​​How Creativity Rules the World: The Art and Business of Turning Your Ideas into Gold

Creativity isn’t just for artists, argues curator Brito (Out There) in this punchy look at the mindsets and skills necessary for innovation. As she writes, “every breakthrough in every industry... comes from people who used their creativity to think differently,” and by examining successes in both business and art, she shows readers how to “turn the mundane into the extraordinary.” Gustav Klimt’s career exemplifies the importance of dipping into more than one area, as he drew from fields including biology and decorative arts to spearhead Vienna’s modernist movement. Innovators at Finnish tech company Polar did something similar when they combined industrial design and medical equipment to develop the precursor to the smartwatch in the 1960s. Coco Chanel made use of a principle Brito calls “combining opposites” in mixing masculine and feminine fashion, and Frank Wang combined opposites, too, when he used an “old camera” for a “new invention” in creating the camera drone in 2006. Each chapter ends with an “Alchemy Lab” exercise meant to help readers integrage the principles into their own lives by doing such things as accepting projects outside one’s comfort zone and setting aside some time every day to think. Those looking to spark some creativity will find this worth a look. (Mar.)