Creating involves and working on something with your own hands or by your own means and managing to carry it out successfully , being satisfied with the results. This elaboration tends to have a specific meaning and to be directed towards a goal or objective, whether it is to solve a given problem or the authors’ own artistic expression. Sometimes, it sounds easier than it ends up being.

To be able to do something original and innovative it is necessary to follow a series of fundamental steps, which configure what is called the creative process .

Carrying out a creative process is not an easy task, as it requires a high amount of effort and motivation. In this article we try to find 1 3 necessary steps to make an efficient creative process .

Steps to follow to carry out a creative process

The creative process is the procedure by which we carry out the resolution of a specific problem or challenge or the elaboration of a specific element from creativity . Next we will see the guidelines to follow to achieve it.

However, it is important to bear in mind that, although it may seem that the steps outlined above are limited to a specific area such as business, all creative processes follow broadly the same steps , whether they refer to the practical, the theoretical or the expressive/artistic. The important role of instinct and intuition within creation must also be taken into account, not just limited to logic and reason.

1. Observation of a concrete reality

The creation of something not from nothing. Creating means that the created did not exist before. In this way, the first step is to observe the world (we are referring to the environment or our own interior) and focus on a specific dimension of reality susceptible of being modified or elaborated.

2. Location of the problem to be solved or the content to be expressed

Once we have observed the world in which we are, we have to finish determining if the aspect in which we have fixed our attention is missing something or could be improved . It is a matter of locating the aspect that is a problem to be solved.

3. Delimiting objectives

We can know that something is wrong, missing, or must be changed or externalised. The next step is to ask ourselves what we intend to do about it. We have to decide which objectives we are going to pursue with our action, set the basic goals . This will allow us to start imagining different alternatives of action.

4. Brainstorming

Whether it is a project carried out by a company or by a single individual, it is very useful to brainstorm generating all the alternatives we can . In this phase we will focus on making as many and as diverse as possible, without taking into account other aspects such as their viability. For the time being we will accept all the alternatives that arise.

5. Evaluation of ideas

Once we have generated as many ideas as possible, it is time to organize them and evaluate each one of them. In this step we consider which creative elements are viable and the main elements that have marked the generation of each idea. The idea is to observe which ones we find more attractive and efficient while considering why other ideas were generated and if any element of them could be incorporated to the others.

8. Choice of Idea

After carefully evaluating each of the ideas, it is necessary to select one, although it can be combined with highlights from the previous ones. It is necessary to be aware that if they are combined it has to be in order to make the final idea better, leaving aside other aspects.

It is important to consider all the alternatives. The objective of the creative process is also relevant: if it is about expressing something we should not look for the most aesthetic or pleasant thing but really allow the expression of what we want, or if we want to solve a problem that the proposal made has a real effect on the problem in question. In the choice of the final idea, the rational must be taken into account, but especially at the time of creation it is necessary to pay attention to instinct and intuition.

7. Seeking advice or exploration

Once the idea in question has been selected, it is necessary to investigate different methods of implementing it . Using different sources of information or exploring specific ways or modalities of action is a basic and necessary tool. This does not imply renouncing creativity, which after all is the fundamental element of the creative process.

8. Fixing the bases

Another important step is to carry out experiments before presenting the final version of what is intended to be created, as well as to establish its bases and from them assess possible modifications that may be necessary or the real applicability of the final product.

9. Development and deepening

Once the bases of the project have been made and the specifications that will be necessary for its implementation and completion have been calculated, we must proceed to deepen and develop what we have considered to create.

10. Test or pilot test

Once the idea has been developed, it is necessary to test it before presenting it, so as to check its real operation and if any modification is necessary. This test should be done first in a controlled environment, being a test of how what is created would behave in a real environment.

11. Evaluation of the creative process

This step needs to be applied throughout the creative process . We must be aware of whether the progressive creation of the element or solution proposed fulfils the objectives throughout its elaboration, what results can be foreseen, if and how sufficient supervision has been applied, if adequate progress is being made or if, on the contrary, there are difficulties, if there are sufficient resources or if the initial expectations are realistic or need to be adjusted.

12. Implementation/Exhibition/Communication

The culmination of the creative process itself comes when all the previous steps are overcome and the proposed product or solution is applied in real life or exposed to the public .

13. Feedback

In spite of all the steps we have been able to take, once the product of our efforts has been presented or produced, others will have different opinions about it. This last phase allows us to gather possibilities of improvement to which we cannot close ourselves, since they can give us interesting ideas for new creative processes.