What is creativity, really? And where does it come from? These age-old questions remain some of the most intriguing in many fields including psychology and neuroscience.
On this episode of the Now Go Create podcast, host Claire Bridges dives into these mysteries with Carolyn Gregoire, co-author of the bestselling book Wired to Create and the mastermind behind the Adobe Creative Types personality assessment.
Carolyn’s Creative Types test has been taken more than 15 million times and has become a go-to tool for teams and individuals exploring how they work creatively. As Claire shares in the episode, she uses the test regularly in her creative training practice to help people better understand their preferences, strengths, and potential blind spots when it comes to collaboration and ideation.
Carolyn takes us on a journey from her background in philosophy and psychology journalism to her work helping people birth their creative ideas as a “book doula.” Her passion for the creative mind is clear: she’s fascinated by what makes creative people tick and how they can thrive.
Inside the creative types
The original Adobe Creative Types test launched in 2019 as a playful, 15-question self-assessment. It draws from personality psychology, including Myers-Briggs theory and research into highly creative individuals. The result? Eight creative archetypes like the Dreamer, the Innovator, the Maker, the Adventurer, and more. Each offers insight into your central creative tendencies, helping you and your team understand how best to work together.
Carolyn emphasises that the test is just a starting point. Most people express a blend of traits across multiple archetypes, and the magic happens when we understand how to flex between types and collaborate across our differences.
The update: creative types, shaping the future
In April 2025, Carolyn and the Adobe team released a follow-up to the original test. Where the first version identifies who you are creatively, the new one explores who you’re becoming and how your creative strengths can help shape the world. In an era defined by change, uncertainty, and AI, this new assessment is both hopeful and practical.
The new test introduces types like the Gardener, the Alchemist, the Strategist, and the Guide. Each represents a unique response to today’s creative challenges—whether that’s building new systems, leading change, or helping others find meaning.
Why this matters
Claire and Carolyn discuss how self-awareness is the bedrock of effective collaboration. Understanding your creative type can:
- Improve brainstorming by making space for different thinking styles
- Help team members play to their strengths
- Reveal blind spots in your team’s collective approach
- Foster empathy and psychological safety
If you’re a leader trying to unlock team creativity or a solo professional looking for insight into your process, these tools offer a language and framework to start the conversation.
On introversion, opposites, and the mess of creativity
The episode also dives into one of the most misunderstood dynamics in team creativity: introversion and extroversion. Carolyn explains that introversion isn’t just about being quiet; it’s about how we process information. Introverts go inward, while extroverts process externally. Recognising this can dramatically shift how teams brainstorm and collaborate.
Carolyn also discusses the paradoxes of creativity—how great creatives often contain opposing traits (introverted and extroverted, playful and disciplined). The more we embrace this complexity, the more expansive our creative potential becomes.
Can AI be a creative ally?
No conversation about creativity in 2025 would be complete without touching on AI. Carolyn sees it as a tool: useful when it supports your process, unhelpful when it replaces your voice. As she says, real creativity is often messy and full of friction. AI might help you get unstuck, but it’s the human struggle that brings meaning and originality to the work.
Creative tips to take away
Carolyn’s advice for unlocking more creativity in your work:
- Know yourself. Use assessments like Creative Types to understand your patterns.
- Tend your inner life. Journaling, meditation, and self-reflection are powerful creative fuels.
- Stay curious. Openness to experience is the #1 personality trait linked to creativity.
- Embrace complexity. Creativity thrives in paradox, not perfection.
- Honour your process. Whether you’re fast and action-oriented or slow and contemplative, your way is valid.
Take the test
Ready to explore your creative self? Head to mycreativetype.com to take both the original and updated Creative Types tests.
Whether you’re a Gardener, an Alchemist, or an Adventurer, understanding your creative DNA is one of the most powerful steps you can take in unlocking your potential – and supporting your team.
Catch the full conversation with Carolyn Gregoire on the latest Now Go Create podcast episode.
Claire has created a worksheet to go alongside with some coaching prompts to help you get the most out of the episode. Download it here.