Guy Bradbury on running ideas, magic escalators, and connecting dots

Let an idea run

People assume I like to run to stay fit. That's part of it. But I also run because it's the quickest way to untangle my brain after a busy week.

Some of my best ideas arrive somewhere between km seven and eight. Running strips away the noise. Briefs become simple. Clarity kicks in. Often alongside a stitch.

There's something about moving forward physically that helps ideas move forward.

I never wear headphones. Sometimes a soundtrack just gets in the way. I'd rather hear my thoughts and let my mind wander. By the time I get home, I've usually found a new platform, a fresh angle, or a way through that didn't exist 50 minutes earlier.

For me, creativity isn't always about adding more input. Sometimes it's about giving your brain enough space to process what's already whirring away.

The magic escalator at Leicester Square

Every creative seems to have a place where ideas appear. Mine is a rather long escalator at Leicester Square Underground. It sounds a bit like Harry Potter, but it's true.

I don't know what it is about that 78-second journey from platform to street, but it never fails. I can spend hours staring at a problem with nothing to show for it, then halfway up the second-longest escalator on the Underground, the answer magically arrives. Without fail.

Maybe it's because there's nothing else to do. You're not looking at a screen. You're not in a meeting. You're just suspended between one place and another, giving your brain permission to finish the thought it was quietly working on in the background.

I've learnt not to question it. Some people have showers. I have the Northern Line. And even when I worked in Clerkenwell, I would find myself taking a detour when I needed inspiration.

Great work doesn’t come from looking at more great work

Whenever I feel creatively stuck, I go and look at work made by people who were never trying to solve the same problems as me.

The latest was the Wes Anderson exhibition. I wasn't looking for advertising inspiration, but that's exactly why it worked. Seeing the obsessive attention to colour, symmetry and storytelling reminded me why craft matters so much.

Every tiny decision adds up to something people can feel, even if they can't explain why.

What I love about a great exhibition is that it forces you to slow down. You stop scrolling. You spend ten minutes with one piece instead of one second. That shift in pace changes how you think.

I find the best ideas rarely come from looking at more advertising or another Cannes case study. Although those things can be super useful. For me the ideas that break new ground usually come from being curious about everything else.

The best ideas come from connecting dots that haven't been connected yet.