#BehindtheSelfie with... Wade Moonsamy
1. Where do you live, work and play?
I stay in Midrand with my folks, I am incredibly fortunate to work at the infamous Grid Worldwide. You can find me around Johannesburg, doing cool things with great people.
2. What’s your claim to fame?
Being the “young one” in the room.
3. Describe your career so far.
At 20, I completed a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Design at UJ. Right after that, I started my internship as Grid, wide-eyed and hungry, and worked hard to showcase my skills and commitment to design.
4. Tell us a few of your favourite things.
I really love design in all forms, from sneakers and magazines to architecture and furniture.
5. What do you love about your industry?
I love the universality of great design and the fact that through design, you can influence an outcome, purchase or just make something simply beautiful that resonates with people. I also enjoy tackling a business problem and coming up with a creative solution to that problem.
6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.
I think ‘average’ is an over-simplification. Every day is different and filled with challenges, great conversation and creative, mixed in with a dash of admin and emails and reverts.
7. What are the tools of your trade?
My brain, keyboard, 10,000 mouse clicks a day and the internet.
8. Who is getting it right in your industry?
I honestly think Grid is. Creative integration is imperative. At any given time, there are strategists, designers, account execs, experience designers, ad guys, writers, producers, animators, interns, optimists and Nathans working together to solve creative problems.
9. List a few pain points the industry can improve on.
A lack of diversity. I want to see more young, diverse thinkers making big calls in big boardrooms on outcomes that positively affect our generation. I think as an industry, we find ourselves assuming what people want to feel or what they might like. I think we need to better integrate the people we’re speaking to into the creative process.
10. What are you working on right now?
I’m working on my attitude.
11. Tell us some of the buzzwords floating around in your industry at the moment, and some of the catchphrases you utter yourself.
“Dovetail”, “culture”, “alignment”, “iconic”, “craft”.
12. Where and when do you have your best ideas?
At my Mac, with an empty Illustrator artboard and 3-million tabs open in Chrome.
13. What’s your secret talent/party trick?
Being able to speak about almost anything, except maths or country music.
14. Are you a technophobe or a technophile?
Technophile.
15. What would we find if we scrolled through your phone?
Hypebeast, design Tumblrs, pictures of sneakers and, crucially, a thread of unanswerable WhatsApp group threads.
16. What advice would you give to newbies hoping to crack into the industry?
Work hard, ask questions, be open to critisim and be nice to people.
Simple as that. Moonsamy says to follow him on Twitter or Instagram, and visit the Grid Worldwide press office or follow them on the following social media channels: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
*Interviewed by Leigh Andrews.
About Leigh Andrews
Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of diversity, inclusion and equality, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! She can be reached on Twitter at @Leigh_Andrews.
