Last night I read an article about poetry - not a subject I can claim to have very muck knowledge of at all. It described the creative process and referred specifically to the the structure of a sonnet. A sonnet is a poem that follows strict rules on length and specific structure. By the thirteenth century, a sonnet had come to signify a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme. This structure did not inhibit the creativity of the poet, it merely provided a framework within which to operate.
In fact some of the most famous works that even un-poetic people like me are aware of are sonnets. Shakespeare’s sonnet 18 that begins “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” is perhaps the most famous but there are many others. To me all these seem incredibly creative despite the rigid framework within which they have to operate.
As I work in an online business that focuses on usability I found the analogy irresistible. A myth (or at least what I believe to be a myth) exists that says usability consultants and/or usability practices stifle designers creativity. I have felt for a long time that this simply cannot be the case and that the creative people that I have met deal with far bigger issues through technology, brand and proposition than usability could ever create. Perhaps by comparing the restrictions web designers face with those of the poet we can understand that true creativity deals with the barriers that are present and finds a way to overcome them.
Usability vs. Creativity
8 04 2008Last night I read an article about poetry - not a subject I can claim to have very muck knowledge of at all. It described the creative process and referred specifically to the the structure of a sonnet. A sonnet is a poem that follows strict rules on length and specific structure. By the thirteenth century, a sonnet had come to signify a poem of fourteen lines that follows a strict rhyme scheme. This structure did not inhibit the creativity of the poet, it merely provided a framework within which to operate.
In fact some of the most famous works that even un-poetic people like me are aware of are sonnets. Shakespeare’s sonnet 18 that begins “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” is perhaps the most famous but there are many others. To me all these seem incredibly creative despite the rigid framework within which they have to operate.
As I work in an online business that focuses on usability I found the analogy irresistible. A myth (or at least what I believe to be a myth) exists that says usability consultants and/or usability practices stifle designers creativity. I have felt for a long time that this simply cannot be the case and that the creative people that I have met deal with far bigger issues through technology, brand and proposition than usability could ever create. Perhaps by comparing the restrictions web designers face with those of the poet we can understand that true creativity deals with the barriers that are present and finds a way to overcome them.