Inspiration Strikes Among Remote-Working Creatives

Despite the challenges of remote working during the pandemic, creatives worldwide are feeling more inspired than ever – but they’re also encountering greater barriers to realising those ideas. Findings from file-sharing platform WeTransfer’s Ideas Report 2020 signal new brand opportunities in helping individuals develop, spotlight and capitalise on their imagination.
- Inspiration in Isolation: ‘Different’, ‘challenging’, ‘strange’ – these were the most popular words used to describe 2020 by the survey’s respondents (just under 35,000 consumers in 183 countries) (WeTransfer, 2020). Yet almost half (45.4%) of these creative professionals said they are having more ideas due to changes in the working environment. Two-fifths are more confident about those ideas and a third feel more creative than usual, while a quarter are spending more time on creative pursuits, and 36.7% have been learning new skills.
- Changing Stakes: Almost half of respondents have been reprioritising and reflecting more on what they want in life over the past year. They’ve been finding their main sources of inspiration close to home – specifically, in family and friends (49%) and nature (40.6%).
- Creative Roadblocks: While creativity (and the time to indulge in it) has not been in short supply during lockdowns, 39.3% of consumers feel it is harder to make an impact with their ideas amid the pandemic. The main barriers? Having to stay inside (31.7% said this was a hindrance), followed by money worries (28.9%).
- Imposter Syndrome Persists: The survey showed marked differences along gender lines. Almost half (42%) of female respondents said they question whether they have the skills to pull off a new idea, compared to only 29% of males. Concern about the future was also weighing more heavily on women than men (53% versus 45.6%). Supporting and amplifying female creatives remain important tasks for brands, especially amid the unequal economic impact of Covid-19 – as discussed in What Women Want.