Limit Yourself


Book Description

Telling yourself you have all the time, all the resources and all the money in the world just kills creativity and self–discipline. Why not try to limit yourself and unleash your creativity! Designer and advertiser Ralph Burkhardt has put together this inspirational pocket book, with a proven method that can help you tap into your creative and business potential and, above all, get results. Replete with quotes, checklists, cool illustrations and encouraging words, this little book packs a punch, revealing the simplest and most effective way to tap into your creative genius and set goals. A great tool to pass around during brainstorming meetings with colleagues, or to keep handy on your desk at work. Limit Yourself and Unleash Your Creativity contents: What, why, who? ABOUT CREATIVITY What is creativity? Everyone can be creative! The true creative myth The creative process Reflect on your creativity Think inside the box ABOUT LIMITATIONS 'Limitation' might sound like a bad word Who needs limitations? What kind of limitations are there? What limitations can do for you What you need to bring Who's afraid of the blank page? The creative trajectory Why total freedom doesn't liberate Creative boundaries Ready, mindset, go! 01 LIMITATIONS OF TIME Learn to love deadlines Make better use of your time The five–minute time limit One painting / poster / logo / lettering a day 02 LIMITATIONS OF RESOURCES How to deal with a limited budget Improvisation = innovation Exploration through limitation 03 LIMITATIONS OF DESIGN PRINCIPLES Refine your colour palette Limit your typefaces Why Frank Gehry loves limitations Music at the limits 04 LIMITATIONS OF A BRIEF 'Do whatever you like!' Discovering the client's needs Just don't do it What to learn from Dr. Seuss 05 LIMITATIONS OF MEDIUM What is minimalism? How to simplify and intensify Maximum meaning, minimum means! Embracing technical limitations Use your digits! 06 LIMITATIONS OF SKILLS Maintain momentum Team up with others Try random limitations Harness someone else's creativity 07 LIMITATIONS OF SPACE Size does matter! Decide what's important Do it 'Like a Rolling Stone' The ultimate limitation scale FINAL THOUGHTS Take the first step! What to do with immutable limitations A generation of demands Limited to only one world Credits / Bibliography / Thanks




Unleashing Your Creativity


Book Description

At times we are in a situation, that we had an amazing idea, but it went to waste. Or you are stuck at a point with a project and need to know how to generate more creative ideas for that project. But wait not only that project, you want to unleash the creativity in you. Unleashing your Creativity is a short book on how to boost your creativity to the next level. The book explains the basic concept of creativity, helps you understand what are the enemies of creativity, two methods on how to boost your creativity and get lots of new ideas for the project you have or the problem you want to solve. In the book, there are also other tips which can help you increase your creativity. This book is written with the perspective it can be used any anyone including managers, senior management, artists, authors, or generally anyone who wants to increase their creativity. The idea of creativity is to help you generate maximum ideas for your business, or book, art work, or any problem you want to solve.




Creative Confidence


Book Description

IDEO founder and Stanford d.school creator David Kelley and his brother Tom Kelley, IDEO partner and the author of the bestselling The Art of Innovation, have written a powerful and compelling book on unleashing the creativity that lies within each and every one of us. Too often, companies and individuals assume that creativity and innovation are the domain of the "creative types." But two of the leading experts in innovation, design, and creativity on the planet show us that each and every one of us is creative. In an incredibly entertaining and inspiring narrative that draws on countless stories from their work at IDEO, the Stanford d.school, and with many of the world's top companies, David and Tom Kelley identify the principles and strategies that will allow us to tap into our creative potential in our work lives, and in our personal lives, and allow us to innovate in terms of how we approach and solve problems. It is a book that will help each of us be more productive and successful in our lives and in our careers.




Who Are You, Really?


