Hussain Almossawi, Designer and author, INNOVATOR'S HANDBOOK

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(: 00:04

Welcome back, friends, to our podcast, Unlocking Your World of Creativity, where we ask creative practitioners all over the world what it takes to come up with ideas, but also organize those ideas and gain the confidence and the connections to launch their work out into the world. And I'm so happy today to have, as my guest hu's saying, Amasa a designer, a creative director, a filmmaker, an animator, a gci. There's a lot of slashes, Hu's, saying in your title and your craft, and that's the part we're gonna explore a lot today. He's also the author and create designer of a great new book called The Innovators Handbook, A short guide to Unleashing Your Creative Mindset. We'll also talk about the book, who's saying Welcome to the program.

(: 00:50

Thanks for having me, Mark. I've been looking forward to this one,

(: 00:53

. That's right. Well, we, we travel all over the world, as you know, who's saying, talking to these creative practitioners, and we're so glad to be with you in, uh, Brooklyn today. But, uh, you, you've got a real world view, world clients global, uh, perspective. How do you think that that informs your creativity, having this broader lens to see the world as it is and as it could be in your imagination?

(: 01:18

Yeah, it definitely shapes up who you are as a designer and the way you think and the way you look at things and problem solve and come up with ideas. I mean, when I first started out as an aspiring young designer, to me, design was just creating things that looked cool and looked aesthetically nice. And then as you start to get into the real world, you start to get in with the big companies, see how things are actually done, how ideas come to life, how they, uh, are executed and produced. You start to realize that it's a whole different process. So, uh, for me, it really started, or the 180 degrees shift in my mindset happened when I interned at Nike as a design intern. And that's when I started to understand that everything is really about innovation and what's the innovation in the products, what's the innovation and how is that improving the end, uh, user's experience, the athlete's experience, and so on. So with that mindset, I learned that. And then working for the other companies for EA sports, Adidas, Apple, and so on, uh, I realized a lot of different patterns, overlapping patterns between these companies, although there is no written guideline to what innovation is. And then I tried to bring all these insights together and put them in the book. So, uh, and that's really my mindset and my approach towards innovation and towards coming up with ideas.

(: 02:27

Yes. Well, and you brought up a lot of the clients and many of the industries, you know, uh, compare and contrast for me. I mean, where do the overlaps of principles of just good design and experience come into play, whether it's footwear or clothes and passion, or whether it be industrial designs, product design, and then into games and movies and animation and so forth. How, how do those overlap?

(: 02:53

So it's really about your mindset. Uh, for example, uh, whether we're talking about CGI animation, or whether I'm talking about designing a shoe or designing a watch, uh, for example, being curious at all times as a creative, always having an open mind, being a sponge. When I was working at Nike Thinker Hatfield, whose, uh, household name in the footwear industry, uh, he told me to be a creative sponge. Meaning wherever I am, just to soak in things, have, uh, an open mind to the world and everything around me, whether I'm in a basketball game, watching a game, how do the players, uh, how do the players, uh, perform on the court? And also how do the fans, what, what are they talking about? How are they dressing up? Like, and so on. So just being cautious for everything around you and soaking it all in, and subconsciously, that's gonna affect the way that you design and output. So that's like a big thing, just being curious and we can talk more about curiosity later. Yeah,

(: 03:48

That sounds great. I mean, I think these influences are strong though, and I even noticed the, uh, the reviews in the front of your book from people from 3m, which is certainly a bastian of great design and innovation, you know, to, to Apple, but also PepsiCo and, you know, other entrepreneurial and creative fields. Uh, and you talked about how maybe those influences do inform you, and you even said, subconsciously, isn't that interesting? They're in there and you're not saying, Hey, I wanna copy this, or I wanna apply this principle or this look or feel. But subconsciously it does influence you, doesn't it?

