"We need to demystify creativity"
It is not that strange that we idolize and celebrate creativity in our industry. After all, that’s what we sell. So how come Spoon’s chief creative director, Melker Forssén, thinks it’s high time to re-evaluate the idea of it?
“We need to demystify creativity,” says Melker Forssén.
Why?
“Because humanity faces so many challenges today that creativity is needed in all areas – and we need to collaborate more! You can learn to become more creative.”
Melker Forssén has been in the industry for, as he puts it, “many years”. And what he has realised about creativity is that it isn’t a lightning bolt of inspiration. It takes hard work. Also, there’s no reason for you to come up with a half-baked idea by yourself when you can invite others and together reach a fully-fledged solution.
“A lot of people think that they can’t be creative since they are ‘not the type’. As if ‘being creative’ is some kind of magic reserved for the few. The other misconception is that we still believe in the eureka moment. But every good, creative solution is the result of hard work and thorough research. Lastly, don’t work by yourself. You’ll get caught up in your own train of thought and the lack of perspective will hamper you.”
What does your creative process look like?
“Start by understanding the challenge. If you can’t answer the question, ‘What is the problem?’, then you are not ready to start solving it. Once you have got this far, gather insights. As many as you can. This is the biggest part of the job. Cast the widest net possible, and get more people involved. The number of insights is crucial to the quality of the solution.”
Ok, and then what?
“Then you analyse your amassed insights. And chart your courses of action. Next, you should evaluate these actions. Can they be combined? Can they be simplified? Finally, remember to test your solution. Does it work? If you’ve done your homework, it just might.”
If anything, Melker advocates structured methods for creativity. Educated in the behavioural science of Coglode, Melker is a firm believer in adhering to science and not solely relying on gut feeling. He recommends the Coglode system, which is a card index where every card defines one human behaviour and shows how to trigger it. But how can it help with the creative process?
“It makes it easier to gather insights and find the right course of action. If you are a copywriter, Coglode can help you formulate a call to action that triggers a certain response from your reader. If you are designing a webshop, Coglode can help you with a design that leads to conversions. It can be used for any context where you want to activate your audience.”
So, creativity as we know it is basically thinking inside of the box?
“It’s both. We shouldn’t act as if creativity is a mythical power that belongs to ‘creatives’. We could, and we should, invite our clients into the creative workshop. Being creative is not our target. Reaching the best solution for our client is.”