The Metaverse →
Why is there so much hype about the Metaverse these days? It has even taken over from AI as the hottest tech topic. Last week when I asked Matthew Ball, the author of a forthcoming book... Read more →
Category: ‘Creativity’ 
TikTok Food →
TikTok has been around since 2016 and caught on like wildfire amongst young people all round the world, as quickly as Facebook did when it first took off. It is fast and furious, and because of... Read more →
Remote Nurturing →
Many of my friends have taken to gardening during lockdown, making raised beds and planting whatever seeds they can get their hands on. Just like the craze for baking and bread-making, there is now one for... Read more →
Standing Out →
Much has been written about the power of a label to make the object it is attached to stand out. Popular techniques used include striking images, bright colours, ironic slogans and unusual designs. The trick is... Read more →
Opera Moments →
The other day, I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new exhibition “Opera: Passion, Power and Politics”. This latest extravaganza explores the context, history and origins of seven great operas in seven magnificent cities, from... Read more →
Cognitive Dressing →
There is so much hype about AI at the moment; how it is going to transform society in so many ways. The 4th industrial revolution seems to be in our midst. Our lives will be made... Read more →
Which Reality? →
Virtual Reality is all the rage again. Last week Mark Zuckerberg extolled the joys of not only being able to see and interact in virtual worlds but to be able to record those special moments, yourself,... Read more →
Creative Charities →
While waiting for my coffee to be made at Costas I noticed a lemon floating in a cup of water on the counter with a tantalizing teaser besides it: “balance 20p on the lemon and win... Read more →
Sheer Delight →
Last week I watched a 16 year-old girl dissect a cow’s eye in front of a bunch of 6-12 year olds at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. It was gripping seeing her pulling bits of muscle... Read more →
Ten Pieces →
Ten Pieces is a BBC initiative to inspire a generation of primary school children to listen to, explore, and get creative with classical music. It is the brainchild of Katy Jones, an executive producer at the... Read more →
360 Degrees →
My office manager asked me if I would do a 360 degree feedback process for her about the way she behaves at work. I tried to imagine what that would entail – moving around her from... Read more →
Bushy Tailed →
Today I found myself jumping and jigging around with a large furry tail strapped around my waist. I had been invited to a preview of a new theatre production called Dusk devised and directed by David... Read more →
Real Talk →
A fellow commuter was having a bit of a rant on the train yesterday about how his colleagues, especially the younger ones, don’t talk any more. He got more and more animated in his diatribe against... Read more →
Meatless Month →
Is it possible to give up meat when you are a serious carnivore? I bet a couple of Danish guys I know – who eat serious amounts of meat usually at every meal – that they... Read more →
TEDx Einstein →
I finally did it! I walked onto a spot lit stage, with big polystyrene red and white TEDx Barcelona letters behind me and a red carpet underneath me, and delivered my talk. It was not really... Read more →
Future Fashion →
Where does work finish and fun begin? I’ve been playing with a Makey Makey kit that turns everyday objects into touchpads. As mentioned in an earlier blog my aim is to encourage elderly folk to see... Read more →
Wising Up →
I have been thinking a lot recently about how we deal with getting older. A few of us just slip into it; many of us do our utmost to keep young, whilst others live in fear... Read more →
Creative Doing →
David Byrne begins his new book “How Music Works” with an insight that has dawned on him slowly during his glittering career: “context largely determines what is written, painted, sculpted, sung, or performed.” While ideas, personality... Read more →
Body-Defying Performers →
I am always in awe of gymnasts, dancers, trapeze artists, acrobats and the like who perform great feats that defy our sense of gravity and being-ness. How can someone high jump twice their size, walk on... Read more →
Inspiring Otherness →
I flew back to Cape Town at the beginning of 2013 for the second stint of my dream fellowship. South Africa left such an enormous impression on me last year that I craved for more of... Read more →
Deconstructing Salad →
At a workshop I was running the other weekend on ‘Creative Dining, Cooking and Technology’ we were treated to the culinary delights of hot chef Ben Spalding. One of the dishes that he brought to the... Read more →
Art for Art’s Sake →
The president and Council of the Royal Academy sent me a posh invitation the other week, requesting the pleasure of my company today at the “RA Now Auction”, starting at 11.30 a.m. with a champagne brunch... Read more →
Sound City →
Sometimes you find yourself being a tourist in your own city. Yesterday after work, I got caught up on the crowded Circle Line on my way to the Tate Modern, along with the hoards of Olympic... Read more →
Google Art →
The diversity of tools Google keeps churning out each year to help you search, check out and be nosey is mind-blowing. My early favourites were Google earth, Google image, and Google scholar. But recently I have... Read more →
Flying Colours →
Sometimes when I have to give a talk in a strange place and I don’t know anyone I get terribly anxious. Last week, having already gotten lost in downtown Cape Town, trying to park near the... Read more →
