August 8, 2021 5 minutes readEntrepreneur contributors do not necessarily agree with the opinions expressed.Steve Jobs took a calligraphy course at Reed College in 1972 based on campus posters that he had seen after dropping out. He was drawn to the posters' artistic quality and decided to audit this class even though he knew it would not earn him any credit towards his degree.Designers and marketers have access to nearly infinite fonts and creative interfaces for their digital devices. We owe Jobs an immense debt of gratitude for his contribution to technology's future.Jobs was definitely hooked on calligraphy's creativity. Jobs was also influenced by the creative foundations that his class taught him. These elements are useful for business owners to help them reshape and compete at a higher level.Similar: 4 Ways To Unlock Your Inner CreativityCreativity: You can train itEvery human being is born creative. They have the ability and capacity to exercise their creativity.Our children are encouraged to express, experiment and explore their creativity. Drawing outside the lines is acceptable until you sign up for an architecture class.The outlets for creativity decrease as we move into reading, writing, and arithmetic. Our creative muscles lose their strength if we don't express ourselves consistently, similar to muscle atrophy.When Jobs invested his time in a Reed calligraphy class, he intuitively knew that he would be able to increase his creativity. He spoke of his calligraphy class in his Stanford commencement speech 2005.I learned about serif and sans serif typefaces. I also learned how to vary the space between different letter combinations. This is what makes great typography so great. It was beautiful, historic, and artistically subtle in ways that science cannot capture. I found it fascinating.A course or class that is purely focused on creativity can lead to creativity in business.Related: Learn more about the 4 Key Learning Styles, and how you can use them to learn, teach, and grow your businessLearn from other industries to improve your processesOur vision is the most important way we learn. Our brains are wired to see and there are tens of thousands of images competing for our attention. However, we only can process a small fraction of them.Do you remember the last time that you bought a car? You may not have noticed them before you bought that Subaru. Once you have narrowed your search, they are everywhere. This is how our brain filters content using our reticular activating systems.We learn the most from those who are successful in our industry because we have limited time and visual acuity. I'm pretty certain Jobs didn't intend to create wedding invitations as calligrapher. However, he discovered that calligraphy allowed him to explore other creative areas. His creativity was boosted by calligraphy, and his creativity spilled into other areas of computers during the creative process.Jobs famously said in the book I, Steve: Steve Jobs in his Own Words that many people in our industry don't have a wide range of experiences. They don't have enough connections and end up creating linear solutions that do not take into account the whole problem. We will be able to design better if we have a greater understanding of human experience.Study manufacturing best practices if you work in the service industry. These can be applied to any segment of your industry. Marketing is a career that requires you to study history or economics.Experiential: Turn off the computerDrawing curves with ink or paper is a distinct separation from the bits and bytes that make up the computer world. However, there is an unspoken element to creativity and muscle memory that is often overlooked.HandwritingJohn Hopkins University recently demonstrated the power and effectiveness of experiential learning, specifically through the written word. Writing by hand may be going the way the Dodo bird because of the convenience of a computer keyboard but this study showed that we shouldn't throw away pencils and papers. Study of 42 adults learning Arabic found that handwriting was significantly faster than typing and significantly more effective than watching videos or watching YouTube videos.It has been proven that journaling or writing down ideas can help increase creativity and productivity in the workplace.Flow: Turn your brain onLike losing weight, creativity can't be learned in one session. Anyone who has ever had great ideas in the shower will tell you that removing distractions can open up your creativity.It is a great way to clear your mind and meditate or go for a walk in nature. It is possible to learn from the work of other artists, business models, or copy. However, it is different from creating an idea. There is a clear line between revolution and evolution. While both have their place, the most important breakthroughs in society and business are not the evolution of ideas, but the revolution of a new way of seeing the world.It's easy to let go of all distractions and put yourself in a new environment that encourages creativity.Your brand's hidden potential can be found by being creative, curious, and mindful. Steve Jobs didn't choose calligraphy because of its skill. He also chose a mindset that allows him to think creatively and add a unique touch to his products.Similar: Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs used the concept of "No Time" to boost their creativity. What does it mean?
