The Creative Condition podcast

By Ben TallonArts Design

The Creative Condition podcast episodes

January 08, 2025 The Creativity Diary Entry 3: Listening properly, a sunrise for one, and ludicrous big Santa slippers
In this edition of The Creativity Diary:

Listening properly. Some reflections after reading Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan's Unheard: The Medical Practice of Silencing.

Reading wide and reading well: why only reading about the topic you're trying to master doesn't work for everyone, and is not conducive to creativity.

I was the only person in the world to see this sunrise and why that reminds us of our value and unique power.

An uncomfortable eccentric in Ryman Stationery and shaking up the peace.

The struggle to title myself, and why living in a big tech world demands flexibility in the application of creativity.

A strange vicarious joy in the idling of a friend at Christmas, and what it tells me.

The wild imaginations of children and what we adults can learn.

Supported by the founding sponsor Illustration X. See their global range of illustration and animation portfolios at https://illustrationx.com

Head to https://thecreativecondition.com for coaching, reading list, diary and the podcast archive!
33 min
December 18, 2024 Ep 254: Leonardo Da Vinci... lessons from the ultimate polymath and nature discussed with fly fisher David Ladensohn
The final episode of The Creative Condition for 2024 is a deep dive into the lessons of the world's greatest-ever polymath Leonardo Da Vinci. And who better to present them than a Fly-fisher of over 40 years and author of the amazing Fly Fishing with Leonardo Da Vinci – David Ladensohn!?

Leonardo saw no boundaries between all of life's wonders and spent his life exploring them to identify the patterns. A man who painted the Mona Lisa, designed bridges centuries ahead of the capabilities to build them, envisioned the helicopter, and, connecting him with David, obsessively studied water's ways.

He's endlessly fascinating to me and teaches us so much about creativity without limits, so David and I see out the year with a mazy discussion about all of this and more.

Merry Christmas to my beloved listeners, and a creative new year! Please tell a friend about the show, and subscribe on your preferred platform!

Supported by founding sponsor Illustration X who you can visit to see their glorious illustration and animation portfolios at https://illustrationx.com

The Creative Condition website is now live at https://thecreativecondition.com where you'll find creativity resources and coaching opportunities.

To get Fly Fishing with Leonardo Da Vinci, head here!

1 hr 43 min
December 11, 2024The Creativity Diary: Entry 2
The second installment of The Creative Condition podcast's 'The Creativity Diary'.

This edition contains thoughts on:
The maturity trap: why an encounter with a police officer, my dog, and a tennis ball conjured a 14-year-old 'fitting in' mindset.
The inarticulable sense of belonging somewhere at the right time.
Appearance and perception
AI bots commenting on posts and the subsequent etiquette dilemma as AI ups its bot game
The importance of getting the house in order before trying to create
Reappraising my relationship with social media and the impact of getting older on deciding where time is spent
Supported as ever by the founding show sponsor https://illustrationx.com

Please consider sharing, commissioning, or critiquing the work of the brave Ukrainian creative community at https://ui.org.ua

Visit https://thecreativecondition.com for The Creative Condition's resources to support your creativity including books, articles, the diary, coaching and consultation!
24 min
December 04, 2024 Ep 253: Disney’s ex Head of Innovation and Creativity Duncan Wardle
For over 25 years, Duncan Wardle drove creativity and innovation at Disney. He sent Buzz Lightyear into space with NASA, almost had Roger Rabbit eliminated by agents after Princess Diana was put in danger, and oversaw a U.S. President-sanctioned parade for a special turkey at Disneyland.

But more importantly, he's sharing the inner workings of his creative thinking in a superb new cookbook-style recipe format book, The Imagination Emporium.

He joins me to cut through a monstrous amount of topics around AI, imagination, how to break through the misperception that only some people are creative, and why businesses routinely overlook creativity's role in progression.

Supported as ever by founding sponsor Illustration X: https://illustrationx.com

https://www.whsmith.co.uk/Product/Duncan-Wardle/The-Imagination-Emporium--Creative-Recipes-for-Innovation/15598381?awaid=3017&utm_source=redbrain&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=css&gclid=CjwKCAiA0rW6BhAcEiwAQH28IpF-hV7ZWc6Q_EK7Rjh2d98jEYYVr3MDGbYuu69fRR7oIB-en_SUbBoCZtwQAvD_BwE

Please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! And please, TELL A FRIEND ABOUT THE SHOW!

To see the information on the group and individual coaching opportunities, head here!

https://thecreativecondition.com for The Creative Condition book and the brand new 'Anatomy of Creativity' map.

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/@_TheCreativeCondition

1 hr 8 min
November 27, 2024 Ep 252: The Dark Night Survival Kit
The dark nights are here. It takes more work for those of us on the wintry side of the globe to manage our thoughts and not fall victim to the harsher conditions. Pulled from the 'Anatomy of Creativity' coaching framework and my experiences/the wisdom of others, here are 8 suggestions to help you maintain optimal creativity and good mental health while we're under Gotham skies.

Supported as ever by founding sponsor Illustration X: https://illustrationx.com

The list:

1. Get offline
2. Get out more
3. Read Not the End of the World by Hannah Ritchie
4. Practice 'whole body mental health'
5. Play, be silly, get out of 'the maturity trap'
6. Get to know your deathbed self
7. Conduct an emotional creativity health check and make unconditionally
8. Take care of your relationship with money

Please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! And please, TELL A FRIEND ABOUT THE SHOW!

