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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Clear writes about habits, decision
For a
making, and continuous improvement. He is
the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller,
More
Atomic Habits . !e book has sold over 25
million copies worldwide and has been
translated into more than 60 languages.
Creative Click here to learn more →
Brain
Follow
These 5
Steps
written by J AM E S
C LE AR
C R EAT IV I T Y , PR O D UC TIV ITY
N early all great
ideas follow a
similar creative process
and this article explains
how this process works.
Understanding this is
important because
creative thinking is one of
the most useful skills you
can possess. Nearly every
problem you face in work
and in life can bene"t
from innovative solutions,
lateral thinking, and
creative ideas.
Anyone can learn to be
creative by using these
"ve steps. !at's not to
say being creative is easy.
Uncovering your creative
genius requires courage
and tons of practice.
However, this "ve-step
approach should help
demystify the creative
process and illuminate
the path to more
innovative thinking.
To explain how this
process works, let me tell
you a short story.
A Problem in
Need of a
Creative Solution
In the 1870s, newspapers
and printers faced a very
speci"c and very costly
problem. Photography
was a new and exciting
medium at the time.
Readers wanted to see
more pictures, but
nobody could "gure out
how to print images
quickly and cheaply.
For example, if a
newspaper wanted to
print an image in the
1870s, they had to
commission an engraver
to etch a copy of the
photograph onto a steel
plate by hand. !ese
plates were used to press
the image onto the page,
but they o#en broke a#er
just a few uses. !is
process of
photoengraving, you can
imagine, was remarkably
time consuming and
expensive.
!e man who invented a
solution to this problem
was named Frederic
Eugene Ives. He went on
to become a trailblazer in
the "eld of photography
and held over 70 patents
by the end of his career.
His story of creativity and
innovation, which I will
share now, is a useful case
study for understanding
the 5 key steps of the
creative process.
A Flash of Insight
Ives got his start as a
printer’s apprentice in
Ithaca, New York. A#er
two years of learning the
ins and outs of the
printing process, he
began managing the
photographic laboratory
at nearby Cornell
University. He spent the
rest of the decade
experimenting with new
photography techniques
and learning about
cameras, printers, and
optics.
In 1881, Ives had a $ash
of insight regarding a
better printing technique.
“While operating my
photostereotype process
in Ithaca, I studied the
problem of hal#one
process,” Ives said. “I went
to bed one night in a state
of brain fog over the
problem, and the instant I
woke in the morning saw
before me, apparently
projected on the ceiling,
the completely worked
out process and
equipment in operation.”
Ives quickly translated his
vision into reality and
patented his printing
approach in 1881. He
spent the remainder of
the decade improving
upon it. By 1885, he had
developed a simpli"ed
process that delivered
even better results. !e
Ives Process, as it came to
be known, reduced the
cost of printing images by
15x and remained the
standard printing
technique for the next 80
years.
Alright, now let's discuss
what lessons we can learn
from Ives about the
creative process.
!e printing process developed by
Frederic Eugene Ives used a
method called “hal#one printing”
to break a photograph down into
a series of tiny dots. !e image
looks like a collection of dots up
close, but when viewed from a
normal distance the dots blend
together to create a picture with
varying shades of gray. (Source:
Unknown.)
The 5 Stages of
the Creative
Process
In 1940, an advertising
executive named James
Webb Young published a
short guide titled, A
Technique for Producing
Ideas. In this guide, he
made a simple, but
profound statement about
generating creative ideas.
According to Young,
innovative ideas happen
when you develop new
combinations of old
elements. In other words,
creative thinking is not
about generating
something new from a
blank slate, but rather
about taking what is
already present and
combining those bits and
pieces in a way that has
not been done previously.
Most important, the
ability to generate new
combinations hinges
upon your ability to see
the relationships between
concepts. If you can form
a new link between two
old ideas, you have done
something creative.
Young believed this
process of creative
connection always
occurred in "ve steps.
1. Gather new material.
At "rst, you learn.
During this stage you
focus on 1) learning
speci"c material
directly related to
your task and 2)
learning general
material by becoming
fascinated with a wide
range of concepts.
2. !oroughly work
over the materials in
your mind. During
this stage, you
examine what you
have learned by
looking at the facts
from di%erent angles
and experimenting
with "tting various
ideas together.
3. Step away from the
problem. Next, you
put the problem
completely out of
your mind and go do
something else that
excites you and
energizes you.
4. Let your idea return
to you. At some point,
but only a#er you
have stopped thinking
about it, your idea will
come back to you
with a $ash of insight
and renewed energy.
5. Shape and develop
your idea based on
feedback. For any
idea to succeed, you
must release it out
into the world, submit
it to criticism, and
adapt it as needed.
The Idea in
Practice
!e creative process used
by Frederic Eugene Ives
o%ers a perfect example of
these "ve steps in action.
First, Ives gathered new