Creativity is an important aspect for designing, but not always.
Take a look at this.
Yes, it's the toilet sign we see almost every day. Now take a look at this.
This is what I found at a shopping center in Singapore last summer.
Yes, I can see that it is a toilet sign...but it takes me a extra few seconds to recognize.
I think there are three main problems here.
1. The sign is too big to see it as a whole.
2. Only half of the shape is exposed.
3. The sign itself is dim and does not catch people's eyes
(Personally, I want it to be colored in blue and red)
I must say that a person who designed this is forgetting the most important factor for signs, which is "easy to understand." I believe that signs are one of the most excellent designs in terms of practicality.
In Japan, there is a word called "kinou-bi", which means "functional beauty". It refers to things that are designed very simply in order to serve its function. I think there are things that people should abstain their creativity to design. Or in other words, a person who can design a new toilet sign that still keeps its original functionality is a truly creative person.