Towards the tail end of last year we had the pleasure of sponsoring the YunoJuno Freelancer awards; a night to recognise those that pursue excellence through independence. It was amazing to see our very own Flex member, Karl Gilbert, win Freelancer of the Year and we wanted to take a moment this month to celebrate this awesome achievement. We’re a big fan of Karl’s creative agency, Really Good Creative, and wanted to share his amazing work with our readers.
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Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your company Really Good Creative?
Hi, I’m a freelance hybrid Art Director and Designer based (mostly) in London. In my last job I had a wide variety of clients, from nice & safe, global corporations to lean & mean, energetic start-ups. I helped produce all manner of creative projects ranging from multi-disciplinary ad campaigns, branding embedded apps right through to sock design, comic books and branded teapots.
I started Really Good Creative about three years ago with the vision to build a collective of ‘really good’ creative people working together, but remotely, to create innovative solutions across many different sectors without the large overheads of a traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ agency. The key to this is to bring a unifying ‘really good’ theme to the work, both in the execution of the creative product and, if possible, a belief in making a more meaningful, positive change for good in all the work we do. Since then I’ve been proud to involved with creative campaigns and projects including Steam Hammer (pictured above) The Female Lead, This Girl Can, Save the Children, PETA, NSPCC, WWF, and Amnesty International amongst others.
It was great to see you win the YunoJuno Freelancer Award 2017 for the Creative (Arts) category last year. Can you tell us a bit about your experience winning the award and how you were nominated?
Thanks! I was shortlisted for the previous two years, so was honoured (and very pleased) to finally pick it up! As most of my career is spent working alone, or dropping in and out of other agency’s projects during the year, it’s great to be recognised for the work you do – thanks to YunoJuno for recognising this and making it happen. Also, I believe the nominations came directly from my clients rather than a panel of experts which feels like a warm hug.
It sounds like you’ve worked on a broad range of projects. Is there one that sticks out to you as being a favourite to work on?
Yes, there are lots to choose from, although, and this may sound cheesy, I generally enjoy working with the people rather than the project. A great project can quickly lose it’s shine without passionate people, working together and having belief in the ideas and execution. Some clients with the most difficult subject matter like animal cruelty, inequality and extreme poverty have created the most rewarding work. Although I really did enjoy driving a newly branded, vintage ice-cream van around inside the Barbican at a trade show once.
We love having you in our space, can you tell us why you chose to call Work.Life home?
After researching options all across London, I was introduced to Work.Life via YunoJuno and haven’t looked back. Professionally, I like that I have easy access to everything a studio and office can offer, but can retain the flexibility of my nomadic lifestyle to come and go as I need. Personally, I like the relaxed atmosphere, the friendly staff and the opportunity to get out and meet like-minded, entrepreneurial spirits. Sometimes it feels like the only constant in my tumultuous career. And the coffee. I like all the coffee.
How can we find out more about you?
I have a website (that needs updating) and the usual social media channels, otherwise, when I’m not working on-site I can mostly be found at Work.Life London Fields, not too far from the coffee machine. Come and say hi!
Thanks again to Karl for taking the time to speak with us! You can keep up to date with what he’s getting up to on Really Good Creative and stay tuned for more Work.Life Member Spotlights throughout 2018.
Thinking about becoming a Work.Life member? Just pop a date in the diary to come and visit.
