By Scott Kresan Tilbe, Barrie, ON

Creativity Is Not Just About Making Things

For a long time, I thought of creativity and technology as two separate interests. Creativity was about making something, while technology was about figuring out how something worked. The more I learned about web design, computer science, administration, and other areas of work, the less convinced I became that the two belonged in separate categories.

I have found that some of the most useful ideas come from combining them.

When I think about design, I do not only think about how something looks. I think about how someone experiences it. Is it easy to understand? Can a person find what they need? Does the process make sense? Is there an unnecessary step getting in the way?

Those questions apply to much more than websites. They apply to the way an office is organized, the way information is communicated, and the way everyday tasks are completed.

My experience in administrative work has made this especially clear to me.

Looking at Problems From the Other Side

One of the things I learned through web design is that you cannot design something effectively without thinking about the person who will actually use it.

That sounds obvious, but it is surprisingly easy to forget. When you are familiar with a process, you understand all the steps because you have done them many times. Someone encountering that process for the first time does not have the same knowledge.

I see a similar situation in administrative work. A procedure may make perfect sense to the person who created it, but that does not necessarily mean it makes sense to everyone else.

Sometimes I find myself asking, “If I were seeing this for the first time, would I understand what to do?”

That question can reveal problems that are easy to overlook when you are too close to the work.

Design thinking, at least as I understand it, starts with that willingness to step back and look at something from another person’s perspective. It does not require turning every workplace problem into a major project. Sometimes it simply means noticing where people are getting confused and asking why.

Technology Should Solve Problems, Not Create Them

My background in computer science has also influenced how I think about technology. I enjoy learning how systems work, but I have become more cautious about using technology simply because it is available.

There is a tendency to assume that adding a new tool will automatically make a process better. I am not sure that is always true.

A new system can introduce its own complications. People have to learn it. Information may have to be entered in multiple places. There can be compatibility issues or small changes to established routines that create frustration.

So I often think about a more basic question: What problem are we actually trying to solve?

If technology answers that question, it can be extremely useful. It can reduce repetitive work, make information easier to access, improve communication, and help people spend more time on tasks that require judgment.

But if the problem has not been clearly identified, technology can simply make a bad process faster.

That is not necessarily progress.

The Value of Simplicity

I have always appreciated good design, and one thing I have learned is that good design often looks simpler than the work required to create it.

A website that feels easy to use may have required considerable thought behind the scenes. The same can be true of an administrative process. If everything seems straightforward to the person using it, someone has probably taken the time to think carefully about how the pieces fit together.

That does not mean everything needs to be simplified as much as possible. Some processes are complicated because the work itself is complicated. Trying to remove every step can create problems of its own.

There is a balance.

I have sometimes wondered whether making something more efficient could actually make it less effective. If you remove a step that seems unnecessary, perhaps you also remove an opportunity to catch an error. If you automate something, perhaps you lose the human judgment that was important in the first place.

Those are questions worth asking before making changes.

Learning From the People Who Use the Process

Another thing I have learned is that good ideas do not always come from the person in charge of a project.

The people using a system every day often know where the problems are. They may not describe them in technical language, but they know which steps are frustrating, which information is difficult to find, and where mistakes tend to happen.

That is valuable information.

In an administrative environment, listening to those observations can make a significant difference. Sometimes a small adjustment can save time for several people. Other times, you discover that the problem is not the system at all. It may be a communication issue or an assumption that everyone understands something the same way.

Technology can help with those problems, but it cannot replace listening.

Bringing Creativity Into Everyday Work

I do not think creativity has to mean sitting down and trying to invent something completely new. For me, creativity is often about looking at something familiar and wondering if there is a better way to approach it.

That mindset has followed me through my interests in design, technology, art, and administration.

Sometimes the solution is technical. Sometimes it is organizational. Sometimes it is simply communicating something more clearly.

I have also learned that not every idea deserves to be implemented. That may be one of the harder parts of being creative. You can become attached to an idea because you spent time developing it. But if it does not actually improve the experience for someone, what is the point?

Being willing to abandon an idea can be just as important as having one.

Finding the Balance

The older I get, the less interested I am in separating creative and technical thinking. They complement each other.

Technology gives us tools, but creativity helps us decide how those tools should be used. Design helps us think about the person on the other side of the process. Administrative experience reminds me that even a good idea has to work in the real world.

That last part is important to me. An idea can look great on paper and still fail when people have to use it every day.

The best solutions I have encountered tend to share something in common. They are practical, understandable, and built around an actual need.

I still find myself questioning whether a process can be improved, whether a tool is really necessary, or whether something has simply become complicated because nobody stopped to reconsider it. I do not always have the answer immediately.

But I think asking the question is a good place to start.

For me, that is where creativity and technology really meet. It is not necessarily in the newest software or the most impressive design. It is in the willingness to look at the way we work, understand the people involved, and find thoughtful ways to make things work a little better.