Joost la Housse: Get Out There and Find Your Creativity
Strategic Brand and Packaging Designer
by Elizabeth Lavis
|25 Jul 2025
Joost la Housse, Strategic Brand and Packaging Designer and unofficial Monsieur la Housee, has one tidbit of advice for aspiring designers: unplug. “Cancel all of your subscriptions and get out there,” he says. “Visit museums, use your time to enrich and inspire yourself. Hit the gym. Practice meditation. With a clear body and mind, you’ll find that your creativity flows and you don’t need AI for that.”
La Housse is Dutch, but his last name is French and dates back to the Huguenots. “My Dutch side shows up in my work: conceptual, free-thinking, and always straight to the point,” la Housse says. “The French part? That’s where the finesse comes in. I aim for perfection, delivering unique, tailored concepts with personality, flair, and a whole lot of passion. In France, they’d call it savoir-faire: competent, confident, and a bit charming too!”
His personal philosophy is ‘creativity with personality’. “We live in a complex and changeable world,” la Housse says. “That is precisely why we need to stay close to ourselves and try to maintain our unique, original, and strong personality.” La Housse believes that only this type of approach will touch someone’s heart. “Expose your personality and show who you are and what you have to say,” he says. “Radiate your inner feelings, tell your story, and people will choose you.”
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La Housse’s trick for balancing several projects at once without getting burned out is to follow the expression ‘first come, first served’ and manage expectations effectively, especially when he’s working on several projects simultaneously. “I am fortunate to have someone who helps keep track of my schedule and workload,” he says. La Housse also stays creative under pressure by trying to work out every other day. “It clears my mind and leaves me feeling recharged afterward,” he says.
He also stays apprised of the latest design trends by following trend forecasts and visiting trade shows and exhibitions. “I also buy magazines and design books, and Instagram is another source of inspiration for what’s happening in the world,” la Housse says. “However, the most important thing is to draw inspiration from within by engaging in conversations with people of all ages around you. It’s about continuously keeping an open mind.”
When he’s not designing, la Housse is brushing up on his acting chops through amateur theater. “Just like in my work, the goal is to touch, inspire, and move people into action, sparking a dialogue,” la Housse says. “It’s no different from encouraging consumers to form a connection with a brand.” He also makes plenty of time to indulge in his guilty pleasures, such as sweets and donning his trademark look. “I love wearing a bow tie every day,” la Housse says. “I also love indulging in bags of taai taai (ginger bread). Feel free to get me anytime if there’s ever 100 percent dark chocolate paired with a glass of Rasteau.”
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