How images can spark creative thinking
A picture tells a thousand words. A simple plausible sounding statement that is pretty tough to prove right or wrong.
But, we do know a strong, powerful image can catch hold of our attention. It could be the subject matter, the angle or composition, the contrast, the provocation and loads of other reasons.
Advertises use powerful images all the time. Think about some of the most iconic album covers that really last the test of time. A powerful photo or picture really can grab hold of us.
In this post I will explain how I use photographs to get teams unstuck, think expansively and build a narrative for their company. I will need to get a little scientific but I’ll keep it breezy.
The science of photographs and images
I use photography to convey emotions, meaning, clarity and direction. I use photography to learn how to notice the world around me, and to understand, upon reviewing my archive of photographs, what interests me - i.e. what I tend to take photos of. I also use photography and images heavily in presentations and use visuals a lot to lead teams.
We’re hard-wired to use, decipher and pay attention to photographs.
Some interesting research suggests that we are very susceptible to increase our purchasing of clothes, when stylish and aspiring photos are used to market said product. (Xia et al., 2020)
It’s not a leap too far to assume that we’re also more likely to support and buy into a strategy or direction of travel, if there are compelling and attractive images used. (I’ll do a post on the three aspects of good visual design for leaders at some point).
However, it’s also the case that the quality of the image may not matter too much. Some research has shown that people with plenty of attention and a large following on social media (in this case Flickr) didn’t necessarily have the highest quality images when objectively measured on structure, design, composition etc. In other words, you don’t need exhibition grade photographs to move people into action (or at least follow you), and equally, there are plenty of people posting stunning photos who maybe aren’t getting the attention they deserve. (Schifanella et al., 2015)
And if we are indeed going to use images to communicate, build a following (whether in work or in life) then using filters to modify the photo (adding warmth, contrast and colour) tends to attract people to those photographs more. Use this technique if you’re using images in the workplace. (Bakhshi et al., 2015)
There’s also a growing use of infographics, which are an excellent way of communicating complicated ideas in a visual. However, they are hard to create as the union of images and text must be cohesive, tell the whole story and compliment each other. They must be congruent otherwise the meaning and value could be lost - an art form in itself, but yet another example of how we are pre-wired to engage with photographs and images. (““Creative Infographics,” n.d.)
Is a photograph communicating more than words?
Another interesting side angle of photography is that a photograph can indeed communicate more meaning than words, and sometimes in an easier way.
If I was to try and articulate this scene above using words, I would need plenty of descriptive language. I would maybe choose words that mean more to me than to you. If I were to make the scene more emotional I may add some flowery language and get all poetic. If I were speaking to someone who didn’t speak English, it would be pretty tough to find the right words.
But, if I were to show someone this picture they would immediately understand I was talking about some people on a ride, without having to describe the ride, nor the mood from the black and white.
As we move into ideas about using photographs for creative thinking, this is an important point. We often fall back to words to describe something that would be much more effective to be communicated using an image. Why use a hundred words when we can sum up what we’re thinking, doing and planning by using a photograph? This is precisely why I use a mock vending machine during problem solving workshops. Find out more here.
The Cow
In the wonderful short course called Reading Visual Images, from Open.edu, they use a great example of someone trying to describe a “cow”.
If we are speaking English to someone who doesn’t know what a “cow” is in English, it could get pretty hard to communicate. Yet, if we show them a photo of a cow - all good. It’s pretty universal (although not entirely) clear that a picture of a cow is indeed a cow.
Without the need for descriptions, words and semantic agreement, we can almost all agree that a photo of a cow means a cow - whether you call that animal a “cow”, or a Kuh (German), or a la mucca (Italian), or amso (Korean), or a Ko (Swedish). (I used Google Translate for these, so forgive me if they aren’t quite right).
As it happens, I like to take photos of cows.
If we show a photo of several cows, we collectively understand there are cows, and not just "a cow". It is often easier to communicate to a broad audience using a photo, than it is to choose the right words.
