FA(aa)Q
Frequently Asked (and answered) Questions
Why do we say...
"Every great idea starts with you"?
Because creativity doesn’t live in some people - it lives in everyone.
The Van Kessel Creativity Index helps you understand how you create, lead, and collaborate best, so you can bring more of that into your work. Whether you're starting a project, shaping a team, or solving a problem, your creative style is the spark. The Index just helps you find it.
Whats the problem here?
Creativity fuels problem-solving, yet misaligned creative styles within teams hinder collaboration and innovation, costing businesses and educational institutions billions in lost productivity.
In traditionally non-creative sectors, many employees feel they are unable to express their full problem-solving and creative potential due to restrictive cultures or a lack of awareness of their own creative strengths.
What is creativity?
Creativity is not limited to artistic skills - it's about problem-solving, innovation, and seeing new possibilities in all situations. Whether it’s redesigning workflows, finding ways to connect with others, or leading a project, creativity exists in everyone; it’s simply about using the right tools to uncover it.
What is the Van Kessel Creativity Index?
The Van Kessel Creativity Index (VKCI) is a framework for measuring how individuals and teams think, collaborate, and solve problems creatively. It focuses on creative function, not personality.
How does it actually work?
Participants complete a short assessment (10–15 minutes). Their responses are scored across five creative characteristics and four creative archetypes. These are used to generate a Creative Index score -
reflecting both creative strength and balance.
What does the report tell me?
Each report identifies an individual or team’s creative strengths, gaps, collaboration style, and execution tendencies. It offers clear recommendations to improve creative performance, role alignment, and team dynamics.
What’s the difference between the Recruitment Tool, the Creative Index,
and the Individual Assessment?
Each version of VKCI is built on the same creative framework but serves a different purpose.
The Recruitment Tool is designed for hiring. It helps recruiters and hiring managers evaluate how a candidate thinks, collaborates, and solves problems - offering insight into team fit, communication style, and creative value before they’re hired.
The Creative Index is for teams and organisations. It helps leaders and groups understand their creative makeup, improve collaboration, and align team roles with strengths. It’s ideal for strategy sessions, restructures, team development, or creative growth planning.
The Individual Assessment aka (The Original Creativity Assessment) is for personal insight. Creative professionals, freelancers, and job seekers can use it to discover their creative strengths, improve how they work with others, and communicate their value with more clarity and confidence.
All three use the same creative archetypes and characteristics - but the insights are tailored for different stages of growth: hiring, developing, or understanding.
Why should I use this instead of traditional assessments?
Each report identifies an individual or team’s creative strengths, gaps, collaboration style, and execution tendencies. It offers clear recommendations to improve creative performance, role alignment, and team dynamics.
What types of teams benefit from this?
Creative teams, product teams, leadership groups, startups, marketing departments - anyone who relies on collaboration, innovation, and fast execution can benefit.
What do I do with the results?
The Creative Index report is designed to be immediately actionable.
We give you numbers and tell you what those numbers mean.
As far as we can tell, it is the only assessment to quantify both individuals and groups as a creative whole. Meaning we know how to break it down to both the parts and the machine.
After we've scraped every tiny little bit of insight from the answers and interviews we find the gaps and plug them!
But how do these insights really help? With them we can...
Build special teams based on natural creative strengths (e.g., assigning big-picture thinkers to vision-setting, and structured thinkers to execution).
Improve collaboration by identifying how different archetypes communicate and where friction may arise - then designing workflows that reduce those tension points.
Enhance feedback sessions by understanding how each person receives and processes input, so conversations become more constructive and motivating.
Boost team performance by balancing visionary, strategic, emotional, and practical strengths - ensuring the right blend of creativity for any project.
Guide personal development by helping individuals grow underused traits or refine their dominant style.
Plan smarter project teams by assembling people whose creative profiles complement one another, increasing clarity, speed, and alignment.
Support onboarding and leadership decisions by giving managers deeper insight into how team members think and thrive.
The results don’t sit in a drawer - they become a guide to discovering creative potential across your organisation.
