What do creative technologists do?

The discipline of Creative Technologies spans a broad scope of associated industries, technologies and problem domains and may involve working with “any and all aspects of technology relating to sound, image, video, fashion, devices, environments (e.g. architecture), interaction (including both games and devices, presentation (and representation), analysis (including metrics) and discussion (including online)”, The Creative Technologies Skill Gap (pdf). Additionally, it is not uncommon that these domains and technologies overlap, for example a reactive audio/visual installation at a fashion show in a highly reverberant environment.

The skills of a Creative Technologist are not confined to the world of music, audio-visual arts or media, and, for example, are sought after in the automotive industry as well. As such, it is clear that the role of a Creative Technologist requires not only the ability to use different technologies and understand different problem and business domains, but also an ability to consider how to combine technologies in novel ways and work within countless sets of limitations and conditions.

In other words, a Creative Technologist needs not only to execute within challenging environments, but must think “creatively” as well.

So, how to foster creative ideation?