A photo represents something.
Does a photo convey the true meaning though?
Right, enough preamble about how we engage more with photographs and images, and how they often move people into action. Now it's time to learn how to use photographs to solve problems, be creative and open insights that could really move our organisations forward.
Before that though, I need to explain two ways in which we typically “read” photographs, as this is essential to understand to get the best from any creative exercise using photographs.
A photograph can be “read” in two ways from a sociological construct.
The first is what is called the “Realism” construct. In a simpler term (albeit not quite doing justice), it’s the content that is shown in the photograph; the subject, the framing, the information we can see and describe. Something happened, and someone was there to take the photo.
“Realism is the idea that a photograph of an object or a person bears a close relationship to that object or person. There is a link between the object or person photographed, and the photograph. The photograph, in other words, is a trace of something real. Because it was necessary for the object or person to be present at the moment of photographic recording, we can also say that there is a link between the photograph and the events, objects, people, etc.,it depicts." (“Reading visual images,” n.d.)
The second is what is often referred to as the “Conventionalism” construct. In other words, this is the context or meaning in which the photograph exists; the time, place, narrative, series of photographs, society, culture etc.
“In this conventionalist view, pictures are assemblages of conventions, sets of symbols or visual devices that can be constructed so as to give a particular effect, to create a certain meaning. In order to understand the picture those looking at it have to understand the conventions.” (“Reading visual images,” n.d.)
For example, if we look at this photo here of a child sitting looking out over some fields, we can describe the content of the photograph. We can deconstruct it and come up with some descriptions about the photograph.
Content:
- A small child sat in some sort of country setting, could be a sports field even.
- Structurally a pleasing photograph using the rule of thirds and placing the main subject in the centre.
- It looks to be a nice day
- There is plenty of greenery so it’s likely spring, summer or early autumn - but we don’t know
- The child is sat in the shade under a tree
- There are trees and fields
- There are branches hanging down
- We may know the type of tree they are sat under (beyond my ability)
We may also pull some other content from this photograph but we don’t know a lot of the context - and as there is no description, narrative or further explanation, we have to make up our own context.
We’ll come on to this in a little while, as “assuming context” is really the foundation of using photographs for creativity.
One way to build an “assumed context”, and I say “assumed” because we don’t know without the narrative, is to maybe ponder a few questions:
- Who is the child?
- Is the child with its parents?
- Is it a boy or a girl?
- Are they out for a walk?
- Is this someone’s garden?
- Where is the photo taken?
- How old is the child?
- Why are they there? (It may be a naughty step for example)
- When was this taken?
- What is the narrative or story behind this?
- Is it a bench or a railing?
By assuming the context we are deriving some meaning from this photograph, and in essence, potentially pondering how this photograph may relate to ourselves and our current situation.
For example:
- Maybe we’re living in a city with little greenery and are imagining how peaceful it must be to sit there.
- Maybe we’re dealing with a challenge and wish to sit somewhere peaceful and quiet to escape
- If we have kids this photo may spark a memory of time with our own children
- We may be a keen photographer and this sparks an idea for a new photo shoot
- Maybe we enjoy nature and are studying the greenery
No doubt there are many more ideas there too.
The true context of this photo is that:
- It is my son, aged about 5.
- The photo was taken at a school playing field in Winchester.
- It was an early summer day
- I was experimenting with different settings on my camera
- I was with all three of my kids, with one playing football, the other climbing a tree just off to the side of this scene - and my youngest sat on the railing.
- I took the photo because it looked cool.
- If you find the photo on my IG feed you may find other photos posted around it that show that moment in my life - what we did before, and after this day. An archive of life.
As you can tell from this exercise we can come up with words to describe what is factually in the photo. We can also assume some context around the photo. We may also feel and think something because of studying this photo.
