Under the Hood with Stacey Morrissey, Design Director at Spruik
For the month of March we are shining a special spotlight on Aotearoa women designers – from their work to their stories. In lead up to the Under the Hood event, we chat with one of our featured speakers Stacey Morrissey, the Designer Director at Spruik. Join us this month for:
- Under the Hood – Women in Design on 6 Mar and
- Women in Design DAY | Design & You event coming up on 22 Mar 2024.
Can you tell us a little bit about who you are, what your background is, and how you first got started in the industry?
Hello, my name is Stacey Morrissey, I’m the Design Director at Spruik working alongside the senior leadership team and heading up the studio team.
I’ve been in the creative industry since I graduated with a BA in Illustration in 2007. I didn’t set out to become an illustrator, my degree course was high-concept and extremely experimental which pushed my thinking and challenged my perceptions. It enabled me to develop critical thinking and a thick skin, which lay the foundation for my future career in advertising.
I’ve worked as a graphic designer internationally and was fortunate to be sponsored by an Australian advertising agency in my early career. This is when I discovered my love of concepting, leading to my first art director role when I moved to New Zealand 11 years ago.
Throughout my career, I have most enjoyed working with Indi agencies. Smaller teams have allowed me to work across every stage of a project. I’ve not only developed my design knowledge over the years, but also an understanding of marketing, which allows me to think strategically in my approach.
What project will you be presenting in Under the Hood?
Reef, Sunscreen Oil. An Australian and New Zealand heritage brand from the 1970’s, which was removed from the New Zealand market and has recently been reintroduced. It’s a bit of an underdog in the sunscreen category.
When we were approached by Reef’s brand manager, we discovered that the brand and products were better known amongst older generations who have a nostalgic pull, but also misunderstood due to negative associations to the tanning oils of the past that provided no sun protection!
Currently, skincare brands are being majorly influenced by Gen Z, so refining the target audience and appealing to this new generation of consumer was the starting point to our creative response.
Reef’s sunscreen oils with products ranging from SPF 15 – 50+ meet New Zealand standards and are available in pharmacies. However because of its absence, it has a relatively low share of voice, and therefore a small marketing spend.
We needed to create a campaign on a budget – and make it work as hard as we could.
We took a brands-as-people approach to the campaign. Creating an anchor iconic brand persona to hook the consumer and create a lasting value proposition in their subconscious.
What was then exciting about this project is that it was picked up by the Australian team, who asked us to develop the concept for their market too!
What was the most challenging part of the project and what lessons did you draw from it?
As a studio we had so many ideas and so much passion for this brand – the biggest challenge for us was the budget!
We couldn’t do it all. We needed to be smart and selective. In a way, it forced us to think outside the box, and as a result we came up with solutions that excited our client.
What insights to your methodological approach or philosophy can you give us?
As the studio lead, I facilitate creative brainstorming sessions and foster ideation. I’m a strategic thinker, and as a result I love to gain an in-depth knowledge of our client’s brand and their challenges. In doing this work, solutions can present themselves in ways that hadn’t initially been considered. This discovery stage is really exciting for me.
For ideas to flow, I believe it’s so important to create a positive studio environment, where the team feels at ease and trusting of all in the space.
Creative endeavours outside of the office are crucial to my design practice and that is true of all at Spruik. The process of designing for an audience becomes much clearer and less emotionally lead when you fulfil your own creative needs and wants through external outlets. For me, this can be painting, sewing, making, cooking, gardening – anything that gives me the satisfaction that comes with creating something I dreamt up.
I believe that ideas can be sparked from anywhere, and anyone – it then takes strategically-minded creatives to identify and pull these threads together into coherent directions.
Now that the project has finished, what are you working on?
Now that we have established two campaign guidelines for the New Zealand and Australia Reef teams, the roll-out can mostly be carried out in-house. However, there could be the odd brief for material that we are asked to oversee or create along the way.
And finally, where to next for you? What areas of your work or personal development are you hoping to explore further?
As an agency, Spruik has started the year with some great new client and campaign opportunities.
I always look forward to new challenges and am driven by the need to create!
Join us for (6 Mar) Under the Hood – Women in Design and (22 Mar) the Women in Design DAY | Design & You events.
*DA Friends use your discount codes to access our discounted ticket options.
