{"id":7351,"date":"2018-05-02T19:28:43","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T18:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uxstudioteam.com\/?p=7351"},"modified":"2022-05-19T14:34:40","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T13:34:40","slug":"how-to-be-more-creative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timemachine.uxstudioteam.com\/ux-blog\/how-to-be-more-creative\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Be More Creative: Simple Exercises For Your Product Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m walking on thin ice here, but sometimes I feel that UX design is killing my creativity. When it comes to the design process, I follow all the steps in the book. But occasionally, something gets lost along the way: true innovation. Then, I wonder: how to be more creative in a UX setting, while still putting the user first?<\/b>\"How<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What lies behind a creative crisis and how to avoid it<\/span><\/h2>\n

Maybe I\u2019m exaggerating, but in some respects, UX design has stagnation<\/span> coded in. <\/span>Jakob\u2019s law<\/span><\/a> reads:<\/span><\/p>\n

“Users spend most of their time on <\/span><\/i>other <\/span>sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know. Design for patterns to which users are accustomed.”<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Conventions have value.\u00a0<\/span>Obviously, putting the <\/span>Search<\/span><\/i> bar on the bottom-left corner wouldn\u2019t make a website more ingenious, only more confusing.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to be more creative while still putting user needs first<\/span><\/h2>\n

UX design is a process<\/a>, and I follow all the rules: I value research, I make design decisions based on user insights, and I always put the user first.\u00a0But also, sometimes, I feel that following conventions and only satisfying user needs keeps me from getting truly creative.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean we cannot work creatively. It only means real innovation takes more than just playing with the surface and that we need to find other ways to use imagination.<\/span><\/p>\n

Every product has differences. I can\u2019t tell you what makes one more innovative or creative than the other. I can give tips on how to avoid getting stuck in these creativity pitfalls.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

Simple ways to boost the creative process<\/span><\/h2>\n

1. Widen your perspective<\/span><\/h3>\n

As a general rule, the more you know about your target audience, the more creative solutions you can deliver.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of diving into UI solutions immediately, first, understand the user\u2019s problems. This requires even more research. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here at <\/span>UX studio<\/span><\/a>, we always start our work with<\/span> in-depth interviews<\/b><\/a> whenever possible<\/span>.<\/b> This way, we can deeply understand problems users have and articulate solutions to those specific cases. This gives a much wider perspective for creative thinking, and we get a solid foundation to start generating ideas. <\/span><\/p>\n

2. Look for best practices in unexpected places<\/span><\/h3>\n

When searching for <\/span>best practices,<\/b> look for examples not only from direct competitors.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a designer, I like reading UX case studies<\/a>, but sometimes, simply looking at different websites can result in so many ideas!<\/p>\n

Sometimes we find the most interesting ideas applied in the least expected places. Dropbox or Trello don\u2019t likely come to mind first as examples for <\/span>gamification in UX<\/span><\/a>, for instance \u2013 but think twice before dismissing them!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

3. Diverge on ideas before picking one<\/span><\/h3>\n

Personally, when dealing with a problem, I have the hardest time coming up with more than a couple ideas. I always have a quick solution in mind, but usually the most obvious and not necessarily the best or most creative. <\/span><\/p>\n

To avoid this, I force myself to come up with loads of possible ideas, at least at the beginning. Then I can narrow down the possibilities to one, hopefully, the best. <\/span><\/p>\n

Why focus on this? According to Mihaly Cs\u00edkszentmih\u00e1lyi (the father of the well-known <\/span>flow<\/span><\/a> theory), a creative person\u2019s thinking process diverges. Resourceful people possess three skills essential to coming up with something new:<\/span><\/p>\n