The Science of Creativity for DesignOps
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
"If we skip the discover phase, we don’t understand the problem and end up designing something irrelevant."
Yunyan Li Anna Le Jen KimUX Best Practices
June 11, 2021
"Showing a clickable prototype beats still wireframes and style guides where people have to copy hex codes."
Allan LowsonRehashing the Double Diamond: Collaborating across functions with AI-assisted prototyping
June 9, 2026
"I appreciate your allyship when I'm in the room, but I appreciate it more when I'm not in the room."
Denise Jacobs Nancy Douyon Renee Reid Lisa WelchmanInteractive Keynote: Social Change by Design
January 8, 2024
"At Meta, one product partner said quality doesn’t matter because we’re bringing in $90 billion a year."
Renee BouwensLanding Product Impact: Aligning Research as a Foundational Driver for Delivering the World’s Best Products
December 15, 2023
"You have to say no sometimes. You have the power to put guardrails in place and enforce them."
Jemma Ahmed Steve Carrod Chris Geison Dr. Shadi Janansefat Christopher NashDemocratization: Working with it, not against it [Advancing Research Community Workshop Series]
July 24, 2024
"Sometimes you’re too early. Don’t fear. File this away and keep your powder dry."
Sam LadnerHow Research Can Drive Strategic Foresight
March 9, 2022
"Design research faces design complexity, which deals with the specific, intentional, and the non-existing."
Yoel SumitroActions and Reflections: Bridging the Skills Gap among Researchers
March 9, 2022
"Research alone is insufficient to solve complex organizational problems; it’s more about learning how to work with the teams and complexity."
Dave HoraResearch in the Face of Complexity: New Sensibility for New Situations
August 27, 2025
"If you don’t trust it, then there’s nothing here."
Daniel J. RosenbergDesigning with and for Artificial Intelligence
August 11, 2022
