The Creative Adventures of Kathryn Whiteside

What does a creative life look like? It’s a question to which this industry has recently been adjusting its answer, via an ongoing debate around remote working and work/life balance. 

And for a great example of ‘the new normal’ working as intended, look no further than Funday’s executive creative director Kathryn Whiteside. Long before the pandemic first struck, Kathryn struck on a balance which has allowed her to work on some of the most original, thoughtful, and effective creative campaigns whilst living a life that made sense. 

“Early in my career, I worked in the city and was very unhappy and unhealthy, with the demands of agency life taking a toll on my well-being”, she explains. “I made the rash decision to quit my job to ski and climb full-time, with no plans of returning to work at an agency again. After a few years of being transient, I missed being creative and found a design job working remotely. That was the moment I found balance in who I am and what makes me, me”.

From that moment, things fell into place. “It let me pursue the creative career I dreamed of and the adventurous lifestyle I had built for myself”, she says. “I finally found a place where I could genuinely be myself, and that made me better at my job”.

As is so often the case, that career story makes perfect sense when looking back on Kathryn’s early years. “I spent most of my childhood hiking, climbing and skiing. I was the kid constantly making things (like messes) and filling in the margins of my notebooks with doodles and sketches”, she recalls. “My parents thought I should try art school for a year after high school, and that year turned into a career”.  

Fast-forward to today and Kathryn is heading up a fully-remote global team for Funday, “surrounded by people who do the same while making incredible work living in places that inspire them”, as she so aptly puts it. 

By way of proof of this freeing, independent approach, the past year has seen Funday put out work of which the agency’s creative team can be justifiably proud. Perhaps, when it comes to creative inspiration, there’s a lot to be said for a lifestyle defined on your own terms. 

Independent Creativity

Skimming through a highlights reel of Funday’s recent work, it’s hard to notice any recurring themes between it all - and that’s precisely the point. The vibrancy and diversity of the creative agency’s work are its defining characteristics, and it’s an approach which suits Kathryn down to the ground. 

Above: Kathryn and the Funday team brought the loveable Lou into the world for this campaign promoting GoToll’s new app.

“From squeezing a giant man into a fridge with Tre Stelle to building NFTs with purpose with Algorand Foundation x Envision Racing, we’ve made some incredible work in such a short amount of time”, she says. “The most fun I had was helping create our beloved Toll Troll, Lou, for Gotoll. He was a labour of love all the way down to the texture of his fur and dating profile”. 

Above: This charmingly humorous spot for the cream cheese brand Tre Stelle is a testament to the joys of the unexpected. 

All of that work has been built on Funday’s foundation of creative independence. It’s something that has allowed the agency a certain amount of freedom in defining its own philosophy - which Kathryn is keen to underline. 

“We put people first. It’s not just about the bottom line, but a focus on the opportunities we create for our teams and clients”, she says. “As a result, our teams approach projects differently. We’re constantly on the lookout for ideas that don't just answer the brief but challenge it. Removing the usual roadblocks to creativity has built a collaborative and supported work environment for our teams”. 

As the ECD goes on to explain, that human-centric attitude extends beyond Funday’s internal teams. “It’s also about our clients. They are in our Slacks, and we work collaboratively as partners. We have honest conversations and help them better their businesses while we better ours”, she notes. “This relationship shapes who we are, as we can speak openly and honestly, even when the conversations may not be easy. That trickles down to our creative team as we uphold the same level of honesty in our own conversations, which pushes us to do our best work”. 

It’s an effective ecosystem, and one that always comes back to that central theme of being people-first. As Kathryn describes it, it’s a balance which “lets our teams focus on being creative and human”. 

Ultimately, it’s a model which might just be perfectly-pitched to address the industry as it exists today. Given the amount of noise, clutter, and sheer competition dominating the media landscape, it’s a difficult environment for brands to get their messages heard. “I don’t think it’s ever been as challenging for a brand to cut through and get noticed as it is today”, posits Kathryn. “To do so, they need to have honest connections with their audience, and that's not just found in likes or shares. If brands position themselves as the connection point, community builder or problem-solver, they can create long-lasting and memorable connections. It takes time, hard work and money, but it is worth the investment”. 

And that’s advice which Kathryn has earned the right to impart. After all, if there’s anyone who can speak to the value of finding the right balance, it’s her.