Ella Taylor

For November we are excited to feature the young, female designer shaking up the local creative industry with her talent and energy named Ella Taylor who will share her story of creativity through the lens of the global theme 'rhythm'.

Ella is a creative with an influence of marketing and design thinking, composing her career as a graphic designer. She is a recent graduate of the Wilson School of Design program, and has been on the post-grad roller coaster ever since. Her studies led to a few student award wins, but her biggest accomplishment to date has been the opportunity to find her voice through design. She’s (kind of) new here, and unlike her short bio, has lots to say!

Every month we like to ask our speaker a handful of probing questions to give us a deeper glimpse into their life and relationship with creativity:

How do you define creativity and apply it in your life and career?

The way I see it, there are two main facets of creativity. One being creative problem solving and the other a straight up creative expression or energy. Creative problem solving is a lot like playing Lego, taking different pieces and assembling them in order to bring something bigger into existence. Whereas creativity can also be the act of bringing something to life for the sake of it, be it words, sounds, visuals, etc. I use both every day of my life in different scenarios. My Lego building skills earn me a living, so that I can keep making things for the sake of making them. It’s a dialed system!

Where do you find your best creative inspiration or energy?

I consume a lot of content (zines, shows, inspiration sites, books, podcasts, etc) but most of my ideas come to me when I’m doing something mundane like the dishes, laundry, driving, walking, or falling asleep. When I’m not feeling a natural flow, I’m anxious or uncertain about how to start, movement is always my go-to release so that I can slow my thoughts, be more in my body, and get into a state where I’m able to focus that energy more effectively. Other times it just takes momentum, a scribble or a note for example. Doing anything to break the blank page, and sometimes the inspiration just shows up.

What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you’d known as a young person?
Just have fun, let joy in!

Who (living or dead) would you most enjoy hearing speak at CreativeMornings?

Oh my gosh there would be so many… but I’m going to have to say I’d love to see an Our Planet style narration by David Attenborough on the life of creatives.

If you could open a door and go anywhere, where would that be?

Assuming I would have some sort of superhuman powers to stay alive while I’m down there, I’d definitely go to the deep sea. Being one of the last things left unexplored on earth, that’s definitely what I’d go see if I had a magical door.

What music are you listening to these days?

Anything a little jazzy, a little funky, and smooth. I’ve been really loving jazz rap recently.

What was the best advice you were ever given?

The best advice I’ve ever been given is perhaps the most simple advice I’ve ever been given, and that is to just slow down.