5 Minutes with… Sean McGarry, Creative Director, Voice Brand Agency

Sean McGarry is currently Creative Director at Voice Brand Agency in Auckland. Sean was a partner and worked at Base Two Design in Wellington for over 15 years as Creative Director and most recently as Business and Strategy Director. We recently interviewed Sean to find out more about his latest move…

Hi Sean, you purchased and ran Base Two with 3 partners in Wellington for over 15 years, do you have a favourite project you worked on and why?
There so many, but a favourite would have to be the Chamber Music New Zealand rebrand. The client is fantastic and extremely open minded and supportive of innovative ideas and creativity in general, so it made working on this project one of those brilliant creative journeys.

So you’re up in Auckland now, tell us about this move.
Yes, finally made it up to the big city! It’s an exciting move but pretty huge for our family as my children are in years 10 and 12 at high school, but it’s totally worth it. They were champing at the bit to get up here, and my wife is coming for the ride – haha! Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was approached recently about a position in Auckland that was potentially well suited to my skills and experience and had oodles of potential. Anyway, the classic thing is that the position is at Voice Brand Agency working with Jonno Sagar who I worked with/for at Voice in Wellington a decade and a bit ago. Suffice to say that I jumped at the opportunity to work with him again as he is a top man and the agency and work is absolutely fantastic.

What are you most excited about right now?
Getting my family up here so that we can explore this part of the world, and having the opportunity to produce some amazing branding work with Jonno, Neil and the Voice team. Plus no more commuting at the weekend!

What do you for R & R?
To be honest, for the past few years supporting my children in their sporting, cultural and school activities has kept me pretty damn busy, but I love catching up with friends, baking, skiing, travelling, art galleries and getting to the gym.

Do you have a personal art or design practice?
Funnily enough I studied fine arts and majored in ceramic sculpture, of all things, but unfortunately I haven’t exhibited for a few years but maybe this year is the year to re-energise my practice? I have, however, recently completed two 100 day projects with my daughter Grace though if that counts 🙂

Where do you go for inspiration?
Barcelona is right up there along with our coast line and the usual online hangouts – pinterest, TedX, Behance, designspiration, running, and Design Assembly, of course!