Memos

A conversation on Mexican street artist and muralist Akay’s podcast about creativity, wellbeing and the habits that help sustain a creative life. Emmi shares her experience of burnout, the thinking behind the Creative Ecosystem, and practical ways to protect and replenish creativity.

A feature by ThisisFINLAND, the official website of Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, explores the Finnish influences behind the Creative Ecosystem and The Creative Wellbeing Handbook. The article follows Emmi’s journey from burnout to developing a five-step framework for creativity, balance and joy.

A wellbeing afternoon at Allas Pool! Helsinki, run by Emmi. Recharge with fresh perspectives on creative resilience, take a breath by the sea and pool, and connect with fellow Grafia members.

I’m heading to Design Thinkers Vancouver, Canada’s largest graphic design conference, where I'll be running two workshops. In the Wonder session, we’ll look at how everyday inspiration can help ideas expand in fresh and unexpected ways. In the Pause session, we’ll explore how making space for calm, reflection and reset can help you hear what your creative spirit has been trying to tell you all along.

Explore everyday with inspiration and wonder - 1 hour workshop with Emmi Salonen, part of Creative Health and Wellbeing Day in London. Women in Art Fair’s Creative Health Day brings together artists, creatives, and cultural professionals for a restorative programme supporting sustainable creative practice. The programme is designed to inform, inspire and reconnect you with your creative self.

I’m beyond excited to be speaking at Munich Creative Business Week, Germany’s biggest design event. Join me on Monday 4th May as we open a week of events around this year’s theme, Playground of Possibilities.

In this conversation with Nicola Hamilton, we talk about burnout, systems, slowness, education, and what it really means to protect your creative energy in an industry that often demands constant output. We also talk about typography, control, joy, and the small signals we ignore when we’re pushing too hard.

The latest episode features Emmi Salonen, who recommends ‘The Artist’s Way’ as her book club choice. We talked about the writing and designing of her latest book ‘The Creative Wellbeing Handbook - How to fuel creativity, find balance and stay inspired’.

Feeling a little creatively tangled or running on empty? Come discover your personal Creative Ecosystem in this two hour workshop, with author and designer Emmi Salonen. Limited tickets!
L.F. Markey
Dalston store
Sunday 8th March
10am-12noon

SOLD OUT Join us at Pentagram London for an inspiring evening with Emmi Salonen on Thursday 5 March 2026.
📅 Thursday 5 March 2026
6.30pm – Welcome drinks
7:00pm – Talk begins
7:45–9:00pm – Q&A + drinks

I'm speaking at the whatimpact VCSE Summit on 11 March. A free, virtual event, bringing together 1,000+ VCSE organisations to share honest insight and practical support across the sector. If leadership has felt heavy lately, this session is designed to create space, not add more load.
Register free for 11 March
https://lnkd.in/e_F7-55E
My talk starts at 12noon.

A new year can bring big intentions but our day-to-day is made of smaller patterns. Together with Lisbon based artists and designers Rita João and Elizabeth Olwen, Emmi Salonen will explore how to bring more ease, colour and curiosity into your days.
Second Home
LISBON, Portugal
Thu 19. February 2026
18:30-20:30

In this episode of Building you Brand, Liz Mosley talks with Emmi about the lessons she has learned as a creative, including her personal journey through burnout and taking a year-long sabbatical. Emmi has chatted to hundreds of other creatives about their struggles, and she shares those insights alongside practical exercises to help nurture your creativity.

BERLIN 14.2.26 With Sonja Pham and Emmi Salonen - A Valentines Day conversation about the highs and lows of creative work, and how to keep going through both.
Sat 14th February, 18:00-19:30
At Buchhandlung Moritzplatz
FREE but registration via e-mail required - info@buchhandlung-moritzplatz.de

The NDA Podcast episode ‘Is Burnout Inevitable?’ listed The Creative Wellbeing Handbook in their resources, and gave it a mention at the end of the show. Click to listen to the full episode.

The final lesson in the series is a gentle reset for January. It’s about dreaming first, then building small rhythms that actually stick. We’ll put it all into practice at Creative Wellbeing Reset on Thursday 22 Jan 2026 at St Bride Foundation Book via the link in the article. Do come say hi! We’ve made space to recharge, together.

A feature by It’s Nice That explores Emmi’s journey through burnout and the development of the Creative Ecosystem, described as a radical model that shifts the focus from creative output to the inputs that sustain it. The article also takes an in-depth look at The Creative Wellbeing Handbook, its five areas and the global creative voices featured throughout.

