4 inspiring reads: A dean’s list

4 inspiring reads to support your creative growth

By Steven Tepper, Dean, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

We are living in a creative age. The economy increasingly relies on the intellectual output of creatives, with growing demand for well-designed products as well as compelling stories and experiences (film, music, television, games, etc.). The top 1,500 U.S. CEOs report that creativity is the number one quality they are looking for in new graduates. And, in a world of accelerating and often disorienting change, creativity is critical for adapting and innovating, not only for individuals throughout their lifetimes but also for companies and organizations seeking to remain relevant. So, here are three book suggestions to help you think about developing your own creativity and imagination, as well as one book of fiction that talks about the importance of art in a world where everything familiar is lost.

Where Good Ideas Come From

by Steven Johnson

A prevailing myth is that creativity is the result of the lone genius. But, as a sociologist, I have studied the conditions that make it more likely that creative ideas will emerge.

Steven Johnson provides a great review of what environments lead to breakthrough ideas — places where serendipity is possible; places where fields and disciplines come together; diverse teams, distributed networks; time for incubating ideas. Creative people need not only to focus on their own inspiration but also to help create the spaces where both they and others can achieve the improbable.

Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel

This is a work of fiction that examines a future world where a flu pandemic has wiped out most of civilization. Nothing is the same. What I find so compelling about the story is that it centers around a group of traveling actors who bring theatre to people in small makeshift towns. If we were to return to a tribal existence with no technology and no market economy, what might be the role of the artist? If we can imagine their value in a world with nothing, why can’t we fully imagine their value in today’s world of abundance?