Dog Walks, Pizza Hut and Art Influencers - The Inspirations of Nelson Bostock's Creative Lead

Pizza Hut

This might seem an odd choice, but stick with me here. My dad was a food technologist for Pizza Hut when I was a kid and when I was probably about 11 or 12 years old he pulled my sister and I out of school for the day. We headed to Whipsnade Zoo and surrounded by a bunch of the R&D team we spent a whole day brainstorming new ideas for the menu.

I remember lots of flipboards and sweets, doodling on the tablecloths and getting to dream up completely wild pizza concoctions. I’m pretty sure I came up with a Pizza inspired by Willy Wonka’s full meal chewing gum, where every quarter was a different part of the meal – you had your starter, main and of course two different pudding flavoured quarters.

That was my first experience of corporate brainstorming, and I loved it. It’s something that sticks with me in every brainstorm – trying to recreate that sense of play and not getting stuck on a thought being good or bad but just letting ideas flow.

Dog Walks

This isn’t a very original choice, but we know movement is medicine and magic for the mind. But, dog walks seem to have a special creative power. My dog is only 10 months old, so everything is a distraction. We stop about every 100 metres for him to sniff something, stare at some birds or inevitably for him to try and drag me over to another dog or person.

While we often don’t cover much ground, I get a lot out of our walks, because he’s making me stop and acknowledge what’s around me as well as force conversations with strangers on the street. While the chat is often dog focused, you do end up hearing all sorts of local gossip and getting different perspectives on what’s going on. It’s a regular reminder that not everyone thinks the same way as I do and a nice way of pulling me out of my own bubble.

And importantly, it forces me outside of the house – even when I don’t really fancy it – and that has been a huge help for when I’ve been brain blocked.

Sara Hagale, @shagey_ (Artist)

Sara’s sketches are a little pocket of amusement for me on Instagram.

I only recently discovered her – I think the first post of hers I saw was Fren frie and it’s just a girl happily devouring some French fries. But it’s a master class on storytelling through imagery.

Amongst the hundreds of fitness and food influencers that pop up on my feed, her art jumps out and always seems to find me when I need it. She’s got a really distinctive style - it’s just whimsical, relatable and funny. She manages to convey whole emotions and stories with simple drawings.

I think that’s what all creatives are striving for – to create something that makes people feel seen, heard and understood.