How Constraints Encourage Creativity

It is a popular opinion that freedom encourages creativity and new ideas, and we agree. However, some of the best creative endeavors were created with limited financial resources. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for those who have large financial resources to fail to create something original.

When a person is not limited by finances or time, when they have all the resources they need indefinitely, they relax and go through the process with no friction. In this way, they implement their original idea without being forced to do more research, take risks, or look for better solutions.

Constraints and challenges force a person to focus on the goal and optimize the solution. When we are limited by something, we use our creativity to find different ways to be free again, and one of those ways will inevitably be the right one.

Let’s take a look at an interesting historical example.

At the beginning of World War II, the CC-41 standard (civilian clothing 1941) was introduced in Britain. This standard limits the amount of material used and the methods of making clothing.

Some of the rules were:

• A dress should not have more than two pockets. 
• No more than four meters of material should be used for its production. 
• A maximum of five buttons can be used. 
• The skirt should not have more than six seams, two wide or four narrow folds. 
• Unnecessary decorating was prohibited.

Each garment manufacturer was tasked with meeting at least 85% of total production with this standard.

The given conditions had a demotivating effect. The prevailing opinion at the time was that these restrictions would lead the textile industry to ruin.

However, this was exactly the moment when the cuts and designs of top British fashion designers became accessible to the civilian population. Clothing companies turned to top fashion designers to create models according to the set restrictions. One of them was the famous designer Norman Hartnell.

Norman is a favorite designer of the British royal family. In addition to him, during this period, Digby Morton (pictured with his model) and Edward Molyneux designed timeless clothing items that are an example of style and elegance, which many ladies would be happy to wear even today.

All illustrations were created by Perfecta using AI.