Interview
Circus, United Kingdom
After years in creative agencies and leading global editorial and photographic teams for National Geographic Magazine, Jay Scott Nicholls founded Circus in 2010. The agency has since become a top creator of award-winning virtual brand experiences, specializing in 360, 3D, Virtual Reality, and the latest addition, Metaverse technology.
1 Please give us a brief bio of yourself and your creative background.
After spending several years in creative agencies, and 7 years leading editorial and photographic teams around the world for National Geographic Magazine, I founded Circus in 2010. The agency has since established itself as a leading creator of award-winning virtual brand experiences - specialising in 360, 3D, Virtual Reality and - most recently - Metaverse technology. As Creative Director, I've had the privilege to directly oversee the delivery of more than 2,000 projects for brands such as Spotofy, Red Bull, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Primark, Royal Opera House, SpaceNK, Hilton, L
2 What made you become/why did you choose to become a creative?
A long-standing love of visual storytelling. There's no substitute. Immersive media just expands the canvas.
3 Tell us more about your business/company, job profile, and what you do.
Circus is an award-winning creative agency, based in London, and specialised in immersive interactive content. It is on a mission to inspire the world's most exciting brands to do things virtually. Using 360, 3D, VR, AR and metaverse techniques to create bespoke digital experiences which engage audiences and drive action - be it taking physical locations online, selling remotely, amplifying launches and events or recruiting and training talent.
4 What does “creativity” mean to you?
Creativity is where ideas and execution combine.
5 To you, what makes a “creative” idea and/or design?
Creativity is rarely a goal in itself. It always has an aim in mind. To inform, inspire or influence. So a successful idea or design isn't judged by how creative or innovative it is, but by whether its execution delivers the intended outcome.
6 Tell us about your creative and/or design process.
Nowadays we are spoilt for choice when it comes to sources of inspiration and tools to realise our concepts. The obvious and most recent revolution has been AI, which makes it possible to rapidly prototype creative concepts. There's been a lot made of AI as a threat to the creative industry, but it's just another tool.
7 What's your favorite part of the creative process and why?
Collaboration. The old cliche that a camel is a horse designed by committee is wrongheaded. A camel is perfectly evolved for its environment, shaped by varied pressures through thousands of incremental improvements. Now there are certainly times when a creative vision has had to be compromised by technical or political constraints, but more often than not the best work is co-created.
8 Describe your creative style and its main characteristics.
We're geeks, so we love trying out new technology and tools. And since all our work is bespoke, every project starts with a blank page. It forces us to think afresh each time.
9 Do you think your country and its cultural heritage has an impact on your creativity process?
Certainly being based in a culture-rich cosmopolitan city like London means we have access to new ideas and storytelling techniques. That's a great privilege.
10 Congratulations! As the winner of the 2023 MUSE Creative Awards, what does it mean to you and your company and team to receive this award distinction?
This award is an opportunity to celebrate the hard work of the team, and to recognise our client who was such a pleasure to collaborate with.
11 Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2023 MUSE Creative Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?
We collaborated with design agency I-AM to create a Virtual Reality experience which showcased KFC's vision for their restaurant of the future. It was a huge hit at events and now the rest of the brands who share the parent company want to do one!
12 What was the biggest challenge with this project?
Bringing a static environment to life always requires thought. Usually it involves animations to introduce movement and audio to engage another sense, thereby helping to complete the illusion and 'sense of place'.
13 How has winning an Award developed your practice/career?
Awards always spur us on to try new things and deliver work for our clients that's not just answering a brief, but is award-worthy.
14 What are your top three (3) favorite things about our industry?
The people. The variety. The technology.
15 What makes your country specifically, unique in the creative industry?
London and the UK more broadly attracts talent. It's a true melting pot.
16 Where do you see the evolution of creative industry going over the next 5-10 years?
We're predicting a revolution in how people consume digital content - driven by the rise of wearable technology. Suddenly people will have instand heads-up access to the world's information, overlaid onto their visual and auditory landscape. And much of the hardware we take for granted today will melt away.
17 If you were a student entering this industry or an aspiring MUSE Creative Awards submitter, what advice would you give them?
Try things. Keep an eye on what's happening, not just in your immediate field but adjacent creative or technical fields. Inspiration can come from anywhere. We recently built a virtual experience for a university that was inspired by TikTok's onboarding sequence!
18 What resources would you recommend to someone who wants to improve their skills in the creative industry?
Take your pick. And it depends on what you're creating. But everyone should be conversant in generative AI.
19 Tell us something you have never told anyone else.
Nice try!
20 Who has inspired you in your life and why?
Too many to name. But honestly, and at the risk of sounding trite, my kids. They create with joyfully and without self-consciousness, they enquire about the world with a literal open-mind, and they're definitely not afraid to say what they think!
21 What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?
Lift your head and set aside time for the things which are important. Too often then get postponed in favour of what's urgent.
22 Do you have anything else you would like to add to the interview?
I'll save it for the next award! ;)
Entrant Company
Circus
Category
Experiential & Immersive - Virtual Reality