Creative Acts for Curious People

Creative Acts for Curious People

PDF Creative Acts for Curious People Download

  • Author: Sarah Stein Greenberg
  • Publisher: Ten Speed Press
  • ISBN: 1984858173
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 305

WINNER OF THE PORCHLIGHT BUSINESS BOOK AWARD • “A delightful, compelling book that offers a dazzling array of practical, thoughtful exercises designed to spark creativity, help solve problems, foster connection, and make our lives better.”—Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author and host of the Happier podcast In an era of ambiguous, messy problems—as well as extraordinary opportunities for positive change—it’s vital to have both an inquisitive mind and the ability to act with intention. Creative Acts for Curious People is filled with ways to build those skills with resilience, care, and confidence. At Stanford University’s world-renowned Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, aka “the d.school,” students and faculty, experts and seekers bring together diverse perspectives to tackle ambitious projects; this book contains the experiences designed to help them do it. A provocative and highly visual companion, it’s a definitive resource for people who aim to draw on their curiosity and creativity in the face of uncertainty. Teeming with ideas about discovery, learning, and leading the way through unknown creative territory, Creative Acts for Curious People includes memorable stories and more than eighty innovative exercises. Curated by executive director Sarah Stein Greenberg, after being honed in the classrooms of the d.school, these exercises originated in some of the world’s most inventive and unconventional minds, including those of d.school and IDEO founder David M. Kelley, ReadyMade magazine founder Grace Hawthorne, innovative choreographer Aleta Hayes, Google chief innovation evangelist Frederik G. Pferdt, and many more. To bring fresh approaches to any challenge–world changing or close to home–you can draw on exercises such as Expert Eyes to hone observation skills, How to Talk to Strangers to foster understanding, and Designing Tools for Teams to build creative leadership. The activities are at once lighthearted, surprising, tough, and impactful–and reveal how the hidden dynamics of design can drive more vibrant ways of making, feeling, exploring, experimenting, and collaborating at work and in life. This book will help you develop the behaviors and deepen the mindsets that can turn your curiosity into ideas, and your ideas into action.


Creative Acts for Curious People

Creative Acts for Curious People

PDF Creative Acts for Curious People Download

  • Author: Sarah Stein Greenberg
  • Publisher:
  • ISBN: 9780241552834
  • Category :
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 304


Creative Acts For Curious People

Creative Acts For Curious People

PDF Creative Acts For Curious People Download

  • Author: Sarah Stein Greenberg
  • Publisher: Penguin UK
  • ISBN: 0241552842
  • Category : Self-Help
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 304

'Packed end to end with ways to see the world in new ways' Mike Krieger, cofounder, Instagram 'Designed to spark creativity, help solve problems, foster connection and make our lives better' Gretchen Rubin 'Navigate today's world with agility, resilience and imagination' Lorraine Twohill, CMO, Google What do they teach you at the most prestigious design school in the world? For the first time, you can find out. This highly-visual guide brings to life the philosophies of some of the d.school's most inventive and unconventional minds, including founder David Kelley, Choreographer Aleta Hayes and Google Chief Innovation Evangelist Frederik Pferdt and more. Creative Acts for Curious People is packed with ideas about the art of learning, discovery and leading through creative problem solving. With exercises including: - 'Expert Eyes' to test your observation skills - 'How to Talk to Strangers' to foster understanding - 'Designing Tools for Teams' to build creative leadership Revealing the hidden dynamics of design, and delving inside the minds of the profession's most celebrated thought-leaders, this definitive guide will help you live up to your creative potential.


Make Space

Make Space

PDF Make Space Download

  • Author: Scott Doorley
  • Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
  • ISBN: 1118143728
  • Category : Architecture
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 275