(: 04:26

Absolutely, absolutely. And as a designer, as a creative, uh, the way I look at it, you can either act or react. You can be a leader or a follower. So, and that's the cool thing about it, there's no right or wrong. For me, as a aspiring young designer, I always looked at amazing innovations and inventions, and I was overwhelmed with how it's even done. And I thought that it's impossible to do it. But when you actually figure out that it's baby steps, uh, and the way that you think and the way you hack your mindset, and you shift it towards innovating and coming up with ideas becomes much easier. So, for example, uh, there's something called the first principles method, and that's something that they use at Tesla, SpaceX, I've seen it in the footwear industry, I've seen it in the tech industry and so on.

(: 05:08

And that process is basically taking a product and breaking it down into its basic form, most basic form, and then questioning each part of that product. Let's say it's a shoe, uh, do we need those laces? Are those lace laces serving our purpose to have a lightweight shoe, a durable shoe, a comfortable shoe? Uh, do I need that soul? Do I need that material? What is the latest technologies? So I start to question each part and then bring them back together, and then have a much better shoe, which evolved it and took it to the next level. So that's like one, one way of doing it. But going back to the act and react, uh, with act and react, uh, sometimes you can come up with groundbreaking new ideas that are big, It changes the world and everything, but sometimes you can just see what existing products are out there and do a better version of that product, use it as a springboard.

(: 05:59

And that's when you react to something. And it happens all the time between brands that compete with each other, and there's nothing wrong about that. So everything is really a remix of what already exists. You don't need to reinvent everything. I can take this product and this product, bring them together, come up with a new idea. And then that takes me to the point of, I mean, still staying within the act versus react takes me to the point of, uh, biomimicry and, uh, bringing in ideas from nature, which is huge in the industry. Uh, how can you take something from an insect, for example? I'll tell you a quick example. Uh, termite mounts, the way that they build their, uh, the mounts that they stay in, it's controlled at a specific temperature level. So an architect in Zimbabwe Harari, he looked at this, he teamed up with a biologist, and he used the exact same way that that termite mound is, uh, uh, is structured from the inside. And he applied that to architecture, and then he was able to save over $4 million, save over 70% on energy and so on. So taking an existing idea, a perfect blueprint, and bringing it into another product, that's really huge. And that's really where lots of ideas come to life. Yes. Finding the intersection.

(: 07:10

I love that. Well, and you mentioned this idea of, you know, not just the pretty design, it's not just aesthetically pleasing. I mean, with my background in marketing and advertising, we always called it the creative brief. Uh, I don't know what it is in other industries, You know, if you as a designer, uh, working with Apple or working with Nike or working, you know, in, in some other, uh, field, you know, what is the brief, uh, or are you just charged with, Hey, make a cooler, better shoe, Or do you No, you're

(: 07:39

A hundred percent right, always starts with the brief. Always starts with the brief, and marketing always brings the brief. So you're a hundred percent right on that. And the brief, usually it's not just that. I mean, I'll, I'll use a lot of footwear examples because I've been in that industry for a while. Yes. Uh, it's not just make a lightweight shoe, make a comfortable shoe, Okay. That's part of it. But a huge part of it is the insights. What are the insights? If I'm designing a ju a shoe for James Harden, for example, what does James as an athlete need to perform better? Maybe he has specific needs. Once I analyze his feet, once I look at his movements, once I see what his specific needs are, what was bad in his previous shoe, those insights define my brief. And then from that brief, I can start to design and design against it. So even when we talk about first principles method, when I break down the shoe, what defines like the questions that I ask? Is it a lightweight shoe? Is it a fast shoe? Is it a whatever shoe? It's, it all goes back to the brief. And that defines my starting point when I'm designing a product.

(: 08:36

Excellent. Well, Hussain, what was your personal brief for your book as you set out to say, Hey, I wanna write a book, I want to capture some of these innovation, you know, approaches, techniques, and mindsets. What was your own, uh, brief in terms of this is the kind of book you wanted to deliver?

