Sarah Cassell.
In this series, AdNews spotlights young talent in the Australian media, marketing and advertising sector. This time it's 303 Mullenlowe art director Sarah Cassell.
Time in current role/time at the company
Three months
How long have you been in the industry?
Around three years. Most of that time was spent as a graphic designer in specialist design agencies rather than within advertising. I’ve found there’s a strong overlap in the kind of creative problem solving both roles demand.
How did you get here?
I studied Communication Design and was admittedly awful at the design side, which made things hard. I had big ideas but lacked the skill to bring them to life and was racked with insecurity. Determined to push through, I spent a few years honing my design ability and got to a place beyond basic capability. Something clicked. I started backing myself, not just to do the work but to do it well. With that confidence, I was ready to return to the conceptual side of creativity, where I’d always had the most fun, and bring ideas and craft together. Completing AWARD School in 2024 gave me the structure and opportunities I needed, and the people I met there pushed me to do my best work. Thanks to them, I had a cracking run and landed the creative role I was chasing.
Was this always the plan?
My immediate reaction to this question was no, absolutely not, never in my life has a plan worked out. But looking back, where I’ve ended up professionally actually aligns with what I’ve always felt I was meant to do. It’s just that the path here wasn’t what I expected. I’ve faced redundancies and pandemics, I’ve built a career in a city I never even dreamed I’d visit. Though things haven’t gone according to plan per se, I’ve always had a north star of what I wanted my life to be full of. It’s more holistic than a job title: it’s a sense of creative fulfilment. I’ve chosen to move toward at every opportunity. It certainly feels like that’s paying off.
Who is your right-hand person/who guides you day to day?
Both metaphorically and spatially (since their desks are both to my right) it’s my copywriting partner Ellysia Burton and our creative director Sara Oteri. They’re fierce, funny and full of vision. The best guides you could ask for.
What’s the best thing about the industry you work in?
The endless opportunities. There’s a million and one ways to crack a brief, and even more ways to execute the work. Each project is both a fun as hell opportunity and terrifying responsibility, and teetering on that line is thrilling.
And the biggest challenge?
I welcome more humanity in the world of commercial creativity. Yes, ego can push us to produce our best work. But in the quest for perfection, I sense we’re all scared to rock the boat, caught in the pressure to impress everyone else who’s doing the same. I truly believe creativity would thrive if more of us embraced honesty and authenticity. The work would be stronger, and so would the connections behind it.
Whose job have you set your sights on in the future?
I’m looking to spend the next few years broadening my creative experience, rather than following a strictly linear path. I'm especially interested in art directing across different markets, as well as in entirely adjacent fields to advertising, to explore all the ways creativity can tap into and create culture. It’d be a lovely contrast to work in fields people consciously seek out, like music or magazines, and apply the learnings to advertising later down the line.
Though I’m prioritising variety in the short term, I certainly have the urge to create long-term, tangible impact within one entity. To truly own and shape a creative vision. Whether that’s within agency, client-side or something else entirely is still up in the air, but the goal is the same: to build something with depth and lasting influence.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
When I’m looking at design, I always look at the work of those better than me to get the wheels turning. When it comes to concepts, I stick strictly to the real world. People watching. Eavesdropping at intersections. Perusing photojournalism or art galleries. And when I’m really stuck, I hop in a sauna or jump in the ocean. The physical shock loosens things out of my brain, and spending time not intentionally trying to solve something usually results in the best solve possible.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I’m uncomfortable with silence and will awkwardly overshare to fill the void. I think they all wish they knew less about me.
In five years' time I'll be…
Quicker and sharper, feeling that my portfolio reflects my ambition and ability. I’ll have worked internationally. I’ll be so satisfied with the work I’m doing within work hours that I no longer feel the urge to stay up late making more. Beyond those introspective data points, I have no idea. But I can’t wait to find out.
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