"If you are determined to encourage creativity and provide a collaborative environment that will bring out the best in people, you will want this book by your side at all times." —Bill Moggridge, Director of the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum "Make Space is an articulate account about the importance of space; how we think about it, build it and thrive in it." —James P. Hackett, President and CEO, Steelcase An inspiring guidebook filled with ways to alter space to fuel creative work and foster collaboration. Based on the work at the Stanford University d.school and its Environments Collaborative Initiative, Make Space is a tool that shows how space can be intentionally manipulated to ignite creativity. Appropriate for designers charged with creating new spaces or anyone interested in revamping an existing space, this guide offers novel and non-obvious strategies for changing surroundings specifically to enhance the ways in which teams and individuals communicate, work, play--and innovate. Inside are: Tools--tips on how to build everything from furniture, to wall treatments, and rigging Situations--scenarios, and layouts for sparking creative activities Insights--bite-sized lessons designed to shortcut your learning curve Space Studies--candid stories with lessons on creating spaces for making, learning, imagining, and connecting Design Template--a framework for understanding, planning, and building collaborative environments Make Space is a new and dynamic resource for activating creativity, communication and innovation across institutions, corporations, teams, and schools alike. Filled with tips and instructions that can be approached from a wide variety of angles, Make Space is a ready resource for empowering anyone to take control of an environment.


Navigating Ambiguity

Navigating Ambiguity

PDF Navigating Ambiguity Download

  • Author: Andrea Small
  • Publisher: Ten Speed Press
  • ISBN: 1984857975
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 145

A thought-provoking guide to help you lean in to the discomfort of the unknown to turn creative opportunities into intentional design, from Stanford University's world-renowned d.school. “Navigating Ambiguity reminds us not to run from uncertainty but rather see it as a defining moment of opportunity.”—Yves Béhar, Founder and CEO, fuseproject A design process presents a series of steps, but in real life, it rarely plays out this neatly. Navigating Ambiguity underscores how the creative process isn’t formulaic. This book shows you how to surrender control by being adaptable, curious, and unbiased as well as resourceful, tenacious, and courageous. Designers and educators Andrea Small and Kelly Schmutte use humor and clear steps to help you embrace uncertainty as you approach a creative project. First, they explain how the brain works and why it defaults to certainty. Then they show you how to let go of the need for control and instead employ a flexible strategy that relies on the balance between acting and adapting, and the give-and-take between opposing approaches to make your way to your goal. Beautiful cut-paper artwork illustrations offer ways to rethink creative work without hitting the usual roadblocks. The result is a more open and satisfying journey from assignment or idea to finished product.


The Secret Language of Maps

The Secret Language of Maps

PDF The Secret Language of Maps Download

  • Author: Carissa Carter
  • Publisher: Ten Speed Press
  • ISBN: 1984858017
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 179

A highly visual exploration of diagrams and data that helps you understand how "maps" are part of everyday thinking, how they tell stories, and how they can reframe your point of view, from Stanford University's world-renowned d.school. “This book is the ultimate legend to mapping all kinds of data.”—Jessica Hagy, Webby Award-winning blogger of Indexed and author of How to Be Interesting (In Ten Simple Steps) Maps aren’t just geographic, they are also infographic and include all types of frameworks and diagrams. Any figure that sorts data visually and presents it spatially is a map. Maps are ways of organizing information and figuring out what’s important. Even stories can be mapped! The Secret Language of Maps provides a simple framework to deconstruct existing maps and then shows you how to create your own. An embedded mystery story about a woman who investigates the disappearance of an old high school friend illustrates how to use different maps to make sense of all types of information. Colorful illustrations bring the story to life and demonstrate how the fictional character’s collection of data, properly organized and “mapped,” leads her to solve the mystery of her friend’s disappearance. You’ll learn how to gather data, organize it, and present it to an audience. You’ll also learn how to view the many maps that swirl around our daily lives with a critical eye, aware of the forces that are in play for every creator.


Design for Belonging

Design for Belonging

PDF Design for Belonging Download

  • Author: Susie Wise
  • Publisher: Ten Speed Press
  • ISBN: 1984858025
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 167

