Wayne Brown
In this series, AdNews spotlights young talent in the Australian media, marketing and advertising sector. This time it's Cureative's founder and managing director Wayne Brown.
Time in Current Role:
I founded Cureative almost seven years ago, and my role has evolved significantly during that time. I’ve worn many hats within the business and still do. Back in 2018, I was freelancing as a graphic designer, loosely branding my services under the Cureative name.
In 2019, as the COVID pandemic shifted the landscape and remote working became more widely accepted, I transitioned fully into building Cureative as a business. As we grew and hired more team members, my role shifted into more of a director position, helping clients uncover their creative challenges and find the right solutions. That said, I still enjoy staying hands-on with design work, it’s important to keep up with ever-evolving software, and staying connected to the creative side keeps me energised.
How long have you been in the industry?
I started my career back in 2010, landing a job straight out of university. Since then, I’ve spent the majority of my career honing my craft, working with some of the biggest brands and companies in the industry.
How did you get here? Was this always the plan?
While studying during my second year of university, I created the logo that would later become Cureative’s brand identity. Even then, I instinctively knew I would one day run my own company, I can still remember the conversation I had with a close friend about it.
My first attempt at launching Cureative was in 2013, but a lack of experience, relationships, and revenue led me to put the business on hold and focus on gaining more industry knowledge. After a few more years in the field, I decided to give it another shot in 2018 using the same logo and branding. Seven years later, here we are. Building Cureative has required huge amounts of determination, perseverance, and self-learning. In the early days, I was working 80–120 hours a week, often through the night and on weekends. Yet despite the long hours, it rarely felt like "work." Creativity has always been a passion of mine and when you love what you do, it reflects in the quality of your work.
Who is your right-hand person?
That’s a tough one because it depends on the situation and the challenge at hand. