Creative Jam: 7 Exercises to Enliven Your Office

GETTING BACK TO NATURE

For diversion and discovery, Jerde presented a Creative Jam assignment to create an identity and ad for a fictitious flower shop. Jerde guided the group to a flower- filled courtyard and provided paper and a handful of colored pencils. “We were allowed to pick two colors,” Puckett says, recalling that he chose navy and tan. “In 20 minutes, we had to come up with a name for the flower shop and sketch an ad.”

Because the Creative Jams make staffers work through their concepts quickly and in tandem, Puckett says the Jams have allowed the creatives to note first- hand how others work and approach problems. “How do you start? Where do you go? Do you begin with a list or a sketch?” he says of the inquiries. “Seeing how they work through it and listening to their perspectives, we learn how to work with them better.”

“Nurturing creativity is fundamental to our success,” Jerde concludes. “It’s written in our employee handbook. This is why we’re here. This is how great things happen.”