(: 08:55

Sure, sure, sure. So, I've, uh, given lots of talks, I've done workshops in different design conferences, and I still do, I've taught, uh, different universities. So I've realized whenever I talk to specifically, like even non designers about the design process, about innovation, how to come up with ideas, when we do workshops, like, uh, I tell them to design something and I bring really random stuff that has nothing to do with that product, put them on the table and tell them, mash it up together and just think big and dream big. So it really gets them super excited. And I wanted to bring all these insights that I've learned from these overlapping insights from these different Fortune 500 companies and these innovative companies put them in one place as a guide, specifically for an aspiring designer, Stuff that I wish I knew 15 years ago. So that was the intent. And I wanted to be a quick read, A short fund read has lots of illustrations in it. It's not overwhelming to me. Innovation always felt overwhelming, even the books that I have super insightful, but they're always like this big. Yeah. So I try to break it down, and I even mentioned it's not the, this is not the ultimate guide to innovation by no means. Uh, it's just something to get you, get your ideas going, and start to make you think outside the box. So that was my personal brief.

(: 10:06

Well, and I think I shared with you when we first connected, I found it very actionable. You know, there are a lot of what I would call textbooks or, uh, you know, sort of academia approaches to innovation. But this, you can get something from every page, you know, whether it is the illustrator very colorful book, uh, thank you. It, it is not your average paperback on the, uh, bookshelf. It's very colorful, very actionable. And, uh, I, I just thought that was part of it. And so I, I thought I would give you that feedback that, you know, absolutely knew that when I needed a spark of innovation or inspiration, you know, Hey, flip to any page and you'll find something

(: 10:44

. Sure, sure, sure, sure. And then also with each chapter, there's also personal stories and there's stories from the industry. So it's not just stuff I've heard or read, but it's also stuff that I've experienced and actual work, work experience.

(: 10:57

Yeah. Very helpful. Well, perhaps you could share, I often ask, uh, authors to share a little excerpt from the book. Maybe you could read us a few pages.

(: 11:05

Sure, sure. So maybe we can read, uh, I have the book here, by the way, .

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Yes.

(: 11:12

Uh, maybe we can read the chapter about curiosity since we talked about curiosity, cultivate curiosity. We can read the page from there.

(: 11:20

Perfect.

(: 11:23

All right. Chapter five, Cultivate Curiosity. Once during a conversation with Tinker Hatfield, VP Design of Nike, he advised me to be a sponge. As a sponge, you are absorbing as much as you can from everything around you. Everything you see here, smell, feel, and taste enters into your creative space. Approaching the world this way opens the limiting box we sometimes put ourselves in and allows us to approach things with a fresh perspective. That single piece of advice has elevated my design process and approach towards the creativity. Ever since when I was working on visual effects projects for Intel, uh, I had a project that I worked with last year, The same rules of curiosity applied in the digital space. My task was to create an art film that evolved different emotions through the visual experiences, evoked the sounds used, and the colors employed with my visual effects and CGI hat on. And as I was looking for inspiration, I was always hyper alert and curious about the physical properties and everything around me, what they looked like and how they acted.

(: 12:30

What would they feel like? How would they react when interacting with other objects? Is it sharp or smooth? Would it float? Would it break tear? And so on. Looking at everyday objects with a deeper sense of curiosity helps us translate the physical to the digital space. Knowing how things should be or act in reality, opens the door to hack that reality and defy all the rules of physics in our creations and designs with intel, one of the experiences in the project was a concrete floor with a perfect circle cut out of the middle of it, filled with hundreds of air bubbles as a pendulum swiveled on top of the bubbles, they would inflate a massively grow, creating a magnetic force effect as they chased after the pendulum. Suddenly you can challenge the mind and eye to create something totally new and unexpected and deliver a truly unique experience. So, so that's from chapter five, and that was a project for Intel. Uh, uh, I was looking at stuff that, uh, you know, reacted against the laws of physics, so you had to break that floated. You had to, you know, things that were very unexpected visually, and it all became pleasing to the eyes. And that's another way of coming up with ideas. Just always ask what if questions.

(: 13:44

Yes. Well, and you have, uh, that story illustrated a bit here with that sort of pendulum and circle and bubble. Oh, sure, sure. Yeah.

(: 13:51

To give you, of course, if you look at the animation, it's gonna be much better. It's been

(: 13:53

Oh, of course. Yeah. But, you know, it's got a graphic novel sense to it, like . Absolutely, absolutely. But, you know, going back to our, uh, discussion on the brief for a moment, you know, you even stayed here in your little story that my task was to create an art film that evoked different emotions, you know, that you knew this creative direction that you were trying to produce. Did, did you already visualize the end in mind, or did you just literally start with that definition and pick away at it, you know, as you say, with some curiosity, but, but did you know where you wanted to go with it?

