The Finest Minds in the Field of Creative Thinking

It’s that question that has always followed us ever since grade school- Who inspires you? Who do you consider a role model? Personally, I like to think that we each look at role models in different ways. A lot of people may look to the same role model, but everyone sees them in a different light. When it comes to my creative role models or inspirations, there’s a few people who come to mind- but not exactly in the way that most people might view them.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Courtesy of Bitstrips via Facebook                                                                                                           

Walt Disney
I know it’s a bit cliché to say that Walt Disney is one of my creative inspirations, but hear me out first. I’ve loved Disney (both the company and the man) for as long as I can remember. He too, started out with just some simple drawings and then later went to school for it in an attempt to make drawing his career. Well, he did it- unlike me who got discouraged and changed majors- Disney accomplished his dream! He started out with a friend from school and together they created the “Newman’s Laugh-O-Grams” for the Newman’s Theaters (Source: Imdb). Once he finally built himself up into Mickey Mouse and creating the classic Disney movies his next challenge was building “The Happiest Place on Earth”. You know what? People thought he was CRAZY! His innovative ideas where not imaginable at the time and many believed his idea would never work… go ahead, take a moment to picture a world without Disney World or Disneyland… strange isn’t it? Anyway, Walt is my creative inspiration because he never gave up and fought for what he wanted. It may not have always been a “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” journey for him, but he stood his ground. As he put it, he was not just creating Disney for the children, but rather for the child in all of us. Walt Disney took chances that many people today aren’t willing to do. He’s an icon to the entire world not just for the animation and the Disney parks, but as an imaginative genius. Disney made all of us believe that any thing we can dream can be achieved.

Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp
Yes, I am inspired by the three guys who created Pinterest. To be honest, I didn’t know who they were prior to creating this blog, but ever since I started using Pinterest I thought “whoever created this site was brilliant!”. It’s an easy, free, and fun way to share to your ideas and creative skills throughout the whole world. When I first heard of Pinterest I thought it was something like the little Pin app from Facebook where you send your friends the pin buttons of things you like. WOW! When I signed up for my account I swear I spent about an hour to two hours just pinning things like crazy! I view Pinterest as unique way to do creative brainstorming that go beyond the standards of visual communication. I see people planning their weddings through Pinterest, selecting pins related to the workplace, fashion advice, crafts, holiday recipes, you name it and it’s most likely on Pinterest! Their creative idea of having a virtual photo/idea sharing site is certainly to be commended! Pinterest and it’s ideals have earned them a place on my creative inspirations list.

PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) Kids Television Shows
Ok, this one sounds a little broad in terms of the creative inspirations point, but I really don’t know how else to put it. All of my imagination and creativity began with this network, PBS. Now there’s a few things I should clarify first: I AM A 90′S CHILD! I can’t really speak for the kids shows now because I really don’t watch any, however from my personal experience PBS was the perfect station to watch to get both education and entertainment at the same time. Most of the shows you see in the picture are from my generation, but there a few I don’t recognize or remember. Let me take you back to the PBS of the 90′s: Arthur (still can be seen today), Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Barney, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Lamb Chops, The Magic School Bus, Reading Rainbow, Thomas The Tank Engine/Shining Time Station and Liberty’s Kids. Feel old now? Don’t worry, if you ever need to reminisce about those good old days you can find most of these on YouTube or Netflix (Well Magic School Bus is on Netflix anyway). My point though, these shows had THE MOST CREATIVE ways to attract a child’s attention. Looking back, each show kind of had a special unique ingredient that made them standout from other kids shows. For example… Reading Rainbow, while you might have enjoyed the reading aspect of the show, you probably also enjoyed watching the host, LeVar Burton, and made the connection that he was Geordi La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Many of these shows actually played a vital role into pop culture on several occasions: The Backstreet Boys were featured in an episode of Arthur. Lamb Chops and Sheri Lewis were guest stars on the popular 9o’s sitcom “The Nanny”, and did you know the theme to “The Magic School Bus” was performed by Rock ‘N’ Roll legend Little Richard (aka the man who sang “Tutti Frutti”)? But why is all this a creative inspiration to me? Simply because PBS gave children shows that allowed them to learn in a fun and entertaining environment. Most of these shows had either games, catchy songs, or pop culture influences that really grabbed their attention. Each one of these classic 90′s show had that specific creative edge that still effects me whenever I think “how can I reach out to an audience?” PBS knew how to market good quality kids shows that could stand out to both children and adults. It’s all in how you market and reach out to people, that gives you the perfect creative edge to achieve success!