As we delve deeper into 2025, the should be extra artistic is evolving from a luxurious to a necessity. In a world more and more formed by automation and AI, our uniquely human capability for artistic considering has turn out to be our most precious forex.

But regardless of this rising premium on creativity, many people stay trapped within the false impression that we merely aren’t “artistic varieties”; that creativity is an unique present bestowed upon a lucky few, leaving the remainder of us to marvel from the sidelines.

This perception could not be farther from the reality. As a result of, in fact, creativity is not an innate expertise that you simply both have or lack—it is a muscle that may be developed, a ability that may be honed, and a observe that may be cultivated.

But, even when we perceive this, many people battle to entry our artistic potential. We face blocks starting from concern of judgment to uncertainty about the place to start. We discover ourselves caught in inflexible patterns of considering, unable to see past the standard approaches we have been taught. Or maybe mostly, we merely do not imagine we’ve what it takes.

It is exactly this hole between recognising the worth of creativity and truly embodying it that Man Armitage addresses in his groundbreaking e book Everybody Is Inventive: 7 Steps to Unlock Your Creativity.

Core Philosophy

Revealed by LOM Artwork, his hardback challenges the standard knowledge that creativity is a expertise bestowed upon a fortunate few. As an alternative, Man presents creativity as an inherent human high quality that merely wants nurturing and sensible software.

“Creativity is not one thing we have to be taught – it is one thing we have to keep in mind and observe,” Man explains. In a world that more and more calls for authentic considering but presents little steering on methods to develop it, this sensible method is each well timed and important.

For anybody who harbours artistic ambitions but is stricken by self-doubt, Man’s perspective presents reassurance: whether or not you are a seasoned creator or somebody satisfied they “cannot draw a sausage,” creativity is not about expertise – it is about understanding and growing practices that unlock what’s already inside you.

Past customary codecs

What distinguishes Everybody Is Inventive from different titles on this crowded area is its remarkably sensible method. And that is no accident. Via his analysis, Man initially recognized three widespread codecs for creativity books.

“The primary is a well-known particular person sharing their journey into discovering their very own artistic course of,” he begins. “That is inspirational, however could not assist these studying it straight. Then there are books that target a particular kind of artistic medium, normally artists, and which hone in on very particular classes for that area of interest. Thirdly, there are books written by psychologists or enterprise leaders which dissect how creativity comes about in a extra scientific, organisational means. These are fascinating, however not all the time straightforward to digest.”

Recognising the restrictions of all three e book varieties, Man crafted one thing completely different – a structured seven-step method that features sensible workouts, instruments for overcoming artistic blocks, steering on monetising artistic work, and methods for producing and growing concepts.

Why Man?

What makes Man’s steering notably priceless is his personal background spanning know-how, entrepreneurship, and the humanities. This is not a e book written by somebody who’s solely skilled artistic success in a single slim area.

Man has saved the London Inventory Trade operating through the 7/7 assaults, based two firms, and received the Tate Trendy Hackathon with famend artist Ai Weiwei. At present serving as a trustee of Firstsite Museum and chair of digital artwork gallery Arebyte, he additionally leads Zealous in supporting over 200,000 artistic submissions to open calls and awards.

“I by no means got down to write a e book,” Man reveals, “however my curiosity put me ready the place I used to be approached to.” He describes experiencing the world by means of two parallel tracks. One was the “logical Man, who skilled to do an actual job” and ended up on the London Inventory Trade. However the different was the “artistic Man, who tried his hand at something artistic he might get his palms on. These embrace journey images, being a gory additional in horror movies, directing an okay brief movie, and successful the Tate Trendy digital artwork hackathon.”

As you would possibly guess, the artistic Man ultimately received out. “I based an organization known as Zealous to serve the artistic sector by organisations in operating calls to submissions and extra alternatives for the sector,” he explains. “That was a protracted journey that allowed me to use my tech expertise and fulfill my must create.

“Via it, we hosted talks, and I met many organisations, artists and policymakers discussing the sector,” he continues. “I began publishing articles about insights I had gathered. Finally, certainly one of my purchasers, a writer, fell into my work and requested me if I’d think about writing a e book. That set the wheels in movement, and I began researching what was already on the market.”

Actual-world creativity below strain

Maybe most inspiringly, Man’s personal journey of writing the e book exemplifies the artistic course of below real-world constraints. “It wasn’t straightforward and took three years to publish, two of writing,” he shares, describing how he balanced the undertaking with caring for 2 younger kids, sitting on two arts organisation boards, and operating his personal enterprise throughout COVID.

“Time was sparse,” he provides. “With the assistance of my companion, Yukie, whom I can not thank sufficient, we carved out two hours each weekend I might lock myself away for and write. As we acquired nearer to publishing, I prolonged that into two-hour periods from 4.30am, earlier than anybody awoke.”

This expertise offered sudden advantages. “This sluggish tempo was a blessing,” explains Man, “since I might ship all my notes to my editor at first of the week and combine the suggestions in my subsequent writing session.”

Notably, Man utilized his personal artistic rules whereas writing. “A pleasant irony is that most of the processes I seize within the e book, I used myself writing it,” he smiles. “I used Methods to get again within the circulation quicker, what to do once I was blocked. These have been being examined in actual time as I wrote. I believe the time period in startups is ‘Eat your individual dogfood’. Properly, I actually tucked in!”

Inventive considering as a life ability

As we navigate the challenges of 2025, Man’s emphasis on artistic considering as a basic life ability feels notably related. “The United Nations identifies artistic considering as one of many prime 5 most essential life expertise,” he notes. “But training does not appear to have caught up.”

For professionals dealing with job postings that demand “artistic considering” with out clarifying what meaning, Man’s e book presents concrete steering. Via its concentrate on motion somewhat than idea, a mix of playful workouts and severe insights, and sensible recommendation on artistic enterprise elements, Everybody Is Inventive equips readers with instruments for making use of creativity throughout any sector or life state of affairs.

As Man places it, this e book helps individuals “uncover their very own creativity by means of playful content material and actionable steps, irrespective of the place they have been of their journey” – a philosophy completely aligned with the artistic aspirations of a brand new yr.