This is a quote from Rod Judkins’ book which he kindly gave to me on my first day at Central Saint Martins where I had enrolled in a short course called 100 Design Projects and he was leading it.

As a product designer at Monzo I get to work on a lot of interesting stuff - like launching our account for kids, designing new features for our paid plans and dipping my toes into marketing, copywriting, brand design, research, and so much more. There’s never a dull moment but I still felt a desire to express myself in other ways, to challenge my brain with something completely new and unrelated to tech or finance.

At Monzo we have a generous learning budget every year. Initially I was planning to use it for conferences or books (don’t we all) but my manager encouraged me to think more deeply about what I really wanted. Truthfully I was craving that feeling of being a student again. I even revisited my university portfolio with a certain sense of nostalgia, thinking “Was I more creative back then?”.

When I read the description of what 100 Design Projects would entail I was so excited that I took the plunge and signed up. I spent the following six Saturdays with a few other students in a messy classroom, letting my thoughts bounce from one topic to another like a ping pong ball. 

In the first 15 minutes of the course Rod showed us how powerful it is to surprise and intrigue your audience in order to grab their attention. Don’t be afraid to break common conventions and make people wonder  “What’s next?”.

He therefore started the course with no formal introduction and pleasantries. Instead we were instructed to choose any letter “O” from the magazines in front of us and draw it anywhere on a big sheet of paper. After a few more letters, we realised that he had made us draw the word “CHAOS” in a rather…chaotic way. It was a clever ploy to get us completely immersed right away. Later we all got to know each other by explaining our drawings and our thought process.

The rest of the course was about giving us small briefs and we had to come up with quick concepts in 10-15 minutes. There was no time to overthink or perfect our work. I didn’t have to stress about every detail and each brief was different from the one before.

Here are a couple of examples of my imperfect 10 min projects which I did during the course, and what they taught me about my own creative spark

I love puzzles, fantasy and murder mysteries so my first thought was that the entrance of my bookstore needs to reflect my own character. I started with a big black wall for a bit of drama. Usually you’d find books on the window display to lure you in but I was going for “Adventure awaits. Enter at your own peril”. I also wanted people to get lost inside and discover books they might not have expected. That’s why the space inside is actually a maze as hinted by the only plaque above the door.

My advice is to always be true to yourself and find a way to sprinkle a little bit of your own personality in every project. It could be as simple as an illustration or a piece of copy.

Arthur Pedrink was a famous British inventor known for his 162 unusable and sometimes totally bonkers patents. He was probably one of the least successful entrepreneurs of the 60s and 70s. Arthur also loved his cat very much. That’s why my immediate idea was to create a monument that followed the spirit of his inventions. A cute cat-shaped sign tells visitors to climb up a hill where there’s an expectation to see something grand. But at the top there’s actually a big hole in the ground and the monument is erected downwards. People can’t really see much. It’s totally impractical - just like most of Arthur’s patents. 

I found it really inspiring that Arthur didn’t give up. He was passionate about his work despite never finding success.

London is my home and I love it for the most part. There are so many tourist attractions and landmarks but that’s not what came to my mind at first. I was having a particularly grumpy day about how much litter I see every day on the streets, how popular fast food restaurants are amid an obesity crisis and how my high street has every betting shop you can possibly think of. So the postcard ended up depicting the bad rather than the good, but it felt nice to let it all out on paper.

Don’t let things bubble up inside you - sometimes anger, sadness and disappointment can be a fuel for creativity too.

Your job is probably throwing all sorts of curveballs at you. And ultimately product design is about problem solving.  Shift your mindset and accept every challenge as an opportunity to iterate, try something new and learn. Worst case scenario you’ll have a story to tell at the end. 

Ask yourself “What is the best idea I’ve ever had? How did it come about? What was my worst?

I always get lightbulb moments when I’m not actually at work - like cycling, cooking or even in the shower. It’s when I’m on my own, focused, and without my phone to distract me. Perhaps this is because in these situations I can really listen to my own thoughts.

If you feel like something’s missing, don’t be afraid to break the routine and create a little project for yourself that’s not related to your job. For example, you could design your own furniture - I’ve tried it and it’s one of the most rewarding projects I’ve ever completed. Or you could go out for a walk and aim to find all letters in the alphabet through random objects and shapes. I was asked to do something similar during the 100 Design Projects course and it was so fun to really discover the tiniest details on the street.

As designers we face so many rules, restrictions, opinions - it’s easy to get boxed up, to start being repetitive, to play it safe. Think about a recent workshop that you’ve led. Did you enjoy organising it? If not, then how would you expect your audience to find it engaging if you didn’t either? Allow yourself to play around with new formats, create your own ice-breakers, tell stories. For example, I had to give a presentation once for our Under 16s account team. I wanted everyone to get into the mindset of children and to feel a bit more playful. I asked my audience to go back in time, remember what they cared about as a 13 years old and mock up their dream bank card. 

The reason I’m sharing all of this is because I don’t want you to lose your passion for design just because of a difficult project, endless admin or a busy schedule. Even small changes to your habits and mindset could lead to something wonderful.

If you're interested in working at Monzo, check out our career page 🚀