Creative Review: Autumn 2023

Great creative leadership comes in many guises. There are those who lead teams and find ways to encourage others to make their best work. There are those who lead culture, help­ing to create opportunities for new voices or new ways of think­ing. And then there are the brands that are using design and creative thinking to make desirable and useful products, great customer experiences, and entertaining marketing campaigns.

This issue of Creative Review has interviews with all of these types of leaders, and maybe a few more too.

We talk to brands you will be familiar with, such as Airbnb and Squarespace – which are utilising outstanding in-house creative and content teams to shape their businesses – and Patagonia, which continues to lead the way in showing how a brand can help shape a better world. And we talk to smaller, newer outfits, including Lucky Saint and #Merky Books, which are shaking up the sectors they sit within.

Elsewhere, we step inside the world of fashion via interviews with both Depop and digital artist Stephy Fung, who is expanding the possibilities of the industry in the virtual space while shar­ing her skills to encourage others to follow her lead.

We also talk to the leaders of independent agencies Gut and Kin, who are challenging traditional approaches in their own unique styles. And if you need an art break, we go behind the scenes at Aviva Studios, a brand new cultural venue in Manchester, which is touted as the city’s answer to London’s Tate Modern.

But if it’s a story of an inspirational creative journey that you crave, your best bet is to turn to our interview with Daniel Kwan, one half of The Daniels, the directing duo behind the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Kwan explains how he (and his partner Daniel Scheinert) travelled from making music videos and ads to feature films and children’s books, and offers advice and insights on collaboration, resil­ience, and making your own luck. Surely there is something there for all of us to learn from.

The interviews and profiles featured come together to paint a portrait of the eclectic ways that creatives can operate today, be it in-house at brands or going it alone, setting up your own agency or working across a range of mediums. Today’s creative world may be complicated, but it is rich with opportunities.