• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

It’s no surprise when designer Morag Myerscough says her environment is crucial to her work, wellbeing and inspiration. Her award-winning London studio collaborates with some of the world's top architects and cultural institutions on exhibition design, environmental graphics and place-making schemes.

It’s no surprise when designer Morag Myerscough says her environment is crucial to her work, wellbeing and inspiration. Her award-winning London studio collaborates with some of the world's top architects and cultural institutions on exhibition design, environmental graphics and place-making schemes.

"I work in a top lit studio and I think natural light is essential to wellbeing and inspiration. Having everything around me instantly, if I decide I want to cut some stencils, do some spraying, make models and prototypes - it is all easy to do."

Morag is one of the international speakers at the art and creative industries showcase, We Can Create, in Auckland on August 26-27.

She will talk about how being bred and born in London stimulates and affects her work, giving narratives to buildings and making spaces for people to experience.

During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?

No particular time but I suppose at the moment the mornings are feeling good.

How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?

I better ask one of my friends, get back to you shortly. But I would imagine they might say ‘BRAVE, BOLD and COLOURFUL’ but I might be wrong.

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?

At the moment I am working on so many great projects there is no one thing that gives me the biggest thrill. But I do love when I am given a big empty space, to work out what to do with it.

How does your environment affect your work?

It is crucial to me, I work in a top lit studio and I think natural light is essential to wellbeing and inspiration. Having everything around me instantly, if I decide I want to  cut some stencils, do some spraying, make models and prototypes - it is all easy to do. I live and work in the same building which is great as I have so much more time not worrying about travelling I can stop and start when I like.

I live in the heart of Hoxton in London which is another level of inspiration. As my poster said ‘LONDON BORN LONDON BRED UNTIL I DIE AND THEN I’M DEAD’

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

Big picture but then the key is not forgetting the details or to much can be lost on the way.

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

Be true to yourself, trust and listening.

Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?

As I mentioned this has been a great year, each project brings different challenges and different rewards and so I would not be able to say one particular project but all my projects as a whole, they are just getting better and better.

Who or what has inspired you recently?

Working on my project in San Francisco and the great team of people I have been working out there with.

Tell us a bit about your background.

Born bred London, my father was a Viola player and my mother is a textile artist. Went to local schools. Then St Martin’s and the Royal College of Art.

Tell us a bit about your latest projects.

Just completing a large installation project for Zynga in San Francisco, working on a large signage project with Cartlidge Levene, working on a couple of exhibitions can’t mention who or what at the moment. Working with architects AHMM on three schools, the list goes on……….

Tell us a bit about what you’ll be talking about at We Can Create.

I will talk about how being born and bred in London stimulates and affects my work, how and where I live, what I like and some things I don’t. How I give narratives to buildings and make spaces for people to experience. A fascination in making work that engages people on many levels has led me to become known as a ‘Placemaker’. Using scale and colour which is so paramount in my work.

If you could go back and choose a completely different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?

I have thought about this long and hard on a few occasions but I have decided it is not healthy to think ‘the grass is greener’. So actually I believe I made the right choice and within my choice I have made it work for me in the way I want it to.

What place is always with you, wherever you go?

My home, my family home and London.

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?

Live

What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?

I don’t really know what stress relief is so I am not the best person to ask.

What's great about today?

The sun is out and I am doing what I want to do

What’s great about We Can Create?

I am really looking forward to being part such a creative forum, I am very honoured to have been asked to talk.

What’s your big idea for 2012?

Not thought as far ahead as that yet

Further information:

The integration of design and its environment is central to Morag Myerscough's approach; not being controled by labels and limitations.

Myerscough studied graphic design at St Martin's School of Art, London (1983-1986) and the Royal College of Art & Design (1986-1988). She set up her own cross-disciplinary design practice, Studio Myerscough, in 1993.

"Challenges keep my design fresh and I am always open to the unexpected," says Myerscough. "I never approach a job with any preconceptions; it's important to find the best way to work on a project and not be constrained by set formulas from the outset. I relish collaborations and trust."

Morag Myerscough's award-winning studio collaborates with some of the world's most respected architects and cultural institutions on exhibition design, environmental graphics and place-making schemes. Her collaborations with the architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris have resulted in nominations for the Stirling Prize in each of the last two years. Myerscough's broad range of self-initiated projects, including the Her House and Her Gallery concepts, constantly challange what it means to be a designer in the 21st Century.