POSTED BY: Steve Grunert

Unlock Your Creative Side

16th Oct, 2018
no rules book cover

Unlock Your Creative Side

I’ve always been intrigued with creative thinking- how to best tap into that creative part of my brain and make creativity a reliable habit. I recently purchased the book Hegarty on Creativity by one of the world’s top advertising creatives Sir John Hegarty. The book makes some interesting and amusing points on how best to tap into your creative side:

1. Relax, stress is the death of creativity

Easier said than done but a calm mind helps creativity no end.

2. Have fun

At Neworld, our creative think tanks always have a degree of fun. It’s amazing how those moments of comedy or madcap ideas often produce the creative gem we are searching for.

3. When the world zigs, zag

Certainly in my world of packaging, this couldn’t be better advice. If everyone else is ‘zigging’ the best way to stand out on the shelf is to work out how to ‘zag’.

4. Good is the enemy of great

Let’s face it, creativity is just mediocrity without a degree of perfectionism.

5. Don’t get comfortable, shake it up

Creativity should be spontaneous. Changing habits can lead to a different and interesting result.

6. Live somewhere with bad weather

This is an interesting one. In his book, Sir John Hegarty makes the point that the reason London is one of the creative centres of the world is that the weather is terrible. He believes sunny places are a distraction for the mind and when faced with a difficult creative conundrum all you have to do is stare out the window, see the sun shining and you’re thinking how good an ice cold beer will go down as you soak up the sun. In London, the crap weather means your mind is focused and happy to continue thinking until the creative solution presents itself. An interesting opinion!

With that in mind, Dublin must be the creative centre of the universe!

Steve Grunert, Creative Director.
Steve has a wealth of experience working some of Ireland’s most successful brands such as Flahavan’s, Barry’s Tea, Glenisk, Franciscan Well Brewery, Irish Pride, The Jelly Bean Factory and Aldi Supermarkets to name but a few. His love of all things food has helped him guide clients to the right packaging solutions, helping them to find their own distinct point of difference on shelf. If he’s not slaving away the latest packaging solution he’ll be out the back, firing up the barbeque and feeding the Neworld troops full of gourmet delights!