The pandemic has transformed our lives and we need innovation to tackle the challenges of this new world. In many ways, it’s never been more important to celebrate World Creativity and Innovation Day and appreciate the creative economy.

To mark the occasion and reflect on the power of creativity within our own business, we asked four of our Inventors about problem-solving in their day-to-day work. Read on to find out about dancing prawns, using humour to develop ideas and how to stay open minded.

Barbara, Sound Designer

Some real questions I have had to answer in my work include: “What does a dancing prawn sound like?”, “What kind of music would I like to listen to if I were a penguin on my best holiday ever?” and “What is the sound of daybreak?” As a Sound Designer, challenges like this come up every day and we need to use creativity and innovation to solve them.

The goal of sound design is to create a direct association between an image and sound. If the image doesn’t have a real sound, we’ll need to invent one. But it is all about perception, rather than reality. For example, we often use sound layers recorded from washing machines, gears and fans to create the perception of something spinning, even when the animation depicts something completely different, like a golden star flipping.

Usually, the perfect sound for an animation comes from the most unexpected item. We then layer, edit and synchronise it to help the brain perceive an association between the image and sound. This means we need to keep our mind and ears open, prepared to record anything anywhere.

Alina, Principal Application Security Engineer

Working as a Security Engineer means dealing with a broad range of challenges. There is no space for a daily routine and we have to use creativity to find solutions in tricky situations. For example, we might need to put ourselves in an attacker’s shoes to discover new ways people could abuse the system. Or, we might use creativity to find new approaches for collaboration with the engineering teams so that we can deliver the most secure solution.

Humour is one of the things that helps me boost creativity. Creating an atmosphere of fun instead of putting on a serious face can change the level of engagement in a team and result in truly innovative ideas.

Nuria, UX Copywriter

If the copy isn’t creative, people won’t click! In a world where we are competing for time and attention, innovation and creativity are the pillars of copywriting.

I try to make my copy inspiring to read and create a voice that will make the brand stand out. But it is not only about the words. It’s about knowing what will make the audience tick. It’s about crafting ideas that will boost the impact of communications. And this cannot be done without creativity and innovation.

Antonio, Senior Architect

Creativity and innovation is our mantra. As a Senior Architect, I have to address many different challenges, like designing a flow to be used in a big data system, sketching a solution on a blockchain or challenging the status quo for existing systems, approaches and processes.

All of those challenges have something in common, which is that I need creativity and innovation to tackle them. Some problems are completely different to anything I’ve worked on before and require a new way of thinking.

I find that brainstorming or creating a diagram that visualises all of the proposed solutions helps me to solve problems. My mind must also be ready to accept new things and not be afraid of making mistakes.