Adobe Systems Incorporated : Study Reveals Global Creativity Gap
04/23/2012| 01:05pm US/Eastern
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Universal Concern that Creativity is Suffering at Work and School
New research reveals a global creativity gap in five of the world's
largest economies, according to the Adobe® (Nasdaq:ADBE) State
of Create global benchmark study. The research shows 8 in 10
people feel that unlocking creativity is critical to economic growth and
nearly two-thirds of respondents feel creativity is valuable to society,
yet a striking minority - only 1 in 4 people - believe they are living
up to their own creative potential.
Interviews of 5,000 adults across the United States, United Kingdom,
Germany, France and Japan expose surprising attitudes and beliefs about
creativity, providing new insights into the role of creativity in
business, education and society overall.
Workplace Creativity Gap
The study reveals a workplace creativity gap, where 75% of respondents
said they are under growing pressure to be productive rather than
creative, despite the fact that they are increasingly expected to think
creatively on the job. Across all of the countries surveyed, people said
they spend only 25% of their time at work creating. Lack of time is seen
as the biggest barrier to creativity (47% globally, 52% in United
States).
Education Concerns
More than half of those surveyed feel that creativity is being stifled
by their education systems, and many believe creativity is taken for
granted (52% globally, 70% in the United States).
"One of the myths of creativity is that very few people are really
creative," said Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D., an internationally recognized
leader in the development of education, creativity and innovation. "The
truth is that everyone has great capacities but not everyone develops
them. One of the problems is that too often our educational systems
don't enable students to develop their natural creative powers. Instead,
they promote uniformity and standardization. The result is that we're
draining people of their creative possibilities and, as this study
reveals, producing a workforce that's conditioned to prioritize
conformity over creativity."
Creativity Rating: Japan Ranked Most Creative
The study sheds light on different cultural attitudes toward creativity.
Japan ranked highest in the global tally as the most creative country
while, conversely, Japanese citizens largely do not see themselves as
creative. Globally, Tokyo ranked as the most creative city - except
among Japanese - with New York ranking second. Outside of Japan,
national pride in each country is evident, with residents of the United
Kingdom, Germany and France ranking their own countries and cities next
in line after Japan.
The United States ranked globally as the second most creative nation
among the countries surveyed, except in the eyes of Americans, who see
themselves as the most creative. Yet Americans also expressed the
greatest sense of urgency and concern that they are not living up to
their creative potential (United States at 82%, vs. the lowest level of
concern in Germany at 64%).
Generational and gender differences are marginal, reinforcing the idea
that everyone has the potential to create. Women ranked only slightly
higher than men when asked if they self-identified as creative and
whether they were tapping their own creative potential.
Four in 10 people believe that they do not have the tools or access to
tools to create. Creative tools are perceived as the biggest driver to
increase creativity (65% globally, 76% in the United States), and
technology is recognized for its ability to help individuals overcome
creative limitations (58% globally, 60% in the United States) and
provide inspiration (53% globally, 62% in the United States).
About the Adobe State of Create Study
The study was produced by research firm StrategyOne and conducted as an
online survey among a total of 5,000 adults, 18 years or older, 1,000
each in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan.
Interviewing took place from March 30 to April 9. The data set for each
country is nationally representative of the population of that country.
For more information on the research results visit Adobe
State of Create Global Benchmark Study and Adobe
State of Create Infographic.
About Adobe Systems Incorporated
Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. For more
information, visit www.adobe.com.
© 2012 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe
logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50248076&lang=en
Adobe Systems Incorporated
Russell Brady, 408-536-6048
rbrady@adobe.com
or
Edelman
Lisa
Auslen, 650-762-2805
lisa.auslen@edelman.com
© Business Wire 2012
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