Quotable
The following observation made by Steve Jobs has been circulating around design forums and blogs lately: Creativity is just connecting things.
When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they've had more experiences or they've thought more about their experiences than other people.
Unfortunately, that's too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven't had very diverse experiences. So they don't have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one's understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.
"Steve Jobs: The Next Insanely Great Thing"
Wired Magazine, February 1996
I wouldn't necessarily argue that breadth of experience is the only path to creativity, but it's certainly served me well. The point that really resonates with me is the one about having "enough dots to connect." Our collected memories and experiences are vital resources - it takes imagination and intelligence to make the most of them, but the more we have to work with, the better.
When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they've had more experiences or they've thought more about their experiences than other people.
Unfortunately, that's too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven't had very diverse experiences. So they don't have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one's understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.
"Steve Jobs: The Next Insanely Great Thing"
Wired Magazine, February 1996
I wouldn't necessarily argue that breadth of experience is the only path to creativity, but it's certainly served me well. The point that really resonates with me is the one about having "enough dots to connect." Our collected memories and experiences are vital resources - it takes imagination and intelligence to make the most of them, but the more we have to work with, the better.