Contemplating Creativity

HLW Architecture Design Director, Gavin Hughes shares his journey from rebellious comic art influences to professional design, emphasizing the importance of practice, mentorship, and collaboration in creative growth. He discusses how midlife experience enhances pattern recognition, the value of tactile drawing, and the evolving nature of creativity in a digital age. Key topics: Influence of Britis...

Explore the evolution of creativity understanding over 30 years, the neuroscience behind it, and practical tips for enhancing individual and team creativity, including the impact of AI and environment. Key topics: Evolution of creativity understanding over 30 years Neuroscientific techniques and brain hemispheres Creative process stages: generation, evaluation, incubation Impact of environment and...

Summary In this conversation, Ian and Fleur explore the balance between life and career, particularly in the creative fields of art and design. Fleur shares her journey of finding equilibrium between her corporate work and her passion for painting, emphasizing the importance of diversity in creative pursuits. They discuss the challenges and risks associated with change, the evolving nature of iden...

Summary In this episode, Ian and Nicola explore the multifaceted nature of creativity, emphasizing its roots in curiosity and problem-solving. They discuss the common misconceptions surrounding creativity, particularly in the corporate world, where it is often seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. The dialogue also touches on the education system's failure to prioritize creative subjects,...

Summary In this engaging conversation, Ian Ashley and Jacinta Ashby delve into the intersection of mental health, physical fitness, and creativity. Jacinta emphasizes the importance of mental well-being as a foundation for physical health, arguing that many people overlook how internal health affects their overall fitness journey. She shares her personal experiences, highlighting how pushing throu...

Summary In this episode, Ian and Kay discuss the importance of creating intentional workspaces that foster creativity and accommodate neurodiversity. They explore the challenges of maintaining productivity in a busy world, the creative process, and the evolution of design philosophy towards a more inclusive approach. The discussion highlights the significance of understanding individual needs in d...

I was planning to close season one of the podcast at episode 10. It seemed like a nice round number. But when l finally got the chance to sit down with my guest for this episode, Naomi Sakamoto, it turned out to be just too good to hold back. Naomi, currently Principal at Gensler, London, inspires me so much every time we meet. I think this opportunity exceeded all previous conversations. We discu...

My guest for this episode is Leigh Jerome Ph. D., clinical psychologist, artist, and founder of the Relational Space art gallery in New York. With this seemingly disparate skillset, cross disciplinarity seems to be at the centre of almost everything Leigh pursues. It’s something that is so important to the creative process, whether we’re endeavouring to be cross disciplinary in our own activities...

My guest for this episode is Luke Pearson, who in partnership with cofounder Tom Lloyd has run design practice Pearson Lloyd since 1997. Since then, the practice has experienced enormous success designing for a multitude of furniture brands including Modus, Walter Knoll, Steelcase, Senator, Teknion, Andreu World, and Bene, as well as in aviation for Lufthansa, Swiss Air, Virgin Atlantic, and more....

My guest for this episode is Sam Parker. Ex editor for Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, Esquire, and Penguin Random House. Sam is currently Site Director at British GQ and is writing his own book investigating anger. Anger’s one of the many emotions we can experience during the creative process. Sam and I discussed his experiences with feelings of doubt, fear and anxiety brought on by the idea of going...

My guest for this episode is Creative Director, Stephen Briars (Louis Vuitton, Paul Smith, Urban Outfitters and The Conran Shop). Throughout our discussion, at times we touch on Stephen’s creative process but with such an impressive career background I was mostly interested to hear how he had achieved such a seemingly constant string of successes with this remarkable portfolio of creative thought...

My guest for this episode is Nigerian-British poet, screenwriter, actor, and performer, Tife Kusoro. In 2021 Tife was announced as a Jerwood New Playwright by the Royal Court Theatre, as well as one of the BBC’s London Voices for the same year. In October 2023 she was commissioned by The Poetry Society to write the official poem celebrating Illuminated River, a major public artwork across the Tham...

My guest for this episode is singer songwriter and session musician, Sam Crooks. At the time of recording (Jan 2024), Sam had just released his solo album “After The Night”, available on Spotify, Tidal, Deezer and Apple Music, and was due to play Glastonbury, and Bush Hall in Shepherds Bush, London with his band, Dead Pages. Our interview covered the cognitive benefits of regular exercise, taking...

My guest for this episode is Deepak Parmar, Design and Board Director of south London B-Corp certified design consultancy, MCM Architecture. Notable MCM clients include DeBeers, Channel 4, ITV, Conde Nast, the NFL, Estee Lauder and Mastercard. I’ve known Deepak for a long time, and our regular conversations about creativity, covering design, music, fashion, and food where among my many inspiration...

My guest for this episode is Doctor Aspasia Paltoglou; a senior lecturer in psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University, with a PhD in cognitive neuroscience. Aspa is also a classical pianist, having trained at the conservatory of Athens. With that background and combination of qualifications, it was probably inevitable that she took an interest in the psychology of creativity, a topic that s...

My guest for this episode is John Small, ex-partner at Foster and Partners (where he founded and led their Product Design Group); ex Director of Design at Steelcase; and ex tutor at the Royal College of Art, where he originally gained his Masters in furniture design and manufacturing. John is currently teaching interior design at Norwich University. Our conversation started and ended on the topic...

My guest for this episode is Kelly Wray; a BBC television script editor who is currently taking time off to write her own novel. We discussed how co-creating an accountability group has helped her overcome procrastination; the creative differences between writing her own work and editing other people’s; and how people feel about their creative visions being altered by someone else.