I have been feeling a little stodgy of body and musty of head recently, and wondered if I could feel a little lighter in both areas by changing my diet. So I cut down significantly on my dairy and bread intake. It worked. But there was an interesting side-effect; I started eating much more ‘creatively’. Rather than just grab a nearby sandwich, I started to think about which foods might go together to create a decent meal. And though it took longer to get my lunch during the week, they started to get more interesting, varied and satisfying.

The third Peter Gabriel album (Peter Gabriel III or ‘Melt’ as it is now know) contains NO cymbal hits. Gabriel insisted on this to the drummers used on the album.  When you are unaware of that piece of information and listen to the album it feels like something is different, like something isn’t there, but you aren’t quite sure what it is. You are aware of a very different percussion palette which is ultimately much more inventive, for example the ‘grated’ big drum sound that Phil Collins used extensively in the 1980’s was created for the first track on Grabriel III, ‘The Intruder’. Listen to the album. Knowing what Gabriel took out increases the appreciation of what is in. 

In Sao Paulo the Mayor banned visual pollution ie out of home posters and billboards, and signage over a certain size, as he believed it was taking over the town. One effect of the ban was that brands became more creative and inventive in their public communications, using street artists, deploying brand equities in an intelligent and dramatic way, using brand colors to full effect. It is worth having a look at this post, on the blog for some more details.   
Perhaps one way of being more creative is to take something away, or remove one part of the equation. In difficult economic times when budgets are cut we are often faced with having to do things with one hand tied behind our backs. Perhaps we should see it as an opportunity not a problem.