Creativity and Innovation

So I'm in Paphos, Cyprus, on a week-long seminar entitled "Inspiring and enabling the 21st century Creative Learning and Innovative Teaching with ICT". 


We had a discussion on the difference between 'creativity' and 'innovation'. 
Here's my take:

• creativity is the expression of imagination
• innovation is turning creativity into added value

As I see it, you can be creative without being innovative: part of learning the arts (incl. painting, sculpture, ceramics) is learning various techniques to express one's imagination. No need to be innovative. In fact, at first it is often about copying existing work, to demonstrate skill (in applying technique); the next step is to let loose one's imagination, and translate what's in your mind into something tangible - and thus shareable.


What's in your mind (or in your heart) does not need to be 'new' as such. But its expression (as a drawing, painting, dance, song, ...) will be unique.


And yes, in some cases, there is also innovation: think of works by Gaudì, le Corbusier, Picasso (cubism), ... In these and other cases you do not even need to like the 'art' - which by definition is creative - to be able to appreciate their innovativeness, their total departure from 'the norm', from what others do or have done.


Therefore you cannot be innovative without being creative: even incremental improvement requires someone to 'see' the opportunity to do something better - and by definition different - by connecting dots that no-one else tought to connect.

Admittedly, 'different' does not always mean 'better'. Absent 'added value' such ideas will be - or should be - discarded.  

Yet again exceptions prove the rule: some people have made millions on, let's be honest, really stupid inventions (that were not innovations).