From sweating on the Northern Line to the seasonal slump that comes hand in hand with the summer season, keeping creative demands a relentless commitment to curiosity. With that in mind, BITE has asked industry leaders to share what work is inspiring them this summer. Juan Peirano, Senior Creative at AMV BBDO, looks beyond the world of advertising to find inspiration.

My inspiration moves a bit like the city does. For nine months, it asks me to look for it indoors, in museums, galleries, exhibitions, cosy cafés where I can enjoy a book, and film after film. In a city where everything seems to happen at once, the days vanish, even faster than the early sunset would suggest. But during those three summer months (if we’re lucky), the city changes mood. Outdoor tables become more desirable, parks feel smaller, people seem lighter, windows and doors stay open, and the air calls you out. During those months, no matter how hard I try, I can’t keep inspiration inside after office hours. It, too, wants its own summer Fridays.

When that happens, I’ve found the best thing is to follow the old saying: if you can’t beat it, join it. So, I stopped forcing what I didn’t want to happen and looked for a middle ground. So, after closing the blinds for the day, putting my son to bed, and packing my bag, making sure my glasses were inside, I started going for walks and listening to audiobooks. Good for the head. Better for the heart.

While keeping up that habit, I came across a topic I found inspiring. I prefer to talk about the “topic” rather than the book itself, because people often judge a book by its title more harshly than they do the idea behind it, and what really mattered to me was the concept.

The topic was drawing. But not the complex kind, not techniques for drawing the human body or perfect architectural perspective. Something simpler: drawing as a private act, something bigger than just a result. A moment of presence. A form of active meditation. A quiet practice, where what’s trained is the ability to truly be in the moment, to notice what is actually there instead of what you assume is there. The act of sitting still, watching the lines of an object, a moment of no-mind, of abstraction, of reflection, of pause, and above all, of connection with what is being observed. So that, just like a stone sharpens a blade, the muscle of perception becomes sharper and more refined.

I thought it was a powerful idea when it comes to talking about inspiration. Because in a world where information, stimuli, experiences, and stories have never been more available, it feels like the only true way to be inspired by something is to give that thing the chance to reach us, to leave an impression on the soul, to stay with us, and to become part of who we are.

And for that, a tool as underrated in these times of artificial intelligence as drawing might take on a whole new meaning. It could become an exercise with no artistic goal or need for a perfect result, but with a spiritual, inspiring, and revealing purpose. If we say that creativity is the unconscious breaking down and rebuilding of everything that once inspired us, then observing, understanding, and connecting is what lets us not just see, but also be touched by what we see. And maybe what we notice, what catches our attention and feels meaningful, can do what inspiration is meant to do: change us into something similar, but more complex.