Uprising: Why Molly Devlin Cares Too Much

That’s what Molly Devlin asks when questioned about what kind of kid she was growing up. A self-proclaimed ‘girly girl’ who decided what dress to get depending on how well the skirt twirled, the Public House graphic designer has undoubtedly always been artistic, observant, and a fan of visuals.

Her mother’s background, also in graphic design, and the example she set by starting her own company when Molly and her brother were very young, resulted in a household full of test prints, samples and boxes of final copies. 

“Our home was also always full of creative people,” adds Molly. “I vividly remember a nighttime photoshoot in our living room when I was around six years old. I should have been in bed, but I snuck downstairs and through a crack in the door, I saw two of the tallest, most beautiful women I had ever seen, in slinky, gold, silk dresses.

“Their blonde hair was slicked back into artistically crafted buns. The shoot was for an Irish crystal brand that was ‘all the rage’ in the early ‘00s.”

While very makeshift, the shoot was staged in a sophisticated, moody set in an old living room, with draped white sheets on chairs and spotlights on stands. Shielded from the relentless stress that everybody actually working on the shoot felt, Molly was relishing only its best parts. “I bragged about ‘my involvement’ at school for weeks.”

If her vivid memory of the experience wasn’t enough to give you a hint, Molly was a total artist-child. Her dolls didn’t just have tea parties, they ran business empires and “still found time to know everything about their customers.”

Encouraged by her parents to delve into as many arts and crafts as her heart desired, Molly became an avid ‘doodler’ very quickly. In her teens, an obsession with fashion followed suit. 

“I suppose at that time I might have thought I would bring the two together, but never did,” she says. “I always absolutely loved the themes and theatrics of fashion. In almost every project that I have had free reign on the theme and topic, I have managed to tie in fashion to what I do in some aspect.”

Her first scrapbook project, at the age of nine, was titled ‘Fashion Through the Ages’, where she spray-painted the cover silver and overlaid it with collaged layers of magazine clip-outs. 

Making use of her mother’s role in the already small creative space of Dublin in the early noughties, Molly managed to bag a meeting with John Rocha in his studio in the city as part of her ‘research’ for said scrapbook project. Fourteen years later her thesis, ‘Success comes from standing out, not fitting in’, analysed advertising with a primary focus on fashion.

Her bachelor’s was in visual communications and the course was intense. With an otherwise small class of people, it managed to set everybody up well on “how to design and manage time in the real world.” 

During this time, Molly was bartending, which she describes as not too-dissimilar to advertising - “fun colleagues, working at a rapid pace, having the odd drink.” She didn’t anticipate when she clocked off at her last shift that a year later she’d find herself a junior role at an agency called ‘The Public House’.

Molly shook off the ‘junior’ label  a year ago, but still doesn’t feel she’s honed her craft. “And honestly,” she adds “I don’t think I ever will. I want to constantly upskill.” Depending on the brief, she likes to switch up her style - all part of the journey to finding her personal beat. “My tastes are ever-evolving and that’s reflected in my designs,” she says.

This approach, among other things, has led Molly to learning heaps in the short time she’s been in the industry. A pearl of knowledge that springs to mind came from an account manager during her second week on the job: “Molly,” she said, “The world isn’t going to end if we don’t supply today.”

Deadlines and budgets being the bane of any creative’s existence certainly benefit from being reframed in the advertising world, which in turn makes for a way more relaxed working environment. “Deadlines usually are put down as ‘yesterday’ and urgency breeds anxiety,” explains Molly. “I’ve learnt not to rush out work. Something can always be sent in the morning. It’s better to do things right once, than wrong twice.”

Beyond this, Molly knows when to embrace said urgency as the time has gone on, but that wisdom in her first fortnight “helped [her] survive the learning curve” of the deep end that she was thrown in.

Her first ever campaign launched Irish Independent’s new podcast. “Spotify codes had just been released and our team had the idea that we could shape editorial in the shape of Spotify code,” she explains.

