By TAICHI KOZAKI

Sometimes, simply talking to another person can be the most powerful inspiration source. I believe many of us experienced that during Creative Week. 

As a design student, seeking inspiration is a part of my daily life. 

I use Pinterst to organize things I find online, and I use my mobile phone camera to capture things offline. These sorts of inspirations often help me develop visual styles in my design work. But they don’t necessary help me when I am trying to come up with ideas to solve advertising problems. 

And I assume many of us share that same problem.

I attended the CREATION STORIES: FINDING THE INSPIRATION TO MAKE NEW THINGS session where four of the most interesting senior creatives in marketing and design discussed where to find inspiration. 

During the session, all of the panelists mentioned that “people” are a very powerful inspiration source. Rob Trostle, Design Director of Mother New York, said that organic process is very important. Having a group conversation can be a more effective way to seek an answer than going to an online search engine. When you are looking for something on Google, search is very convenient; if your job is to be creative, you have to be careful about using them. 

This is a very un-organic and streamlined tool; the answer to the question is already prepared – and that can limit the inspiration or even the process of creation itself.

I strongly agree with his point of view. 

If we are all looking at the same things and using them as an inspiration, many people are probably going to end up making something very similar. And of course, the new things won’t come out from it if you are looking at something that already exists. 

Another problem is that the Internet doesn’t have the answer to all of the questions that we have anyway. Joe Stewart, Global Creative Director and Partner at HUGE, said it is difficult to look for digital inspiration – because it’s new, and we are the first generation in the digital era. He said that human behavior can be a very powerful inspiration source. 

Just by having a conversation with somebody, you will learn a lot about things you didn’t know. 

When I receive an assignment brief, I often go out and do some research. Simply going to the supermarket and observing what kinds of people are going to buy the product that I am working on sometimes gives me a better understanding of what kind of advertising problem it is that I am trying to solve. 

Once I find the human truth that is hidden in the product, coming up with ideas becomes easier. 

During the last few days, I have spoken with many people. It didn’t matter if they were creatives, planners, students, or anything else – they all inspired me tremendously. Now I am back in my room writing this. To be honest, this is my first time writing more than 140 characters in awhile. 

I usually don’t like writing at all; after Creative Week, I actually wanted to share my thoughts with others. 

Talking to someone leads to inspiration. 

Inspiration leads to motivation.

Motivation leads to an action.

And an action leads to an unexpected outcome. 

After all:

We are in the industry of people – not the industry of “I am going to sit in front of a computer and make cool stuff”. 

So the next time you need an inspiration, step away from the desk and go take a walk. 

Because the computer doesn’t make the creative person.

It’s the person who returns to the keyboard, inspired by the people out in the world.