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Creativity in Creative Technology

Creativity is at the core of being a Creative Technologist. It is about generating original ideas, experimenting with technologies, and shaping interactive experiences that did not exist before. For example, turning a motion sensor into a storytelling tool, or using machine learning to explore new forms of fashion design.

Why is this relevant to you? Because creativity in technology is not only about visual outcomes, but about using technology itself as a tool for exploration. To be creative, you need both imagination and technical skills: the more you know about sensors, coding, or interaction design, the more possibilities you can discover.

Attitude

  • Be curious and open-minded: treat every technology as a material to play with.
    Example: asking “What happens if I connect this sensor to sound instead of light?”
  • Embrace experimentation and risk: many attempts may fail, but failures often lead to unexpected insights.
  • Think beyond representation: creativity is not just about visuals, but about behavior, interaction, and experience.

Skills

  • Technical literacy: understanding how tools, code, and systems work so you can bend them in new ways.
    Example: knowing how Arduino sensors operate allows you to repurpose them for unusual inputs like plants or textiles.
  • Experimentation: building quick tests and prototypes to explore unexpected uses.
    Example: using VR not to simulate reality, but to create impossible perspectives.
  • Connecting domains: linking knowledge from different fields.
    Example: combining data visualization with performance art to tell a story.

Values

  • Innovation: pushing boundaries of what technology can do.
    Example: reimagining drones as artistic performers instead of delivery machines.
  • Exploration: seeing technology as a lab for discovery, not just efficiency.
    Example: training an AI model not to predict accurately, but to generate surprising mistakes.
  • Meaningfulness: aiming for experiences that resonate with people’s lives.
    Example: an installation that translates heartbeats into light to make emotions visible.
  • Collaboration: learning from others to expand your creative toolkit.
    Example: working with musicians to create sound-based interfaces.