Bloomerangas Podcast

A few years ago, Dr. Chris Mitchell did something unsettling in his classroom at the Royal College of Art.

He fed the same assessment brief his students were working on into a generative AI tool and then asked the students to evaluate the output. Almost all of them said it was a pass. He looked at it again on the train home, and thought: yeah, I think so too.

His first reaction was terror. His second was more useful.

“It was a reflection of my bad assessment design.”

If an AI could pass it, he realised, then the assessment was never really measuring the things that mattered — curiosity, imagination, personal investment in the work. It was measuring the ability to compare and summarise information. Generative AI is very good at that. But that is not what creative education is actually for.

So he redesigned it. Instead of comparing X and Y, he asked students to take a teaching session that had meant something to them — personally, formatively — and redesign it, explaining why. The results were completely different. Impossible to fake. “We had examples of people drawing on learning in a choir, or a workshop around ocarina making,” he told me. “It’s just so much fun to mark.”

That moment captures something important about where we are with AI and education right now — and it’s just one thread in a really rich conversation.

Chris is Head of Academic Strategy Development at the RCA and the creator of the MA in Creative Education. We talked for over an hour about what formal education is genuinely for, why the RCA builds everything around making and reflection, how hybrid learning can be done well (and what goes wrong when it isn’t), and why creativity is something every person can access — not a trait some people have and others don’t.

We also got into the RCA’s long-standing pass/fail grading system — no marks, just detailed written feedback — and what it demands from both tutors and students.

👉 Watch the full conversation on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/BIrrwVRFUzc

👉 Read the blog posthttps://bloomerangas.com/blog/reimagining-creative-education-in-the-age-of-ai-insights-from-royal-college-of-art/

I hope it sparks something for you — whether you work in education, whether you’re a creative practitioner thinking about AI, or whether you’re just curious about what it looks like to build an institution around the act of making things.

Can creativity be taught?

This is the question we explored in the newest episode of Bloomerangas with Ruta Valušytė, Head of the Design Centre at Kaunas University of Technology.

Every person has the native ability to create. But like any muscle, creativity needs to be used, trained, and nurtured. If we stop using it, it fades. If we practise it, it becomes more natural and intuitive.

What I found especially interesting in this conversation is that creativity does not necessarily need complete freedom.

Very often, a blank canvas blocks people.

What helps is a thoughtful structure: a clear task, a useful example, a safe environment, and enough freedom to experiment. Ruta describes this as a kind of creative playground: a space where people can explore, fail, try again, and slowly build confidence in their own creative process. Surely, this resonates with us very much as we create creativity playgrounds for offices and spaces for exactly this purpose.

We also spoke about AI.

AI can be a fantastic tool, but it is still a tool. Ruta compared it to a pencil: if you know what you want to draw, it can help you. But it cannot replace your intention, your judgement, or your imagination.

This feels especially important now, when creativity and innovation are so often discussed through the lens of speed and productivity. AI can generate quickly, but true innovation still requires us to question the status quo, define the right challenge, and imagine something that does not yet exist.

In the episode, we also talk about:

* how universities can nurture creativity

* why struggle is part of the creative process

* why structure and play need each other

* how design education can support a more sustainable future

* what it means to design beyond only human users

* why curiosity is still one of the most important creative skills

One of the strongest ideas from the conversation is that a creative environment is not only about tools, studios, or technology. It is about culture.

It is about the values, behaviours, and ways of thinking that make people brave enough to explore something unknown.

I hope you will enjoy this talk as much as I did. Read the full summary here.

In our latest Bloomerangas Podcast episode, I speak with Lina Žemaitytė-Kirkman, Head of Rockit (a Startup and Innovation Centre) about something many of us are feeling right now: how hard it has become to stay focused, creative, and mentally clear in a world of constant digital input.

We explore why digital overload affects more than productivity, how boredom and rest support creativity, and what simple habits can help us protect our attention in the age of AI.

It’s a thoughtful and practical conversation for anyone who wants to feel less scattered and create with more clarity.

Watch the episode below, listen on substack/spotify/Apple Podcasts or read the summary on our blog.

In this episode, we speak with Andra Bagdonaitė, venture capital investor and Partner at FIRSTPICK — a high-speed VC fund and accelerator backing ambitious early-stage startups across the Baltic region (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia).

Andra shares insights from her experience investing at the pre-seed and seed stages, supporting founders as they build and scale technology-driven companies. Before joining FIRSTPICK, she worked in early-stage investment and accelerator roles at Startup Wise Guys, one of Europe’s leading startup accelerators, where she helped guide emerging startups through growth and fundraising.

Tune in to learn more about early-stage investing, what investors look for in founders, and how startups in the Baltic region are building globally competitive companies.

