{"id":15365,"date":"2025-10-17T15:31:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T08:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/design-leader-white-bear-studios-kelly-mackenzie\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T15:31:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T08:31:24","slug":"design-leader-white-bear-studios-kelly-mackenzie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/design-leader-white-bear-studios-kelly-mackenzie\/","title":{"rendered":"design leader: White Bear Studio\u2019s Kelly Mackenzie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kelly Mackenzie is co-founder and creative director of White Bear Studio<\/a>, whose clients include the dairies Freshways and Tom Parker Creamery and secondhand site Thrift+.<\/p>\n

Design<\/h4>\n
What would your monograph be called?<\/h5>\n

How to Be Real, Not Robotic: Why Humanity Beats Perfection for Connectio<\/em>n.<\/p>\n

What recent design work made you a bit jealous?<\/h5>\n

Auge Design\u2019s work for Italian drinks brand Nazionale<\/a> \u2013 beautiful, premium, and elegant in design, while simultaneously being playful and full of joy. A single-minded and distinctive approach that brought a smile to my face, and a hint of jealousy.<\/p>\n

Auge Design\u2019s work for Nazionale<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an unusual place you get inspiration from?<\/h5>\n

Well, first I can tell you where I never get inspiration \u2013 sitting at my desk, on my phone, or in a briefing about the very thing I need inspiration for.<\/p>\n

It always seems to strike unexpectedly, in the gaps between doing \u201cthe things.\u201d Maybe on a walk, a run, very often in the shower, and most likely when I\u2019m listening to music.<\/p>\n

Name something that is brilliantly designed, but overlooked.<\/h5>\n

The banana. It comes in its own biodegradable wrapper. It protects the product naturally. Its colour signals ripeness and acts as a real-time freshness indicator. There\u2019s zero plastic, zero waste, and it\u2019s 100% compostable.<\/p>\n

What object in your studio best sums up your taste?<\/h5>\n

It has to be Mr Bingo\u2019s Don\u2019t Forget to Have Fun<\/em> gravestone, which has sat proudly on my desk for the past four years. Not just a beautiful collectable from an artist I really admire \u2013 and who never ceases to make me smile \u2013 but also a much-needed reminder and mantra for our industry.<\/p>\n

We can take ourselves too seriously in the creative world \u2013 getting hung up on clients not making the choices we want, projects running over budget, or losing pitches. All valid concerns.<\/p>\n

However, at the end of the day, we\u2019re not doctors. No-one is going to die on our watch or as a result of the choices we make.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re part of a beautiful, colourful, playful industry and the least we can do is keep perspective, have a chuckle, stay curious, and connect with our teams not just over work but over the light-hearted stuff too.<\/p>\n

Kelly Mackenzie\u2019s Mr Bingo headstone<\/p>\n

Leadership<\/h4>\n
What feedback felt brutal at the time, but turned out to be useful?<\/h5>\n

Firstly, feedback is a gift and always an opportunity for self-reflection. To be very honest, I recently received feedback from one of our ACDs that completely changed the way I viewed internal creative meetings.<\/p>\n

For 10 years, we\u2019d been holding what we called internal crits every morning with the design team.<\/p>\n

The feedback I received was that the team often saw these as the time to present work to me for \u201caxing,\u201d not the collaborative working sessions I had intended.<\/p>\n

Designers felt their ideas weren\u2019t finished enough to share, when in reality what I wanted to see was scrappy doodles, sparks of inspiration, and kernels of great ideas.<\/p>\n

Since then, we\u2019ve renamed the morning sessions brainstorms, and immediately noticed a change in the dynamic. Designers now show up with unpolished work-in-progress to get feedback and thoughts from the whole team. It\u2019s been a small but beautiful evolution.<\/p>\n

Initially it felt hard to take feedback on something I thought had worked well for 10 years.<\/p>\n

But in my role, it\u2019s rare to get honest feedback \u2013 which I love to get. When you do get it, you need to take it seriously and look at things from different perspectives.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an underappreciated skill that design leaders need?<\/h5>\n

People skills are critical, both with your team and with your clients.<\/p>\n

Internally, leaders need to understand the nuances of getting the best out of their teams. What works for one person doesn\u2019t work for everyone. Knowing how individuals like to receive feedback is essential, and knowing when to support versus when to push is critical.<\/p>\n

Equally, putting yourself in your client\u2019s shoes matters. That design detail might mean the world to your team, but what is its actual impact on your client\u2019s business?<\/p>\n

Leading with impact and empathy helps you create work that is meaningful and drives change. Leading with design for design\u2019s sake is just navel-gazing \u2013 and our industry certainly doesn\u2019t need more of that.<\/p>\n

What keeps you up at night?<\/h5>\n

Apart from my kids, I\u2019d say two things. One, finances and pipeline \u2013 the unsexy side that keeps your business not just ticking over but also growing. Two, creativity. I often wake up with ideas and jot them down beside my bed.<\/p>\n

At night, like many of us, I do a lot of processing from the day. I find myself asking, have we been single-minded enough with this idea? Is it truly distinctive?<\/p>\n

Night-time often gives me perspective as the creative percolates in my brain.<\/p>\n

What trait is non-negotiable in new hires?<\/h5>\n

Attitude! You can teach skills, you can\u2019t teach someone out of having a bad attitude.<\/p>\n

Complete this sentence, \u201cI wish more clients\u2026\u201d<\/h5>\n

\u2026saw agencies as true business partners, not just the last stop-gap to bringing a brand to life. Strategy, design thinking and execution perform at their best when the agency is treated as a genuine business partner \u2013 with transparent commercials, shared KPI, and open communication.<\/p>\n

That way, we can really understand how to move the needle together and create real business transformation.<\/p>\n

\nWhat to read next: <\/strong>design\/leader: Conran Design Group\u2019s Lee Hoddy<\/a> | design\/leader: Studio Nari founder Caterina Bianchini<\/a> | design\/leader: Studio Noel founder Michelle Noel<\/a> | design\/leader: Dixon Baxi design director Libby Tsoi<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kelly Mackenzie is co-founder and creative director of White Bear Studio, whose clients include the dairies Freshways and Tom Parker Creamery and secondhand site Thrift+. Design What would your monograph be called? How to Be … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[145],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\ndesign leader: White Bear Studio\u2019s Kelly Mackenzie - Blog TSK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/design-leader-white-bear-studios-kelly-mackenzie\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"design leader: White Bear Studio\u2019s Kelly Mackenzie - Blog TSK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kelly Mackenzie is co-founder and creative director of White Bear Studio, whose clients include the dairies Freshways and Tom Parker Creamery and secondhand site Thrift+. 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