June is LGBTQ Pride, a month to recognize the various identities within the community and commemorate their contributions to society. Pride events began as protests but they are increasingly a time for celebration. As Pride festivities become more mainstream and corporatized, the events run the… Read More »A More Creative Pride
One of the most joyful experiences of my young life was when I performed in a one-act play entitled “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” at the age of 15. I later realized that the play was a dramatic adaptation of a short story by F. Scott… Read More »Daring Words, Creative Action, and Bobbed Hair
Welcome to the launch of mattdesingcreative.com, a website and blog that focus on creativity in all aspects of life. I am excited that you are visiting this page and invite you to explore its content. In this post, I explain my approach to creativity, the… Read More »The Site Launch
Both sides of my mother’s family immigrated from Norway at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. My grandparents spoke Norwegian to each other at home and wrote letters in Norwegian to their families back in their former homeland. Many of… Read More »Heritage, Diversity, and Creativity
I spent decades running from my emotions; instead of admitting happiness or sadness, anger or disappointment, I opted for giving the impression of simply feeling “fine.” It turns out that the denial of my emotions also hindered the expression of my creativity. Our emotions, like… Read More »Emotions, Culture, and Creativity
The tradition of the May basket is a way of welcoming spring and celebrating companionship that is sadly passing from cultural memory in contemporary society. In the U.S., the custom had its heyday in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and while it has… Read More »May Baskets
From the most talented artists to those of us who are just beginning to re-engage with our imagination, we all have creative endeavors that are in fragile states. Inner and outer forces may pressure us to share those fragile pieces of inspiration with others and… Read More »Protecting Our Creativity
What were you doing the last time that inspiration hit? Were you daydreaming in a rocking chair, folding t-shirts, taking a shower, or walking in nature? It turns out that cognitive scientists have discovered a brain state that is conducive to creativity and that there… Read More »Walking, Repetition, and the Mind
I take most topics that arise in public discourse these days as opportunities to think about creativity. With the prominence of racially motivated violence in our society recently (and always), along with all types of discrimination at the forefront of cultural and political rhetoric, the… Read More »Inclusion is Creative, Prejudice is Not
I loved to experiment with color as a child and only wanted to create things if they were bright and colorful. I knew that color was meaningful, and although I couldn’t put words to it when I was young, I began to realize that there… Read More »Color and Creativity