The Creative Boom Podcast – "The Spark: Brian Collins on Poetry, Playfulness, and the Perfect Cookie"

Host: Katy Cowan (A)
Guest: Brian Collins (B), founder of COLLINS
Date: October 30, 2025

Overview

In this lively and heartfelt episode of The Creative Boom Podcast, host Katy Cowan sits down with renowned designer Brian Collins for a fast-paced "Spark" round. Together, they explore the whimsical and profound aspects of creativity—touching on poetry, playfulness, guilty pleasures (especially Oreos!), the value of curiosity, and how embracing imperfection shapes great work. Brian's candid reflections and generosity of spirit provide both laughter and genuine insight for creative professionals at any stage.

Key Discussion Points

1. Rejecting the "Goldilocks" Design Presentation (01:33–03:54)

• Brian's creative advice he always ignores but works for him:
  The standard design wisdom to present work in "closest in, furthest out, and a safe middle"—akin to the Goldilocks approach—never resonated with him.
  • Quote:
    "The dumbest thing I've ever heard. Dumb. ... We bring that stupid design language into a conversation. ... Why do you present that way? ... The work always lands in the middle." (01:33–02:54)
  • Instead, Brian advocates for presenting against a company’s core values, helping clients envision alternate futures:
    "You're constantly presenting people different potential futures. ... The conversation should be: do you believe in this future or in that one?" (03:16–03:44)
    • Katy’s summation: "Have a spine." (03:50)
    • Brian: "Stand up." (03:52)

2. Secret Creative Longings and the Power of Poetry (04:15–06:42)

• Secret discipline Brian wishes he mastered:
  Voguing… but more deeply, he wishes he could memorize all his favorite poems.
• Brian on what poetry gives him:
  "It answers questions that I don't necessarily know how to ask." (04:47)
• He shares a Leonard Cohen lyric that got him through tough times:
  "Ring the bells that still can ring
  Forget your perfect offering
  There's a crack, a crack in everything
  That's how the light gets in." (05:29)
  • This lyric profoundly shifted his view on perfectionism in design: "I thought everything had to be perfect ... and I found this quote ... I’m like good. ... That’s how the light gets in." (06:03–06:42)

3. Leading with Fierce Advocacy (07:05–08:57)

• The “hill Brian would die on” in creative work:
  It’s fighting to realize a team member’s bold idea when he believes in it.
  • "I will die to get that idea produced for them." (07:16)
  • Many of COLLINS’ standout projects are not his own ideas, but those he champions from his team: "Our job is to get them to see that future is the right one for them ... When it comes out in the other end, someone really cared about this, and it’s meaningful to me." (08:27–08:54)

4. Guilty Pleasures and Honest Self-Assessment (09:57–10:52)

• Brian’s guilty pleasure: Oreos.
  • "Oreo is the perfect cookie." (10:50)
  • On his personality:
    "No, I'm soft on the outside and a monster on the inside. I'm the opposite. I seem soft, but I'm really a terror." (10:27)
  • He humorously claims to have a “whole room for Oreos.”

5. Bookstore Obsession & Literary Gifts (10:58–12:16)

• Most impulsive thing when traveling: Bookstore visits are his biggest temptation—his family refuses to travel with him because of this.
  • "If you're not out of that bookstore in 15 minutes, I'm leaving you." (11:07)
  • "Books are transfiguring for me, so I cannot get out of a city and not hit a bookstore." (11:45)
• Brian also speaks about gifting books to friends in need of inspiration.

6. On Who Should Play Brian in a Movie (12:38–13:51)

• Amusingly, he picks:
  • Matt Bomer ("but that's not gonna happen"), Divine, "a puppet... Kermit the Frog," and ultimately "a plate of Oreo cookies starring as Brian Collins." (13:41)

7. Brian's Creative Spirit as a Mythical Creature (14:02–14:46)

• He chooses: Griffin, for its dual nature (groundedness and perspective/flying), tying this to his creative philosophies:
  • "If you only live on the ground, you'll never have perspective... If you have wings, you can [ask]: Is this where I really want to be? ... They're both grounded and have perspective." (14:12–14:41)

8. Memorable Compliments and Being "Difficult" (15:30–16:13)

• Brian recalls a backhanded compliment from a client:
  After a high-profile branding launch, the CEO said:
  "Do you know why I hired you? ... Because someone told me you were really difficult to work with."
  • The CEO valued being challenged:
    "I would rather be challenging and rather be provocative and rather push than rather just be completely obsequious." (16:08–16:15)

9. The Value of Helpfulness Over Happiness (16:49–17:45)

• Brian’s guiding principle:
  "I gave up the desire to be happy for the desire to be helpful and be useful. ... You can always find a way to be helpful. You can't always find ways to be happy." (16:49–17:39)
• Katy observes: "The irony is that you get happy moments from being helpful." (17:39)

10. Lightning Round: Color, Fonts, and Mortality

• Dream dinner guest: Himself (with a nod to Oscar Wilde), but poet Pablo Neruda if he must choose. (18:04–18:39)
• Most overused emoji: Orange heart. (18:41)
• Love of the color orange: For its transformative nature—“Orange is yellow that wants to be red ... It’s the color of transformation, the color in between things.” (18:46–19:28)
• Font for life: Baskerville. (19:57)
• How would he like to die?
  "I want to go saying, I squeezed the hell out of that. I did it. ... I want to go still looking over the horizon. I never want to stop. ... Artists never retire." (20:22–20:59)

11. Advice for the Next Guest

• Question for the next guest:
  "Ask the question that you might not want the answer to." (21:06)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On courage and clarity:
  "The conversation should be: do you believe in this future or in that one? Which one manifests the future that you want to create?" (03:36–03:49)
• On loving books:
  "Books are transfiguring for me, so I cannot get out of a city and not hit a bookstore." (11:45)
• On embracing imperfection:
  "Forget your perfect offering / There's a crack, a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in." (05:29)
• On being a challenging collaborator:
  "I would rather be challenging and rather be provocative and rather push than rather just be completely obsequious." (16:13)
• On the pursuit of being helpful:
  "You can always find a way to be helpful. You can't always find ways to be happy." (17:34)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Rejecting the “Goldilocks” method: 01:33–03:54
• Poetry and Leonard Cohen’s wisdom: 05:04–06:42
• Fighting for team ideas: 07:05–08:59
• Ode to Oreos: 10:03–10:52
• Bookstore addiction and literary inspiration: 10:58–12:16
• Mythical creatures and creative philosophy: 14:02–14:46
• Best (or oddest) compliment: 15:30–16:13
• Happiness vs. helpfulness: 16:49–17:45
• Expressive color talk: 18:41–19:28
• Life, legacy, and looking forward: 20:17–20:59

Tone and Takeaways

Warm, candid, and filled with irreverent playfulness, Brian’s stories sparkle with honesty and wisdom. The episode is truly a “whirlwind” (to use Katy’s word), mixing deep reflections and unguarded humor. Creatives will leave inspired to champion ideas they love, embrace their quirks, value connection over conformity, and to never, ever underestimate the restorative power of poetry—or the perfect cookie.

(Host Katy Cowan’s closing nod:)
"Brian Collins did not disappoint. There were belly laughs, some genuinely touching moments and a fair bit of chat about Oreos... For reminding us that being curious, mischievous and unapologetically yourself is always the best way to go." (22:09)

For more, listen to the full episode or visit Creative Boom.