Special Ones →
“Knowledge is when you know a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is when you don’t put it in the fruit salad”. Debre, an interaction designer here in Cape Town, emailed me this last week – which... Read more →
External Minds →
I was having a lovely daydream the other morning while sipping coffee at my local brasserie – that dreamily overlooks the mountains – when I suddenly found myself being drawn to the conversation going on between... Read more →
Being Inventive →
Slackbacking is South Africa’s answer to hiking-lite; everything is organized by an enterprising company for you from the moment you fill in your personal details online and enter your credit card number. From then on in,... Read more →
Think Inside →
It has become increasingly popular for people to aspire to a new form of creativity that entails thinking ‘outside the box’. The idea is to think differently, unconventionally and blue-sky. The hope is that innovation and... Read more →
Pairing 101 →
It is increasingly trendy for gastronomy restaurants to pair a wine with a course, matching the notes, flavours and textures of one with another. You read the list of ingredients in a dish and then the... Read more →
Sweet Spot →
There is a new American quarterly magazine out called Lucky Peach that is about food and writing; the second issue features articles on the sweet spot of cooking. Such moments occur at a significant point in... Read more →
Tasting Colour →
There is an art to selecting a superlative set of adjectives to describe the eating experience of gastronomic dishes – just as there is to explaining the fusion of ingredients and methods used to create them.... Read more →
Still 3D →
I remember buying my first 3D disposable camera in the mid 90s from a family-run store in Palo Alto and being wowed back then. Opening the wallet of my first 12 glistening prints, I was tickled... Read more →
Artful Conversation →
Meeting an artist for the first time in his studio is an exciting prospect. But how does one spark up a conversation, without sounding trite, too earnest or too much in awe? I was invited by... Read more →
Athlete’s Dressing →
Nike’s online and bricks and mortar stores have always been at the leading edge of technological innovation. They have experimented with new cinematic, media user experiences; pioneered customer design, and encouraged users to creatively personalize their... Read more →
Baltic Bin →
The Turner Prize has gone north for the first time in its 27-year history, to the BALTIC contemporary art gallery in Newcastle. By luck, I was giving a talk in Newcastle this week, so was able... Read more →
Random Dance →
I had been looking forward to seeing Wayne McGregor’s new performance FAR since I saw his company of dancers rehearsing a couple of weeks ago – when invited by DK who is collaborating with him on... Read more →
TikTok Food →
TikTok has been around since 2016 and caught on like wildfire amongst young people all round the world, as quickly as Facebook did when it first took off. It is fast and furious, and because of... Read more →
Remote Nurturing →
Many of my friends have taken to gardening during lockdown, making raised beds and planting whatever seeds they can get their hands on. Just like the craze for baking and bread-making, there is now one for... Read more →
Standing Out →
Much has been written about the power of a label to make the object it is attached to stand out. Popular techniques used include striking images, bright colours, ironic slogans and unusual designs. The trick is... Read more →
Opera Moments →
The other day, I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new exhibition “Opera: Passion, Power and Politics”. This latest extravaganza explores the context, history and origins of seven great operas in seven magnificent cities, from... Read more →
Cognitive Dressing →
There is so much hype about AI at the moment; how it is going to transform society in so many ways. The 4th industrial revolution seems to be in our midst. Our lives will be made... Read more →
Which Reality? →
Virtual Reality is all the rage again. Last week Mark Zuckerberg extolled the joys of not only being able to see and interact in virtual worlds but to be able to record those special moments, yourself,... Read more →
Creative Charities →
While waiting for my coffee to be made at Costas I noticed a lemon floating in a cup of water on the counter with a tantalizing teaser besides it: “balance 20p on the lemon and win... Read more →
Sheer Delight →
Last week I watched a 16 year-old girl dissect a cow’s eye in front of a bunch of 6-12 year olds at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. It was gripping seeing her pulling bits of muscle... Read more →
Ten Pieces →
Ten Pieces is a BBC initiative to inspire a generation of primary school children to listen to, explore, and get creative with classical music. It is the brainchild of Katy Jones, an executive producer at the... Read more →
360 Degrees →
My office manager asked me if I would do a 360 degree feedback process for her about the way she behaves at work. I tried to imagine what that would entail – moving around her from... Read more →
Bushy Tailed →
Today I found myself jumping and jigging around with a large furry tail strapped around my waist. I had been invited to a preview of a new theatre production called Dusk devised and directed by David... Read more →
Real Talk →
A fellow commuter was having a bit of a rant on the train yesterday about how his colleagues, especially the younger ones, don’t talk any more. He got more and more animated in his diatribe against... Read more →