(: 14:30

Uh, so whether it's cgi, that's a great question. Whether it's CGI or whether it's product design, I have a sense of where I wanna go, and that's the beauty of innovation. Sometimes I wanna go from point A to B, I have a very clear vision, but 90%, if not even more than that, 95% of the time I land on point C. And point C is really where the re the innovation happens. So it's really good to be fluid and flexible when you're working throughout your process and using, uh, I mean, I talk about learning to fail. So sometimes I'm, I have an idea, it doesn't really work. How can I pivot? How can I change it up a bit? Okay. Then that idea leads to another idea. Maybe I'm in a team situation, it's collaborative. This guy builds on this guy's idea and so on.

(: 15:13

Everybody's building on each other's ideas. So that's really the beauty of going from point A, not to point E to point B, but to point C actually. And that's really where the magic happens. And I've seen it in different companies. We always wanna design a shoe that looks a specific way, a watch a phone, but the end result, it's really just wows the whole team that, Oh, we never thought of it that way. Well, it's part of the process. You have to fail, you have to pivot, you have to do mistakes, you have to, you know, be inspired and so on.

(: 15:41

Yes. Well, I'm glad you brought up the team and the collaborative approach to it, because, uh, often, again, with creatives, we have this sense that there's this individual innovator coming up with the all, all the ideas and just telling other people what to do. I have a sense that that's not exactly your approach.

(: 15:58

Not at all. And I mean, that's the dark side of the industry where a lot of credit gets taken away, usually to the person on top or to specific people. But with innovation, it's always a team effort. And the, the more diverse your team is, the more different it is. The more skill sets you have, the more, uh, people are from different races, from different, uh, countries, religions, all of that. The more diverse it is, the better the end result will be just because you have more perspectives. So, even when, I remember when I was working in Adidas and we did different workshops and brainstorming sessions, we had everybody take part in of that. So there was the material designer, there was the graphic designer, the footwear designer, 3d. Uh, we even had the secretary who was at the front desk. She even jumped in and, uh, did ideas with us.

(: 16:45

So there's no really, there's no rule to who can come up with ideas, but we all build on each other's ideas, because we all have different perspectives, we all have different ideas, and titles really mean nothing. And just speaking about titles, when I started my internship with Nike, this really stuck with me for a very long time. Uh, we had the CEO of Nike at the time, Mark Parker. He came and talked to us as the interns, and he told us, and I never forget this, Nike was a company that was built by never bowing down to titles. That was super powerful. Un until this day, I remember it. And I mean, it's really powerful because anybody can have an idea. Doesn't matter if you're an intern or a vp, and it's a collaborative effort. So that's always, always happens in every single company. Yes.

(: 17:31

Well, it's refreshing to know that that culture can exist. Uh, I would hope you could speak though to somebody now who might be in a junior role or an intern role, or an admin assistant role, uh, who might feel compelled to bow down to the title. What, what would you say to them as they're coming up in their career that, hey, this is your chance?

(: 17:54

I mean, it's tricky because every company's different. I've been in companies where it's been super negative and, uh, specific people want to take the credit for everything and so on. And some companies that really push you, and you feel the positive vibes, and you feel the innovation of the air. So it really depends on the situation of where you work. But, uh, but my advice to somebody who is young in this space, uh, or wants to get into it, I'd say always be humble and hungry. Always try to see how you can go to the next level. Never be afraid of, there's no, there's, there's no right and wrong in innovation. Every idea can become something. So dream big, think big. Don't limit yourself. Fear. I mean, it all goes back to fear. Fear is the number one thing that stops you from coming up with ideas, fear of speaking spear, fear of thinking out loud, fear of, uh, sharing ideas with other people and so on. So, be fearless. Be humble, and be hungry. And that will take you very

(: 18:51

Far. Yeah, that's good advice. Well, maybe we turn that inside out, because I gotta tell you who's saying, uh, I'll reveal a bit about myself. I probably have been accused of being the senior person taking, you know, credit for some ideas. Now, maybe it was because I was over enthusiastic and wanted to sell, you know, the, the team's ideas, and they thought I was taking it for myself. But there are people out there who don't know the difference between the team's ideas, you know, and, and taking credit. Uh, what would you say to them?

