Gardner defines the creative individual as "a person who regularly solves problems, fashions products, or defines new questions in a domain in a way that is initially considered novel but that ultimately becomes accepted in a particular cultural setting." (Howard Gardner. Creating Minds. New York: Harper Collins, 1993, p. 35.)
Gardner's definition suggests several important features of the creative individual:	The person must be creative in a domain, rather than across all domains. This suggests that there is not one all-purpose creative trait. In other words, Einstein was very creative in the domain of physics (his discipline) but may or may not have been creative in other domains (painting or music, for example). The person must regularly exhibit creativity, as opposed to having a one-time burst of creative insight. The person must produce something: "fashioning a product" or "devising new questions", for example. Just considering oneself creative is not enough; it must be applied. The creative activity must be accepted in a particular culture. This means that creativity is a cultural or communal judgement. An activity can't be considered creative unless it is accepted as creative by others. This is both a blessing and a curse. It means that many of the judgements that are made concerning our work are based upon culturally accepted standards that we can strive to reach or exceed. The truly creative individual will ultimately exceed those standards. However, judgements are critical by nature.
Criticism	To critique means to carefully evaluate or to analyze. It is not a bad thing to have your ideas critiqued. For many burgeoning creative people, criticism can be debilitating if it is connected to personal feelings of worth. Remember that criticism is not a value judgement. It is simply a statement of interpretation about the success or weakness of a product or idea. Sometimes critique suggests the idea simply needs more work. Sometimes critique offers an indication of the many perspectives from which we interpret visual media.
More about evaluation	Useful evaluation is logical and has a strategic foundation. Useful evaluation is not emotional; although at times the result may cause an emotional response. The process of evaluation is always about judgement; a decision about what is effective and what is not. To be useful, judgement needs to clarify the success and failings of the thing being evaluated so that it might be improved, reshaped, or refocused.
	Evaluation should encompass several areas: Is the idea feasible? Does the idea actually work. Can it be made to work? Does it have benefits? What are they and where do the benefits come from? Are the benefits durable? Does the idea or object have value? Are the resources available for implementing the idea? Resources may be in time, money, people, technology, and motivation. An idea may be feasible but if the resources do not exist to develop it, frustration will result. Does the idea respond to the needs outlined in the strategy? Does the idea respond to the issues, goals and objectives? (Edward de Bono. Serious Creativity: using the power of lateral thinking to create new ideas. New York: Harper Collins, 1992, p. 135.)
The creative process	Preparation Collecting information. Doing your homework. Frustration Unless the answer is obvious, the result is often frustration. Incubation Shifting through the information. Consciously or unconsciously associating new and old information in new combinations. Illumination AHA! An idea arises. Evaluation You decide whether this is a good idea or not. Critical analysis of creative ideas. Will it work? Elaboration Working it out. Combining words and visuals. Making your idea sing.
How to be creative	All of us are creative. Differences that are manifest in our creative products occur for a number of reasons. There are varying levels of interest in developing that part of our personality or thinking. Some people are more confident than others. Some people have more opportunities to be creative or expressive. Some people have greater opportunities to develop the skills that reveal those unique creative gifts. Creativity can be nurtured in everyone!
Practice helps	Many times even the most creative individuals face dry times; those days, weeks, months, when a good idea seems light years away. The only real solution to a lack of creativity is practice...and sometimes patience. Consider the difference between the creative process and the process of design or the craft of writing. Creativity is a necessary part of all good design and all good writing. However, it is not the only part. Both visual design and writing require mastery of essential skills to successfully produce a result. These are purposeful, directed, strategic processes that simply benefit from creativity. You can have all of the skills of a good designer or good writer and lack creativity. Or you can have tremendous creative energy and lack the skills of a good writer or designer. Skills can be developed.
Faith helps	Another quality that is important in initiating creativity is faith. Not exactly spiritual or religious faith, although neither of these hurt. Rather, the faith I'm talking about is faith in your own creative process.This means confidence that those things that we imagine or create are worth cherishing and sharing with others. We are all creative beings; we simply manifest that creativity in varying ways. Some of us paint, write, draw, cook, wear interesting clothes, invent interesting ways of amusing our siblings, imagine marvelous places, sing or play music, work to raise wonderful children, etc. So, here is my list of how to be creative. Many of you will develop your own ideas as you become more comfortable with the idea that you are creative.
Develop creative habits	Sketch. Keep a visual journal. Make lists of ideas. Write simple analysis of good and bad visual work. Collect things that are inspirational. Devote some time every day to developing your process. Listen to beautiful music and imagine why it was written. Look at beautiful painting and try to understand why the artist created it. Carry a notepad and write down your ideas as they come to you.
Find an idea and push it	Often sketches, lists and notes reveal the seeds of good ideas but they are very seldom fully articulated. Work on your ideas until you run out of options. Revise. Refine. Redraw. Rewrite. Reexamine.
Suspend judgment	For most people, the creative process was thwarted or undermined by negativism at one time or other. Those negative voices ascribed value, assessed merit, assigned the relative level of success, and essentially judged your attempts at creative discovery. For many people, this criticism is immobilizing and cruel. It is important to remember that others have no right to criticize your creative process. It is equally important to recognize that the creative result will always be judged when it is shared. There is no way to make judgment easier to handle. It simply takes confidence in your ideas and an ability to listen to those comments that are relevant and to discard the rest. For most creative individuals this is a lesson learned over and over. While you are engaged in a creative process make sure that you suspend judgment. Reserve evaluation for later, when the creative flow gives way to design and organization.
Play. Appreciate. Imagine. Dream.	Allow yourself a gift of time to wander, to look, to examine, to see, to hear, to taste, to feel, to breathe. Allow yourself to imagine the improbable. To dream about the impossible. Many times you'll find that the improbable and impossible are barriers that can be surmounted.