Creativity: How lived experience involves into commercial performance
Reflections inspired by Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk and 40 years building a creative career and agency. Written by Jacqui Newham, MD, Visual Identity Creative Limited
When I first watched Sir Ken Robinson’s ‘Do schools kill creativity?’, one idea lodged permanently in my mind: creativity should be treated as important as literacy. It rang true then; but it’s urgent now. If we educate only for the predictable, we’ll be unprepared for the possible. Creativity is how people – and organisations – navigate a future no one can fully map.
What Sir Ken got right (change your mindset!)
- We’re schooling for an unknown future. The world of work and technology keeps shifting. Teaching only for the “now known” leaves people under-equipped when the world changes.
- Being wrong is part of being original. Children naturally take creative risks; they learn to fear mistakes later. If we punish every misstep, we suffocate invention. The result: adults lose this.
- Intelligence isn’t one-dimensional. It’s diverse, dynamic and distinct. Confining it to a narrow academic band wastes an ocean of talent.
- The arts aren’t “less important”. When creativity is pushed to the timetable margins, confidence and capability drain away – from classrooms and, later, from companies and industry.
The teachers who changed my trajectory
Teachers are catalysts. They can accelerate a life – or stall it. Mine accelerated it.
Two art teachers noticed me before I noticed myself. Mr Barker: “Jacqui, you do realise you have considerable talent.” Mr O’Sullivan: “You could go to Chelsea.” Those sentences didn’t just boost my confidence; they altered my path. They gave me permission to take creativity seriously and to work for it.
Chelsea School of Art gave me an edge you can’t buy – you can only live it. In the 80s University gained from small cohorts, high staff-to-student ratios, tutors with extensive industry experience, rich briefs and well-funded studios: that mix forged habits I still use every day – rigour in research, quality in development, and the resilience to iterate and reiterate until it speaks. It set a standard that continues to sustain our business and differentiate us above the competition.
Chelsea School of Art put me among some of the best alumni and visiting tutors anywhere across the globe, and experiences that were as demanding as they were electrifying. It wasn’t “pretty” art classes; it was immersion – hard graft, relentless challenges and feedback, the discipline to turn ideas into outcomes.
In addition, London was a classroom of its own. I arrived when the country was shifting gears; nothing felt fixed, everything was up for reinvention. A time just post the Punk ear, it was a rebellious DIY subculture defined by fast, loud, politically charged music, anti-establishment style, and a rejection of mainstream norms. Galleries, street culture, music, fashion, design – every corner argued for a different way of seeing. You absorbed momentum and you learned to make your own.
As they say of the ’60s… If you remember it, you weren’t there. Post-punk era at Chelsea School of Art advocated… “If you obey the rules, you kill unique ideas.
You can’t buy experience like this – you can only live it. That lived experience still empowers Visual Identity today. It’s why I always sit next to the best person in the room, keep the bar high on creativity, welcome critique, and back ideas with evidence. My school teachers lit the fuse, Chelsea shaped the designer, and London in the 80’s supplied the fuel.
Creativity is the ace in the pack
I’ve believed this for decades, long before AI tools arrived on every desk: creativity is any business’s winning card. Technology can scale, sort and predict – but the human capacity to think differently is what spots non-obvious opportunities, reframes problems and creates value through random connections and concepts – that no spreadsheet sees coming. That’s the edge we protect at VI – and the edge our clients gain. THtas why we encourage everyone to change your mindset!
From ‘behind’ to belonging: my practical rules
I didn’t arrive in London with advantages. I arrived curious, keen to make the most of what I have been served – with a sketchbook and camera in hand – and I was determined to catch up. A ‘hero’ university lecturer and mentor gave me three rules which I still live by:
- Always sit next the best person in the room.
- By challenging the norm; you raise the bar.
- Just get on with it. Make ten versions, learn why nine don’t work.
The business case: creativity up front = better results
This isn’t just philosophy – the numbers are clear:
- FACT – Design-led companies outperform.
McKinsey’s five-year study of 300+ firms found top-quartile design performers delivered +32 percentage points higher revenue growth and +56 points higher total returns to shareholders versus peers.
Link: McKinsey & Company+2McKinsey & Company+2 - FACT – Creativity is a core skill for the future of work.
The World Economic Forum ranks creative thinking among the top skills in demand through 2027 – right behind analytical thinking. If you want resilient teams and brands, you need creativity at the centre.
Link: World Economic Forum+2World Economic Forum+2 - FACT – Long-term advantage compounds.
DMI’s Design Value Index tracked design-mature companies outperforming the S&P 500 by ~211% over a decade. Different dataset, same story: creativity, systemised, builds durable value.
Link: dmi.org+2dmi.org+2 - FACT – Education systems are moving to prioritise it.
The OECD now provides practical frameworks for teaching and assessing creativity and critical thinking, reflecting how central these skills are to modern economies.
Link: OECD+2OECD+2
Why this matters to our clients – the VI advantage
Creativity isn’t a poster on our wall – it’s our operating system. Here’s what that means for the organisations who choose VI:
- Sharper problem-solving, faster. Mixed-discipline teams (strategy, brand, UX, content, dev) generate stronger options early, so you avoid late, expensive U-turns.
- Design that performs, not decorates. We connect creativity to outcomes – conversion, usability, brand recall, stakeholder buy-in – then measure and iterate.
- Senior thinking on the work that adds real value. You get direct access to lived experience: four decades of briefs, launches and lessons learned. That de-risks your project.
- Efficient delivery without cutting corners. Clear discovery → evidence-based concepts → rapid prototyping → test-and-refine. Fewer cycles, better results.
- Consistency at scale. Toolkits, systems and governance keep your brand coherent across channels, teams and time zones – so every execution adds value.
- Teams that get better with you. We transfer knowledge, upskill your people and leave playbooks behind. Your capability grows, not just your stack of assets.
- Candour and care. We’ll say the hard thing early if it saves you pain later. Long relationships come from trust, not flattery.
- The ‘ace in the pack’ effect. Because creativity is front and centre – not bolted on – you get solutions competitors won’t think of, not just ones they can copy. That is genuine differentiation, and it lasts.
What truly differentiates VI
- Prioritised creative education. Those formative years—teachers who noticed, Chelsea’s rigour, London’s energy – taught us how to think and make under pressure.
- Evidence + imagination. We pair bold ideas with data, user insight and commercial logic. Beauty that works is the brief.
- Creativity pride. Typographic discipline, layout precision, accessible UX, clean code—details that compound into credibility.
- Bias to action. We prototype, we test, we learn. Momentum supports perfectionism.
- People first. Great work is built in safe, curious teams. We protect the conditions where creativity thrives.
A word to leaders, educators
- To the educators: Change your mindset! Make spotting talent in those who don’t yet see what you see, a priority. Say the sentence that changes their trajectory – and mean it.
- To the leaders: Change your mindset! If you want resilient brands and adaptable teams, invest in the skill set that helps people see around corners. Creativity won’t replace literacy or numeracy; it amplifies them.
To the student who feels ‘behind’: borrow my plan. Sit beside the best person in the room. Read the thing you haven’t read yet. Make ten versions. Learn why nine don’t work. Then show the one that does.
Credit where it’s due
This piece is inspired by Sir Ken Robinson’s seminal TED talk, Do Schools Kill Creativity? I share his conviction that creativity belongs at the core of education – and I’ve spent a lifetime proving that it belongs at the core of business, too.
If this resonates – whether you’re leading a brand, or a start up – get in touch.
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