Book Description

This fun, smart read for anyone eager to better understand (and improve) themselves argues that personality is driven not by nature nor nurture—but instead by the projects we pursue, which ultimately shape the people we become. Traditionally, scientists have emphasized what they call the first and second natures of personality—genes and culture, respectively. But today the field of personality science has moved well beyond the nature vs. nurture debate. In Who Are You, Really? Dr. Brian Little presents a distinctive view of how personality shapes our lives—and why this matters. Little makes the case for a third nature to the human condition—the pursuit of personal projects, idealistic dreams, and creative ventures that shape both people’s lives and their personalities. Little uncovers what personality science has been discovering about the role of personal projects, revealing how this new concept can help people better understand themselves and shape their lives. In this important work, Little argues that it is essential to devote energy and resources to creative endeavors in a highly focused fashion, even if it takes away from other components of our well-being. This does not mean that we cannot shift from one core project to another in the days of our lives. In fact, it is precisely that ability to flexibly craft projects that is the greatest source of sustainability. Like learning to walk, forcing ourselves out of balance as we step is the only way in which we can move forward. And it is the only way that human flourishing can be enhanced. The well-lived life is based on the sustainable pursuit of core projects in our lives. Ultimately, Who Are You, Really? provides a deeply personal itinerary for exploring our personalities, our lives, and the human condition.




Embrace Your Weird


Book Description

An instant New York Times bestseller In Embrace Your Weird, New York Times bestselling author, producer, actress, TV writer, and award-winning web series creator, Felicia Day takes you on a journey to find, rekindle, or expand your creative passions. Including Felicia’s personal stories and hard-won wisdom, Embrace Your Weird offers: —Entertaining and revelatory exercises that empower you to be fearless, so you can rediscover the things that bring you joy, and crack your imagination wide open —Unique techniques to vanquish enemies of creativity like: anxiety, fear, procrastination, perfectionism, criticism, and jealousy —Tips to cultivate a creative community —Space to explore and get your neurons firing Whether you enjoy writing, baking, painting, podcasting, playing music, or have yet to uncover your favorite creative outlet, Embrace Your Weird will help you unlock the power of self-expression. Get motivated. Get creative. Get weird.




Banish Your Inner Critic


Book Description

“Gives you the practical tools you need to own the room by owning yourself. Banish that inner devil’s advocate and become as powerful as you can be.” —Alan Cooper, software alchemist, cofounder of Cooper As the Founder and Chief Creativity Evangelist of “The Creative Dose,” Denise Jacobs teaches techniques to make the creative process more fluid, methods for making work environments more conducive to personal productivity, and practices for sparking innovation. Now, in her book, Banish Your Inner Critic, Denise shows you how to defeat those barriers that are holding you back and achieve success through a positive mental attitude. Banish Your Inner Critic shows you how to move beyond that mental block to your creative ideas, realize instant relief and lasting insight, and: · Identify and quiet the voice of self-doubt in your head · Master 3 powerful practices that will transform how you relate to yourself and your creativity forever · Overcome the fear of not knowing enough or not being original enough · Free yourself from comparisons, overwhelm, high self-criticism and self-sabotage · Transform your self-talk into a tool for success · Generate more creative ideas than ever before · Embrace your expertise and share your brilliance with the world Banish your Inner Critic to start doing your best work, achieving excellence, and contributing meaningfully to the world! “If you’re interested in diving deep into your own creative genius, this book will give you an abundance of ways to do that.” —Michelle Villalobos, “The Superstar Activator” & founder of The Women’s Success Summit “A book I believe will inspire a new generation to step out of the shadows and shine.” —Paul Boag, author of User Experience Revolution




