Curious
A positive guide to serious change. Curious is our substack exploring ideas, insights, and prompts across culture, creativity, and change. Each piece is written to help brand leaders cut through the noise, think long-term, and move from reacting to shaping.
The Power of Wit
We need to feel an emotion other than rage or anxiety for one hot minute. And if you’re in the business of creating change, do it with a carrot not a stick.
Into the Archives, Middle Power Moves and Smart is Sexy (again)
How might we build more and criticise less? What would the first small step toward that look like this week?
Work in Progress with Maria Izvestkina
“What excites me most is the return of craft in film. It feels like filmmakers are building worlds with care again. There’s something hopeful about watching filmmakers choose storytelling over spectacle and atmosphere over formula.”
How Will We Connect in 2036?
Instead of the usual more, more more trajectory, a thought experiment worth trying out is imagining the internet as we know it getting shut off. How would we connect, find work, bank?
Human-centred Socials and Multi-Lingual Music
We optimised for engagement and got enshittification. What comes after engagement-led algorithms, and who gets to design them?
Work in Progress with Remi & Bella
“I wish there was more optimism in the world. I know in this current time that feels like a very big ask and maybe I’m insane. But I do believe that as humans we will always get through periods of hardship and continue to evolve.”
Down With Despair
“The global context has not been easy since we started. The headwinds have been strong, but we can’t just wait for the headwinds to stop blowing, or we’ll never get anywhere.”
Launching Lore, Change in Fashion and Rebuilding EU
Signals on intergenerational fairness, rebuilding social platforms in Europe, H&M Foundation Global Change Awards and the launch of LORE, making-sense of fragmented fandoms.
Work in Progress with Matthew Knight
“Hirers can (and should) play a part in better supporting the mental health of their freelancers, so we’ve built a set of stepped principles which clients can consider.”
Experience Design, Back to Basics and A New Vision for Masculinity
Signals on designing inclusive and meaningful experiences, designing for word-of-mouth and tactility, and what Gen-Alpha really want in male role models.
Entertainer Brands
Entertainment doesn't necessarily require massive budgets or major personalities. But as a strategy, it has much more potential to integrate across your business than you may realise.
Work in Progress with Lydia Brearley
“There’s so much going on in the wider context of the world, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and just carry on doing what you’ve always done.”
Work in Progress with Anu Lingala
“It’s a signal that we may finally be reaching a real inflection point in our relationship with social media.”
Joy is The Moat, Circularity First and Going Deeper Offline
Signals on reclaiming joy, designing for circularity not extraction and getting offline to create the things you wish existed.
Work in Progress with Charlotte Rubesa
“It's the first physical 'thing' I've ever made, there's something deeply satisfying about holding an idea in your hands.”
The Only Thing More Powerful than Hate is Love
That’s what creativity is supposed to do: remind us we’re not alone in all this.
Benito Bowl, Spotify the Bookshop and Real Connections
Signals on reclaiming joy, designing for connection not extraction and getting offline to create the things you wish existed.
Action Not Apathy
It’s easy to get stuck, wheels-spinning just critiquing broken systems forever, but real progress and forward action comes from imagining alternatives…and building them. Messy, imperfect and bit by bit as they are.
Ambient Uncertainty, Scroll Stopping and Big Fire Horse Energy
When trust is on the floor it means it’s now the most important thing. Trust is now the competitive advantage.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Real change rarely comes from fighting old structures alone. It comes from designing new ones.
Case in Point
Real work. Real outcomes.
Case studies of how we’ve helped brands and teams move from uncertainty to action.
Get in Touch
Better futures begin with a conversation. Let’s discuss what’s next for you.