Five Minutes with Liz Archer-Fisher
Members of Design Assembly make up a network of creatives working together to build a thriving design scene in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our ‘Five Minutes With..’ series profiles the breadth and depth of design practice in our network.
Today we speak with Liz Archer-Fisher from The Edison Agency about leadership, operations, and why understanding the business side of design is just as important as understanding the creative side.
Tell us about your career background:
I started out as a trained communication designer, but my career quickly expanded into sales, client management, and operations. Over 16 years I’ve worked across radio, digital media, and agency environments, each one teaching me something different about how creative work gets made and the processes that help underpin the success of a creative business. I’ve ended up in a role that draws on all of it.
Tell us about the studio you work in:
The Edison Agency is a strategic and branding agency. Main focus for us is Brand Strategy, Brand Architecture, Visual Identity and Packaging Design.
My role is Head of Operations, while I’m not ‘on the tools’, I’m responsible for the conditions that make the creative work possible. That means everything from resourcing and workflows to client relationships, project delivery, and the health of the team and business overall. I get joy out of being a bit of a generalist!
What does your design process and philosophy look like?
My process is borrowed from design thinking more than design practice, I try to understand the problem before reaching for a solution. I used to say in my earlier uni days that I liked taking all the mess and making it make sense. In operations, that means not just fixing what’s visibly broken, but understanding why it broke and what a better system would look like. I’m drawn to clarity: clear briefs, clear roles, clear expectations. A lot of operational chaos comes from ambiguity as opposed incompetence.
What does a typical day in your studio look like?
It varies day to day. Being I’m across a few business touchpoints, I try to allocate a day to different ‘themes’:
Monday – week ahead planning and making sure everyone has what they need to commence their tasks
Tuesday – Business Strategy and planning with Senior leadership team
Wednesday – Marketing, have a look at what we having coming up and how/where we want to promote it
Thursday – Scheduling with account managers for the week ahead
Friday – recap & celebrate successes for the week with the wider team, wrap up loose ends
Then client/project management woven in across the week!
What’s one thing that you would like all of your clients to know?
A good brief is one of the most valuable things you can give a creative team. The time you invest upfront in being clear about what you need, what success looks like, and what’s non-negotiable saves everyone time downstream, and produces better work. Also asking ‘why’ at every stage of a project, it may sound simple but it’s effective. Why are we briefing this? Why did we not like that concept? Why is this needed for X date? Quite often briefs/feedback change when the why is truly thought through.
What are your favourite tools in the studio?
A great project planning tool (in our case, Streamtime) and a shared source of truth for project status (Miro and Gannt). When everyone knows where things stand, creative people can focus on creating rather than chasing clarity.
What are your favourite types of projects to work on?
Projects where the client is genuinely invested and brings us into the thinking early. When there’s real collaboration from the start, as opposed to a handoff at the end, the outcomes are almost always stronger, and the process is more enjoyable for everyone involved. I also head up ‘Design for Good’, the pro-bono arm of The Edison Agency. These projects are always rewarding because you get to see how design can truly transform an organisation (and they’re always super grateful!).
What project are you most proud of?
Given I’m across all facets of the company and less project focussed, I’d say building the operational infrastructure at Edison that lets our creative team do their best work consistently. So not super tangible! But I believe it shows up in the quality and reliability of what we deliver.
Do you have any advice about our industry for emerging designers or career changers?
Don’t underestimate the value of understanding the business side of design. Knowing how an agency works, how projects are scoped, how decisions get made, how clients think etc. will make you a more effective designer and a more valuable team member. And if you find yourself drawn to that side of things, as I did, that’s a legitimate and worthwhile path!
What hobbies or interested do you have outside of work?
I play competitive outdoor soccer, it’s a fantastic way to let off steam and calm my brain! Aside from that, eating and drinking. I love the feeling of being immersed in a great dining experience or wine bar session. 😂
Where can people connect with you?
Liz’s LinkedIn
The Edison Agency:
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
LINKEDIN
WEBSITE
YOUTUBE
Want to hear more from Liz?
Join us for tomorrow Join The Dots: Trans Tasman Edition on 30 June, 12 – 1pm NZT, where Liz will be part of a live conversation, along side Greg Branson and Carol Mackay, exploring design, business, leadership, and what we can learn from our creative neighbours across the Tasman.
Free for Design Club members.
Need your member access code? Email info@designassembly.org.nz
Save your spot:
https://events.humanitix.com/design-assembly-join-the-dots-june-2026
