What Drives You
Out of anything in my life, I’m most enthusiastic about creativity – which is why if anyone asks what I am, my first response is, Inventor. I like inventing things because it takes me outside of the practicality of business and actually making things that work and have a purpose, into the realm of wild, unfettered, what if?
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been involved with enough startups to know that practicalities are important – Will it work? Will it keep working? Will anyone pay us for this? – or the whole thing collapses in a heap. Meshing the practical with the creative is every startup’s most important lesson and those that don’t pay attention tend to learn the hard way with failure, joblessness and sometimes financial ruin.
But then, I get back to inventing and that seductive what if?
What if...
We had a brick-and-mortar store where people could touch and play with the things they buy online? No cash registers, no sales people, just rows and rows of things to touch and try out.
We made an automated floor cleaner with lasers that vaporize the dirt (without frying the floor, of course)?
We could virtually tour the factory, including interacting with equipment, and hold meetings with remote facilities without needing to take a 15-hour plane flight?
A factory made bespoke electronics – building customized mobile devices from a palette of core modules?
We had GoPro-style cameras, that capture full 3D, stitching together a mesh of everything they record, and could link to all meshes from similar devices, collectively building our entire planet as a single mesh so users could visit anywhere and look around with unprecedented depth and detail?
Your bathroom mirror knew you, REALLY knew you? It could show a history of what you’ve worn recently, suggest new outfit combinations (complete with clothes overlay on your reflection) based upon what you have in your wardrobe, today’s weather report and your calendar - Formal meeting with the execs today? Dress smart. Haircut today? Wear a tee-shirt and take a spare. It could recognize that your purple hair is fading a little, and ask if you want to order more of your favorite hair color on Amazon.
The frustration and catharsis of creativity is why my bio leads with, I’m Simon Hallam and I invent things. The juncture of tech and creativity is where I live – games, VR, design, consumer electronics, creating unique measurement and calibration systems. With even more exciting creations on the horizon, my work is an ongoing exercise in blending the creative with the practical. And then there’s what I do in my down-time – the robots, actuators, 3D scanners/printers and, a particular favorite, lasers.
Creativity means something different to everyone I meet and I’m equally fascinated about how it works for other people. I have a lot of ideas and processes I’ve developed over the years to ignite my creativity, and there will be future posts about what drives me and specific activities I do to get back in the creative groove if mundane, practical life gets too boggy.
I also want to hear from other people about what drives their creative process and what it means to them – so please share in the comments.
Cheers!
