Our creative projects have a funny way of lingering. An idea keeps rolling around in our head that we never find time to act on. That half-finished project is stuck in a notebook or a folder on our computer. We tell ourselves that we’ll get to someday, when there’s more time or we feel ready. Maybe what we really need is accountability.

Release Day on May 29th is our collective deadline to finally share that special thing we’ve been working on.

This story is part of a series celebrating people who participated in Release Day 2025. We hope their stories inspire you to join us this year.

Morgan Duta is a designer, researcher, and lecturer who loves to uncover insights, and bring ideas to life. Recently with Creative Quests, she helped create and publish ‘The Quester’s Guide to Exploring Your World.’ Currently she’s working with Just Looking Press on a book about pigeons.

For Release Day 2025, she released an online zine that showcased a personal project that she’s been working on behind the scenes for years.

^{Screenshot of the cover of Morgan’s zine.}

For nearly a decade, Morgan ended each day by writing down the best moment of the day on a small piece of paper.

What began as a personal ritual slowly became something larger: an archive of joy.

Release Day gave her the push she needed to transform that private archive into a public display of gratitude.

(Please note that this interview has been edited for length and flow.)

Interviewer: Tell us about the project you released.

Morgan: The project actually started about nine years ago. I called it Bright Spots. At the end of every day, I would write down the best part of my day on a small piece of paper.

It became a habit I kept up for years. Eventually I realized I had more than eight years of personal data about my own life.

As a designer and a researcher, that’s a bit of a treasure trove. But it’s also something very meaningful; it’s a record of the best moments.

When Release Day came around and the idea was that everyone would share a personal project, I realized this was my moment to turn all that data into something.

^{Sorting the archive of bright spots.}

Interviewer: What themes emerged as you looked back at all those moments?

Morgan: One big theme was creative community, which feels very fitting for CreativeMornings.

Some of my happiest moments were when I had created something and friends showed up to support me. Or when someone unexpectedly bragged about something I had made.

“I noticed that having people around me that also supported me in my creativity, really impacted me in a in a beautiful way.”

Another theme was trying new things—those moments where curiosity leads you somewhere unexpected.

And another theme was simply creating things. As an industrial designer, I spend a lot of time building prototypes and working with my hands. Seeing something come to life brings me a lot of joy.

^{A collection of bright spots about making things.}

Interviewer: Had you always planned to turn this archive into something?

Morgan: Not exactly. I’d been thinking about it for a long time. A student once heard about bright spots and insisted that I had to do something with it. But nothing ever came of it.

When I heard about Release Day, though, I realized it was exactly the push I needed. I know myself, if there’s a deadline, something will happen. Without one, it’s easy to keep thinking about something forever.

Interviewer: What other executions did you consider?

Morgan: There were so many directions the project could go. You could build a timeline of how life changes over eight years. You could make a website that filters the data by themes—food, friends, seasons. I even thought about creating something like a museum exhibit.

But all of those ideas felt overwhelming. Eventually I realized a zine format would work well because it’s small and approachable.

Interviewer: What was your experience on the actual day of Release Day?

Morgan: I had stayed up late the night before to finish the zine, so I remember feeling exhausted earlier in the day. But then we had this online meeting where people who contributed to release day gathered together to share their creations. And it was quite a personal thing that I’m putting out there, so I was a bit nervous.

“I knew that they were also putting something on the line by releasing their own projects. There were shared amounts of vulnerability. So that was really comforting as well.”

It very quickly turned into a celebration. After that call I had so much energy.

Interviewer: What would you tell someone considering participating in Release Day?

Morgan: Sign up. And don’t overthink it.

You don’t need to know exactly what you’re going to create. Trust the process and trust that other people are going through the same thing. Some people released huge projects. Others shared something small, like a painted postcard. Both are equally valid.

Interviewer: Did the experience change how you approach your creative work?

Morgan: It inspired me to create more small publications. The zine format feels approachable. It’s just a few pages, but suddenly you have something tangible. If I had tried to call it a book, I would have felt overwhelmed.

It also definitely made me more open about sharing things I’m working on.

For a long time, I thought work was only worth sharing once it was finished. But inviting people into the process changed everything. Friends offered ideas and encouragement along the way.

And when Release Day finally arrived, those same people were celebrating with me.

What are you going to release on May 29th?

Learn more about Release Day and join us