How to Be a Creative Thinker

About the Book 

How to Be a Creative Thinker is a map to your creative mind, the places your creative potential resides, and the allies and enemies along the way. It’s a practical guide to the science and the psychology of creativity and the conditions required for cultivating it.

We think creativity is for those lucky enough to be born with it – something you either have or you don’t. But this is untrue. Creativity is more than God-given talent, and it’s more than artistic flair. It’s the ability to come up with a new idea in any area or setting. And most importantly, it can be learned by anyone.

In How to Be a Creative Thinker, professional creative and strategic designer Roya Azadi teaches you techniques to encourage creative thinking and shows how you can unlock your creative potential. She reveals that technology is inhibiting our ability to daydream and explains why this headspace is so important if you want to ‘catch a live one’. You’ll learn to not fear failure by understanding that it’s actually fertile ground for creativity.

Throughout the book, there are interviews, quotes, explainers and activities to inspire creative thought along the way. By the end of the book, you’ll be bubbling with creative force to take out into the world and make real change.

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Review

‘This book felt like an encouraging friend accompanying me on a hero’s journey to discover all that is latent in my creative blueprint' – Golriz, founder and creative director of Soul Pancake

‘So inspiring. So smart. So useful. When time travel finally figures its shit out, I'm giving this book to my 16-year-old self.’ – Ryan Shelton, writer and performer

‘Creatively stimulating and full of profound insights. Personally, this book gave me a language with which to think about and better understand my practice and creative processes.’ – Sophie Hardcastle, writer and author of Below Deck

‘Roya Azadi has carefully collected some of the most effective strategies to come up with some of the very best ideas. They do work.’ – Stefan Sagmeister, graphic designer

‘Brimming with ideas, exercises, and insights for anyone looking to unleash greater creativity in their everyday life.’ – Mason Currey, author of Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

About the Author

Roya Azadi is a New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based strategic designer. She's worked with organisations like World Vision, the United Nations and Google as a researcher and strategic designer, spent a number of years in award-winning creative advertising agencies, has lectured in strategy and storytelling and contributed to publications like VICE and Interview magazine across Melbourne, New York and London. Most recently she is working with both public and private sector clients to co-design solutions to issues they face in an uncertain world – work that requires us to create an environment and provide the tools where those we work with can find the dormant creativity inside to co-create solutions to their own challenges.