Hitchcock Michalski is a branding agency that strives to deliver useful, actionable brand solutions and “build distinctive brands”.
According to founding partner Maciek Michalski, “Distinctiveness is a brand looking like itself and is a characteristic far more critical for brands than differentiation, as one needs customers to quickly notice, recognise and recall your brand over others. Not only visually but by what you do and what you say.”
To learn more about his and his agency’s philosophies and how he became the industry leader he is today, I sat down with Maciek and got to know him a little better.
Tell us a bit about your role! Is there a “typical” day?
Inspire, guide and nurture our young creative team. Being actively involved in design
projects from concept to implementation brings me insurmountable joy. I have a fantastic
business partner that takes care of client relationships and everyday management of our business which allows me to focus strictly on our creative product.
Our typical day is based on input in form of conversations, points of view, critical analysis of projects and the morning coffee.
What was the biggest challenge in getting to your current position?
As a young designer I was quiet territorial about my work, working in isolation was my way of protecting my intellectual property and proving to my creative directors that I’m capable of delivering on the work.
As soon as I let go of this possessive obsession and learnt to collaborate with designers, writers, artists and people around me the work become more enjoyable and meaningful.
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
I was born in Poland and grew up in South Africa. Being less biased, more patient and understanding of our cultural diversity, open spaces and flora and fauna all had a profound effect on my approach to creativity and new ideas, teaching me to listen better and appreciate all that is not perfect.
What is your biggest career-related win? What is your biggest loss?
Biggest win – Opening up Hitchcock Michalski with my partner Fiona Hitchcock in 2014.
Biggest loss – all my losses are my biggest – they make me want to fight harder, do better and grow from them.
Which individuals and/or agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
Biggest influence in my career - Rudy VanderLans, Garth Walker, Massimo Viignelli,
Paula Sher, Ken Kato and Oliviero Toscani
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
I’m fortunate enough to love what I do and do what I love.
What’s your one big dream for the future of the industry?
As technology, visualisation apps and communication tools improve – design is becoming accessible to much broader audience. Currently we’re seeing a spawn of lookalike creative concepts driven by services like Pinterest, Instagram, Behance and most recently the AI revolution, design has become mainstream.
Originality will become more important than ever, and people and brands will once again search for individuals and companies that can provide a truly standout meaningful creative solutions.
What are your top tips for aspiring creative professionals?
Read, have conversations, be curious, don’t judge, look up at the world around you, get uncomfortable, inspiration is not on the phone or computer, talk to old people.
What are your top tips for other creative leaders?
To many creative leaders and not creatives anymore - leave management to management, have your own projects. Inspire listen and learn from the younger ones, and … read, have conversations, be curious, don’t judge, look up at the world around you, get uncomfortable, inspiration is not on the phone or computer, talk to old people.
When you think about your team, what is the thing that matters to you the most?
Grit – courage to push boundaries, passion – for the work we do, perseverance to try again and again to make it better, resilience – when work gets rejected, awareness of those around you. Love of our office pets.
Do you have any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
Graphic Life - Michael Gericke
The Politics of Design - Ruben Pater
Trademarks and Symbols – Yasaburo Kuwayama
Things I Have Learned in my life so far – Stefan Sagmeister
The Art of Looking Sideways – Alan Fletcher
