Introducing a new series of brief interviews where we find out more about the creative inspirations, influences and expressions of the friendly faces behind LEAP. Keep reading as we reveal the hidden talents of our team.
First in the hot seat is Roger Cayless, creative director of our employer branding department. You may know Roger for his expertise in brand marketing, corporate communications, B2B and the employer branding sectors, but did you know about his flair for comedy?
How do you express your creativity?
It’s my job to think of creative and engaging ways to communicate messages to an audience. This involves ideas expressed through art direction, writing, film, animation etc., across a wide range of different media platforms. So, I express creativity in this way.
Outside of work, I see creativity as a frame of mind that questions the way that things have always been done and seeks alternatives. My other creative outlets include taking photos and videos (but who doesn’t?). And, I attempt to write comedy. I’ve written a couple of screenplays, but it’s not for me to say if they are funny or not.
What are your creative tools?
What are my creative tools? The smug answer is: my brain. It’s the most powerful creative tool we all possess as humans. It puts us at the top of the food chain and means we are capable of creating Moleskines and MacBooks – the tools I use for scribbling down ideas.
When does creative inspiration usually strike?
For me, creative inspiration doesn’t strike like a bolt of creative lightning – I wish it did. It’s a process of research, thinking and exploring different possibilities before arriving at the best option. Annoyingly, this is frequently in the middle of the night.
Do you do anything special to boost your creativity?
Creativity is a muscle you need to exercise – keep thinking of ideas. Sadly, I’ve never had a good idea while doing judo and amazing drunken ideas tend to be rather less good once viewed through sober eyes.
Where is your creative place?
Most of my creative work is done at a semi-tidy desk. But for pure thinking, it’s ideally anywhere that is distraction-free. To focus, I often accompany thinking with a Hans Zimmer film score. It puts me under pressure to have more dramatic ideas in order to do the music justice.
Who’s your inspiration?
I’d like to be able to point to one person as my inspiration, but the truth is, it’s a mixture of colleagues and relatives from throughout my career and people from all different walks of life who have total commitment to what they do…and of course my wife. Her ability to pretend she’s listening with interest to my anecdotes is an inspiration to all.
What’s your hidden talent?
My amazing talent as a judo player is extremely well hidden. In fact, it’s so well hidden, it manifests itself as an average ability. I have published a comedy book with a friend. (I didn’t design the cover; it’s terrible). It was a book of secretly drawn bad caricatures from our commute and what we thought they were thinking. I’ve also had some interest in one of my screenplays from Channel 4 – they thought it was funny but it didn’t go beyond that.
Is there anything else you’d like to share? Judo competition videos? No? How about a link to purchase your comedic commuter caricature book?
You can buy a copy of Faces from the Train in paperback via Amazon.
Find out more about the people of LEAP in other interviews with members of our team.
