Interstitial Spaces

Innovation happens in interstitial spaces.

If the word is new to you, interstitial is the space between cells, tissues, and organs. In design, it's akin to the whitespace, the pause between the lines where magic happens. It's not just the filler; it's the essence of creativity and collaboration. It's the small spaces between the "meaningful parts", but I'm starting to think it IS the meaningful part when it comes to creativity and collaboration. Think about those fleeting moments: the quick chat in the hallway about a project, the casual lunch where ideas are exchanged, the water-cooler talk. But those are just the workplace examples. For me, it's when I'm showering with a head full of suds, and the aha moment strikes. It's the clarity that dawns during an evening stroll with the dogs. It's space in which we breathe and don't get so hung up on the "meaningful parts".

Our modern lives are relentless. We overschedule, overcommit, or overdo our work and we kill those spaces. We try to wring out every bit of meaning/effort/value that we can and in doing so, we eliminate the spaces thus removing the ability for innovation to happen. So let's breathe some air back into our lives, recognize those interstitial spaces, and let creativity flow into them.