The Pencil Case Model of Creativity

By Isabella Saccardi | Published 06/25/2026

I think this sentence perfectly encapsulates the essence of my research.

I delete that same line from my thesis introduction for the twentieth time today. It feels as though no specific arrangement of characters will ever be sufficient to convince a PhD assessment committee of my work's value.

The Illusion of Pure Inspiration

To clear my head, I go for a stroll with a friend during one of the few summer days we are granted this year. As we wander along the canals, she suddenly stops. She pulls out a notebook and begins to sketch the surrounding alleyways, explaining that this will serve as a reference for her next professional commission: a fantasy book cover.

To me, she seems to possess a supernatural ability—as if she hears magic whispers in a tongue I cannot understand and is simply transcribing the message.

"But isn't your work creative as well?" she asks.

I find the question difficult to answer in the moment. I explain that while I can be creative in my research and teaching, my work is bound by a rigid set of parameters:

• Dependence on collaborators
• Strict deadlines
• Specific publishing venues
• Academic rigor

In my mind, this is fundamentally different from the act of stopping in the middle of a street because a bolt of inspiration struck.

The Reality of the "Creative" Job

My friend laughs, dismantling my romanticized view of her profession. She reminds me that her "freedom" is an illusion.

"I might stop mid-street for an idea," she admits, "but I still have to deliver exactly what the client requested. I can't just pick any color; the printer dictates the palette. And believe me, there is nothing that makes the process of printing tests any less tedious."

Her conclusion is blunt: If you cannot find the creativity within the constraints of your job, no one will find it for you.

Redefining the Creative Space

As she walks toward a café, I look at my own "sketchbook"—a collection of complex spiderwebs connecting various concepts from academic papers. I recall the scenes in my office: my supervisors and I huddled around post-it notes, hunting for themes in participant data, and that sudden "aha!" moment when two disparate themes click together.

I think of my whiteboard, a chaotic mix of:

• Dutch idioms
• Plant-watering schedules
• The overarching structure of my PhD

I realized that I had fallen into a trap. I had convinced myself that creativity required a total absence of boundaries. However, I now suspect that creativity actually thrives within boundaries, as they provide the necessary framework for ideas to interact.

The Pencil Case Logic

I remember being a child. My mother would leave me with nothing but a simple pencil case, and hours later, I would emerge with an epic saga:

• The Protagonist: The courageous Blue Pen.
• The Antagonist: The villainous Black Pencil.
• The Motivation: A quest for the love of the Red Eraser.

If a handful of stationery could spark an entire universe, then surely a PhD project provides more than enough material to be creative.

The Mathematical View of Creativity

We can almost view this as a formula: $\text{Creativity} = \frac{\text{Imagination} \times \text{Curiosity}}{\text{Constraints}}$ Where constraints act not as a divisor that diminishes the result, but as the catalyst that defines the shape of the output.

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About the Author: Isabela Saccardi is a PhD candidate within the Human-Centred Computing Group. She contributes to Staff's Viewpoint, a platform where UU employees share their perspectives with the university community.

For more perspectives, you can visit the Students' Viewpoint or explore columns available in Dutch.