In Lesson #19 in my 20-part series, I share how I baked sustainability into my design practice – and how you can too, whatever the brief. It’s all about  small, repeatable choices that shrink your footprint (direct impact) and grow your brainprint (the change your work enables).

Some presents look nice on a shelf. Others actually change how a day feels. For Lesson 18 I’m thinking about the second kind – gifts that say “I see how hard you’re trying” and offer a way back to your own spark. That’s the hope behind The Creative Wellbeing Handbook too – a gift that refuels tired creatives with stories, space to think, and small steps they can actually use.

KIN magazine has run my article ‘How hustle culture is dimming your spark — and how to get it back’, where I unpack my burnout-and-back story. It leads into my new book, The Creative Wellbeing Handbook, and the Creative Ecosystem: Connection, Wonder, Pause, Movement and Joy – a simple way to keep your creativity alive.

Vacayou believes travel can change lives. It did for me. In this piece, Shelly Nyqvist talks to me about my year of “Inspiration Expedition” — or, more bluntly, my burnout recovery year.

For Lesson #17 in my 20-part series, I’m sharing what helps teams keep their creativity alive when things get hectic – from quick inspiration hours to walk-and-talk reviews.

A monthly magazine by Design Matters run an article about my new book. DeMagSign believes passionately in the power of creative inspiration, and by showcasing the most exciting and captivating work online and through their events programs, they open up this world to the widest possible audience.

If creativity is a delicate ecosystem, how do we keep things in balance? Emmi Salonen’s new book explores creative burnout. The designers radical model for creativity shifts the focus from output to input – focusing on all the things that feed into our creative process: “Connection, wonder, pause, movement, and joy.”

A sabbatical mostly spent in the Finnish archipelago helped me see what I’d been missing. Surrounded by forests and sea, I realised that creativity isn’t fuelled by hustle alone. It needs variety. Connection. Space. Joy. That experience became the starting point for my Creative Ecosystem model, a framework to help creatives stay inspired without burning out. Click for Lesson #16 of my 20-part series.

Burnout is changing. It’s less “I’m exhausted” and more “where did my curiosity go?” I spoke to Design Week about what I’m seeing: AI pressure, attention drain and approval cycles that stretch on.. My recommendation is to plan to 80%. Build in pause. Protect the inputs creativity runs on.

"Don't wait for inspiration. Schedule it: read, move, meet people, notice things and keep doing it when you're busy." Studio Emmi founder and creative director, Emmi Salonen invites us into her world of design, sharing how nature, time, and joy shape her approach to creating with purpose. Click through to read more.

Wellbeing in creative education isn’t optional. If we want the next generation of designers to thrive, we have to teach them how to sustain themselves, not just their work. If we want their ideas to change the world, we need to make sure they have the energy to create it. Lesson #15 in my 20-part series is about supporting students’ creative wellbeing.

When you run a solo practice you wear every hat. Designer, project manager, admin, marketer. It’s easy to pour everything into the work and hope the numbers sort themselves out. They don’t. Lesson #14 in my 20-part series is about looking after your financial wellbeing – and how a few small shifts can turn stress into sustained stability.

I joined Katie Treggiden on Brackish podcast and goodness, what a host she is! She’s one of the very few people who’ve read an early copy of my book, and her enthusiasm is so generous - and contagious! We cover how the The Creative Wellbeing Handbook came to be, click on the image to listen.

Creative Review ran an extract from my new book today! It’s a small window into the tools and stories behind The Creative Wellbeing Handbook. Follow the links in my bio to read the article and pre-order. Released in November (Europe) and April (rest of the planet Earth). Click to link to the article.

The Creative Wellbeing Handbook is for anyone who’s felt stuck, overwhelmed or in need of a spark - whether you’re a designer, writer, artist, or anyone trying to stay inspired while juggling life’s demands. Out this November (Europe) and April (everywhere else). Pre-order: https://www.creativeecosystem.org/book

We can’t sustain creative output unless we also take and make space for our own wellbeing. That means working in cycles, not sprints. Building in rest and reflection as part of the process, not as a guilty afterthought. If we’re too burnt out to enjoy creating, can the project ever be measured as a success?

As designers, we’ve all had those moments when feedback feels more confusing than helpful. But I’ve learned how to spot the value in all feedback – however vague, conflicting, or frustrating. In Lesson #12, I’m sharing how I approach feedback when presenting my work. From preparing for the presentation to listening between the lines, this one’s all about turning client reactions into stronger and smarter designs.

