Ever wondered who hides behind the lovely packaging of our Maison Kitsuné x Shu Uemura collaboration? Renown teacher, writer & artist Guillaume Wolf aka “Prof. G” helped us design our “East meets West” capsule collection and participated last September at a TEDx talk with an intervention entitled “How to Create the Future”.

Both fun and really inspiring, his talk (with none other than his Daft Punk mention) had us think and wonder for days about the power of our creative mind. We just wanted to find out more… Watch his speech above and read our chat below!

You are an art director and teacher based in Los Angeles, California. How is your life there?

Life is great. I really like LA; but it’s not for everyone. It’s intense in many ways. It took me nearly ten years to really get into it. Also the heat is not a joke . . . sometimes it gets way too hot!

Your TEDx talk is called “How to Create the Future,” how did you came up with the idea?

I always try to think about the audience, first. Here, because the talk was given at Art Center College of Design—where I teach—it was for creative people . . . which are my people [laughs]. The idea of creating the future is something that every creative thinks about because we have to solve complex problems. So it’s important to think in new ways, to challenge yourself—and your mode of thinking—all the time.

But it seems you also talk about business, correct?

Yes, today, everything is interconnected. There’s a real need to find creative solutions to every aspect of life and business. We’re all in it together, so to speak.

You just released a new book for the creative entrepreneur, called “You Are a Message.” Do you think creative people should think more about business?

Absolutely! This is so important, right now. I really think that every creative person should learn about business. To quote Andy Warhol, “Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art.” And beyond that, I really feel that positive changes in society are going to come from creative people. The most interesting companies in the world are always created by creatives.

You sometimes collaborate with Maison Kitsuné, and recently you worked on the Shu Uemura project. How is it to work with Kitsuné?

It’s like working with family! There’s a real kinship there because Kistuné is exactly the kind of creative company I was just mentioning. But there’s more . . . for me, the very interesting aspect of working on these collaborations is having to really think deeply about what you’re doing. You need to challenge yourself to always bring your best until you get it right. Kitsuné is a wonderful brand on so many levels. It’s really an honor to be part of these collaborations.

In your presentation you talk about “time hacking”—what’s that?

It’s just a mind experiment, trying to play with the concept of time: to challenge yourself to think differently in order to find disruptive ideas. The curious thing about it is, once you see how it works, you really get strange results. I don’t want to reveal too much here, you have to watch the TED x talk.

Are you optimistic about the future?

Of course, I am! It’s very important to understand that once you decide to look at something from a creative perspective, you can see that every problem has a solution. The world is always in movement, and we have to learn how to surf on the wave of change. And creativity is the perfect surfboard to find balance in this fluid environment. We often forget it, but we are all built for creativity and change. Creative surfing is what it’s all about.

To download a free sample of Prof G.’s book “You Are A Message” check out www.ProfG.co

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