Take a good hard look at some form of creative output that catches your eye.

Then, create a few statements based on what you see.

It can be as simple as something like:

“I enjoy this specific part because it makes me feel happy.”

Now that you’ve noted a few key characteristics about the piece it’s time to ask yourself more questions:

“What would I change and why?”

“If I took out this bit, would that effect the outcome?”

“Did the designer/writer/videographer/etc viewpoint come across effectively?”

The more questions you can ask yourself here the better prepared you’ll be for the next step.

Take one of the questions that stands out most and push it one notch further…

Something like:

“The middle part of the piece stinks so bad I have a hard time enjoying it.”

Assumptions will be different for everyone, especially in creative pursuits. So don’t get too hung up on this step.

Take that assumption and craft it into a prediction that can be tested at a later date.

Something like:

“I think that if I change the middle part to be more colorful that it will resonate more with my target audience.”

It’s important that the prediction you’re making is as specific as possible because every future creative change will be gut checked against it.

This is where the most mistakes get made.

Without a prediction to test your work will be judged purely based on its structure and decoration. And that’s where things are most likely to spiral out of control.

Instead, keeping feedback targeted toward testing the prediction will allow the work to stand on its own two feet.

And prevent comments from becoming too personal.

Taking the outcome of the test you can then begin to repeat these steps in order.

This helps to more easily pinpoint what needs to be changed, and WHY, so that you can more efficiently work toward a more applicable solution for everyone involved.

The goal in this step is to get to a better (you’ll never get to perfect) output to prove, or disprove, the prediction.

This process is what is internalized by every level of director that exists. And the more you can run your own work through it before reaching the eyes of someone else in a stuffy meeting room…the better you’ll be able to:

- Speak to your decision making

- Showcase your process

- Sell the solution

And best of all, because you’ve externalized the creative process you’ll start to lessen those “world is ending” feelings you get by receiving feedback.

Head on over to thecalculatedcreative.com for more actionable tips to help you move from inspiration to realization.