The Creative Wellbeing Handbook

A creative career is full of possibilities – but it can also be overwhelming, exhausting and isolating. Today’s creatives are under pressure to be always on, inspired, and ready to deliver at a pace that often leaves them feeling stuck or burnt out. The Creative Wellbeing Handbook is a practical guide to help you rediscover joy in your creative work and in your life. Whether you’re a student, designer, artist, writer or other creative thinker, this book offers everyday tools to help you feel motivated and clear-headed.

At the heart of the book is the Creative Ecosystem, an adaptable model built around five areas: Connection, Wonder, Pause, Movement and Joy. Through stories, exercises and research-backed ideas, you’ll learn how to sustain your creativity by caring for yourself. You don’t need more time or discipline – just a way to refuel with the resources you already have.

Over 100 creatives from 26 countries contributed to this book, with interviews and quotes from founders, leaders, and strategists at Women of Type, Google, karlssonwilker inc. and Luminary, alongside independent creatives including Stefan Sagmeister, Daniel Eatock, Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian, Zipeng Zhu, Jean Jullien, Elizabeth Olwen, Ji Lee and Catalina Estrada Uribe.

Author

Emmi Salonen is a graphic designer, creative director and educator. She founded London-based Studio Emmi in 2005. Her work centres Positive Creativity – the idea that design can connect people, foster wellbeing and support sustainable choices. Emmi developed the Creative Ecosystem model to help reduce stress and burnout. A leading advocate for creative wellbeing, she speaks internationally at academic institutions and conferences. Her commitment is grounded in both experience and research, including Yale’s The Science of Well-Being course. She is a Happiness Facilitator, RSA Fellow and contributed to the AI for Human Flourishing think tank at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science.