I remember hearing this at a keynote presentation, 15+ years ago from one of the most respected designers and innovators of our time. Quite the metaphor to ponder, which has stuck with me to this day. Like recently, I’ve been wondering if my home office should be more inspiring or creative. Is this important any more? Was it ever?

Where does creativity come from?

Short answer: Creativity comes from a mix of opportunity, meaningful work, curiosity, past experiences, intrinsic motivation, and collaboration—not simply from working in a beautiful office. A creative environment can support creative thinking, but it cannot replace purpose, talented people or challenging problems to solve.

The idea of not needing the perfect space in order to be creative has been a bit of a north star for me. Maybe it was the good fortune of having employers that stood firm on the needs versus wants; providing me a comfortable working environment, a splash of color, some elbow room, a door, an extra chair, table or whiteboard. “Happy now, Harwood? Good, now get back to work.”

For context, most of my career has been with in-house marketing organizations of mid-size technology companies where working environments, especially Marketing, are highly visible. “Optics matter,” a CEO once reminded me.

My working space has always mattered. But now, my aperture has widened and I can clearly see it’s all relative to the work; the business, purpose, ROI and other left-brain factors I may have had some naivety to.

I’m wondering now if it was ever really necessary or was I simply conforming to the industry by craving a killer space for impressing clients and peers. Did I ever need a creative space in order to be creative?

Did marketing agencies sell us a myth?

There’s a chance creative people have been spoiled with big agency budgets and a falsehood that in order to produce the best work the space needs to support our precious creative process.

I may have been there once.

Then time passes. The rose-colored glasses eventually break in half—now dangling from one ear—and you begin wondering whether any of it was ever as important as you thought. Maybe it was just a thing conjured up by big agencies to help recruit talent and entertain clients. In order to be creative we had to look creative. And why was the default cool-factor a pool table or ping pong? It just was. It was cool, no doubt.

To be clear, I’m not down on creative spaces. But I’m seeing a definite shift toward office environments leaning into downsizing the individual workstations versus offering more neutral, community-driven or collaborative space for everyone to access. COVID was a space killer for sure, but now the onsite decision makers are ensuring those spaces promote a one-company approach and are equally accessible for all versus designating the cool space for Marketing.

Workers are now encouraged to de-personalize workstations since the majority of individual contributors are a mix of hybrid and remote employees. Just camp for the day versus claiming a spot as yours.

But how uninspiring is this for creative people?

Very. I’ve been there. It’s brutal. I’ve tried to “be creative” while staring at blank walls or even worse a partial wall covered in stretched fabric, peppered with a sad collection of under utilized push pins huddled in the corner. Then my eyes shift to the high performing pins, proudly supporting a series of unframed company mission statements or value statements discoloring by the hour.

The messaging IS important, I get it. But that stuff is felt, not preached.

The work steers the space

Do creative people need a creative space if you’re in the creative industry?

In my opinion, absolutely not. Does it help? Yes.

Has the work completely overshadowed the need for creative surroundings? Completely, no. But the work needs to precede and support the space. Today’s tools and AI-driven tech stack seem to be steering the ship. Everyone’s head-down trying to figure it out. What’s next, what are we missing? Is this AI tool I’m going deep on going to eliminate my job versus make me indispensable? Is anyone asking how our surroundings are enhancing or disabling our ability to think? Or is it all going to be individual work moving forward?

I am well aware of the agency life and the competitive advantage for having the absolute coolest office space ever. I get it, there’s an added value or draw for hiring the best people and attracting the best clients.

I’ll never forget Harwood Creative’s first office space; 2400 block of Kettner Blvd, San Diego, an old warehouse converted into studio space for artists. 12-foot ceilings, 1500 square feet of freshly varnished hardwood, big enough for a full size nerf basketball court with room to run and dunk from the free throw line. It worked. I didn’t want to leave and I couldn’t wait to get back.

Harwood Creative’s original studio (1999), San Diego

Knowing what I know now, did the type of work warrant the space? 100% – we were on fire! All of the work came first and it was inspiring to witness. But equally, if not more inspiring were the people helping to build it all; writers, designers, partners, clients, vendors, photographers. The space helped legitimize the operation and the work justified the need.

So yes, there’s a time and place for that creative space. But the work steers the space versus the other way around. You can’t build it and they will come. Potential hires and clients will always look at reviews and reputation before your gallery of interior vanity shots.

Can a great office rescue uninspiring work?

Does a creative space help boost productivity even if the work is painfully monotonous and uninspiring? Again, speaking only from my own experiences, this will be left up to the individual to dig deep for the positive attitude, choosing to surround yourself with great people collectively rallying for that creative vibe. Despite the lack of a fully thought out brief, or even a brief at all, find ways to push your creative boundaries despite the missing elements which traditionally call for creative work.

Meaningful work may also come in different shapes or forms. For example, maybe the day-to-day work is supporting a mission critical business outcome for the end customer. Look downstream first for how your work is impacting a greater human purpose versus whether you’re doing this work to solely fulfill your creative cup.

But if you’re 0-for-3; 1) the people suck, 2) there’s no human-driven purpose, and 3) the work is uninspiring, there’s likely not a ping pong table on the planet that’ll make that experience any better.

If you’re surrounded by great people pursuing something meaningful, even ordinary work can become rewarding.

Ask yourself, where do I do my best work?

Personally, I do my best work in a studio environment. “Studio” will mean different things to different people. To me, it’s an open collaborative space that embraces the freedom to think without restrictions. I can be alone or surrounded by people. But I have two requirements; 1) great music, and 2) I’m with people who I trust that are as equally ambitious. It can be small or large, but ideally stress free and casual. To others, studio might mean the kitchen. Maybe it needs to be a large space, loungy, with a revolving door of visitors. Some may like it quiet with no music and could care less for who’s alongside them. There is no right or wrong, good or bad way to describe a studio environment as long as it’s comfortable and productive for you.

It’s healthy to dream, right? Like some day converting that old gym into a thriving creative studio. Outside Sawyer Gym (1914), located on the Western Campus of Miami University

In fact, I still dream of my future garage-like studio space; a handful of workstations, a roll-up door, killer sound system and maybe a small stage in the corner for rotating musician visits.

Wait! What I meant to say is; I still dream of producing game changing, result-driven, under budget, over performing, inspiring work for my clients – while doing it from my garage-like space with a roll-up door, killer sound system and small corner stage for rotating musician visits.

So, where does creativity come from?

After twenty years in the industry, I don’t believe creativity comes from award-winning interiors or perfectly curated workspaces. I think creativity comes from a mix of people, opportunity and curiosity. Creativity comes from past experiences, intrinsic motivation and the willingness to challenge the status quo. When given the opportunity, let’s choose the work that comes packaged with ambitious people who want to solve meaningful problems. Working environments of any size, color, age, or condition can easily support this. And if the work is worth doing, you’ll be willing to do it from anywhere.

Today, I love my workspace. It comes with a wonderful spouse, a couple of cats, a backyard pool and collaborative space called downtown. Lots of amenities.

The space inspires me because the work inspires me. Maybe that’s the lesson I’ve been chasing ever since hearing that keynote years ago.

So if someone walked up to you tomorrow and said, “I’ve got a great project for you, but you’ll have to work out of a cardboard box.”

Let’s not hesitate.