Take 10 with... Raymond Mckay

Take 10 with… Raymond Mckay

The DA team want to support our community through these unprecedented times – something we kept coming back to is a focus on connection and community. So we want to do what we think DA does best, sharing ideas, inspiration and information and profiling our community.
With that in mind, we launched a new series Take 10 with… to do a pulse check on how you’re feeling, how you’re working, what you are missing, and what your hopes are for the future. We invited some of our friends, peers and the DA team to participate and we hope you enjoy these honest and candid profiles of Aotearoa designers today.

Introduce yourself:
Mauri ora Kia koutou i enei wā taumaha. Ko Raymond Otene McKay Ahau.

How did you get into design?
After gaining a Bachelor of Communication Studies I started my career in the advertising industry at Colenso BBDO working as a creative with some of the best designers in the world.

What do you love about design?
I love how much more there is to discover and also how I can imbue an engaging creative strategy into a design project.

What or who inspires you?

My wife and business partner Laura Cibilich, I’m astounded by her ability to create at such a high level across many kaupapa, she’s definitely a global design leader as well as an amazing mum to two boys under 6. Also, my older brother Matthew who has built a 40 ft voyaging waka in his spare time.

How are you feeling right now?
Excited by change. I’ve always been like that, It’s something my father instilled into us as kids. Being spontaneous and unpredictable has built a sense of security in me.

Are you working right now, if so what does your work from home day look like?
A day in the life of the McKay-Cibilich whānau consists of Usher’s duet of ‘Somebody to love’ with a pinch of Justin Bieber. I’m Usher of course and the boys are Justin dancing on the kitchen bench. Then a bubble walk around our block literally, where we encounter very weird things as we are in the more eccentric part of K’Rd. Then into our morning WIP with the team. Then into solid mahi.

What’s your one tip right now?
It’s not the end of the world, however much people keep repeating it. Sit down, breathe and use the tools and industry smarts to think how you could pivot and be commercially creative.

Tell us about your current workspace.
It’s the opposite to most creatives, very OCD. The lie that creatives are messy was made up by a messy person, haha:)

Which local business are you going to miss most during our isolation period?
@Little Algiers and Cotto, K’Rd whanaunga.

What do you hope for the Aotearoa design community going forward?
More manaakitanga (care) and understanding of the fact that everyone is different and reacts to different things in different ways, so be kind.