(: 19:22

To the young guys or to

(: 19:23

The elder? No, to the, to the senior people who we all think might be stealing our ideas, or at least taking credit for them.

(: 19:30

Yeah, I mean, I mean, it makes sense that when you're in a senior position, you're presenting the team's ideas. I mean, that's totally, totally cool. But I mean, even the media, like some of the big brands that we know today, we, we hear that this guy designed everything. I mean, there's products that I've literally worked on and I've never got even credit for. Uh, I think the best advices that, that's just how it works. You know, especially when even it goes to the media. Of course, the guy who's on top is gonna get the credit. The CEO is gonna gonna get, get the credit. I don't think that should be something that stops you from wanting to do more. Of course, it's amazing to get credit for your work, but as long as you as a team can respect each other and see that you are building on each other's ideas, I think that's what counts everything in the outside universe. It really doesn't mean anything, and you can't even control it. Mm-hmm.

(: 20:18

. Well, let's switch gears to, to your own neighborhood and your environment. We've been talking about influences, mainly about people and brands, but what about, you know, your own environment, uh, Brooklyn, New York, as you mentioned, What a melting pot of, uh, people, ideas, creative inspiration. How, how does that influence your work?

(: 20:38

So, Brooklyn's an amazing place, Uh, just when it comes down to culture, Brooklyn and New York, uh, it's a, it's a hotspot for everything happening, whether it's the arts, the sports, the things that are trending, influencers that come in, uh, everything. So it really gives you the opportunity to, to gather more insights. Uh, it gives you an opportunity to work with amazing talent from around the world. Uh, but I also mentioned this in the book, That shouldn't be something that limits you where you are based. So, okay, Brooklyn's an amazing place. New York is an amazing place. I have lived in other places. I've lived in Michigan, I've lived in Memphis, I've lived in other countries. But, uh, always try to find a gem in where you live. There's always something happening, and there's always people around you, and people are full of insights. They're full of history. They're, they're full of their own backgrounds. Uh, there's sports teams everywhere if you're like doing a footwear project or whatever. So always try to find, uh, be optimistic and positive about where you live. Doesn't matter where you are, because there's always hidden stories that you can use as your insights when you're designing. Mm-hmm. .

(: 21:43

Well, and that's that idea of being a sponge. Right? You know, you gotta have your eyes open. You gotta have your ears open and get the influence and inspiration from wherever you are. That's a great

(: 21:52

Point. A hundred percent, a hundred percent. I I come originally from a country called Bahrain. It's a small island on the other side of the world. Yeah. Tiny island. So, so again, even when I was there, like after I had left Nike, they had done, I learned about these inspiration trips that Nike does to Japan and other places they gather ideas. So when I went back home, I was trying to find these interesting stories, and I learned much more about where I come from and where I was born and grew up in, after I, you know, had an open mind, I started to look at the local crafts. I started to see how they were made and produced, uh, looked at some materials that existed, just that part of the world. So it really gave me a much deeper, uh, appreciation to where I even come from. And that's the same to, you know, wherever you are, based around the world. Mm-hmm.

(: 22:38

, and as I recall, Baja, uh, has a lot more nature and biodiversity than I think we expect.

(: 22:44

Sure, sure, sure, sure. Uh, and we have a lot going on in small island, but yes. There's a lot going on

(: 22:50

There. Yes, indeed. Well, terrific. Thanks for sharing that. Well, Hussein, what kind of projects are you working on now? And I always like to ask a creative guest, you know, what, what's coming next for you? Maybe not on assignments, but you know, what, what as a part of your craft, are you looking forward to developing more?

