The Inner Spark: Graham Wallas (1926)
Almost a hundred years ago, Graham Wallas published The Art of Thought (1926), where he described the creative process as something that happens within us. He identified four stages:
- Preparation – immersing in the problem.
- Incubation – letting ideas rest below the surface.
- Illumination – the sudden “aha!” moment.
- Verification – testing and refining insights.
Wallas gave us a way to understand the inner spark of creativity — the hidden rhythm of how new ideas emerge.
Citation: Wallas, G. (1926). The Art of Thought. London: Jonathan Cape Ltd. Internet Archive link
Turning Insight Outward: Alex Osborn (1942)
Sixteen years later, Alex Osborn, an advertising executive and co-founder of BBDO, brought creativity into the workplace in a more practical way. In How to Think Up (1942), Osborn turned Wallas’s inward model outward.
Most famously, he introduced brainstorming — a structured method to generate lots of ideas by suspending judgment and encouraging quantity. Osborn’s question was simple yet powerful:
“How can we create conditions where groups can consistently generate ideas?”
Citation: Osborn, A. (1942). How to Think Up. New York: McGraw-Hill. Internet Archive link
Building a Discipline: Sid Parnes (1950s–1960s)
With psychologist Sid Parnes, Osborn took the next step: transforming brainstorming into a broader framework called Creative Problem Solving (CPS). Together at the Creative Education Foundation (founded in 1954), they refined CPS as a repeatable, teachable process:
- Clarify challenges
- Generate ideas
- Develop promising options
- Implement solutions
Parnes added rigor through research and testing, turning creativity into a discipline that could be studied, taught, and improved.
Citation: Parnes, S.J. (1967). Creative Behavior Guidebook. New York: Scribner’s.
Why This Evolution Matters Today
This legacy teaches us three enduring lessons:
- Wallas reminds us to honor the inner rhythm of creativity.
- Osborn reminds us that creativity can be taught, practiced, and shared.
- Parnes reminds us that creativity can be researched, refined, and expanded as a discipline.
At the Creative Education Foundation (CEF), we continue to ask: What is the next frontier of creativity? Whose voices have been left out? And how can we bring more people into the process so we can generate more breakthroughs together?
In today’s world of complex challenges, one truth remains clear: creativity isn’t just a spark for the gifted few — it’s a process we can all use to solve problems together.
Try This CPS Activity: “Voices Left Out”
Purpose: Explore inclusivity in creativity by identifying missing perspectives.
- Clarify – Take a challenge you’re working on (e.g., designing a new program, solving a workplace problem).
- Generate – Ask: Whose voices are missing from this conversation? List as many as you can — different ages, cultures, professions, lived experiences.
- Develop – Select one or two missing voices and brainstorm: What might they see that we don’t? What new ideas might emerge if they were at the table?
- Implement – Choose a concrete step to actually include one of these voices in your process.
This exercise not only generates new ideas but also embodies Osborn and Parnes’s belief that the more diverse the input, the richer the solutions.