The Future of Creative - Eilidh Brosnahan (Magpie)

For the third interview in the series I had a fantastic conversation with the wonderful Eilidh Brosnahan who is a Design Director at Magpie Studio . She gave a great insight into how to proactively get in with the top agencies at the start of your career and how at Magpie they have embraced generative AI and are now using it within their creative process!

HIGHLIGHTS:

The future of creative: "There are so many new challenges ahead within the industry and how we face them will define the future. Generally the people who seem most worried about AI taking over their jobs are often the ones who haven't really dived into it yet - it’s the fear of the unknown I guess"

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Advice for your younger self: "Try to enjoy each step of the way and embrace each stage of the journey. It’s easy to get caught up in what the next step in your career might be. Take joy in where you are and put the effort in there because every step teaches you something."

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Agencies becoming more generalist in their offering: "It’s inspiring to see how agencies like Mother and Not W+K approach their case studies in particular, strong narratives and beautiful art direction. It’s always refreshing to have new voices and perspectives, keeping everyone on their toes!"

FULL INTERVIEW:

JC

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. If you want to start off with an introduction yourself and your career that would be great!

Eilidh

I grew up in Dublin and studied Visual Communications at the Institute of Art Design and Technology there. It was a pretty intensive course which had a real focus on preparing us for the working world. We would have people in the industry come in as guest tutors for certain projects a well as live projects. After graduating I interned in Dublin for about 4 months in a studio called Image Now before moving to New York. When you graduate in Ireland, you can apply for a J1 visa which allows you to go to the US and gain experience through internships, myself and a few friends jumped at the opportunity and headed off to NY.

In the months leading up to going my plan was to get my folio in the inbox of as many studios as I could. Although I had an idea of some of the bigger New York studios, sites like Studio Index were incredible for helping me discover others. Off the back of those emails I headed over to New York with a few interviews lined up. There were a number of IADT alumni also over in New York at the same time who were very generous with their time and offered to meet me to chat about their experience over there.

I ended up in two internships over that year. One in a small studio called Anti/Anti and the second with Pearlfisher. Both were great as the studios were very different in size and pace so it was great to get that variety of experience. The team at Pearlfisher were so supportive and it was an environment that really nurtured new young creatives in the industry. As my visa came to an end they offered me a Junior Designer position in their London office, I was there a little over four years.

Skip to the end of 2021 and I was ready for a bit of a change and decided I would enter the world of freelance. I think it’s something every designer should do if they have the chance. I got to work with some incredible creatives as well as experience a wide range of ways of working. A truly invaluable experience and ultimately how I ended up getting the job with the team at Magpie. One of the studios I kept going back to freelancing with was Magpie. I’ve always loved their work but getting to work with the team there gave me a whole new appreciation for what they do. After a few stints freelancing there they offered me a Design Director position which was amazing and it felt like a totally new challenge.

JC

You have certainly worked in some fantastic agencies! Have you always wanted to go down the branding and packaging route? Both Pearlfisher and Magpie both are top agencies in their respective sectors!

Eilidh

I’ve always really enjoyed branding projects. The variety of ways that branding briefs can land on your desk is always exciting. Whether its shaping the identity of a brand from its inception or bringing new life to an existing brand, each brief presents a unique opportunity and creative outcome. In terms of packaging, I really did learn from some of the best of the best when starting out. I’ve been lucky enough to work on a number of really amazing global packaging systems, particularly when working in the states, the scale that things happen on over there is mind blowing. I've always enjoyed finding moments of fun & joy within functional packaging systems. It’s a nice blend of the problem solving and creative part of my brain. One of the things that really drew me to Magpie was the variety of briefs they work on. Each time I freelanced there I felt like I got to see them flex a different skill. I observed them just relishing in new challenges and encouraging members of the team to try new things. It's been great to get to do this alongside them as a full time member of the team for the last year.

JC

That sounds ideal! And that actually ties in really nicely with my next question, tell me more about why you chose Magpie and what makes you guys stand out from other agencies?

Eilidh

As I said I had freelanced in a number of places and something about Magpie just really stood out. I loved the size of the team, we’re 12 people so it’s very close knit. I loved the attitude I saw people having towards projects that they weren't directly working on. Felt like everyone was willing to pitch in and help/give opinions if needed. The open dialogue amongst members of the team as well as Ben & Dave our two Creative Partners felt like a really rich way to work. There's a real desire to craft something truly original with every single brief that comes through the door. There are some really fun projects in the studio at the moment. Everything from fresh new start ups to global household names. We’re excited to be able to start sharing some of it soon, always exciting when a project gets off your screen and out into the world.

We also just moved into a lovely new studio space by Old Street in Shoreditch which has brought lots of fresh energy. It’s much bigger than the space we were previously in on Brick Lane so it’s been fun to get our interior design hats on and decide how we want the space to look. We’ve talked about maybe hosting some industry events here down the line. We’re certainly a team who like to attend those things ourselves so thought it would be nice to host them too!

JC

So now the big question, where do you see the future of creative heading? I appreciate there are so many factors but AI is of course something I would love to touch on, as we well as agencies becoming more generalist in their offering.

Eilidh

It’s such a big question! There are so many new challenges ahead within the industry and how we face them will define the future. Generally the people who seem most worried about AI taking over their jobs are often the ones who haven't really dived into it yet - It’s the fear of the unknown I guess. In my mind, the best way to gain some control over the uncertainties is to confront them head-on. We need to embrace it, experiment with it, see how far we can push it. The question did get me thinking even about the future of creative teams, my brother studied computer science in university and it's interesting to imagine a world where agencies may start to hire people with that sort of background, people who are experts in machine learning.

JC

How have you been using AI at Magpie and what have you initial thoughts been?

Eilidh

There was a project that we used it for recently - a brand refresh for Lyaness (a cocktail bar on London’s Southbank). We input ingredients and bits of storytelling from the recipes into Midjourney as prompts, then used the imagery it generated within the menu. It seemed perfectly aligned with the brief as it captured the innovative, creative and unconventional style that defines Lyaness’s approach to crafting cocktails. As a studio, we’re trying to utilise AI on projects where it really makes sense and being careful not to just use it for the sake of it.

More and more though a fundamental part of our job is about being curious and embracing technological change. The introduction of AI has been the ultimate test of that.

JC

It is definitely a very exciting time to be working in the creative industry! What’s your thoughts on agencies becoming more generalist in the variety of work that they do?

Eilidh

I find the blending of advertising and branding an interesting one, really it’s a two-way street. Advertising agencies are venturing into branding, and vice versa. They’re not at opposite ends of the spectrum, so it’s a natural line to blur. At Magpie we relish the opportunity to be a part of that aspect of the project, things like campaigns or launches which typically would be left to an ad agency towards the end of the project. Lately we’ve been seeing more clients asking us to tackle these parts of the brief. It’s inspiring to see how agencies like Mother and Not W+K approach their case studies in particular, strong narratives and beautiful art direction. It’s always refreshing to have new voices and perspectives, keeping everyone on their toes!

JC

Some very good points! This is one of my favourite questions, if you had one piece of advice for your younger professional self, what would it be?

Eilidh

Try to enjoy each step of the way and embrace each stage of the journey. It’s easy to get caught up in what the next step in your career might be. Take joy in where you are and put the effort in there because every step teaches you something and leaves an impression on the studio. Whatever level or role you are in, when you immerse yourself in a studio you get the most out of it and make a bigger impression. So try to savour the experience, no matter where you find yourself and for however long.

Many thanks to Eilidh for taking the time to share her thoughts on her amazing career and where we are heading as an industry! I have a number of other exciting interviews in the works so watch this space..