There has always been a working thesis in my practice, which the work tends to either challenge or confirm; if Design can exist better with Art. One implies the intent of use, while the other can simply exist. Emotion, irrationality, expression, personal. Design asks, it functions and it mediates. But often times the genre of design that earned my curiosity are the ones where these lines are blurred. A Isamu Noguchi paper lantern behaves like furniture and provides light as a function, but its construct and approach shaped light as poetry. Bruno Munari’s graphic design principles along with his famed “Useless Machine” in 1933 challenges function within an object. Or Ettore Sottsass that made impossible shapes in cabinets and prints through the Memphis Group in the 80s. While design served purpose, there is much to learn how Art helped amplify function.

 

In contemporary practice, popular culture has dissected this thought and produced work that increased the surface area for creativity to exist across disciplines. Fashion became architecture. Retail became theatre. Branding became world-building. The role of the creative today is no longer confined to a singular medium, but rather the ability to shape feeling, behaviour, memory, and perspective through many forms at once. The boundaries between art direction, spatial design, image-making, motion, objects, sound, and storytelling have become increasingly porous, allowing ideas to move more freely between industries and audiences alike.

 

Spaces to Think was born from this intersection and this curiosity. On this beautiful journey of discovery, I do believe in an ongoing framework for observation, experimentation, and cultural conversation. An agency where ideas are allowed to expand beyond format, and where process is treated with equal importance as outcome. We are interested in work that functions clearly, but also leaves room for Art. Work that understands systems, while still preserving humanity. All we have is one another, after all.

 

Spaces to Think runs through a growing friendship of artists, designers, directors, writers, strategists, animators, musicians, architects, and image-makers across disciplines. We pair the right people for the job. Finding nuances is part of the gig and also my personal interest,  assembling the most thoughtful combination of people for the task at hand — pairing distinct voices, perspectives, and sensibilities to projects where they can contribute at the highest of levels. 

 

At its core, Spaces to Think is built on the belief that creativity should not only solve problems, but deepen how we experience the world around us. That design can hold emotion. That art can sharpen utility. And that somewhere between both disciplines exists a more meaningful way to communicate, connect, and create.

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- Jont