Meatless Month →
Is it possible to give up meat when you are a serious carnivore? I bet a couple of Danish guys I know – who eat serious amounts of meat usually at every meal – that they... Read more →
TEDx Einstein →
I finally did it! I walked onto a spot lit stage, with big polystyrene red and white TEDx Barcelona letters behind me and a red carpet underneath me, and delivered my talk. It was not really... Read more →
Future Fashion →
Where does work finish and fun begin? I’ve been playing with a Makey Makey kit that turns everyday objects into touchpads. As mentioned in an earlier blog my aim is to encourage elderly folk to see... Read more →
Wising Up →
I have been thinking a lot recently about how we deal with getting older. A few of us just slip into it; many of us do our utmost to keep young, whilst others live in fear... Read more →
Creative Doing →
David Byrne begins his new book “How Music Works” with an insight that has dawned on him slowly during his glittering career: “context largely determines what is written, painted, sculpted, sung, or performed.” While ideas, personality... Read more →
Body-Defying Performers →
I am always in awe of gymnasts, dancers, trapeze artists, acrobats and the like who perform great feats that defy our sense of gravity and being-ness. How can someone high jump twice their size, walk on... Read more →
Inspiring Otherness →
I flew back to Cape Town at the beginning of 2013 for the second stint of my dream fellowship. South Africa left such an enormous impression on me last year that I craved for more of... Read more →
Deconstructing Salad →
At a workshop I was running the other weekend on ‘Creative Dining, Cooking and Technology’ we were treated to the culinary delights of hot chef Ben Spalding. One of the dishes that he brought to the... Read more →
Art for Art’s Sake →
The president and Council of the Royal Academy sent me a posh invitation the other week, requesting the pleasure of my company today at the “RA Now Auction”, starting at 11.30 a.m. with a champagne brunch... Read more →
Sound City →
Sometimes you find yourself being a tourist in your own city. Yesterday after work, I got caught up on the crowded Circle Line on my way to the Tate Modern, along with the hoards of Olympic... Read more →
Google Art →
The diversity of tools Google keeps churning out each year to help you search, check out and be nosey is mind-blowing. My early favourites were Google earth, Google image, and Google scholar. But recently I have... Read more →
Flying Colours →
Sometimes when I have to give a talk in a strange place and I don’t know anyone I get terribly anxious. Last week, having already gotten lost in downtown Cape Town, trying to park near the... Read more →
Special Ones →
“Knowledge is when you know a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is when you don’t put it in the fruit salad”. Debre, an interaction designer here in Cape Town, emailed me this last week – which... Read more →
External Minds →
I was having a lovely daydream the other morning while sipping coffee at my local brasserie – that dreamily overlooks the mountains – when I suddenly found myself being drawn to the conversation going on between... Read more →
Being Inventive →
Slackbacking is South Africa’s answer to hiking-lite; everything is organized by an enterprising company for you from the moment you fill in your personal details online and enter your credit card number. From then on in,... Read more →
Think Inside →
It has become increasingly popular for people to aspire to a new form of creativity that entails thinking ‘outside the box’. The idea is to think differently, unconventionally and blue-sky. The hope is that innovation and... Read more →
Pairing 101 →
It is increasingly trendy for gastronomy restaurants to pair a wine with a course, matching the notes, flavours and textures of one with another. You read the list of ingredients in a dish and then the... Read more →
Sweet Spot →
There is a new American quarterly magazine out called Lucky Peach that is about food and writing; the second issue features articles on the sweet spot of cooking. Such moments occur at a significant point in... Read more →
Tasting Colour →
There is an art to selecting a superlative set of adjectives to describe the eating experience of gastronomic dishes – just as there is to explaining the fusion of ingredients and methods used to create them.... Read more →
Still 3D →
I remember buying my first 3D disposable camera in the mid 90s from a family-run store in Palo Alto and being wowed back then. Opening the wallet of my first 12 glistening prints, I was tickled... Read more →
Artful Conversation →
Meeting an artist for the first time in his studio is an exciting prospect. But how does one spark up a conversation, without sounding trite, too earnest or too much in awe? I was invited by... Read more →
Athlete’s Dressing →
Nike’s online and bricks and mortar stores have always been at the leading edge of technological innovation. They have experimented with new cinematic, media user experiences; pioneered customer design, and encouraged users to creatively personalize their... Read more →
Baltic Bin →
The Turner Prize has gone north for the first time in its 27-year history, to the BALTIC contemporary art gallery in Newcastle. By luck, I was giving a talk in Newcastle this week, so was able... Read more →
Random Dance →
I had been looking forward to seeing Wayne McGregor’s new performance FAR since I saw his company of dancers rehearsing a couple of weeks ago – when invited by DK who is collaborating with him on... Read more →