THE Creative Condition PODCAST is A show about understanding and maximising creativity
CONVERSATIONS AROUND CREATIVITY PACKED WITH HARD-EARNED ADVICE TO GET YOU THERE QUICKER THAN ANY OF US DID.
‘The Creative Condition’ podcast was born in 2015, originally titled ‘Arrest All Mimics’ because of its creator’s tendency to later regret silly cryptic titles. This curated selection of shows exploring creativity and the human condition will help you be more creative while understanding why. You can get lost in the entire 300+ episode archive on your chosen podcast/streaming service, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music. If you’d like to book me to do a live interview at your next event, head here for the info.
Supported by founding show sponsor Illustration X.
Latest episode: Wiedemann Lampe: Cultural impact at scale.
The art of listening.
EPISODE 259: Doctor, HIV & sexual health medicine consultant & author Rageshri Dhairyawan discusses the art of listening.
LOVE’s Dave Palmer
A wonderful tale of building an agency of 80 people from scratch. Dave Palmer shares hilarious and insightful stories.
Creativity diary 5
The latest in an ongoing series of thoughts, reflections, insights, and silly whims about creativity.
Dark Night Survival
A mental health support package for the dark nights. It can be challenging this time of year, so try some of these tips.
Pogus Caesar
A UK national treasure discusses his iconic, inspiring photography over a long and illustrious career.
Anthony Burrill
Iconic artist and designer Anthony Burrill shares his story.
Charlotte Bradman
Author of The Happy Nomad and vanlifer Charlotte Bradman shares a story of trauma and discovering creativity after choosing to live full-time in her camper van.
Working Class Voices
Charlotte Bradman on the working-class and creativity
Tala Schlossberg
Artist and animator Tala Schlossberg on staying optimistic to create in turbulent times.
Art. The Human Pillar. Make It.
EPISODE 258: Inspired Collective founder, coach, and We Need Your Art! Author Amie McNee is here.
Topics tackled in this episode:
Why is art essential for human happiness?
How can you live as your inner artist?
What stops us from making great art?
Why is your art needed in the world?
How to take small steps for big creative results
SARA PRINSLOO
The Sheffield-based multidisciplinary artist shares her experience of being a working class artist in the 21st century.
ALISTAIR BRUCE-BALL
BBC Sports football commentator in conversation about the responsive creativity and adaptability required in broadcasting.
YASMIN ALI
Chemical engineer in sustainable energy and author of Power Up takes us into the creativity of global energy systems!
JAMES BROWN
Loaded magazine founder and former GQ editor on f**king around, fun, technology, and creativity in the digital age.
MAXIMISING MISCHIEF
There’s great value in naughty behaviour if we can understand it and channel it toward creative thinking and self-expression.
ANDREW MILES DAVIS
Social and digital media trainer brings golden tips, insights, and advice to making the most of social media to promote our creativity!
TBWA CEO ERIN RILEY
The incoming TBWA Global CEO is fighting for creativity from the top of the advertising world. Here’s why and what needs to change.
MALIKA FAVRE
Sleek artwork, owning personal shortcomings, obsession, and sexuality with one of the world’s most famous illustrators.
Disney creativity!
Former Disney head of Innovation and Creativity Duncan Wardle joins The Creative Condition to discuss creativity, play, imagination, and Buzz Lightyear in space!
“When I pitched a yellow puppet as the new face of Levi’s, they thought I’d really lost it.”
BBH FOUNDER SIR JOHN HEGARTY ON FIGHTING FOR BOLD CREATIVITY AND NEW IDEAS.
Topics tackled in this episode:
What makes great writing?
How does upbringing and background inform creativity?
When is it worth fighting for brilliant ideas?
What great communication in advertising looks like
Why is humour and invaluable part of creativity?
Why creativity matters more than ever in the age of AI
GARY MANSFIELD
The ex-prisoner who found art in prison and turned his life around bares all. A heartfelt story of redemption and showcase of what is possible.
SIR JOHN HEGARTY
One of the greatest minds in advertising lives for creativity and brings a gold rush of advice and stories to the show.
PROF ANNA ABRAHAM
A neuroscientist specialising in creativity discusses the brain, the need for active boredom, and harnessing flow states.
