About

Kaile Smith is a cognitive scientist and creative director working at the intersection of psychology, neuroaesthetics, and creative practice. Her work focuses on inspiration, creativity, and well-being, with particular attention to how inner experience translates into creative action in everyday and professional life.

She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in cognitive psychology, where her research examines inspiration and creative engagement as psychological processes shaping motivation, meaning, and flourishing. Her work draws on experimental, psychometric, and computational approaches, including text-mining, network analysis, and ecological assessment methods.

Kaile holds an M.S. in Psychology of the Arts, Neuroaesthetics, and Creativity. This background informs her ongoing interest in aesthetic experience, mindfulness, and emotion regulation, and in how engagement with the arts can support both creativity and psychological well-being.

Alongside her academic research, Kaile maintains an active practice in design and creative direction. She holds a BFA from Parsons The New School for Design and has worked with and led creative teams across a range of projects for over a decade, grounding her research in firsthand experience of creative work, collaboration, and organizational contexts. This dual perspective allows her to translate psychological research into forms that are meaningful and usable beyond academic settings.

Her work spans research, writing, speaking, and applied collaboration, and she is especially interested in bridging scientific understanding with lived creative experience.