“When our audience scanned the print ad, they were brought directly to that episode. Not many people can say their first design was an innovative breakthrough, even fewer still realise how meticulous the design needed to be. It was no easy feat, but we got it up and out, and it was incredible to see it all over Ireland upon release.”

The same way Molly relished the glamorous photoshoot in her childhood home, today she relishes the moments she gets to turn the creativity up. Watching the blank page fill up with all sorts of ideas - some good, others not so much - gives her the rush she needs from a project. 

While no spoilers are allowed, right now Molly is experiencing a few of those moments with the projects she’s sunk her teeth into, and some of them are huge gamechangers for her career. That’s all we’re allowed to know , but having in mind her track record - Irish Independent, Cadbury, Redbreast, Kahlua - we can only expect groundbreaking stuff.

With all these projects and whatever more there is to come, one thing stands out for Molly - “I don’t just want to win awards,” she says categorically. “I want to do work that gives me a great sense of personal pride. I have this idea that when I’m old and grey, I’ll look back on this wide breadth of work and say ‘I’m really proud of that,’ in a cooler way, however old people will talk in 2065.”

Today, what inspires her the most is being surrounded by her “incredibly talented” senior colleagues. “They’re great inspiration and I take their criticism on board as much as their praise,” she says. A challenging aspect of this is that she needs to know when to back herself and “be confident in [her] voice.” 

“Something I’m trying to work on,” Molly adds.

That said, Molly knows and deeply believes that debates and differing opinions are essential for growth - both personally and in terms of the ideas one has. “It’s important to listen when peers challenge your views,” she says. “Agreement isn’t mandatory, but accepting feedback is part of the responsibility of being a designer.”

Looking at the broader industry, the graphic designer gets excited by the amazing female creatives and designers rising in Ireland that she believes “are making some seriously impressive work.” 

The list of people, studios and agencies Molly admires is truly endless. “My boss, Eimear O'Sullivan has been a truly brilliant mentor for me since the very beginning of my career,” she says, and not just because she’s reading this over her shoulder. “There are so many fantastic Irish designers, creatives and agencies and it really excites me to see the direction Ireland is heading in.”

On the other hand, where the industry might not be doing so great is paying talent at entry level. Speaking about Dublin especially, Molly says that “the quickest way into the industry is through one specific master’s degree. It’s just not affordable to the vast majority of students.”

Following that degree, unpaid internships are a huge thing across the industry. “I did an unpaid internship,” she says, “In a well known, highly-regarded agency in Dublin, because I was fortunate enough to be able to live at home with my parents at the time.”

“It may have been my imposter syndrome, but I remember feeling that someone else could deserve this opportunity more than me, could perform better than me, but just wouldn’t be able to afford the opportunity to work for free.”

These kinds of practices mean advertising, at entry level, is “much more set up for a middle class workforce,” according to Molly. It’s where she’d love to see more diversity, in the Irish industry especially. “The work and culture would improve drastically, but it all comes down to finances and investing in the right areas. Specifically in  youth.”

Molly's work for Cabdury

Otherwise, these days Molly tries to join her father as much as she can on his trips to the countryside. Getting out of the city and getting some fresh air in always helps her switch off and actually reset. 

A fan of a good TV binge, like all of us, Molly is after big hitters like ‘Succession’ and Harlan Coban murder dramas. “All of this helps me avoid burnout and losing momentum.”

Fashion, too, is still a huge part of Molly’s life, with her payday ritual revolving around walking down to the shop and picking up a copy of this month’s British Vogue, paying special attention to high fashion campaigns. 

Looking at the future and what motivates her, Molly says: “I am very passionate about every piece of work I’m on, regardless of scale or budget. I care too much, maybe to my detriment. I’m driven by the thrill of a new brief. I’m just hoping that one day the next brief to land on my table is for a high fashion retailer… and I won’t question why they’ve come to an indie agency in Dublin, rather than a network in Paris or New York!”