REBECCA JOHANNSEN
New York University professor of theatre talks spectacle, storytelling, anticipation, and the power of less.
DIXONBAXI RETURN
Another round with Simon and Aporva, founders of one of the best branding agencies in the creative industry.
KYLE CHAYKA
The New Yorker staff writer and author of Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture on the early internet, and why we’re trapped.
KYLA PAOLUCCI
Former WWE designer and artist talks working on the hit film While We’re Young and delectably sassy aunties.
MARION DEUCHARS
Author and illustrator shares a journey from commercial creativity to work in publishing.
“IT’S ABOUT HOW COLOUR MAKES YOU FEEL. NOT HOW IT LOOKS. ABOUT GIVING PEOPLE MORE COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY BACKGROUND SO THEY CAN MAKE MORE INFORMED CHOICES…”
APPLIED COLOUR PSYCHOLOGIST JUSTINE FOX ON COLOUR IN ARCHITECTURE
Topics tackled in this episode:
How we could be doing more with colour in our towns and cities
How can colour impact mental health and wellbeing?
What stops us from doing more with colour psychology in society?
The effect of colour on our moods
Owen Harvey
Photographing subcultures with Owen Harvey, who shares his love of communities and tribes and the importance of the cover of Q.
LIFE ON A LAMPPOST
A short story about mental health and creativity.
Lucinda Rogers
Lucinda’s on-location drawing is vibrant and vital. How does it feel and what does it tell us about creativity?
ADELAIDE DAMOAH
Painter and performance artist Adelaide Damoah highlights the importance of understanding feelings and using them to set a course in a creative career.
Kieron Lewis
Graphic designer Kieron Lewis discusses graphic activism, the power of personal, and his book design for Still Breathing: 100 Black Voices on racism.
THE AI ARTIST AUDIT
An uncompromising self-interrogation to identify the most vulnerable parts of my creative practice and the most stable through the prism of artificial intelligence.
Dominique Ramsey
Vibrant, anime-inspired art and Pokemon inspiration with illustrator Dominique Ramsey.
child’s drawing theft
Naivety, willingness to fail, and appreciation of simplicity for adults who are perfectionism’s bitch.
“I DON’T KNOW IF IMAGINATION IS CHILDLIKE. IMAGINATION IS IMAGINATION. IT’S ONLY CHILDLIKE BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE IT BEYOND BEING A CHILD.”
WASHINGTON DC ARTIST CHRIS PYRATE
Topics tackled in this episode:
Why is imagination key to all humans?
Why we should all be playing more
How street art and murals can move us emotionally
Chris Pyrate’s origin story and success
Dave Haslam
Acid House/Hacienda DJ and writer Dave Haslam on his 35 years of self-unemployment and his love of creativity in Manchester and far beyond.
Arsenal Up Close
David Price is one of the eyes behind the lens at Arsenal football club. He lets us into the worlds of a sports photographer… and Jens Lehman.
The Dog Painter!
Robert Clarke paints dogs for celebrities and assorted pet lovers. He’s hilarious and shares his story and art world experience.
Kerry Lemon
Kerry Lemon has, quite possibly, my favourite approach to winning great art projects. We meet in Travelodge and talk in their lobby.
Prof Carlos Moreno
Talking community, convenience, happiness, the 15-minute-city, and creativity in urban planning with Professor Carlos Moreno.
Stephen Bliss returns
The former Rockstar Games senior artist and pioneer of the iconic Grand Theft Auto art style is cooking something new. He tells all.
What Katie Drew
Naive illustration, whimsical humour, and the rest of the beautiful creative world of Katie Donald.
Tye Glover
Tye Glover is a wildly smart man who understands the patterns that govern creativity. School didn’t think so. He’s out to put that straight.
“SCi-FI IS THE PREDICTOR OF WHAT’S COMING IN THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD!”
CHEMICAL ENGINEER YASMIN ALI ON THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND THE INNOVATION REQUIRED.
Topics tackled in this episode:
How does creativity matter in the global energy system?
The innovation and imagination required for energy transition
What a chemical engineer does
What Power Up, Yasmin Ali’s debut book, can teach us about creativity
The Sensitivity special
Sensitivity and introversion expert Jenn Granneman delves deep into high-sensitivity and creativity.
psychology of colour
Applied colour psychologist Justine Fox joins The Creative Condition to talk all things hue and saturation.
The Zombie Professor
Arizona State University professor Athena Aktipis joins me to discuss humans in apocalypses and psychology in adversity
Guts and creativity
Microbiologist Zuzanna Karwowska works with machine learning to study the gut microbiome and its link to mental health
Egle Karalyte
A branding and creative strategy game?! Egle Karalyte explains this interesting format for working out the way forward with creativity
THE Idle Creative
Idler Magazine editor and founder Tom Hodkinson explains the need for downtime, idling, and fulfilment for creativity’s sake.
Martyn Ware
Why the former Human League and Heaven 17 frontman is recording sounds in a Silent Night factory and listening to steel.
Kimberley Wilson
A conversation with a psychologist promoting ‘whole body mental health’ and better diets for creativity and wellbeing
“Every time I’ve gone back to fundamentals, I’ve got an extra client!”
Digital and social media marketing trainer Andrew Miles Davis shares 20+ years of internet know-how.
Topics tackled in this episode:
Why is the social part of social media so undervalued?
How can creativity be enabled by smart use of social media?
Common social media mistakes
Why MySpace failed and lessons learned
Drawing & disorder
Liz Atkin shares an inspiring story of drawing on the tube to manage her skin-picking disorder and the joy that followed.
Olympic gold!
Ben Ryan took Fiji men’s rugby 7s to Olympic gold in Rio 2016. The creativity of one of sport’s great stories.
Miss Led
Joanna Henley’s first slot on the show in which she details why she didn’t pick up a pencil for 8 years after graduating.
Ollie Hirst
Science illustrator Ollie Hirst is ahead of his years when it comes to the the business of illustration.
The drama secret
Drama and English teacher Abby Lucas why drama could be a major help in the mental health crisis.
Jack Renwick
Jack Renwick Studio founder Jack joins me to talk about adapting after adversity and finding her feet in design.
Your vision And mine
I carry out my coaching exercise, ‘the vision’ on myself and discuss why it’s a valuable way to understand our creative needs.
Graham Wood
The founding member of iconic 90s applied art and design studio ‘Tomato’ talks art school ethos, scarcity, and play.
“LET THE FACT THAT MEMORY IS NOT PERFECT WORK FOR YOU!”
Professor Anna Abraham: a neuroscientist and psychologist specialising in creativity discusses the need to beware of over-reliance on tech
Topics tackled in this episode:
The neuroscience of creativity
How can we better understand the psychology of creativity?
The science behind making great art
Art, design, and the brain
Ragged Edge Live
Founder Max Ottignon highlights the convergence in the creative industry as a concern but also an opportunity.
Jessie McGuire
ThoughtMatter MD Jessie McGuire shares a story about a creative neighbour and smart activism.
Creativity For Sale
Radim Malinic talks creativity in the commercial world, and why it need not be restricted.
Dan Kieran
Author and Unbound co-founder Dan Kieran on the need to trust the gut and override logic for optimal creativity.
Creativity v Monsters
‘Child Of’ founder Sam D’Cruze talks addiction in the family, trauma, and the negative emotion spectrum in creativity.
Neurodiversity
Studio BND founder Ben Mottershead talks neurodiversity and getting the most from staff by enabling strengths.
Stan Chow
Iconic illustrator Stan Chow shares a story of getting in trouble before being commissioned by the aggrieved….
Dotto On Vis Com
Studio Dotto founder Dani Molyneux shares her thoughts on the role of visual communication in turbulent times.
“WE WANT TO PROVE – AT SCALE – THAT THERE’S ANOTHER WAY OF DOING THINGS, OTHER THAN THIS CORPORATE WORLD.”
BULLETPROOF AGENCY FOUNDER GUSH MUNDAE ON global success WITH CREATIVITY, SOUL, and integrity.
Topics tackled in this episode:
How to start and grow a creative agency
Can creative education be different?
How can adversity help us in our lives?
What a successful agency looks like today
SHAUN RYDER
Notorious, wild, chaotic, and for the longest time, hedonistic. Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder talks creativity and why trends are dangerous.
Self-promotion special
Illustrator Dionne Kitching and I discuss the challenges and our learnings of promoting our creative output in a capitalist world.
OLIVIER KUGLER Part 1
Reportage illustrator Olivier Kugler shares his journey from art student to reportage legend, which began in Hamburg’s Reeperbahn.
Dawinder Bansal
Artist and producer Dawinder Bansal creates immersive, participatory installations to build cultural bridges and share stories. She’s awesome.
Olivier Kugler part 2
A story about a Mafioso supergrass, and Olivier’s important work documenting the plight and stories of people in refugee camps.
Pricing Creativity
The brain-grinding, soul-raking, mind-melting task of pricing creativity. Blair Enns is here to guide you through the nuts and bolts of getting it right.
Creativity in firefighting
Joe Brady is a firefighter. We discuss responsive creativity, gallows humour to make it through trauma, and rapping to pass exams.
Craig Oldham
Designer and activist Craig Oldham believes in creativity’s power to make a better world. Part 1 of a ‘What’s the f’n point?’ 2-part special.
“IT’S MY TASK TO HELP PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE WITH UKRAINE”
Ukrainian designer, illustrator, and design community activist Olha Protasova on the urgency of creativity in times of war.
Topics tackled in this episode:
Why does creativity still matter in times of war?
The strength of creative communities during hardship
The Ukrainian creative industry and bravery
Why is art an essential outlet for wellbeing?
Sarah Boris
A one-woman art and design practice doing incredible, meaningful work. From designer at the Barbican and Phaidon to going it alone.
An illustration career
Rod Hunt is an illustrator with an impressive career. His work at the AOI shows his love of the business. He shares it all and what makes for greatness.
The Working class
Historian Professor Carl Chinn specialises in the English working class and Birmingham. We get into the class ceiling in the arts.
Ray Richardson
Ray Richardson has been called ‘the Scorsese of painting’ and he lets us in on his process, the filmic quality of his art, and his London.
Horror writing!
Author of Earthly Bodies and Dark is the Water Susan Earlam shares her love of the uncanny and her writing story.
Dirty Freud
Electronic musician, DJ, and producer Dirty Freud talks growing up on a London estate in the 1990s and his unconventional path into music.
The perfectionism issue
University of Chicago professor of psychology Greg Chasson on the negative impact of perfectionism on creativity and progress.
Stylorouge
Rob O’Connor of Stylorouge talks about their iconic work on Trainspotting, Blur’s art direction, and why total democracy in art doesn’t always help.
“My contract with the kids was: don’t fight each other and I will break my back to build what we’re doing.”
Bikestormz founders Mac Ferrari and jake 100 on building a social movement from the ground up.
Topics tackled in this episode:
The Bikestormz origin story
How Mac Ferrari grew Bikestormz and why it matters
Why is community and passion essential for mental health and wellbeing?
Jake100’s origin story and hopes for Bikestormz
What we can learn from Bikestormz about creativity
Women In Print
Jane Bowyer joins me to talk about Women In Print, which celebrates important northern women through art and design.
My shoplifting shame
I stole an Ian Wright football figurine. What it told me about my creativity, personality, strengths, and weaknesses.
Sarah Beetson
Recruiting illustrators for an agency, Coney Island, and making her own vibrant art with the talented Sarah Beetson!
Physical and mental
Former teacher and personal trainer/physiotherapist Matt McArdle on physical activity for mental wellbeing.
V&A Curation & design
Mariana Pestana talks about the future of design, curation at the V&A Museum in London, and technology in the 21st century.
Richard Taylor
Brandon Consultants founder Richard Taylor talks commercial creativity, and why it’s a relationship business.
Young people and crime
A conversation with a head of home in a secure children’s home about creativity and rehabilitation.
Comedy & psychedelics
Comedian and writer Negin Farsad and Justin Townsend on Negin’s Jamaican psychedelic retreat and creativity.
“PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT”
FLOW STATES, OPTIMAL CREATIVITY, the importance of a honed craft INSTINCT, AND SELF-TALK. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JUDOKA ALEX PASKE.
Topics tackled in this episode:
What can we learn from judo about creativity?
Is practice essential for sustainable creativity?
The role of instincts when creating
Why motivation differs for everyone
Financial pressure and creativity
