‘Creativity’ has been a buzz word for a while now. Whether its business, science or the arts that you are interested in, it’s your creative abilities that will give you that much sort after illusive ‘edge’ and stand you out from the competition. This year’s SXSW Interactive Festival features 50 creativity themed panels. If you can’t check them all out, be sure to catch these Top 5.
Date: Saturday, March 8, 2014
Time: 12.30pm – 1.10pm
Location: Austin Convention Center, Ballroom G, 500 E Cesar Chavez St
If you’ve ever believed that you aren’t naturally creative, well, according to David Burkus’ new book, there is no such thing! David is an Assistant Professor of Management at Oral Roberts University and researched the concept of creativity for almost two years before writing the book, Myths of Creativity. According to his research, most companies even go about encouraging creativity in the wrong way. Everyone is born creative but by the time we become adults, some of us have dismissed our creative potential. So if you are looking to rediscover or just enhance your creative potential, be sure to attend this panel.
Inspired Design: Meditation & Creativity
Date: Saturday, March 8, 2014 Time: 9.30am – 10.30am
Location: Omni Downtown, Capital Ballroom, 700 San Jacinto
We’ve heard of using meditation to help ease stress and clear the mind. But how does it enhance creativity? At this year’s SXSW Interactive Festival, Gopika Prabhu will be discussing how meditation is not only an amazing tool to re-center and clear the mind, but also how we can use it to keep us creative.
Gopika is a Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Elefint Designs, a strategic design company created specifically to service non-profits, NGOs, social start-ups and innovators. She currently also teaches Visual Communication at the University of San Francisco and her work has been featured in various publications including GOOD, .net Magazine, Wired, Design Like You Give a Damn, and Fast Company.
Date: Sunday, March 9, 2014
Time: 5.00pm – 6.00pm
Location: Hilton Austin Downtown, Salon D, 500 E 4 St
You have a brilliant story idea. Now how do you get it on a 
screen? Notice that I said ‘screen’ and not ‘the big screen’ here, because the truth is, in this day and age, there are many platforms to showcase your project. TV, tablets, smartphones… the trick is to get an audience for your project. So how do you do that? This panel will tell you.
Animation legend Fred Seibert, the man behind Cartoon Network, Hanna-Barbera and Nickelodeon, House of Cards and Captain Phillips producer Dana Brunetti along with award-winning senior writer at Fast Company and a multi-media storyteller, Chuck Salter will be revealing the secrets behind how to grow an audience for your work along with how to develop talent.
Creativity is the New Literacy
Date: Monday, March 10, 2014
Time:3.30pm- 4.30pm
Location: Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D
Creativity is essential to any sort of problem solving. According to a recent study, 1500 CEOs cited creativity as the number 1 leadership competency. Yet, it would seem that our current education system is not cultivating creativity but in fact stifling it. In this panel, Chase Jarvis will address exactly how we can change this and cultivate creativity in the next generation.
Chase is the founder and chairman of CreativeLIVE, a website that provides online workshops hosted by some of the world’s top creatives made available for free to anyone online. The cover topics ranging from photography and video to business and software. This is definitely the panel to check out to learn how to unleash the creative potential within you and those around you.
We All Copy Stuff. But How Close is Too Close?
Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Time: 12.30pm-1.30pm
Location: Driskill Hotel, Maximilian, 604 Brazos St
There is a saying, ‘there is no such thing as an original idea’. Every new idea has 
actually borrowed from an older idea and built on top of it. But where is the line drawn? Especially when it comes to technologies like mobile apps? Bradley Gross is general counsel to the Society of Digital Agencies and a technology law attorney with over thirty years of experience. He will be answering these questions and letting you know how close you can get to someone else’s idea before crossing the line of IP infringement.