THE FIVE STAGES OF PROCESS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl0R1uJ62xo

The creative process can be broken down into five different stages. These stages are not always linear, there will be times were the stages will go back and forth or merge together.

Preparation Stage

This stage is where you are absorbing a lot of information you are thinking of concepts. You are researching different artists or going to galleries and reading books to gather the information. This part of the process can take a long time, you may spend most of your time on this part alone. Working in a quiet environment is better for this stage, it helps the mind to think critically without distractions.

Incubation Stage

The incubation stage is where you let your subconscious take over, you take the information and store it in the back of your mind. Most of the time sleeping on it will help trigger an idea in the morning, for some processes especially for bigger projects, it might take days, weeks even months before the idea manifests.

Insight Stage

Most people think this part is the the whole creative process and what creativity is all about, but in reality it's only a small part of it. The insight stage is that breakthrough moment where you have that formed concept. The best way to trigger this type of response is to do some sort of low level activity. Most people find their best ideas in the shower or going for a walk.

Evaluation Stage

This is the part where you have to think about your concept from an outside point of view and be critical about the concept. Get feedback from other peers, but be careful of who you ask as some people could be overly critical and shut down your idea and others can be too nice and not give you anything constructive. Find people who will evaluate the concept and give you critical feedback as well so that you can learn and develop.

Elaboration Stage

This is where the thinking becomes physical work, where you create the work itself, you test, make thumbnails, get more feedback on your concepts. You keep on developing them until you get to the finished product.

Reference:

Taylor, J. (2015) The Creative Process (Five Stages). [Online Video]. 28 May 2015. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl0R1uJ62xo. [Accessed: 15 March 2020].