(: 23:08

Sure. So I have my own studio, MUA Studios, which I started three years ago. And for me, I'm always trying to push, uh, I'm trying to find ways to blend between the dig the digital space and the physical space. And that's me as team by artist and me as an industrial designer. And mixing the two, I found, again, it takes us back to the idea of intersections and mixing two things together. So the mixing the two together, I found it's, uh, it's opened a lot of new doors, uh, to be more innovative and creative and come up with amazing ideas. And I wanna keep pushing that. Uh, so that's one, one side of things. The other side is I'm trying to teach more doing workshops, uh, whether it's, uh, in 3d, whether it's industrial design, creative thinking, innovative thinking, and all these things. And also, I'm thinking about my second book at the moment. So . So it's, uh, it's been a really fun process, the book, designing the book and get out in the world, seeing people's feedback. Uh, so I'm definitely excited about the second book, so we'll see how

(: 24:10

That goes. Yeah. And what do you think the approach might be? What, what are you thinking about?

(: 24:15

Uh, I have a few ideas, but I think one, like, one idea is since I've worked for all these companies, uh, many companies, uh, how land your dream job, but as well, how do you think about what's next? As a kid? I always thought when I worked for these companies, it's as if I had made it. But in reality, I think, you know, learn the most you can, but then always think about what's next, and also takes us back to stay hung, stay hungry and humble all times. So, so yeah. I mean, I'm still brainstorming, I guess.

(: 24:44

Well, of course. Well, and every book has a whole, uh, section of acknowledgements. But let's continue our thought about collaboration. How, how did you work with others to literally produce and creating and then, uh, launch the book?

(: 24:59

Sure. So lots of people played a role in this book. Uh, of course I have my editors, which were raising bounce ideas off them when it came to the writing structure, storytelling. So that was a huge part of it. Illustration, that was another huge part of it. Uh, working with, I worked with two illustrators actually. Uh, and amazing illustration is very fun to look at. Uh, and you know, the book is filled, packed with these cool illustrations. The printing press when it came to choosing the kind of paper, the cover, the foiling on the color, the colors, the pan colors, all that. So that was another partner. Uh, and then of course now I have my distributor as well, who is, uh, I have my books with them for fulfillment and goes through Amazon and everything. So lots of partners, lots of things to learn when you write a book. But it's been a fun collect process and, you know, just working with everybody and making sure everything is in sync. And it's no different than any design project.

(: 25:57

Yes. Well, and Hussain, as you know, on our podcast, we always like to leave people with the inspiration to move forward with their ideas. You know, don't just sort of as, uh, Wayne Dyer used to say, Don't die with your song, uh, left in you. So getting the work out is, uh, very important. Well, what is a call to action you could leave with creatives in any field, in any genre, uh, in order to get their work out?

(: 26:22

Sure, sure. Well, ideas are just ideas. If you don't execute them, they, they're useless. So execute your ideas. And it's great to have a dream, dream, big dream as big as you can. But again, a dream is just a dream. So if you are talking the talk, make sure you walk the walk and go after that dream. If it really means a lot with resistance and with effort and with hard work, you're gonna get there no matter what. No one's gonna get on your way. And last advice, keep negative people out of your circle. They're always take you down. So keep a positive vibe around you.

(: 26:56

Well, we can all use that advice. And, uh, that's, that's a important thing, who you surround yourself with. And I think, uh, it's great to get to know you, uh, in my circle of creative inspir. Thank you, . But also, you know, to share this with the listeners cuz I think, uh, surrounding ourselves with people that want to promote great craft, you know, great work, uh, is key, isn't it? Absolutely,

(: 27:20

Absolutely.

(: 27:20

Thanks for saying, for being on the program. Can't thank you enough for the conversation. I really enjoyed it. Folks. Uh, it's Hussain, uh, was all Maa and his book is The Innovator's Handbook, A short guide to Unleashing Your Creative Mindset. So it's available wherever you get your books. And you can also check out more about, uh, Hussain at his studio website, maa studios.com, who's saying We'll talk to you again soon. We're looking forward to seeing more. Appreciate. Yeah. Thank you. Right. Thank you so much. Unless there's comeback again, we'll continue around the world travels. We've stamped our creative passport in Brooklyn today, but we're creating, uh, a journey to inspire our creativity all around the world. So come back again next time and we'll continue to unlock your world of creativity. We'll see you soon.