Emmi Salonen’s new book, The Creative Wellbeing Handbook (BIS Publishers), is a practical, visual guide to reducing stress and avoiding burnout while keeping your creative spark alive. A designer, speaker, and educator, Emmi has spent 20+ years helping organisations and creatives do impactful work.
One Monday night, I was exporting a file, “final-final-4” at 9.47 pm, eating cold soup between renders, and cancelling my dinner plans for the third time that week. I was exhausted and empty of inspiration. Frightened, I thought: How did my light get so low?
That moment marked a quiet turning point. I was over a decade into running my studio, and it was thriving – the projects meaningful, deadlines met, clients happy. But something inside me had stalled. As I watched my spark flicker, I realised I wasn’t alone: a worrying 70% of creatives suffer the same dimming of their energy. Burnout in the creative industries has become an epidemic.
I knew something needed to change. So I started asking myself questions I hadn’t taken the time for before – about purpose, energy, and what really sustains creativity.
A Creative Journey that Changed Everything
My quest for answers took me on a long sabbatical. I travelled to faraway places, from French Polynesia to Ethiopia, to talk with designers, artists, and makers about how they keep their motivation up.
Spending time back in my childhood Finnish archipelago forests helped things click. Looking around, spotting the unfamiliar in the familiar, I noticed how everything in nature is interconnected and interdependent. Nothing thrives in isolation. I realised something important: that creativity works the same way. It sits within a wider personal ecosystem that needs steady inputs to produce meaningful work.
This realisation would go on to shape my creative work in subtle but profound ways. Back at my desk, I began practising smaller pauses. Five minutes between tasks. A short walk before feedback. Putting the kettle on and taking one deep breath before opening the next file. Tiny habits, but they stopped one thing bleeding into the next, helping to keep the day’s overwhelm at bay.
What else does a creative person need to keep their ecosystem in balance? What support, resources, and opportunities will feed them? I looked closely at my own experience and listened carefully to the experiences of other creatives. I also turned to positive psychology to learn more about how our minds and bodies relate to creativity. Taking all I’d learned, I began developing a personal Creative Ecosystem with five core inputs that fuel creativity: Connection, Wonder, Pause, Movement, Joy.
I shared the model in workshops and talks, from Design Matters Tokyo to Copenhagen, and saw the same response: recognition, relief, and a wish for something practical to hold on to. That’s exactly what my new book sets out to provide.
The Handbook
The Creative Wellbeing Handbook blends design thinking, scientific studies, and everyday rituals into a visual, practical guide. Each chapter focuses on one of the five inputs of the Creative Ecosystem, helping readers understand what fuels them and what drains them, and how to restore balance when energy runs low.
You’ll find short reflections, tools and case studies from creative professionals around the world. The layout offers both breathing space and structure: a book to think with, not rush through. Whether you’re leading a studio, freelancing, studying, or teaching, it gives you ways to maintain clarity, calm and flow in the midst of busy seasons.
Here is something you can try right now:
Pick one input (Connection, Wonder, or Pause) and then give yourself ten minutes.
- For Connection, message a peer and ask what they’re excited about.
- For Wonder, look up from your screen and notice three details you’ve never seen before.
- For Pause, step away from your desk before you finish the thought. Let it breathe.
As design consultant Diane Davies said, “Emmi has created both a toolkit and a treasure chest. She interweaves her own story with case studies, visual surprises, and emotional clarity. It’s a generous and practical companion, from one creative to many others.”
That’s exactly what I hoped for: a book that holds you through the noise, invites reflection and reminds you that creativity doesn’t vanish under pressure; it just needs the right conditions to grow again.
Ways to Read The Creative Wellbeing Handbook
- Find your own rhythm
Open anywhere or read cover to cover – whether you need a five-minute recharge or a full reset, let the book meet you where you are. - Keep it handy
Get a studio copy for everyone to dip into. Great for smaller teams and inspiration top-ups. - Share the spark
Gift your team a copy each, or host a Creative Wellbeing Book Club with the free downloadable kit. You’ll find discussion prompts, 30–45 minute check-ins, and simple ways to track progress. Ideal for cross-disciplinary learning and sustained habits.
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For more Emmie Salonen and her insights on creating without breaking, check out her platforms:
Design website https://www.emmi.co.uk
Book website and pre-order https://www.creativeecosystem.org/book
IG @StudioEmmi https://www.instagram.com/studioemmi/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/studioemmi/
Order your copy of Emmi Salonen’s book here and start refuelling your creative spark. And if you want more Emmi, then you can meet her on her book tour; keep an eye on new cities here.