A practical, illustrated guide to using the tools of design to create feelings of inclusion, collaboration, and respect in groups of any type or size—a classroom, a work team, an international organization—from Stanford University's d.school. “This is a beautiful book. Wise has applied the gift and imagination and lenses of the d.school to one of our most precious questions: how to create belonging.”—Priya Parker, author of the Art of Gathering and host of the New York Times podcast Together Apart Belonging brings out the best in everyone. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, community organizer, or leader of any sort, your group is unlikely to thrive if the individuals don’t feel welcomed, included, and valued for who they are. The good news is that you can use design to create feelings of inclusion in your organization: rituals that bring people together, spaces that promote calm, roles that create a sense of responsibility, systems that make people feel respected, and more. You can’t force feelings, but in Design for Belonging, author and educator Susie Wise explains how to use simple levers of design to set the stage for belonging to emerge. For example, add moveable furniture to a meeting space to customize for your group size; switch up the role of group leader regularly to increase visibility for everyone; or create a special ritual for people joining or leaving your organization to welcome fresh per­spectives and honor work well done. Inspiration and stories from leaders and scholars are paired with frameworks, tools, and tips, providing an opportunity to try on different approaches. By the end of the book, you’ll be able to spot where a greater sense of belonging is needed and actively shape your world to cultivate it—whether it’s a party, a high-stakes meeting, or a new national organization.


The Creative Curve

The Creative Curve

PDF The Creative Curve Download

  • Author: Allen Gannett
  • Publisher: Crown Currency
  • ISBN: 1524761729
  • Category : Business & Economics
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 290

Big data entrepreneur Allen Gannett overturns the mythology around creative genius, and reveals the science and secrets behind achieving breakout commercial success in any field. We have been spoon-fed the notion that creativity is the province of genius -- of those favored, brilliant few whose moments of insight arrive in unpredictable flashes of divine inspiration. And if we are not a genius, we might as well pack it in and give up. Either we have that gift, or we don’t. But Allen shows that simply isn’t true. Recent research has shown that there is a predictable science behind achieving commercial success in any creative endeavor, from writing a popular novel to starting up a successful company to creating an effective marketing campaign. As the world’s most creative people have discovered, we are enticed by the novel and the familiar. By understanding the mechanics of what Gannett calls “the creative curve” – the point of optimal tension between the novel and the familiar – everyone can better engineer mainstream success. In a thoroughly entertaining book that describes the stories and insights of everyone from the Broadway team behind Dear Evan Hansen, to the founder of Reddit, from the Chief Content Officer of Netflix to Michelin star chefs, Gannett reveals the four laws of creative success and identifies the common patterns behind their achievement.


The Runaway Species

The Runaway Species

PDF The Runaway Species Download

  • Author: David Eagleman
  • Publisher: Catapult
  • ISBN: 1936787679
  • Category : Psychology
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 404

This enlightening examination of creativity looks “at art and science together to examine how innovations . . . build on what already exists and rely on three brain operations: bending, breaking and blending” (The Wall Street Journal) The Runaway Species is a deep dive into the creative mind, a celebration of the human spirit, and a vision of how we can improve our future by understanding and embracing our ability to innovate. David Eagleman and Anthony Brandt seek to answer the question: what lies at the heart of humanity’s ability—and drive—to create? Our ability to remake our world is unique among all living things. But where does our creativity come from, how does it work, and how can we harness it to improve our lives, schools, businesses, and institutions? Eagleman and Brandt examine hundreds of examples of human creativity through dramatic storytelling and stunning images in this beautiful, full–color volume. By drawing out what creative acts have in common and viewing them through the lens of cutting–edge neuroscience, they uncover the essential elements of this critical human ability, and encourage a more creative future for all of us. “The Runaway Species approach[es] creativity scientifically but sensitively, feeling its roots without pulling them out.” —The Economist


The Art of Noticing

The Art of Noticing

PDF The Art of Noticing Download

  • Author: Rob Walker
  • Publisher: Knopf
  • ISBN: 0525521259
  • Category : Self-Help
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 258

A thought-provoking, gorgeously illustrated gift book that will spark your creativity and help you rediscover your passion with “simple, low-stakes activities [that] can open up the world.”—The New York Times Welcome to the era of white noise. Our lives are in constant tether to phones, to email, and to social media. In this age of distraction, the ability to experience and be present is often lost: to think and to see and to listen. Enter Rob Walker's The Art of Noticing—an inspiring volume that will help you see the world anew. Through a series of simple and playful exercises—131 of them—Walker maps ways for you to become a clearer thinker, a better listener, a more creative workplace colleague, and finally, to rediscover what really matters to you.