When Somerset House asked me to design the interpretation graphics for Beano: The Art of Breaking the Rules, I had full permission to misbehave. The result was a riot of colour and comic play, all in service of great storytelling. For Lesson #11 of my 20-part series, I’m sharing what Beano Studios taught me about creative mischief and why breaking the rules isn’t just for kids with catapults – it’s also for professionals with purpose.

Not all design needs to make a grand entrance. Some of it works best behind the scenes, helping everything else shine. With that in mind, I created a bold yet minimal graphic system for Hidden Gallery, a visual identity designed to support some of the biggest names in art. For Insight #10 of my 20-part series, I’m sharing a lesson in quiet confidence.

Inspiration isn’t limited to a reference library. It’s about opening up to what might want to be found – and paying attention when it arrives. Some of my best ideas haven’t come from the obvious places. They’ve come from chance encounters, unexpected comments, or patterns that kept surfacing until I finally noticed. This kind of inspiration can’t exactly be planned for, but there are ways to invite it in. So for Insight #9 of my 20-part series, I’m sharing: How to stumble across your own inspiration.

There’s a classic design request we’ve all heard: “Can you make the logo bigger?” At Pick Me Up, Somerset House’s graphic arts festival, I got to do exactly that – in the best possible way. The identity started as a simple pencil sketch. But through creative collaboration with Chrissie Macdonald, the Somerset House team, and a brilliant group of fabricators and facilitators, the idea grew.

This November I will be speaking at Czechia’s biggest conference for graphic designers. Early bird tickets are now live, get yours and come join me at this inspiring event! A conference by designers, for designers – yet open to all creative minds hungry for fresh perspectives. Top speakers from across Europe will challenge the way you think about design, process, and the future of creativity.

Architecture by Chris Dyson Architects, The Greenhill Building won a RIBA London Award – and we couldn’t be more thrilled for the whole team! Built using CLT for low carbon impact, with its bold red corrugated façade and distinctive serrated roof, it honours the site’s past while looking firmly to the future. We designed signage for key parts of the Harrow Arts Centre campus, along with interior wayfinding for the Greenhill Building, helping visitors navigate and enjoy the space with ease.

Let’s design things worth keeping. And ways of working that sustain us. Lesson #7 explores how lasting value is created – through care, storytelling, collaboration and craft. From a beloved stool to a well-used identity, the designs we cherish are the ones made to mean something, and made to last.

When a brand gets handed over, it often loses something along the way. But by mentoring Centre for London’s in-house designer, we built it together – making sure it worked for real-life use, and would be used as intended. A handover doesn’t have to mean letting go. Read how to make it happen.

I’ll be speaking and joining the panel discussion at Design Declares in Manchester on 23rd May 2025. The event will focus on the impact of materials and product efficiency, and how a ‘lean’ design approach can lead to more effective solutions in response to the climate crisis. I’ll be sharing ways to align visual identity with values for deeper impact using the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Click to buy a ticket!

Asking better questions doesn’t just lead to more creative designs. It helps uncover the things that matter most, so you can centre your design around them. Before redesigning the children’s wards at UCLH, we spent time listening. Asking better questions helped us understand what really mattered to the people using the space each day. By doing that, we could turn overlooked spaces into something supportive, joyful and meaningful.

It’s easy to believe great design needs big budgets and big names. But working with local clients – like the laundrette, corner shop or youth hall – can be just as impactful. These collaborations build trust, shape communities, and remind us that small projects can lead to something much bigger than design alone.

I had the joy of being interviewed by Tickle News – the newsletter that celebrates creativity, joy and all things uplifting. We chatted about Creative Ecosystems, Finnish influences, and why design rooted in empathy can go the distance. You can read the full feature and subscribe via ticklenews.substack.com.

I recently shared my Creative Ecosystem talk with Further – a brilliant creative group made up of Analog Studio, DesignStudio and Pixel Artworks. We explored what fuels and drains creativity, in person in London and streamed to teams in New York, Sydney and Dubai. One reflection that stayed with me: “Even for those of us who aren't explicitly creatives, it was really insightful and thought-provoking.” – James, Group Operations Director.

From London to Lisbon, Tokyo to Toronto, I’ve spoken at over 60 events. And no matter how many times I step on a stage, I still get those heart-hammering nerves. But here’s what I’ve learned: stage fright isn’t something to fight, it’s a cue to shift your focus. In my latest article, I share how I went from feeling overwhelmed by pre-talk jitters to seeing speaking as a way to offer something useful.

Over the past two decades, I’ve learned that great design isn’t just about colour, materials, or form – it’s about trust. My long partnerships have been built on shared values, open conversations, and a commitment to each other’s success. That's why my latest article is all about building lasting client relationships – and why it’s about so much more than just sending a Christmas card, or going along to their summer party.

