Summary
For the past 20 years, Dr Karl K. Jeffries has been fascinated by the study of creativity. In this presentation, he shares some of what he has learnt about creativity and how it applies to DesignOps professionals. Whether you consider yourself creative or not, the science of creativity has much to offer professional design practice in all its many forms. As a critical 21st-century skill, having an informed understanding of creativity is crucial to navigating the next five years. In this presentation, Dr Jeffries begins to explore a few insights to ignite your interest in creativity for DesignOps.
Key Insights
-
•
Creativity is often misunderstood, with myths such as 'you are either creative or not' or 'creativity equals art' prevalent even in design professions.
-
•
Research defines creativity as requiring both originality and effectiveness, highlighting novelty plus usefulness.
-
•
Creativity fuels design, which in turn drives innovation and resilience, both critical in UX and design ops.
-
•
Viewing creative professionals as 'ideas athletes' or 'creativity Olympians' changes how we approach supporting them, emphasizing coaching, recovery, and ecosystems for peak performance.
-
•
Burnout in creative roles is common, with reports showing tech workers are five times more likely to be depressed than the general population, harming creativity.
-
•
The workplace typically fails to nurture creativity properly, often using creative people up and discarding them rather than supporting their growth.
-
•
Design ops is positioned uniquely to redefine creative work cultures by intentionally supporting creativity resilience and challenging damaging myths.
-
•
Optimism—not naive hope—but a realistic yet hopeful mindset is essential for sustaining creativity and resilience amid ongoing challenges.
-
•
Creativity coaching goes beyond hacks; it involves deep shifts in beliefs and values that underpin creative potential and performance.
-
•
Creative professionals benefit from personal practices like cultivating identity and courage, as well as organizational support structures to maintain creative energy.
Notable Quotes
"Are you creative? Such a loaded question, isn't it?"
"Creativity fuels design, design fuels innovation."
"If you value innovation and design, then you're investing in creativity."
"The biggest myth of all is you can't teach creativity."
"I was talking with a person who said I’m like an idea machine, a 24-7 idea machine. The reply was immediate. It isn’t, you get used up and spat out."
"Think of a creative professional as an ideas athlete or a creativity Olympian."
"An elite athlete doesn’t turn up at the Olympics and do their thing without coaches, physios, nutritionists."
"Tech workers in the UK are five times more depressed than the UK average, with stress killing creativity."
"Design ops has the opportunity to set a new default future, not follow the path set by the past."
"If you said are you creative, I’m gonna say hell yeah."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Measuring impact means linking research insights back to decisions and how they affect roadmaps and priorities."
Ned Dwyer Emily Stewart James WallisThe Intersection of Design and ResearchOps
September 24, 2024
"Design Ops in government requires a lot of diplomacy – it’s about managing relationships and stakeholder expectations."
Michael LandEstablishing Design Operations in Government
February 18, 2021
"There are no screen readers built in for VR/AR yet; accessibility is still considered a hack in these spaces."
Sam ProulxTo Boldly Go: The New Frontiers of Accessibility
November 18, 2022
"We run our UX department as a business, with responsibilities, requirements, and expectations."
Vasileios XanthopoulosA Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approach to User-Centric Maturity at Scale
January 8, 2024
"Three quarters of users who fail their mission don’t come back, risking lost revenue and market share."
Andrew Custage Michael MallettThe Digital Journey: Research on Consumer Frustration and Loyalty
March 29, 2023
"By limiting our classes to six or seven students, we could give better quality feedback."
Marjorie Stainback Kelsey KingmanTransforming Strategic Research Capacity through Democratization
October 24, 2019
"When people feel disconnected, they start to objectify others as obstacles or vehicles to get work done."
Alla WeinbergCross-Functional Relationship Design
December 6, 2022
"Everyone wants to see themselves reflected in the research questions and findings."
Jerome “Axle” BrownHow to Use Self-Directed Learning to Ensure Your Research Insights are Heard and Acted Upon
March 11, 2021
"They’re really flexible and listen to our feedback, even though we’re a large company."
Jen Crim Jess Quittner Saritha Kattekola Alex Karr Gurbani PahwaCulture, DIBS & Recruiting
June 11, 2021
Latest Books All books
Dig deeper with the Rosenbot
What role does visualizing funding distributions (like 'sausage' diagrams) play in improving portfolio management?
In what ways can organizations use scaffolding to overcome bureaucratic constraints in service design?
What are key strategies to manage customer trust when introducing AI-powered solutions?