The Creative Condition podcast

We hear it all the time, 'You are what you eat!' - but how seriously do we take our diet when it comes to our mental health? For the longest time, for me, the answer was 'not very.'We identify a raft of other aggressors when it comes to our moods, but we are living organisms and we require constant good nutrition to operate at our best.As part of the November mental health special episodes, following on from Kimberley Wilson on ep 202, I'm joined by microbiologist Zuzanna Karwowska. Zuzanna works with machine learning to study the gut microbiome. She lays out just how critical gut health is to our mood, our brain health, and therefore, our creativity, and gives us a snapshot of the life of a microbiologist!As ever, the show is supported by the founding sponsor, illustration and animation agency, and b-corp Illustration X. https://illustrationx.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/zuzanna-karwowska-768967a5/To back 'The Creative Condition' book Kickstarter, head here. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/creativecondition/the-creative-condition-bookhttps://bentallon.comhttps://bentallonwriter.com

During a recent appearance on Adobe's 'Creative Connections' show by Kladi Vergine and Elise Swopes, an audience member asked me how I discovered I could write, given that I'm an illustrator.I wanted to elaborate on my concise answer with a longer form consideration of my author timeline.Back 'The Creative Condition' book on Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/creativecondition/the-creative-condition-bookThe Creative Condition is sponsored by Illustration X. You can see their global roster of artists, illustrators, and animators at illustrationx.combentallon.combentallonwriter.com

Column 7 in the ongoing series of articles written by The Creative Condition host and illustrator Ben Tallon.Exploring the nature and behaviour of creativity, the latest looks at vulnerability and it's potential value in sending the right message to potential clients.You can read any of the previous columns at designweek.co.ukThe Creative Condition is sponsored by Illustration X. You can see their global roster of artists, illustrators, and animators at illustrationx.combentallon.combentallonwriter.com

We all know - on some level at least - the importance of good nutrition for good health. But how many of us equate it to effective creativity? It took me the longest time to start eating, every day, to fuel a firing brain, and positive mood, to give myself the best chance of hitting my optimal performance zone.It's been a revelation, and that was in part to do with Kimberley Wilson. Kimberley is a psychologist specialising in nutrition, who educates about 'whole body mental health.'Kimberley's life-altering book, 'Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat is Fuelling the Mental Health Crisis' paints an equal part frightening, and revelatory picture of how severe the lack of nutritional education is, and what it means for all of us.We discuss many of the topics, and what we can do to improve our health for better creativity.https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/unprocessed-how-the-food-we-eat-is-fuelling-our-mental-health-crisis-kimberley-wilson/7073333?ean=9780753559741https://www.kimberleywilson.co/aboutThe show is supported by founding sponsor and B-Corp, Illustration X: https://illustrationx.comhttps://bentallon.comhttps://bentallonwriter.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

Phaidon was founded 100 years ago, in 1923, with the intention of producing beautiful affordable books, predominantly on art.To celebrate the milestone, I'm joined by Creative Director Julia Hasting who has worked on many titles over several decades. We discuss her story, the role of print books in the digital age, what it takes to produce a book of this magnitude, the people involved, and the collaboration required to make it work.Supported by founding sponsor https://illustrationx.comhttps://www.phaidon.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliahasting/https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/creativecondition/https://bentallon.comhttps://bentallonwriter.com

As The Creative Condition Book Kickstarter launches, here is an exclusive 1st chapter of the book, 'What is Creativity.'You can support the campaign by getting your copy ahead of the March 2024 release and bringing the idea to life. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/creativecondition/the-creative-condition-bookSupported by the brilliant Illustration X, founding sponsor of The Creative Condition podcast. View their global roster of illustrators and animators at https://illustrationx.comHosted by Ben Tallon:bentallon.combentallonwriter.com

After 2 years of writing, 10 years of study and research, a lifetime of observation and lived experience, and 200 podcast episodes, 'The Creative Condition' book is ready, and I need your help!Creativity has been an infinite joy in my life. It has become my calling. It brings together communities, energises societies, empowers individuals, and has enabled the continued survival of our species. And yet it continues to be lumped in the same basket as artistry and marginalised at every level of education.Here is what creativity means to me, what I'd like to change, why I've chosen to write another book on the subject, and why I'm asking for your support as the book Kickstarter launches.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/creativecondition/Supported by the brilliant Illustration X, founding sponsor of The Creative Condition podcast. View their global roster of illustrators and animators at https://illustrationx.comHosted by Ben Tallon:bentallon.combentallonwriter.com

Have you ever been told, or thought you need to toughen up? Or that you're a weakling for feeling more hurt than others at the hands of events in your surroundings? Or wondered if you're strange for feeling more joy than other people seem to when times are good? It's likely you're a highly sensitive person.For the 200th episode of The Creative Condition Podcast, I'm joined by sensitivity and introvert expert Jenn Granneman, co-author (with Andre Sólo) of 'Sensitive: the Power of a Thoughtful Mind in an Overwhelming World to discuss sensitivity in depth.We live at a time when conversations around the mind and well-being are at an all-time high, and people like Jenn are playing a huge role in providing us with more tools to map out our own creativity. Hopefully, this one will add great value!Supported by the brilliant Illustration X, founding sponsor of The Creative Condition podcast. View their global roster of illustrators and animators at illustrationx.comwww.introvertdear.com/https://www.instagram.com/jenngranneman/bentallon.combentallonwriter.com

Somewhere in those big hardback books of collected design that we had around the studios in which I studied, or perhaps it was in the 'Handwritten' book of collected hand lettering, I found the work of Stefan Sagmeister - the infamous talk poster for which he'd carved the information into his own torso.His reputation as a great designer is more than earned. Since 1993, working out of New York, he has created work for The Rolling Stones, HBO, Lou Reed, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum through Sagmeister Inc.His new book, 'Now is Better', out on October 4th with Phaidon is a tonic to the doom and gloom spirit of 24-hour news cycles and social media. It's a thing of visual beauty, but also promotes long-term thinking and perspective, so we can be better, happier, and more creative people to address the problems we face.We discuss these themes and more.The book will remain on my coffee table for the days when I get the blues!Photograph by James Braund.Supported by the brilliant Illustration X, founding sponsor of The Creative Condition podcast. View their global roster of illustrators and animators at https://illustrationx.comhttps://sagmeister.com/https://www.phaidon.com/https://bentallon.comhttps://bentallonwriter.com

The two types of creativity: Are you balancing your intellectual and emotional creativity? It's the key to staying motivated, passionate, and energised. Here's why.Column 7 in the ongoing series of articles written by The Creative Condition host and illustrator Ben Tallon.Exploring the nature and behaviour of creativity, the latest looks at vulnerability and it's potential value in sending the right message to potential clients.You can read any of the previous columns at designweek.co.ukThe Creative Condition is sponsored by Illustration X. You can see their global roster of artists, illustrators, and animators at illustrationx.combentallon.combentallonwriter.com