--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Creativity has to do with what came…" description: "\"Creativity has to do with what came before you immediately, not what came before you a long time ago.\" — Paula Scher" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/paula-scher-7840_creativity_creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-befo_1368552.png" --- # Creativity has to do with what came before you… ![“Creativity has to do with what came before you immediately, not what came before you a long time ago.” quote by Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/paula-scher-7840_creativity_creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-befo_1368552.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/paula-scher-7840_creativity_creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-befo_1368552.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/paula-scher-7840_creativity_creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-befo_1368552.png) > “Creativity has to do with what came before you immediately, not what came before you a long time ago.” [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity builds on recent influences rather than distant history. **In simple terms:** Recent ideas shape creativity. Key Takeaway Leverage current trends. Themes design creativity influence Mood inspired practical Type artistic educational When to use this quote - branding - graphic design - product development Key Concepts cognitive science innovation Questions to Reflect On - How do recent trends inspire you? - When should you revisit older ideas? A Different Perspective Ignoring foundational knowledge can limit depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I have been on only one reality show, which was a dance show, a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mukul-dev/i-have-been-on-only-one-reality-show-which-was-a-dance-show-a-long/) [Mukul Dev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mukul-dev/) > [When you get over the anxiety, you discover you should have been mad a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-clampitt/when-you-get-over-the-anxiety-you-discover-you-should-have-been-mad-a/) [Amy Clampitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-clampitt/) > [“One thing I learned a long time ago is that even if you think you're meant to be with someone, that doesn't necessarily mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-kenneally/one-thing-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-is-that-even-if-you-think-you-re/) [Miranda Kenneally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-kenneally/) > [The hardest part of letting go is knowing the other person already did, a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-part-of-letting-go-is-knowing-the-other-person-already/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was all a long time ago and at this stage we just don’t know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/it-was-all-a-long-time-ago-and-at-this-stage-we-just-don-t-know/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I just consider being one of the luckiest people in the sense that creativity came to me and it flowed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vidal-sassoon/i-just-consider-being-one-of-the-luckiest-people-in-the-sense-that/) [Vidal Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vidal-sassoon/) > [If I knew where creativity came from, I'd probably be a lot less stressed about coming up with new stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/if-i-knew-where-creativity-came-from-i-d-probably-be-a-lot-less/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [But, ancient Greece and ancient Rome - people did not happen to believe that creativity came from human beings back then, OK? People believed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/but-ancient-greece-and-ancient-rome-people-did-not-happen-to-believe/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I learned a long time ago life just isn't fair, so you better stop expecting it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-reeve/i-learned-a-long-time-ago-life-just-isn-t-fair-so-you-better-stop/) [Dana Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-reeve/) > [Star Wars' is a galaxy a long time ago, far, far away. 'Star Wars' is not about our future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-lindelof/star-wars-is-a-galaxy-a-long-time-ago-far-far-away-star-wars-is-not/) [Damon Lindelof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-lindelof/) > [The whole business of getting famous was good fun, but it was a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-clary/the-whole-business-of-getting-famous-was-good-fun-but-it-was-a-long/) [Julian Clary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-clary/) > [It was anyway all a long time ago; the world, we know now, is as it is and not different; if there was ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/it-was-anyway-all-a-long-time-ago-the-world-we-know-now-is-as-it-is/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“Because I learned a long time ago that it’s better to have people react to you than to react to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-kent/because-i-learned-a-long-time-ago-that-it-s-better-to-have-people/) [Julia Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-kent/) > [She may physically be with him, but he gave me his heart a long time ago and thats something I'll never give her](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/break-10/she-may-physically-be-with-him-but-he-gave-me-his-heart-a-long-time/) Break '10 > [I gave up shame a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/i-gave-up-shame-a-long-time-ago/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) ## More by Paula Scher > [Your work gets destroyed by dumb people and it gets enhanced by smart people and it really doesn't have anything to do with marketing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/your-work-gets-destroyed-by-dumb-people-and-it-gets-enhanced-by-smart/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [What makes me say "wow" is usually something I haven't encountered, in a new way... something I haven't encountered before or something I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/what-makes-me-say-wow-is-usually-something-i-haven-t-encountered-in-a/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [I find that I'm at my least creative point when I am doing something that I've done in repetition and I know all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/i-find-that-i-m-at-my-least-creative-point-when-i-am-doing-something/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [I think Apple is a wonderful example of spectacular marketing and I love having my iPod. There are the naysayers who say that "nyah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/i-think-apple-is-a-wonderful-example-of-spectacular-marketing-and-i/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [I've become much more interested in architecture than I've ever been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/i-ve-become-much-more-interested-in-architecture-than-i-ve-ever-been/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [Some people are in stultifying environments where there are rigid rules and rituals and they need that to thrive, where other people are just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/some-people-are-in-stultifying-environments-where-there-are-rigid/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [Planning is design. As a designer what I tend to do, and what's different from being a painter, is that I interact with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/planning-is-design-as-a-designer-what-i-tend-to-do-and-what-s/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [Great design is serious, not solemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/great-design-is-serious-not-solemn/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [I love that the level of mediocrity rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/i-love-that-the-level-of-mediocrity-rises/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [Words have meaning, type has spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/words-have-meaning-type-has-spirit/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [Beige is the color of indecision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/beige-is-the-color-of-indecision/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [To me what really matters is that it shouldn't matter to you what day of the week it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/to-me-what-really-matters-is-that-it-shouldn-t-matter-to-you-what-day/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [If people that made products didn't market them and sell them we'd have no economy and nobody would be working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/if-people-that-made-products-didn-t-market-them-and-sell-them-we-d/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [Planning involves considering how other people may use something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/planning-involves-considering-how-other-people-may-use-something/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) > [I'm most proud of the fact that I get to keep growing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/i-m-most-proud-of-the-fact-that-i-get-to-keep-growing/) [Paula Scher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) [Explore all 87 Paula Scher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/) ## More Creativity quotes > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“The Soviet “creative intelligentsia” - that is, people accustomed to thinking one thing, saying another and doing a third - is as a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-amalrik/the-soviet-creative-intelligentsia-that-is-people-accustomed-to/) Andrei Amalrik > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You are the end of beauty and creativity one must have created so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/you-are-the-end-of-beauty-and-creativity-one-must-have-created-so-far/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) > [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/) Christoph Niemann > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Create an environment for people to fail, to learn, and to grow. Their creativity and productivity will increase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/create-an-environment-for-people-to-fail-to-learn-and-to-grow-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 13,625 Creativity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Creativity has to do with what came before you immediately, not what came before you a long time ago.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paula Scher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-before-you-immediately-not-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creativity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-before-you-immediately-not-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/paula-scher-7840_creativity_creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-befo_1368552.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/paula-scher-7840_creativity_creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-befo_1368552.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e9/paula-scher-7840_creativity_creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-befo_1368552.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Creativity has to do with what came before you immediately, not what came before you a long time ago.” — Paula Scher", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paula Scher", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-scher/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Creativity has to do with what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-before-you-immediately-not-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-scher/creativity-has-to-do-with-what-came-before-you-immediately-not-what/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```