All of these three things are important when we use photography to feed creativity, solve problems and generate ideas; the content, the context, how it relates to ourselves.
Let’s use the content and context (realism and conventionalism) views for another example that is deeply popular in today’s cultural mixing pot; the selfie.
20+ years ago, before the rise in mobile phones, not many people took selfies (which are distinctly different from self portraits).
It’s now normal to see someone standing in the middle of the street or a shop taking a selfie. Norms have changed.
Selfies are not just a picture of someone taken by that very same person (the content). Selfies are also a way of seeking attention, communicating our feelings and opinions, narrating a life, keeping an archive and entertainment. (Sung et al., 2016) There is way more to a selfie photograph than the content. The context is important. It’s also argued that narcissistic people take more selfies…..
No surrounding Context
And this is why using photographs to drive creative sparks is so powerful.
I use photographs with no surrounding context provided. There are no details of the time, place, space, narrative or the society in which they are taken; we have to construct that ourselves through questions, assumptions, thoughts, ideas, relation to the photo and more. These are the seeds for creativity.
This is where we get the insights - by imagining, creating and exploring the assumed context. We use the content straight from the photo elements that we can see, and we also explore the assumed context through our own lens - around what’s important to us at the moment.
The Visual Cards
A few years back I was working with a senior leadership team, who, after finishing a gnarly few days of strategic work, gifted me a pack of Visual Explorer cards from the Center for Creative Leadership. Someone had taken the time to find the cards, source them and wrap them along with some other gifts.
Since then, I’ve defaulted to using these cards for many workshops. The pack is essentially a collection of random, high quality images that you can use for a variety of different situations; to spark creative thinking; to group traits or objects; to reflect your own mood; and many more uses.
(Note: I'm not sure you can buy them anymore, but there are plenty of alternatives on Amazon. Or use your own photos.)
The cards contain content, but no context.
The photographs do not have the photographer’s commentary explaining why they took the photo, nor the date, time and location. There is no context with them, no narrative, no described meaning - just the content of the photo.
When we try to imagine, define or explain the context in which a photograph was taken, we can unlock insights, ideas and creative sparks that may just help us with our own problems, challenges and thinking.
For example, try for a minute writing out the content elements of this photo. And then take a minute to write down the “assumed” context.
It’s a photo of a boy in a square, but I won’t include the context for this one (location, date, why I was there, what he was doing, who I was with, why I took this snap).
By trying to explain and define the context from the photo above, you will start to see patterns in your own thinking, and maybe some key words or connections, that may help you explore a creative idea.
As a test, get someone you know to do the same exercise and see whether you get similar or different descriptions of both the content and the context.
For example, when I was working with a senior leadership team during a problem solving workshop, they were stuck. They couldn’t quite work out how to think about a new product launch they were contemplating. It was essential that they launched a new product as the existing one was losing market share due to cheaper competitors and market saturation, but they just couldn’t unlock any new ideas.
We broke out the cards.
They selected one image card each and wrote down what they thought both the content and the context of each photograph was. They then shared these back to the room. Once complete they pulled out ideas that resonated with them. Once all of the ideas were on the wall and visual, they started to connect seemingly sporadic ideas and themes together.
They didn’t quite land on a new product in that workshop but they did take away a few words such as local, speed, self sufficient, recycle, waste, treasure, solitude and a few more. Although these words seem ephemeral and fluffy, they took them to a wider team who built on them.
In the following weeks, they eventually developed a new product for local markets that was low energy use, fast to charge and capable of working in isolation. All of which tie back to the words they pulled from the cards.
I use the cards (and my own images) to inspire new books, videos, post ideas and ways of explaining concepts. This very post was inspired by a photograph I found on a design website. The photograph was of someone flicking through old photos (I’ve copied the photo here).
When studying the photo, I realised I had these cards and used this technique all the time, and I’ve never done an article on this, so I wrote this!
