Laurence O’Byrne and Darragh Carey Launch Napkin, Which Is Not an Agency

Two of Ireland’s most awarded creatives have teamed up to fill the gap between freelance and full-time creative director hires. 

Laurence O’Byrne and Darragh Carey’s new consultancy will focus exclusively on taking single projects from start to finish: from creative strategy and big idea, right through until delivery. It’s not another agency though. On the contrary, it’s a way to help agencies when the solution is neither a long-term hire, nor a freelancer on a day rate. Sometimes the solution is something else entirely. 

Napkin is named after that first scrap-paper scribble where a great idea begins. That idea can get lost or diminished by the time a campaign goes live. Or it can survive, evolve, and flourish out in the real world. Laurence and Darragh believe one factor makes all the difference: Followthrough. 

So by letting the scope of the project inform the fee and schedule, Napkin can stay with a campaign, protecting and enhancing it until it goes live. 

After 35 combined years in a slew of top agencies, Laurence and Darragh have seen what can make or break a great idea. They’ve also built up a network of world-class collaborators and craftspeople in countless disciplines. 

Most recently, Laurence was a creative director at Boys + Girls, where he helped develop it into the world-class agency it is today. Over the course of his career, his multi-award-winning work has included campaigns for Three, Diageo, ISPCC, Lego and Amnesty International. 

Between Napkin projects he’ll be helping his wife set up a psychology practice for children with trauma.

 

Darragh’s last full-time position was at Publicis, where he racked up over 40 awards in 5 years. Since then, he has been working as a hired gun in Ireland’s top agencies, and at R/GA and Wieden+Kennedy in London. His work includes campaigns for Beats by Dre, Dublin Airport, Cadbury, TG4 and Nike. 

He’s repped by Ponder as a commercials director and between Napkin projects, he’ll be developing his second feature film. 

Laurence and Darragh can be reached at hello@napkin.ie