Pattern recognition is mostly an unconcious process, which is why many people deem creativity unteachable.
Tango Beta
The Tango Beta Model is designed to foster creative thinking by breaking the creative process into three distinct actions. These actions align directly with the key components outlined above. By focusing on each component individually, users are encouraged to approach the creative process in a systematic and thoughtful way, promoting a more structured and effective creative workflow.
Note: For problem solving which involves more targeted creativity, it is often more convenient to start with the problem/project mentioned in Stage 3, and then seek to form an "Ideas Bank" based on the context of the problem/project.