To see the information on the group and individual coaching opportunities, head here!

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book and the brand new 'Anatomy of Creativity' map.

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/@_TheCreativeCondition

52 min
November 20, 2024 Ep 251: Synoptic Office, the New York-based design agency bringing art and culture to more people through tech
Synoptic Office is an award-winning design agency founded by Caspar Lam and YuJune Park. They work globally with leading cultural, civic, and business organizations to communicate ideas, build experiences, and cultivate new audiences.

We talk about their work across design and education, and their brilliant projects digging into cultural institution archives to bring art to more people via technology.

Caspar and Yujune also share the history of the agency.

https://www.synopticoffice.com/

Please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! And please, TELL A FRIEND ABOUT THE SHOW!

To see the information on the group and individual coaching opportunities, head here!

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book and the brand new 'Anatomy of Creativity' map.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here:

https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/@_TheCreativeCondition
1 hr 14 min
November 13, 2024 The Creativity Diary: Entry 1
The first of an ongoing series of thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and tips around creativity and its inner workings.

Biophilia, eco-anxiety, the unconscious mind, less-screen time, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the imagination in children and adults, 24/7 news cycles and elections, and more are covered.

Music by Dirty Freud

Supported by https://illustrationx.com

https://ui.org.ua to help the Ukrainian Insititute

The Creative Condition book is out now https://bentallonwriter.com/shop

Ben Tallon Illustration https://bentallon.com

35 min
November 06, 2024 Ep 250: UK grey! Talking to applied colour psychology expert Justine Fox about colour in the urban environment and its impact on mental health
We're heading into dark nights season. These panic-fuelled days can be tough. Here in the UK I often lament the dreary, soggy, TO-LET addled high streets and the way they assail already tested moods. So I picked up the colour psychologist bat phone and called Justine Fox.

Justine is an expert in applied colour psychology and we're getting into the opportunity to do more with our urban environments, to promote more consideration for the impact of colour, and what needs to happen to shift perception away from luxury and folly to a key player in the visual landscape when it comes to mental health.

Please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! And please, TELL A FRIEND ABOUT THE SHOW!

To see the information on the group and individual coaching opportunities, head here!

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book and the brand new 'Anatomy of Creativity' map.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here:

https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

https://justinefox.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?fetchDeterministicClustersOnly=true&heroEntityKey=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_profile%3AACoAAACGWb0B-2Rf6Tyjo10qlj5pwp2IDbKjTy0&keywords=justine%20fox&origin=RICH_QUERY_SUGGESTION&position=0&searchId=fda4694c-99a7-45b4-b617-0137b66da119&sid=JOC&spellCorrectionEnabled=false

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cFn73Vu6H09UmkPzhBivC - Max Ottignon in conversation

Shaun Ryder in conversation: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6astuM9Yh9wqnGwmI4p2Bt

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/@_TheCreativeCondition
1 hr 16 min
October 30, 2024 Ep 249: Why watching The Walking Dead gives me comfort and what it tells us about creativity
Lights off, blankets on, The Walking Dead on, forget about the world's insanity for one hour. Many of us can relate to that feeling, but what are the deeper themes?

I drill down into the sense of comfort I get when I watch survival horror, or played those old Resident Evil games. It's not that I want everything to collapse, but could there be a better balance? What is 'evolutionary mismatch' and what can we learn from this comforting feeling about the foundations of our creativity?

Please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! And please, TELL A FRIEND ABOUT THE SHOW!

To see the information on the group and individual coaching opportunities, head here!

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book and the brand new 'Anatomy of Creativity' map.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

https://raggededge.com/

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cFn73Vu6H09UmkPzhBivC - Max Ottignon in conversation

Shaun Ryder in conversation: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6astuM9Yh9wqnGwmI4p2Bt

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/@_TheCreativeCondition
57 min
October 23, 2024 Ep 248: The personal brand. Standing out by being yourself to the extreme.
I don't care what you do. I care who you are. What moves you, what excites you, what you're bad at, what you find funny, what trauma you've suffered. That's your brand. Not your logo, or website, or profession. These things matter, but without knowing yourself and projecting it in everything you do, they are irrelevant.

Today I'm discussing a recent loss of confidence, how it was remedied, and what I learned about the personal brand I always trusted and made a creative industry career possible.

Please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe to the show! And please, TELL A FRIEND ABOUT THE SHOW!

To see the information on the group and individual coaching opportunities, head here!

https://bentallonwriter.com/shop for The Creative Condition book and the brand new 'Anatomy of Creativity' map.

Sponsored as ever by https://illustrationx.com who have a superb new quarterly illustration trends report here: https://www.illustrationx.com/uk/news/5992/trendx_-_april_2024

https://raggededge.com/

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cFn73Vu6H09UmkPzhBivC - Max Ottignon in conversation

Shaun Ryder in conversation: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6astuM9Yh9wqnGwmI4p2Bt

and the Ukrainian Institute https://ui.org.ua

Hosted by Ben Tallon https://bentallon.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-tallon-a822a725/

https://www.youtube.com/@_TheCreativeCondition
49 min

About The Creative Condition podcast

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to 'The Creative Condition' podcast: a show to help you thrive in creative industry careers, tell your greatest story, and lead a fulfilling life on your terms. Creativity coach, illustrator, and author Ben Tallon and his many guests help you navigate an increasingly automated world with human creativity.