At the Computer or Away from the Computer?

At the Computer or Away from the Computer?

I recently watched a short animation, listing 29 ways to stay creative. A lively discussion resulted from one of the tips: “Get Away from the computer”. One such person swears creativity is created with the computer. That you can only be creative “while doing”.  While I certainly agree that creativity can be produced at the computer, I would disagree that it’s my only source of inspiration for creativity. How could you stay fresh without walking away from the machine in front of you and “doing” something else creative?

The last thing I would want to do is limit myself to a single source. Whatever you might do away from the computer could be fuel for your creativity. Even subconsciously. Just clearing your mind and going for a walk, you are constantly taking in your surroundings. From buildings, textures, billboards to nature. What I mean by subconsciously is, you could remember some of these things you see and place it in your memory bank. These “sources” could be your next bit of inspiration without you even realising where it originated.

Ideas and creativity comes from the individual. A computer is a machine, a tool for the individual to express their creativity. I don’t disagree that the computer has and can provide you with inspiration but by no means is it the only source. The diversity of our inspiration will affect the diversity of our creativity shown in our work.

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.