Creativity and Where it Comes From

Posted March 14, 2019 by Swim Creative Staffwhere creativity comes from - blog - swim creative - flying cheese hamburger

I recently spoke to three creative-focused classes at my old high school.

My goal?

To inspire the daydreamers. The ones who write stories in their heads while they’re sitting in French class. The ones who use their history notebook as a sketchbook. The ones who take their ideas and bring them to life.

Why?

Because I distinctly remember my high school-self sitting in pre-calc class when my mind wandered away from the parabolas on the board, to wondering if it was possible to launch a McDonald’s cheeseburger into someone’s mouth with a giant slingshot (I wouldn’t recommend trying).

My friends and I began to film some of these ‘daydream’ ideas and post them on social media. It turned out to be a lot of fun, and our friends thought the videos were funny. So, we kept doing it.

At the time, I didn’t realize that I was entering the field that is now my career. Back then, I was brainstorming ideas, executing them and receiving results. Today, I do the same thing, but on a professional level — which is what I conveyed to the three classes I spoke with: Short Film, Broadcasting and Communications, and Digital Video.

These were my three favorite classes in high school because daydreams would turn into projects, and projects would turn into A-grade work. It wasn’t math. It was ecstasy.

During my chats with these classes, I showed that, in the advertising world, A-grade work is an advertisement that drives brand awareness, increases sales or enhances relationships with the target consumer. Like this one.

I also showed that, in the advertising world, A-grade work is so much more than an advertisement that simply drives brand awareness, increases sales or enhances relationships with the target consumer.

A-grade work is sitting around a table with other daydreamers and laughing hysterically while bouncing ideas off of each other. A-grade work is killing an idea that you loved so dearly in order to make the overall work better.

A-grade work is a final product that doesn’t only give us daydreamers the chills, but strikes a chord with the target audience and gives them the chills, too.

In order to execute this level of work, daydreaming is essential. It’s what gas is to a car, and what oxygen is to a human. It’s a what a McDonald’s cheeseburger is to your face. Daydreaming is the lifeblood of creativity, and you can do that for a living.

That’s why.

2 thoughts on “Creativity and Where it Comes From

  1. Great write up Alex! That’s so inspiring!
    So neat that you’re still day dreaming at your workplace:). Would have been nice to have someone like you speak at our high school about day dreaming with a positive spin like you did!

  2. Great stuff here Al.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *