Curated Creative
This week our curated creative is all about exploring the spaces we inhabit and how they affect our daily living as well as our creative lives.
PODCAST | TED Radio Hour: The Power of Spaces
I recently listened to a fascinating podcast episode from TED Radio Hour that dives into how the spaces we design can deeply influence so many aspects of our lives—our health, how we work, our relationships with others, and even our connection to ourselves and our spirituality.
One of the highlights was hearing from the legendary David Byrne, who shared how music has been shaped by the spaces it’s performed in throughout history. Set designer Es Devlin also spoke about how the places we inhabit become central characters in the stories of our lives. It really made me rethink how much our environments can influence and affect our work. Have a listen!
DOCUMENTARY FILM | Rams
I recently had the chance to watch a documentary on the life and work of Dieter Rams. If you're not familiar, Dieter is a groundbreaking product designer whose influence can be seen across today’s digital devices and brand packaging.
Rams began his career as an architect, and as he transitioned into product design, he gave careful consideration to how his creations would exist in and impact the spaces they inhabited.His 10 Principles for Good Design have become a de facto manifesto for aspiring product designers, and I believe they offer a valuable guide for any creative mind.
The documentary Rams is available to stream on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, or Vimeo.
PLAYLIST | Hear mine and share yours!
While we all don’t have the means to have personal working studios adorned with expertly designed products there are ways to make our workspaces more conductive to our creativity. I think perhaps the easiest way to curate a space to makes us feel more inspired and creative is through sound.
I firmly believe the right soundtrack can actually morph our space into different moods that affect how we approach creative tasks. If you’re looking for creative ideas that require you to be in a meditative or contemplative state maybe your listening choice would be would be a post-minimalism playlist or if your aim is to really push boundaries and explore uncharted ideas you might want to fill the room with some psychedelic rock. There are no rules it’s just about paying attention to what a particular genre, style, texture or group of instruments does to your mood or energy.
Currently I’m trying my hand at revising some of the visual design to the Creative Commonwealth and to help I’ve constructed a playlist to vibe to while working, although I’ve decided to engineer this process a bit in reverse to the above example.
I’ve been building a playlist that in my own creative feels reflects the existing visual creative of the Creative Commonwealth which I listen to as I build mood-boards and explore different ideas to expand on. It’s been an iterative process adding songs, listening, keeping some and removing others that break the flow. I’ve decided to share what I have so far.
If you have examples of your own playlists for different moods or just help you create in general please share with community by adding it to the Kudosboard at this link below!
AVAILABLE FOR WORK | Sade Robinson
On a final note, I wanted to share that Sade Robinson, a former guest interviewee on Creative Commonwealth, is currently seeking her next opportunity.
Sade is a talented art director, graphic designer, and illustrator based in NYC. Her impressive portfolio includes work for brands like Google, Fortnite, and even Drake. What sets Sade apart is her ability to deliver original, unique artistic perspectives that convey emotion and human connection — no cookie-cutter designs here. You can also learn more about her background via LinkedIn.