Creativity Squared: Rick Kwan on Why Clarity is King

Rick Kwan is an award-winning photographer and creative partner at Grey Hong Kong Studio. Prior to Grey, he was executive creative director at Dentsu Hong Kong and regional executive director at BCW. When not roaming the streets with his camera while listening to Revisionist History, Rick loves debating 90s vs current hip hop and why "Swifties could save the world.

Person

Rick> I was very young when I started a career outside of advertising as a primary school teacher. This was probably one of my greatest creative challenges because each day, I had to pitch ideas to an audience who needed to be engaged, delighted, and retain whatever I was pitching to them. The role also helped me understand that people learn or digest information in different ways – sometimes by seeing, sometimes by listening and sometimes by physically going through a process. This makes even more sense in what I do now as a creative, so I always try to explore as many platforms and channels as possible to reach various audiences effectively.

From my observations at that time, I would say that creativity is encouraged from a young age but, unfortunately, starts to be discouraged as we age. Most traditional education systems don't reward curiosity and add more pressure to succeed rather than support a "try-and-try again" mindset.

Product

Rick> Now more than ever, work that has a simple human insight is what moves me and gets me excited. In some ways, it's even harder to find fresh insights because so much great work has already been done, but at the same time, people evolve and have different patterns and behaviour, so using data in a way that is easy to understand and reflects what's happening is always impactful.

One piece of work that I still look back fondly at is ArtMap, done for Cathay Pacific Marco Polo members. The brief was to come up with something to wish members a happy birthday, but we thought we could give them a more innovative birthday gift linked to their travel habits. We worked with Henry Chu to develop an algorithm that created a bespoke work of contemporary Chinese art that painted the member's travel over the past year. It was simple and made me look at data from a new perspective.

Process

Rick> Like most creatives, my mind is always collecting inspiration through various forms. I love reading non-fiction, especially biographies, listening to podcasts, and going down online rabbit holes too many times to mention. However, I also find inspiration through music or simply observing people. I am an avid photographer and enjoy going out and indulging my passion for street photography. I can wander and snap for hours on end, wherever I may be. For example, when briefed on projects for the

Hong Kong Tourism Board, I spend hours or days taking images of places and the people visiting. Photography also helps when I travel since I can find insights into what makes people want to go to different places.

Press

Rick> Being a Canadian who has called Taipei, London and Hong Kong home throughout my years has helped me understand and bridge cultures. I was fortunate enough to attend Central Saint Martins and meet people from different disciplines and backgrounds. When we worked on projects together, I was amazed at how differently we saw things. However, when we agreed on an insight, more times than not, it turned out to be very successful, and ever since then, it has shaped how I collaborate in my work, whether with my team or with clients.

When it comes to my own creativity, I need to have a quiet space while listening to my "Deep Focus" playlist or "Genius Frequency – 60hz Hyper Gamma Binaural Beats." I'm quite a passionate person, so I need something that gives me clarity and helps me work deeply for a few hours, or else I would simply be all over the place! I think it's the same with any type of creative work, getting the best out of people or the best work from agencies – clarity is king, or as Brene Brown famously said, "Clear is kind. Unclear is unkind." If we can spend a bit more time on being kind, then I believe in the work.