👀 Read the article on our website: https://bloomerangas.com/blog/andra-bagdonaite-on-early-stage-investment-for-startups/

Jessica Dance is a UK-based artist, designer, and creative coach who has worked with brands including Vogue, Nike, Barbie, British Airways and Google. After years in the creative industry, she trained as a coach following a period of burnout, combining art, business and psychology to support creative entrepreneurs in building lives and businesses that are joyful, impactful and financially sustainable.

In this talk, Jessica shares what truly creates sustainable success for creatives: regulating the nervous system, reshaping limiting beliefs, and building strategy from a place of safety rather than fear.

👀 Read the article on our website: https://bloomerangas.com/blog/jessica-dance-on-building-a-sustainable-creative-business

Emily Sharp is a licensed art therapist and psychotherapist who combines talk therapy with creative expression. From her early work in New York to her current online practice and international retreats, she explores how creativity can support resilience, self-discovery, and joy.

In this talk, Emily reflects on her transition from clinical psychotherapy to art therapy, discusses the importance of creativity in mental health, and shares some of the tools and techniques she uses in her practice to activate creativity and creative flow.

👀 Read the article on our website: https://karalyte.com/emily-sharp-on-activating-creativity-through-art-therapy/

👥 For more inspiration:Join our Substack community at https://creativity.bloomerangas.com and subscribe to the @Bloomerangas YouTube channel.

Formafantasma is a research-driven design studio founded in 2009 by Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin.

Their work ranges from products and spatial projects to installations and exhibitions, created both independently and in collaboration with brands such as Hermès, Lexus, Max Mara, and Bvlgari.

In this talk, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin open up about their creative process. They dive deeper into the thinking behind projects such as Prada Frames and Staging Modernity for Cassina, reflect on design’s responsibility in a complex world, and share their perspective on ethics, AI, and working with brands in more meaningful ways.

👀 Read the article on our website: https://karalyte.com/formafantasma-on-a-creative-process-rooted-in-imagination-and-responsibility/

👥 For more inspiration:Join our Substack community at https://creativity.bloomerangas.com and subscribe to the @Bloomerangas YouTube channel.

Discover more of Formafantasma’s work at https://formafantasma.com and https://www.instagram.com/formafantasma/.

Tina Touli is a London‑based designer working across disciplines. Known for blending the analogue with the digital, she mixes materials and technologies in inventive ways. Her curiosity has led her to create phygital experiences, experimenting with materials, techniques, sound, and surroundings.

In this talk, we explore creative expression through phygital experiences — spaces where physicality and technology meet, and where play opens the door to a more intuitive creative flow. Tina reflects on experimentation as a core design practice, how personal projects feed into client work, and how tools like AI can support — but not replace — a designer’s creative voice.

👀 Read the article on our website: https://karalyte.com/what-is-a-phygital-experience-tina-touli-on-creative-experimentation-across-mediums/

👥 For more inspiration:

Join our Substack community at https://creativity.bloomerangas.com and subscribe to the Bloomerangas YouTube channel https://studio.youtube.com/@bloomerangas.

Today we felt a little down, so we went out for dessert — because for us, dessert is a kind of therapy that always works. 🍰✨

We talk about our emotions and how they influence our creativity. We reflect on communication and how it can shift a dynamic and create a safe space to be yourself — and for others to feel safe around you. We also talk about how emotions build up when they stay unspoken, the courage it takes to communicate honestly, and how small routines and little joys help us move through down days.

As this year comes to an end, we’re wishing you a beautiful holiday season and a gentle start to the new year. Thank you for being with us, for listening, and for sharing this space with us — we’re really grateful to have you here.

💬 What routines help you through those down days? We’d love to hear.

✨ Subscribe to our Substack channel https://creativity.bloomerangas.com , and let’s jump into 2026 together.

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More from us:

🎥 https://www.youtube.com/@bloomerangas

🌐 https://karalyte.com/bloomerangas

📷 https://www.instagram.com/bloomerangas/

In this episode, we explore the idea of repackaging your creative work. I’m sure you’re familiar with the situation of having leftover materials that aren’t being utilised. In our case, it’s different cards we don’t include in packages or fabrics left from setting up our creative studio.

But it doesn’t mean they have to quietly sit in the corner waiting for their time to shine. You can think of new ways to mix and match them and let them materialise into new products. It’s part of the creative process — and a great way to train your creative muscle.

Let us know what you end up creating!

🎄 P.S. If you’re still thinking about creative gifts for your funky friends, our pillows and ties make a perfect gift. You can grab them here - https://karalyte.com/shop/#goodies.

If you enjoyed this video, make sure to subscribe to our Substack (https://creativity.bloomerangas.com) and join us on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@bloomerangas) 💛

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More from Bloomerangas:

🌐 https://karalyte.com/bloomerangas

📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomerangas/