‘Creativity’ means considering more than just a visual output

While admiring your courage in attempting to define “creative” in a single column (DW 29 May), I was disappointed at the rather narrow view of what it may mean.

Your focus seems rather intensely fixed on “visual output” as though this is the defining criteria for what is “creative”.

At Barsby Prince & Partners we view creativity in a wider context. Any design challenge needs a creative approach from the first scratch on the pad to the resolution of a workable concept. Visual creativity, practical creativity, financial creativity and so on are equally vital parts of the process.

As anyone who works with designers knows, you spend a lot of time taking a stunning visualisation and using creativity to give it any hope of working or being affordable.

I doubt the visual for the humble paper clip would have been visually creative – but what a creative concept.

PS: Is anyone else out there fed up with the phrase “stepping outside the box”? No wonder we get accused of using clichés.

Mark Elgar

Head of sales and marketing

Barsby Prince & Partners

Leicester LE8 6NU

The point I tried to make is that while often perceived in design as “visual output”, some groups are rightly realising that there’s more to creativity than that. Perhaps Barsby Prince & Partners is one of those groups – Ed.

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