The 5 Sense Guide to Inspiring Workplace Creativity Infographic

THE FIVE SENSE GUIDE TO INSPIRING WORKPLACE CREATIVITY O SIGHT Paint your office walls blue or green. BLUE A blue environment produces twice as many brainstorming results when compared to a red environment. WHY? colour association: Sky & Ocean Openness & tranquillity Safety to explore new ideas Blue GREEN When compared to white, people in a green room score 20% higher on creativity tests. WHY? colour association: personal self improvement and mastering tasks Green Nature Growth YELLOW Yellow is ideal for getting the chatter going. Researchers looked at how people socialised when in a yellow, red or blue room. The yellow room was the liveliest. It's best to avoid white. People who worked in white offices complain more about nausea and headaches than those in blue or red offices. Work next to a dim bulb. An iconic image of insight, working next to a light bulb increases creativity due to image association. Ironically, the light bulb should be kept dim, rather than bright, for bright ideas WHY? Dim illumination heightens perceived freedom from constraints, which improves creativity. 9 HEARING Listen to soft, 'creative' music. Researchers looked at the personalities of music fans and found certain genres shared common creative traits. CREATIVE Jazz Classical Reggae Punk Rock LACKING CREATIVITY Disco Easy Listening Chart pop However, background noise in general is good for creativity. 70 dB - 50 dB 85 dB A high level of noise hurts creativity, as it reduces the extent of A moderate-to-low level of ambient noise enhances creativity. information processing. O TASTE Drink decaf coffee (but imagine it's caffeinated). A wandering mind is key to creativity. Too much caffeine means your mind is too focused to wander. Trick yourself by drinking decaf. WHY? People who think they're drinking caffeinated coffee but aren't work quicker and more creatively than those drinking caffeinated coffee but are told otherwise. A SMELL Have an office scent. Researchers found that the beneficial effect of sleep on creativity is enhanced by an evocative scent. WHY? Scent activation: Having the same scent in your bedroom as well as your office means you're reminded of the need for innovation in your sleep. TOUCH Play some games. High- or low-arousal games are key to creativity. After playing video games, happy or sad people are more creative than those who are angry or relaxed. Squeeze a stress ball with your left hand. Squeezing your left hand activates the right hemisphere of the brain. The right hemisphere is dominant in dealing with colour, images and creative thinking. By focusing on your five senses, you can hone in on your sixth sense, intuition, as creativity is at its best when it functions intuitively. SOURCES Effect of Colors: Blue Boosts Creativity, While Red Enhances Attention to Detail - sciencedaily.com Boost Your Creativity in 2 Seconds - prevention.com Color Me Creative: Study Says Green Sparks Inventiveness - huffingtonpost.com 25-Cent Creativity Booster - neurosciencemarketing.com Multiple Creativity Studies Suggest: Creating Our Reality Requires Detaching From It - forbes.com Take note: Fans of heavy metal and classical music have a lot in common, study finds - dailymail.co.uk Alcohol Makes People More Creative - medicalnewstoday.com Creativity Blocked? Try a Common Scents Solution - psmag.com Mehta, R., Zhu R., & Cheema, A. (2012), Is Noise Always Bad?, Journal of Consumer Research, The University of Chicago Press SCIPHR ALL ABOUT PEOPLE