In another workshop the team had come to an end in terms of defining a strategy. It had been two long days of arguments, disagreements, agreements, further disagreements and, at times, heated debate. But we’d got through it and we had a strategy.
I wanted to test the alignment to the strategy by all in the room, so pulled out the cards. I asked each person to select the most appropriate image that reflected their feelings about the strategy, and then share back to the room. It helped to bring forward a swathe of emotions after two hard days of work.
If we’re stuck on a problem I ask people to randomly select two cards and deduce either the content or context - and figure out how this connects back to the problem at hand. There’s usually a link. If not, pick more cards.
If we also break down the content of the image, and construct an assumed context, then we can also get some insights into our own thinking. I believe we often see what we want to see. Therefore, we tend to pull from the images what we want to see - and sometimes the answers are right there in the image.
If we’re designing the future of a team or organisation I ask people to select several cards, or other images like the one above, at random.
I ask them to deconstruct the content, and assume a context related to the future of the business. This often leads to deep insights about the consequences of a future company, or even open the pathways to help them design a company fit for the future.
Many people don’t think through the consequences of a pivot in business. They tend to assume a solution to a problem won’t generate further problems - that’s simply not true. Using photographs can help people to consider the contexts and relate them to their own decisions. It helps to bring the future to life so to speak. The context we assume from a photograph can often relate to our own problems in ways we’d never considered before.
If we’re trying to come up with a solution to a problem, I ask people to select several cards. I then ask them to combine either the content or assumed context outputs together. What do you get? How can you build on it? What happens if you combine more than two together - do you get nonsense, or a break through?
If we’re coming up with new ideas for books, products, campaigns, services or anything really, then take several cards and describe the content only. What is the photograph about? List them out, then combine them together. What do you get? Nonsense, or a new idea?
The mashing together of ideas to create something new is creativity in action. This works particularly well if you’re designing a new product. How can the elements from several photographs be combined together to help you with your new product or service. Sometimes you get nothing, other times you get a deep and unique insight. (Ruijter, 2017)
You could even turn your problems into metaphors and then use collections of images to bring the metaphor to life. For example, “Our lack of delivery on time is like a congested train station”. Then grab as many images of trains and train stations as you can. Group similar images together and see whether there are any breakthrough ideas that come to mind. (Eklund, 2024)
Conclusion
We don’t just look at photographs in the one dimension of the content, we often assume a context if one is not provided. When we see a startling or captivating image in a newspaper, or an online news source, we often read the article to understand the context.
If we’re following a photographer on social media, we often read the captions to understand more about the context surrounding an intriguing photo. We often want to understand the narrative that binds photos together. And we are often stopped in our tracks by a captivating, iconic image.
There's a reason the largest social media platforms are predominantly image based. Images (and video) attract and engage people.
I suggest you use images to explain strategy and goals and direction. But, photographs and images are even more powerful when used to access parts of your brain that words cannot, in the context of creative thinking, problem solving and idea generation.
A photograph rarely contains all of the information you need to be informed or make decisions (unlike an infographic that should include everything by placing words and text together to provide the content AND the context). As such, we access our own genius to piece together missing elements, describe the elements we can see and assume a context about the photograph. This is how we add meaning - and those thoughts and ideas that a photograph generates could lead to a breakthrough.
Mash outputs from the content and context exercise together, play with them, swim in the uncertainty and mixture, brainstorm, share, build, critique and look for patterns - and I predict you will start to see ideas, solutions and concepts you simply wouldn’t get if you relied on words alone.
Photographs go to places in the brain that words won’t. Photographs (with no context or narrative provided) have gaps in meaning and clarity that you need to fill in yourself. And in filling in the assumed context you learn about yourself, your situation and how your own mind is capable of solving problems.
Go forth and use photographs to spark insights and creativity. Let me know how you get on.
Rob..
P.S - If you like photography, video and creativity, I share behind the scenes ideas on my other newsletter Creative Soul Projects, and Instagram.
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