Creative Process

What I Learned About the Creative Process

Creating a short documentary for my capstone project on how the rising cost of living at the University of Maryland disproportionately impacts students of color has taught me a lot about my creative process, particularly how I thrive when working iteratively and in community with others. One concept from CPSA250 that deeply resonated with me is Graham Wallas’s 4-step model of the creative process: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification (Wallas, 1926).

During the preparation stage, I focused on research, reading sources like Evicted by Matthew Desmond, and analyzing student journalism from The Diamondback. I also scheduled interviews and gathered data on housing affordability, which laid the groundwork for my ideas to develop. The incubation phase happened in between editing sessions, while walking across campus, or when I gave myself space to process what I had learned and heard. Some of my most impactful ideas, such as how to visually connect campus locations with student testimonies, emerged during these quiet moments of reflection.

The illumination phase came when I finally saw the visual and emotional themes align, capturing the struggles and resilience of students facing housing insecurity. I am currently in the verification stage as I am editing and refining the footage and interview clips. 

Citation:
Wallas, G. (1926). The Art of Thought. London: Jonathan Cape.