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– Words of advice you’d give to someone trying to
make their own unique mark on the world. JB: Very few brilliant things in the world are achieved by one person in isolation. Collaboration is key to doing great work, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. SS: Be patient! Unfortunately we live in a world suffering from disease of ‘now’ - many people just aren’t prepared to nurture their talents and allow them to grow at a natural pace in case they get left behind. JM: You do you. I can’t stress enough how important it is to just keep creating to try to find a style that works for you, one that feels right. I’ve tried so many types of photography but making pictures of people is what really does it for me. Try everything, and try it again. Find out what works and what doesn’t. By doing this you’ll never stop learning and you’ll find your place in no time. If people copy you, great, take it as a compliment. But if you’re taking inspiration from someone else you should put your own spin on it. Nobody can be you as best as you can, so take what inspires you and put yourself in the work. It will show and people will vibe with it more if it’s unique. Just get out there and make work. It will happen for you! SC: The key word here is unique. Be you, it’s good. Get used to listening to your instinct, it will shine the light for you and show your your best way. Embrace getting older, it’s an absolute privilege, and never, ever listen to what society says you should be / do / think / feel. You’re good, just do. ing on your skills, craft and competition? JB: I’ve been working in branded video content since 2012, and in that time, everything about what we do has changed: from what equipment we use, to how we edit and where the content lives. Each stage has changed massively in the last decade. We believe the opportunity outweighs the challenge though and think that by understanding and respecting your audience and by doing something different, you will cut through the noise. SS: Not wanting to sound like an old man but my training was all pre-digital so I’ve seen a lot of changes and new technologies are still having a huge impact on both the way we operate and the clients we work for. Over the last 12 months, the iPad Pro has changed the way I work hugely. Drawing directly on screen, new apps and of course, working anywhere have become second nature - anywhere I lay my iPad, that’s my studio! SC: The turn of the last decade feels like 1000 years ago. Full Brian Boru vibes. Back then, Instagram didn’t exist, Facebook was still socially acceptable and Twitter was a great place to go if you wanted to crack or read jokes. A simpler time. Fast forward to today, and though things have changed, some remain the same (see previous note on skills). I’m now a copywriter living in this world full of #content. Social means that everyone is a writer and a photographer and a publisher and a meme artist and so much more. Language and visual communication is evolving, and that’s a great thing - the pool of what we’re all exposed to has grown exponentially, so we can all choose to be inspired by someone down the road, or someone the other side of the world, a famous lyricist or someone with six followers in Germany who is wild about the early music of Burt Bacharach. It’s massive and it’s powerful, and it can make us all better, should we choose. – What would you love to achieve in the coming year and any predictions for the wider world around you? JB: Keep Building Relationships: We’ve built long-standing relationships with a number of brands and agencies around town, and these are the situations where the best work is done: both sides understand each other and you can really get under the skin of the project and figure out what’s actually going to deliver. We want to build more of these relationships and become a key stakeholder for more brands. Gender Balance: In an industry that has traditionally been dominated by men, we want Vibrant to be a place which addresses this and gives a platform to talented creators of all genders and backgrounds. Continue to Think Differently: On every project, we look through a lens of ‘what can we do differently?’ SS: I’m looking to do more live iPad drawing, projecting art on big screens - not sure where it’s going but it’s fun. I’m also going to have an online illustration course available soon. After many years running workshops, this will be the first time I’ve ventured into the learn-ondemand arena. Thirdly, staying on top of social media!!! I think the iPad will continue to hammer nails into the laptop’s coffin, can’t see a future for it and in the longer term, I feel the desktop will go too. Illustrators have never been more portable! JM: I’d love to see more of my work being published and printed. Most of the work I produce is usually for digital platforms but I’d really like to have something tangible to hold and see my work in. Viewing an image on screen isn’t the same experience as holding something in your hands and for me I feel that’s naturally the next step. To see my work in various publications around Ireland would be unreal! I would also like to make a publication of my own or have a solo exhibition. SC: As mentioned I have my dreams of becoming the millennial Dian Fossey and the mountain gorillas in my sights... slightly closer to home, I’m building up a stellar Content Team at The Tenth Man and am on the lookout for the brightest creative talent there is to join the agency and help us hit the stratosphere in 2020. Finally, what I really would love is a spike in real human connection, away from phones and our digital selves. Whether that’s people chatting each other up actually face to face on the street or at a bar or a gig or whatever, or independent shops opening in city centres, or people going to restaurants instead of getting them delivered, I’m all for putting the humans back into humanity. If we’re all going to hell in a hand basket, we might as well enjoy the ride. Clockwise from top left: photo by Jamie Brennan; poster detail by Steve Simpson; Elena Stevant, London, 2019 by Joshua Mullholland; Kate Doherty, photographed in her back garden, Whitehall, Dublin, 2019 by Joshua Mullholland www.vibrant.ie stevesimpson.com joshuamulholland.com thetenthman.com 17