I was interviewed by an MA Graphic Design student Linda Szabo about my approach to creativity. We explored what I wish I knew as a young designer, how to stay inspired, and the beauty of nurturing ideas over time. It’s always refreshing to see design through a student’s eyes – so much curiosity, fresh perspective, and great questions!

To mark the special Studio Emmi 20-year milestone, I’ve launched a GIPHY GIF sticker set (search Studio Emmi in Instagram stories!) designed to spread positivity, fun, and a little design magic. I’d love to see how you use them, share your favourites and tag me, @studioemmi

To celebrate Studio Emmi turning 20 this year, I’m sharing 20 lessons I’ve learned over the past two decades. The first article, How design can bring people together, is live now. It’s about one of my favourite parts of design: its power to connect people, especially around big, dreamy ideas.

Grab the confetti and hold onto your party hats, I’ve been running my design practice for 20 years this year! It has been a whirlwind of creativity, lessons, and plenty of pencil sharpening. There’s so much to look forward to this year, and I can’t wait to share more soon.

In this episode I chat with mindcoach Corine Roesner about creative leadership and management skills. as well as diving deep on burnout – from our own personal experiences with it, to crafting environments that might better prevent it, and the importance of addressing the root issues.

I am now part of the AI for Human Flourishing working group and think tank under the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard's Institute for Quantitative Social Science. In an era where AI is rapidly transforming our world, we believe that with thoughtful guidance and implementation, AI can become a powerful catalyst for enhancing human flourishing.

I hope to meet you at The Design Conference, one of the most anticipated design events in Australia! I will be giving a talk and a workshop on 'What happens when doing what you love burns you out?'. Join me in person or online.

This episode of the Creativity for Sale podcast hosted by Radim Malinic, features an inspiring conversation with Emmi Salonen, a designer and happiness facilitator. 

Join me on Friday the 26th May. I'll be giving a talk followed by a workshop during the International Design Conference about my a holistic approach for a better work-life balance.

Professional creatives based in 17 countries worldwide generously shared their tips and solutions on how to balance creative wellbeing. This report is an opportunity to share them on – so that more creative professionals can avoid burnout and thrive in their work.

The Creative Ecosystem model, developed by Emmi Salonen (Studio Emmi) supports creative thinkers. Sustaining creative wellbeing requires balancing of creative outputs with nourishing inputs. This document outlines the five fundamental types of creative input: Connection, Wonder, Pause, Movement and Joy. 

CEDIM México, a School of Design, has invited me give a talk as part of theirInnovation Programs | ©CEDIM. And you are welcome to join in!

I’m thrilled to be speaking at DesignThinkers Toronto, Canada’s largest annual graphic design conference.
Join me on November 2-3 for this exciting event, where I will be talking about my favourite topic, creative wellbeing.

My talk at the Denmark's Media and Journalism College in Copenhagen was titled 'Positive Creativity: Stories from a Design Journey'.

Knowing where to start with sustainability can be overwhelming, as there's no one-size-fits-all solution; it requires innovation, research, and tailored approaches to each project. Designers with a creative mindset and problem-solving skills, can have a significant positive impact.

In this online course, you will learn how to create visual identities that not only captivate, but also have a positive impact on society and the environment. Emmi will guide you through the process of developing sustainable designs that reflect the values, aspirations, and culture of brands or organizations.

Emmi will give a talk and run a workshop at the Margate Festival of Design. The programme includes talks, workshops and exhibitions that invite you to learn, share ideas, get creative and celebrate the kind of design that allows us to believe that a brighter horizon is possible.

Emmi gave a talk and run a workshop at Design Matters Tokyo 23, Japan. A knowledgeable community of creative and curious minds who share the same drive and passion for digital design, technology, art, and society.

Collaborating on a visual identity design between external and in-house designers is atypical in the industry but could be looked at as an opportunity for upskilling and nurturing creative well-being for a sustainable and successful outcome.

Emmi will run a Creative Ecosystem workshop at All Flows, a two day Creative, Design & Tech Festival in the UK.

In this workshop, sensory designer, Lauren Davies (Heka) and visual designer Emmi Salonen (Studio Emmi) invite you to journey into your creative wellbeing in the travelling Finnish Sauna, this time pausing by the sea in Dover.

In this series, The Now Work profiles some of the incredible change makers in their community. Find out how they're using their strengths to tackle the biggest societal challenges through a flexible career that works for their lifestyle. First up, Emmi Salonen. An independent Creative Director specialising in sustainability communications.