Diana Ganea: A Few Of My Favourite Things

My workspace in Tokyo is like a small shrine to focus, fail and prototype.

I’m drawn to ideas with a clear point of view, work that reveals something honest about how we live and, ideally, shifts behaviour or perception in some way.

I’m curious about culture, human truths and how emerging technology can expand the way we tell stories.

These are the objects that keep me inspired and a little obsessed.

The Daruma

This Daruma doll sits on my desk as a quiet but constant reminder of a promise I made to myself.

Darumas symbolise perseverance and resilience.

They are weighted at the bottom, so no matter how many times they are knocked over, they stand back up again.

I love that metaphor, especially in a creative industry where rejection, iteration and uncertainty are part of the process.

In Japanese tradition, you fill in one eye when you set a goal and the second when it comes true.

Mine has only one eye.

I haven’t fulfilled it yet.

Every morning it looks back at me, asking if I am doing the work required to deserve that second eye.

The Headphones

My headphones from Nothing were genuinely an eye-opener.

There is a misconception that art direction is purely visual.

Sound shapes emotion just as much as image does, sometimes more.

Someone smart once said that half of a film is sound, and I could not agree more.

Getting proper headphones sharpened my relationship to sound.

It made me realise how much nuance I had been missing.

Now I think more intentionally about sonic worlds, what they communicate subconsciously and how they support or contrast the visual narrative.

Having a vocabulary around sound feels like unlocking an extra dimension in my work.

I also love Nothing’s concept of transparency.

You can literally see the hardware.

Plus, the branding is very nice.

The 3D Printer

My Anycubic Kobra Go is not the fanciest printer.

It is relatively affordable, prints in PLA and occasionally tests my patience.

But I built an entire exhibition using just this one printer.

There is something empowering about producing physical outcomes from digital ideas, especially in an industry that often lives on screens.

Teaching myself 3D and pushing my skills in Blender has become a parallel practice to advertising.

In the future I would love to upgrade to a printer that uses more environmentally responsible materials.

As much as I am excited by emerging technology, I am equally interested in how we can make it more sustainable.

The Palette Perfect Book

A senior creative I really admired used to carry this book everywhere.

She was one of those enigmatic creatives who made Photoshop look effortless and ideas look easy.

I remember thinking it must contain all her secrets.

A few years later I finally got my own copy of Palette Perfect.

It turns out it does not contain any magic formulas, but it is an incredible source of colour inspiration.

It is something I constantly return to.

It challenges me to work with palettes I would not instinctively choose.

As someone working across different cultures, I am increasingly aware of how differently colour can be read depending on context.

This book pushes me to stay curious and question my defaults.

The Pomodoro Clock

I have a special talent for quick breaks that turn into full-length documentaries.

I get distracted sometimes.

I procrastinate sometimes too.

As a creative that can be important, especially when you need space to come up with good ideas.

Creativity needs freedom, but it also needs discipline.

This small Pomodoro timer helps me protect deep focus.

I rotate it to set a specific time block, 25 minutes, 45 minutes or an hour, and commit fully to a single task.

What I like most is that it is physical.

For tedious or detail-heavy tasks it becomes a helpful tool.

I just have to stay with the problem until the timer runs out.

It is a simple object, but it has made me much better at managing my energy and attention.

The Whiteboard

Right now my whiteboard is covered in sketches and some Japanese characters.

I am preparing for an izakaya night at home, building a noren curtain and a standing counter with my boyfriend and his family, and designing a poster for the evening.

The whiteboard is where everything starts messy.

Drafts, mistakes and half-formed thoughts.

That in-between space is often where the most interesting ideas begin.