We’d like to introduce our brand new #online series in collaboration with Nuqat: The Social Interview. Get to know the talented individuals who will be conducting this year’s series of workshops. We chatted with Yara Al-Adib, who will be conducting the Know Your Customer to Improve Your Business Workshop.
Do you have to be an artist to be creative?
Not at all! The truth is we are all born creative; we could all recall how creative we were as youngsters. However; as we grow older, creativity fades away and replaced by logic, through education and culture. It is always easier for people to evaluate, comprehend, and imitate logic and reason, but design comes with complications, hence it’s avoided by many.
To you, what does it mean to be creative?
As a human instinct, creativity is the ability to solve problems in unconventional methods. If we look at history, we notice humans are usually most creative when they lack the resources and means to fix or meld things in the traditional or ‘normal’ manner. Hence, creativity is defined as “looking at problems from new perspectives, with hope and grit to create change or solve an issue.”
Who are your industry heroes?
Those who challenge the status quo – usually called the crazy ones. They are the ones that experiment and learn by doing and, most importantly, failing.
What are the benefits of participating in your workshop as a part of Studio Nuqat?
The Know Your Customer to Improve Your Business workshop will shed a light on new ways to look at business challenges, which mainly consists of a series of complex interactions amongst people, infrastructures, and technologies. This workshop will allow participants to look at their (or other’s businesses) from an outsider’s perspective. It is usually a challenge to do so, especially for those who run and manage the business on a daily basis; an insider finds it difficult to find flaws in the way they deliver and present their service offerings to their clients. With a series of creative tools and methods from Design Thinking and Agile, participants will deep dive into the customer, their needs and barrier, and how to delight them with a memorable brand experience.
Why do you think these workshops are important to the cultivation of the creative economy?
Because they are creative workshops, hence very agile and flexible, they provide new perspectives and methods to look at challenges or problems and transform them into opportunities. This positive and optimistic approach to problem solving could a business case for other non-business contexts, such as the non-profit and public sectors, to learn from and adopt. The beauty of such workshops is the hands-on approach that foster “unexpected” and “nonconventional” ideas.
What is the most challenging aspect of succeeding in a career in the creative industry?
Convincing people that being a creative you could actually do more than design a logo or make a website. There is so much more behind the word “design” that many fail to see or comprehend; however, it is picking up as we speak. Nonetheless, in the MENA region there is much to be done to highlight the various design disciplines out there through education and via showcasing the impact design has on business, societies and people.
If you could attend another Studio Nuqat workshop, which one would it be?
If it were up to me then I would like to attend all of them, especially those very far from mine. I strongly believe that synergies happen when two very different worlds cross paths.
Check out Tarek’s work on Instagram @YaraAlAdib. To find out more about this year’s Nuqat conference, follow them on Instagram @nuqat. Register on the website, www.nuqat.me, and be sure to download their app via eventtus to view the complete Nuqat Conference schedule and REGISTER through their new app! To download the app from the Apple Store click here and from Google Play click here. BONUS: GET 10% OFF when you use PROMOCODE bazaarXnuqat!