The Creative Habit


Book Description

One of the world’s leading creative artists, choreographers, and creator of the smash-hit Broadway show, Movin’ Out, shares her secrets for developing and honing your creative talents—at once prescriptive and inspirational, a book to stand alongside The Artist’s Way and Bird by Bird. All it takes to make creativity a part of your life is the willingness to make it a habit. It is the product of preparation and effort, and is within reach of everyone. Whether you are a painter, musician, businessperson, or simply an individual yearning to put your creativity to use, The Creative Habit provides you with thirty-two practical exercises based on the lessons Twyla Tharp has learned in her remarkable thirty-five-year career. In "Where's Your Pencil?" Tharp reminds you to observe the world -- and get it down on paper. In "Coins and Chaos," she gives you an easy way to restore order and peace. In "Do a Verb," she turns your mind and body into coworkers. In "Build a Bridge to the Next Day," she shows you how to clean the clutter from your mind overnight. Tharp leads you through the painful first steps of scratching for ideas, finding the spine of your work, and getting out of ruts and into productive grooves. The wide-open realm of possibilities can be energizing, and Twyla Tharp explains how to take a deep breath and begin...




The Book of Doing


Book Description

When did you last take the time to do the things you loved as a child: crafts, games, getting your hands dirty? Or feel the same delight and wonder that you took from your favorite childhood activities? Despite the joy we gained from these pursuits, in our adult lives, we've left them behind-they're too frivolous, we're too busy or too old, and there's too much "real" work to do. It's time to change this mind-set. It's time to rediscover the things you love to do, because they energize, center, and connect you with the world in a meaningful and positive way. The Book of Doing offers a collection of ideas and activities that encourage you to use your life as a canvas and explore your creativity through everything you do-to create and make, to explore and experiment, to play and build, to paint and cook-to do. Go ahead. Roll up your sleeves and get to it. It's time to do the things that make you happiest.




Creative Acts for Curious People


Book Description

WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • “A delightful, compelling book that offers a dazzling array of practical, thoughtful exercises designed to spark creativity, help solve problems, foster connection, and make our lives better.”—Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author and host of the Happier podcast In an era of ambiguous, messy problems—as well as extraordinary opportunities for positive change—it’s vital to have both an inquisitive mind and the ability to act with intention. Creative Acts for Curious People is filled with ways to build those skills with resilience, care, and confidence. At Stanford University’s world-renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, aka “the d.school,” students and faculty, experts and seekers bring together diverse perspectives to tackle ambitious projects; this book contains the experiences designed to help them do it. A provocative and highly visual companion, it’s a definitive resource for people who aim to draw on their curiosity and creativity in the face of uncertainty. Teeming with ideas about discovery, learning, and leading the way through unknown creative territory, Creative Acts for Curious People includes memorable stories and more than eighty innovative exercises. Curated by executive director Sarah Stein Greenberg, after being honed in the classrooms of the d.school, these exercises originated in some of the world’s most inventive and unconventional minds, including those of d.school and IDEO founder David M. Kelley, ReadyMade magazine founder Grace Hawthorne, innovative choreographer Aleta Hayes, Google chief innovation evangelist Frederik G. Pferdt, and many more. To bring fresh approaches to any challenge–world changing or close to home–you can draw on exercises such as Expert Eyes to hone observation skills, How to Talk to Strangers to foster understanding, and Designing Tools for Teams to build creative leadership. The activities are at once lighthearted, surprising, tough, and impactful–and reveal how the hidden dynamics of design can drive more vibrant ways of making, feeling, exploring, experimenting, and collaborating at work and in life. This book will help you develop the behaviors and deepen the mindsets that can turn your curiosity into ideas, and your ideas into action.




Your Idea Starts Here


Book Description

2016 Silver Nautilus Award Winner for Creative Process With change happening faster and faster in our tech-ruled world, being able to think creatively, flexibly, and quickly is more important than ever. In Your Idea Starts Here, graphic designer Carolyn Eckert offers 77 specific questions, techniques, and exercises — cleverly combined with fascinating infographics and other visuals — to jump-start creative thinking. Don’t know what you want your project to be? Make a list of things you don’t want it to be. Wondering where to start? Say one word that relates to your idea and invite a friend to say another word that relates to yours. See where five or ten rounds take you. Work within a time limit, look in unexpected places, think tiny, do the opposite, shuffle your papers, and explore your creativity to the fullest! There’s something here to inspire and strengthen every smart idea, all in an innovative little book that makes a perfect gift for anyone, including yourself.