When a content creator decides to stop performing

An interview with designer & filmmaker Mattia Giannattasio

Creativity is often born from dissatisfaction. A frustration with the way things currently work, a feeling that something important is missing or a desire to create some kind of change. This is illustrated beautifully in the work of Mattia Giannattasio.

Since we first discovered Mattia (through a video he made about using mymind), he’s continued to creatively evolve and experiment with an almost dogged persistence. It’s clear in the technical results of his videos and in the content, which often ponder existential ideas and questions. The more we got the know Mattia, the more we wanted a deeper look into his mind.

What’s the best compliment you received recently?

“I don’t like your work. It feels a bit too safe and predictable. The visuals are clean, but I was expecting something more forward, with a cooler 90s-inspired edge.”

A friend told me this after I shared a music video I had worked on for more than 20 days.

It might sound strange, but over time I’ve learned to value criticism more than compliments. Not because I don’t appreciate praise, but because honest critique is what actually pushes the work forward.

I’ve noticed that my mind tends to forget compliments almost immediately, while criticism stays. I’m not sure this is entirely healthy, but it’s what keeps me moving, constantly looking for imperfections in what I do and how I think.

Giving real criticism is much harder than offering a simple compliment. That’s why I try to surround myself with people who genuinely care about my growth rather than “yes men.” That approach has deeply shaped how I work, especially on long, process-driven projects where intention matters more than surface-level approval.

What’s the last thing you read?

A quote I saved on mymind from this weekly newsletter I read.

It talked about shifting from a failure mindset to an experiment mindset.

We live in a performance-driven culture where everything is judged by results. If something doesn’t work, we label it as a failure. But when you treat everything as an experiment, you always walk away with something learned. Performance still matters, but learning keeps you moving instead of getting stuck.

That shift strongly influences how I approach my projects, pushing me to value exploration and iteration over immediate results.

What do you want to read next?

I’m diving into trend forecasting. It’s something I’ve always been curious about but never studied seriously. I love how it combines psychology, culture and data, understanding where things are going feels just as important as understanding where they came from.

For my work, it’s becoming essential. As a creator working at the intersection of technology and visual storytelling, I need to understand not just what people are watching now, but how their relationship with images, devices and attention is shifting. Trend forecasting helps me anticipate where the conversation is moving, so I can build work that stays relevant longer than a single content cycle.

I’m fascinated by human perception and behavior, driven by a constant curiosity to understand the ‘why’ behind actions and cultural shifts.

What do you do in your alone time?

I work alone most of the time, and because I genuinely love what I do, work and life often blur together. Lately, I’ve become more aware of how little true downtime I allow myself.

Over the past year, I’ve started spending a lot of time walking in nature, it’s one of the few things that actually lets my mind slow down. That experience became the foundation for a short film I made called “The Subtle Art of Slowing Down.“ It’s on YouTube, and it visually explores what happens when you shift your goals away from performance metrics and toward a more intentional, qualitative way of living.

I’m also intentional about placing myself in unfamiliar contexts: theatre classes, short trips, new environments, not to escape work but to feed it. Changing roles and perspectives helps me stay present, and that presence inevitably shapes how I frame images and build narratives.

What super specific thing are you obsessing over lately? What is on your mind right now?

Lately, I’ve been obsessed with removing myself from the constant need to be visible. A few months ago, I consciously stopped trying to optimize every project for immediacy, engagement or clarity, even when I knew it would cost me reach and momentum.

Instead, I chose to stay with longer timelines and unfinished states, following projects without knowing exactly where they’d land. That decision feels risky, especially in a system that rewards speed and certainty, but it’s the only way I’ve found to build work that doesn’t collapse under its own optimization.

Right now, that means saying no to weekly content cycles and committing to projects that take months, like this visual narrative I’m working on with the musician Noah Baine, or my short film series. My engagement dropped, my follower growth slowed, but the work itself became more honest. That tension, between what the system rewards and what I actually believe in, is what I’m obsessing over right now.

What are you working on right now and why?

This year, I shifted my focus toward fewer, more intentional projects, the kind that need months, not days, to become what they’re meant to be.

Right now I’m visually documenting Noah’s music project on Instagram,developing a short film series on YouTube about how technology reshapes the way we live and create, and using my newsletter to explore these ideas more deeply. The through-line is simple: what happens when you stop optimizing for reach and start building for meaning? ⚘