When I was living in Europe, one of my favourite weekend rituals was visiting the supermarket and spending an unreasonable amount of time in front of the magazine stand. These days, I tell myself I don’t have the time, which is a rather impressive excuse considering how much time I manage to spend scrolling through Instagram and answering WhatsApp messages. Besides, who goes to the supermarket anymore when Grab delivers practically everything to your doorstep?

I do miss the newsstand, though. All those beautiful covers lined up together, competing for your attention. For me, there are four magazines that are absolutely essential: Wallpaper*, Monocle, Vogue Australia and ELLE Decoration UK. Please note, not just any Vogue or ELLE! Specifically Vogue Australia and ELLE Decoration UK. I can’t quite explain why these particular editions have become such brilliant references for what’s happening in design, fashion and culture, but they have. If you managed to get your work featured in any one of these four, you’d made it. At least, that’s how I’ve always looked at it.

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that most of my team had never even heard of these magazines, particularly Monocle and Wallpaper*. Coming from a design company, that’s a little awkward, to say the least!

I’ve always believed that design is a vocation, not just a job. You have to be curious about what’s happening around you, whether it’s fashion, architecture, photography, typography, interiors or the way people live. Of course, there’s an enormous amount I don’t know either, even after all these years as a creative director, but that’s precisely why we need to keep looking, reading and learning from one another.

Especially in these challenging times, curiosity is one of the most valuable things a creative company can have. As a collective, we need to keep each other informed, inspired and interested. You can’t work in design without loving it, and you certainly can’t expect to create anything interesting if you never look beyond your own little world.

So next time you pass a newsstand, please stop for a moment. Pick up one of these four magazines, flick through it and perhaps even buy one. You never know what you might discover, and it’s certainly more inspiring than another twenty minutes of mindless scrolling.

Now I just need to take my own advice and actually go to the supermarket.