Inspired!: The Joy of Street Creativity [9781068321573]

Overview

This book will make you smile, revealing exciting, creative possibilities for familiar objects and everyday situations. You'll be inspired to see, and use, the things around you in new and smarter ways.

Inspired! shows us street creativity in action; improvisation on-the-spot; results achieved after meditation on a problem; and answers to challenges faced by us all at one time: or another how to keep dry during a sudden shower, find shade, shelter or a comfortable place to sit whilst waiting for the bus. As well as seeing selections of victories over these common trials there are examples of improvements on existing designs – making things easier or better functioning.

Ther are varied solutions to the same problem, innovative, enterprising, and entrepreneurial ideas, and a section on the playful disposal of objects – some creating witty and surprising street surrealism. And then ther are multiple uses for the same objects and materials., demonstrating how creative thinking can extend the life of things after their intended purpose has come to an end; sometimes by discovering radically new functions undreamed of by their original designers.

The people that created the ideas featured in this book have learnt to behave in a certain way – they possess initiative and are admirably unstoppable – showing a desire to tackle rather than ignore or tolerate the problems they face, using resourcefulness and a flexible view of objects and situations to overcome difficulties. These capabilities matter and should be valued more greatly and be taught more widely. Being a solution finder can be hugely satisfying as great pride can be experienced from outwitting our often badly designed and poorly thought-out world. Much can be learnt from these successes - knowledge that could help us find new potential in old objects, better use the resources we have and better design both the things we use and the spaces and places we construct.