Creative Strategies: 10 Approaches to Solving Design Problems

How can I be more creative?

People from every walk of life have asked this question. Whether the motivation is to find more personal satisfaction in everyday life or to achieve success in the workplace, the desire for creativity, and the struggle to sustain it, is universal.

Drawing on his varied experiences as a successful product designer and creative director, as well as a seasoned educator and a working parent, Fridolin Beisert’s Creative Strategies: 10 Approaches to Solving Design Problems uncovers priceless strategies to lead a more creative life—in any industry, at any level—whether you are a student, a teacher, a parent, or a CEO.

Beisert’s approaches, cleverly and appropriately titled Pattern Breaking, Planting Limits, and Reality Hacking, to name a few, are revealed through case studies and personal anecdotes that are both entertaining and illuminating, and demonstrate that creativity is a skill that can be learned the same way that we learn how to ride a bicycle: by actively practicing it.

Fridolin Beisert is a product designer by training, a creative by choice, and a teacher by serendipity. He grew up in Hamburg, Germany, and is currently the creative director at baum-kuchen.net, an online lifestyle brand founded and operated by his wife. He is also a faculty member and director of the Product Design department at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, where he teaches creative problem solving, design process, and visual communication. Prior to these roles, Fridolin worked in Tokyo developing futuristic video games, formed a boutique design consultancy out of his garage, toured as an international underground DJ, wrote a book on learning design using 3D software, and studied traditional papermaking from a master craftsman in Japan.

Jessie Kawata is a designer and artist who loves to explore the world of science and technology. Her background in both product design and illustration led her to become one of the first in-house creative strategists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. She has played a key role in introducing design thinking and creative methodology into the design of early spacecraft mission concepts. When Jessie is not staring into space, she is back on Earth as a part-time instructor at Art Center College of Design’s Saturday High, sailing tall ships, and treasure hunting at flea markets and record shops.

Jessie Kawata is a designer and artist who loves to explore the world of science and technology. Her background in both product design and illustration led her to become one of the first in-house creative strategists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. She has played a key role in introducing design thinking and creative methodology into the design of early spacecraft mission concepts. When Jessie is not staring into space, she is back on Earth as a part-time instructor at Art Center College of Design’s Saturday High, sailing tall ships, and treasure hunting at flea markets and record shops.