How Creativity and Human-Centered Design will save Your Career

A famous word – CREATIVITY, a famous phrase — HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN, and a unique idea. Reading this will change how you think about your career, your purpose and your existence.

If you ask any five people, they will all have different definitions for creativity. Something we can all agree on is that creativity is about creating something from the abundance of resources we have available to us in the world. We are only capable of creating from what already exists, whether that thing is in its natural form like soil or its intermediate form like paper. We are not capable of creating out of nothing.

I’ve been studying a lot about creativity and reflecting on the role it has played in my life and let me tell you, it is plenty. We were created to create. When I think back to the most fulfilling times in my career, they have all been times when I genuinely sought knowledge, and used that knowledge to create something. And if I were to die this very minute, it would be with a heart full of joy and gratitude knowing that I had been blessed with two functioning eyes, hands that work, legs that walk, a mouth that speaks, and I used them to create a things that were valuable to the world and made it a little better.

There are lots of noises and distractions in the world today. AI being the most prominent. There is the illusion that AI can create anything for you. There is the possibility of a future where all you need to do is sit back, press a button and AI will do everything for you. What a sad life that would be. One where you made no effort to think, learn and use that knowledge to create. What does the fulfillment come from? Or does fulfillment not matter to you? Of course you don’t want to completely ignore AI. You want to learn to use it wisely for the learning and creating process.

If you want fulfillment, create. You have the capacity to be creative wherever you are, at any stage of your life, and in whatever environment. Whether you have a full-time job or you’re a nursing mother. You don’t have to create the next Google or Amazon. Think about something you’re genuinely curious about. Dedicate as little as 5 minutes a day to learn more about it, and create something. Creativity comes in various forms. Don’t limit yourself.

One of the books I read on creativity is Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating Creativity through Projects, Passion, Peers and Play by MIT professor Mitchel Resnick. It is so far my favorite read, and this article will build on his philosophy for creativity. I’ll blend his philosophy with human-centered design to propose how you can save your career and feel fulfilled in this age where AI is taking over jobs.

Mitch’s Philosophy for Creativity

Mitch believes that learning over the course of our lives should follow the kindergarten model that was first designed by Friedrich Froebel in 1837. This is a belief I share. Mitch’s publications however, have mainly focused on kids, hence my adaptation for working adults in this new age of AI. The kindergarten model is a way of learning that is interactive between teacher and students, and among students instead of the broadcast approach where the teacher stands in front of the classroom and broadcasts to students. Mitch bases the kindergarten model around the 4 Ps(Project, Passion, Peer, Play). According to him, creativity is when we work on projects based on our passions, in collaboration with peers and in a playful spirit.

My Adaptation of Mitch’s Philosophy for Working Adults

If PPPPs(Project, Passion, Peer, Play) make up creativity, then DDIIPs(Discover, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Implement) make up human-centered design. My solution is one where creativity is the action and human-centered design is the process.

\( \begin{array}{|c|l|l|} \hline \textbf{#} & \textbf{Action} & \textbf{Process} \\ \hline 1 & Passion & \begin{array}[t]{l} \text{You first need to } \textbf{discover} \text{ what you're} \\ \text{passionate about. The Confusion to Clarity} \\ \text{Toolkit was created to help with this.} \end{array} \\ \hline 2 & Project & \begin{array}[t]{l} \text{Through } \textbf{definition} \text{ and } \textbf{ideation} \text{ you}\\ \text{figure out what project you want to create.} \end{array} \\ \hline 3 & Play & \begin{array}[t]{l} \text{Create a } \textbf{prototype} \text{ and share with peers} \\ \text{then improve on it multiple times.} \\ \end{array} \\ \hline 4 & Peer & \begin{array}[t]{l} \textbf{Implement} \text{ the final version by sharing} \\ \text{it with a peer or peers.} \\ \end{array} \\ \hline \end{array} \)

If you’re reading this, there is a high chance that you already know what you are passionate about, but if you feel confused, unfulfilled and unsure about the career path you’re on, then get and use the Confusion to Clarity Toolkit. Trust me, you will be glad you did.

Once you’ve figured out what you’re passionate about, follow these 3 steps to use creativity and human-centered design to save your career:

1. Find a Project: The first step is to define what you want to create clearly, and the best way to do this is through ideation where you come up with lots of ideas and concepts for possible projects around your passion. You then narrow them down to one.

2. Play and Experiment: At this stage, you want to create multiple prototypes of your project. Try to do as many as possible without aiming for perfection.

3. Share with Peers: This stage and the second stage go hand in hand. Think of it like a repeating cycle. You create a prototype, share with a peer or a group of peers, then improve it and share again. Continue this cycle until you implement and share the final version.

Design Your Creative Career

The three steps to save your career are simple and with time, you can figure out a way to execute them effectively in your own life. I have perfected a system of executing these steps for myself and I want to share it with you to make the process easy for you. Unfortunately, I can’t share all the details in this article which is why I created the Design Your Creative Career workshop. If this is of interest to you, submit the workshop interest form. Not only will you learn how to actually be more creative and how to use AI tools wisely to your advantage, you will also get to meet and collaborate with professionals globally across disciples.

I hope you found this helpful. I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments below and seeing the poll results.

P.S. This letter is a creation.

Peace and Love,

Khaulat 🌷