The Essential List: John Cornette
As director of innovation at EP+Co, you’d think that John Cornette would be all tech, tech, tech. But when it comes to ideas, for him nothing beats a proper, human conversation. What’s more, when it comes to board games he’s somewhat of a classicist. That’s not to say that he doesn’t have his fair share of gadgets though, from his BMW motorcycle to his Nikon 5D camera.
Get to know more in his Essential List below.
Travel
o Place of birth: Winchester, Kentucky
o Hometown: Daytona Beach, Florida
o Staycation: New York City (include all five boroughs and I have a world of options)
o Vacation: Paris, France or Yellowstone National Park. City mood vs. adventure mood
o Place of work: New York City – Bryant Park area
o Place of workout: West side highway bike path or hotel gym. Mostly the latter, unfortunately
o Mode of transport: Motorcycle (specifically BMW GS700)
o Miscellaneous Travel Essential: Aside from a motorcycle, it would be a new book on tape loaded into my phone. Right now, I’m listening to Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Culture
o Artist: Marcel Duchamp: I saw some of his work again recently in the National Gallery in D.C. Still thought provoking. Not bad for a guy born in 1887
o Musician: Kendrick Lamar – but just at the moment. Next week I’ll obsess over something else…
o Commercials director: Craig Gillespie – was years ago – but he was the most creative, collaborative and dedicated I’ve worked with to date.
o Film director: David Fincher – from Fight Club to Mindhunter. SO good
o Photographer: Andreas Gursky – especially ‘99 Cent.’ I look at it every day and still love it
o Film: Michael Clayton
o Series: Ozark: Haven’t been as gripped since Breaking Bad. See how I got two in there?
o Commercial: ‘Meet the Superhumans’ – for Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics
o Music Video: Johnny Cash ‘Hurt’, directed by Mark Romanek
o Video Game: Assassin’s Creed: Black Sails – lost a few days on that one. The deepest game I’ve ever seen. Really excellent bisection of story and game theory
o Board Game: Clue. Colonel Mustard
o Book: The Alienist by Caleb Carr – I hope the upcoming TV series does it justice.
o Graphic Novel: Spawn by Todd McFarlane
o Newspaper (off or online): I like AP News. Go to the source that other outlets republish from
o Magazine: New York Magazine. Solid blend of smart and fun
Food and Drink
o Breakfast: Coffee and a green juice
o Restaurant: Shuko on 12th street
o Cheap bite: Frankel’s Deli on Bedford & Manhattan in Greenpoint
o Working lunch: Bryant Park Grill’s patio on a nice day is hard to beat
o Dish: Porterhouse for two from Keens Steakhouse
o Snack: My kid’s Annie’s Snack Mix (when they aren’t looking)
o Guilty Pleasure: Pizza – Spunto in the West Village
o Bar: Fresh Kills on Grand St. in Brooklyn
o Tipple: Maker’s Mark Manhattan rocks
Kit
o Phone: iPhone 7s Plus – once you go phablet you never go back
o Computer: MacBook Air – portability and capability
o Camera: Nikon 5D with 24-70 lens. It’s heavy as hell but still produces my favourite images
o Pen / pencil: Uniball Signo 307 Black – I order them by the case because people notoriously steal pens
o Where you document an idea: Notes program on my iPhone. Some old gems in there I need to dig up actually. With someone, having a back-and-forth immediately really changes things
o Casual wear: Black Nike dry-fit t-shirts. It’s my uniform
o Footwear: Common Projects sneakers – I call them meeting sneakers
o Watch: Panerai 111. I bought it years ago and still love it. The sound of the manual wind each morning is a ritual
o App: Strava for running and cycling. I like to get credit ☺
o Website: Designspiration.net – so much amazing design and craft. Humbling
o Blog: Uncrate
o Work program: Email. Walt Mossberg
Walt Mossberg
o Digital work tool: Photoshop forever – still an amazing tool
o Analogue work tool: Speech - as in words coming out of a real human mouth. Shocking how little people just TALK about ideas. Email is great, but conversation still results in the best ideas
