Authenticity in Storytelling: A Conversation with Lake Buckley, the Creative Director of SpecialGuest

Lake Buckley is the Creative Director at SpecialGuest, a Brooklyn-based communication and arts company. Lake is an award-winning designer and creative director working across film, branding, photography and illustration. In 2017, she turned down an in-house role at Patagonia to launch her freelance design career in a tiny studio in Brooklyn, New York.

Anastasiia Tokar (BT): Let’s start at the point when it all began for you. In an interview for TechCrunch, you stated that since you were little, you have always had a hundred projects going on at once. You were “knitting shoes, baking bread, drawing, making short movies with your brothers,” etc. When did you realize that these childhood projects were something more than a hobby?

Lake Buckley (LB): Ultimately, I think I always knew I wanted my life to revolve around creativity. It’s been the main place in my life where I can lose sense of time and really get into a flow state. 

After high school, I decided to go to a liberal arts college where I worked on a science degree and arts degree. I did a couple design internships during college, but ultimately, it wasn’t until going to grad school for design that things got more focussed for me. 

BT: You’ve mentioned that you have worked as an employee for big companies like Levi Strauss & Co., and then you have also worked for Patagonia. However, you have also spent a part of your career working as a freelancer. Where are you most comfortable working? More specifically, do you enjoy being self-employed or do you prefer to work for a big brand name?

LB: At this point in my career, I am more comfortable working at small or medium size agencies. I am not interested in working in-house quite yet, because I love the diversity of projects that I am able to work on in an agency setting. I prefer being full-time for this moment because I enjoy the added responsibility and the feeling of community I have. 

BT: You have a lot of amazing projects in your portfolio. What was your most favorite so far, and which one are you most proud of?

LB: I don't think I have any favorite projects. But, when I look back, the thing that makes me excited about them is reflecting on what the learning curve was. The only project that I don’t appreciate in retrospect or don’t look back to with gratitude are the ones I wasn’t learning from. And, I think, that’s just the biggest thing. My favorite projects are the ones that stretched me the most, or involved some creative risk that made me slightly unsure of whether or not I’d pull off the final result. 

BT: From what I saw, you’ve been actively involved with the production of social projects like #votewithyourtote and Illusion for a Better Society. What role do design and film industries play when persuading people to take action, be it a decision to refuse plastic bags or think about their perception of politics, ethics, and racism?

LB: There is definitely a responsibility to be mindful of who is given the responsibility of telling a given story. I think the industry has a responsibility to bring more diversity to the creative teams that are producing ads and content. The lack of diversity in these spaces makes it easy to understand why something insane like the Kylie Jenner Pepsi ad could have ever made it out into the world. Change the Lens is one project asking directors to take a pledge to staff jobs with 15% black department heads + crew on every job. Agencies, producers and directors can take this pledge.

When it comes to environmental, political and other ethical concerns, I think it mostly boils down to individual motivation. However, it would be great to create industry wide standards for ethical creative production. I try to do at least one pro-bono project a year. It’s definitely not enough to make a meaningful impact. I need to do more, and so does the industry. 

Maybe Cannes should create the equivalent for LEED certification except for production? People need some selfish motivations for doing things different. 

“There is definitely a responsibility to be mindful of who is given the responsibility of telling a given story.”

BT: Moving on to your position as a Creative Director at SpecialGuest. The agency’s clientele is impressive: Facebook, Google, Youtube, and National Geographic are among many other great companies. However, big brands tend to move away from third-party helping them with marketing and branding. How does SpecialGuest and you, in particular, see the importance of your work for the benefit of prominent clients who have strong brand teams?

LB: One thing about SpecialGuest is that we are both an agency and a production studio. When we work with brands, we do everything from concepting through execution. As a production agency hybrid model, there is a ton of efficiency that is gained from working with people who are doing creative development and production because there is a natural understanding of feasibility, and ways to marry the concept with technique. 

As for the big companies, I think our outside perspective can be really advantageous since we are a small experimental agency always trying to look at things differently. We can come to a project with fresh excitement and ideas. We are constantly working with so many different brands, we are never stuck thinking in one particular way of approaching a creative problem. 

BT: You’ve made yourself by yourself. You stand behind your success and your name. What would you recommend other rising designers, agencies, or even small businesses when they embark on a journey of promoting their names, brands, and identities?

LB: Something that is always super helpful is to understand how you want other people to perceive you/your work and how you want to tell your story as a creative. Knowing what you are really excited to make helps a lot on your journey. Focus on the work and your craft, you really have to put in the hours. Dedicate yourself to the thing that is right in front of you, the rest will follow. 

A teacher and friend told me: “Make the work that you want to make.” It is so simple, but it’s a great question to ask yourself. It can be a starting point, or an ongoing reflection.