The Creative Power of Constraints

“I don’t remember ever being forced to accept compromises, but I have willingly accepted constraints.” — Charles Eames One of the most marvelous aspects of the human experience is creativity. Yet, for those in the business of creativity, the creative act can be both the most rewarding and the most frustrating experience in life. Sometimes the mind is drenched in free, flowing ideas. Other times, the mind feels just like a desert, producing nothing. The Eames Institute · Leica CL · 23mm · f/2 · 1/60 · ISO 320 A single factor determining the difference between those two states appears to be constraint. Some often think of creativity as conjuring something out of nothing. However, it is far from that as told in common sayings. “Everything is a remix” — creative work responds to what came before. “Thinking outside the box” — novel ideas acknowledge and break out of previous limitations. Graphic designer Michael Bierut says, “the problem contains the solution”, a saying he took to heart ... Read full article.