Go Deeper with Certificate Programs
Unlocking Creativity is part of a certificate program:
What You'll Learn
Introduction
Watch a sneak peek
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Unlocking Creativity—Sneak peek of the class
3 Video Lessons
- Creativity Now—The heart of innovation
- Creative Confidence—Unlocking your full potential
- Meet the Cast—Why creativity matters
Lesson 1: Learn from Failure
2 Video Lessons
- From Fear to Courage—Daring to learn from mistakes
- Instructor Perspectives—The fear of failure
1 Assignment
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Warm-up: Failing fingers
4 Activities
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The Really Bad Ideas Brainstorm: Good ideas are great, but bad ones can be just as good. Those impossible, terrible, groan-worthy ideas open up the imagination and help us get in touch with creativity.
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Get Out of Fail Free Card: What would you try if you knew you wouldn't get in trouble for failing? Encouragement and permission go a long way toward inspiring us to pursue what's creative and bold. That's why you're going to design your very own Get Out of Fail Free Card.
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Under the Rug: Thinking of our failures often makes us cringe, but spending some time working through them can make us feel way better about them in the long run. It's hard, though, to revisit embarrassing, disappointing moments. Under the Rug is a quick exercise to help us own our failures—and learn from them.
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The Failure Museum: It's easy to feel like you're the only one who has ever messed up. But as we know, that's simply not true. The Failure Museum is a great way to make the point that everyone messes up, and that it's OK. Really.
Lesson 2: Find Inspiration
2 Video Lessons
- Finding Inspiration—Paving new pathways
- Instructor Perspectives—The lack of inspiration
1 Assignment
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Warm-up: Musical musings
4 Activities
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What More Can We Find: Learn how the technique of Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) can help us stretch our thinking, look differently at the world, and validate our observations with evidence.
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Pain Challenge: Really understanding the experience of others is a powerful way to break down existing assumptions and tune in to their needs. That's the role empathy plays in design and creative problem solving.
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Step Outside Your Context: One of the best ways to get inspired and solve a problem creatively is to look at something really different—something you might never expect to be helpful or relevant to the task at hand.
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Inspiration Walks: The world is rich with inspiration, but too often we walk right by it. This exercise is an invitation to tune in, get curious, and look more closely at the world around you.
Lesson 3: Get Unstuck
2 Video Lessons
- Getting Unstuck—Don’t get ready, get started
- Instructor Perspectives—Stuck in in-action
1 Assignment
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Warm-up: Cap-tain Crumple
3 Activities
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Hunch Hour: This exercise will help crack open "the way we've always done things around here" to come up with something creative, powerful, and new.
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Spaghetti Challenge: This activity is classic introduction to prototyping and getting your hands dirty. Because making is often more fun than thinking. And it builds your creative confidence.
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Wacky Ways to Fill a Stadium: This activity will help you to invite conversation around wacky, early concepts that might inspire more viable solutions.
Meet Your Instructors

Suzanne Gibbs Howard
IDEO U Founder & Former Partner, IDEO
Suzanne founded IDEO U and has led work in organizational design, corporate innovation, and design for education. At IDEO, she pioneered many of the techniques now at the forefront of design and user experience research. Suzanne has a bachelor’s degree in Archaeology and African Studies from Northwestern University and a master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago.
Deepen Your Learning
Downloadable Workbook
Hands-On Activities
Certificate of Completion

Frequently Asked Questions
Self-paced courses are shorter learning experiences that you can enroll in at any time. They take anywhere from 1-8 hours to complete, and you are granted 90 days of access from the date and time of purchase. You can go through the class material at your own pace, referring back to the material throughout the access dates. There is no community component in on-demand courses.
All of our courses are fully online and self-paced, so you can take them from any time zone, anywhere in the world.
You can enroll in a self-paced course at any time. You will have 90-day access to all course content from date of purchase.
We provide a select portion of the course materials to download for future reference. Most self-paced courses, these resources are a Journey Map or Activity workbook.
You will have access to the videos throughout the course, however, you are not able to access or download them after 90 days from purchase date.
Loved by Learners Across the Globe
Unlocking Creativity
Self-Paced Course“This class is especially great to do at your own pace. I desperately needed the creative pick-me-up and my own bit of fun and inspiration and 'kick in the pants.' The energy and thoughtfulness brought by the instructors was just what the Creativity Doctor ordered. Their brightness, openness, and joyful spirit (coupled with the super detailed and awesome activities workbook) will be incredibly inspirational in helping get my team back on track!”
Unlocking Creativity
Self-Paced Course“IDEO's way of presenting new approaches to creativity is mind blowing and far away from traditional teaching methods.”
Unlocking Creativity
Self-Paced Course“I discovered and learned new things. I found ways to extend and combine what I had been practising so far with new learning from this class to deepen my creative confidence.”
Unlocking Creativity
Self-Paced Course“Courses are engaging and flexible and I love that I can begin practicing what I learn right away.”
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Enroll As a Team
The practice and application of design thinking, innovation, and creativity is highly collaborative and team based—which is why we believe that learning is better together. Take a course as a team and develop new skills and mindsets, have deeper discussion during course kickoff and debrief sessions, and build a shared understanding.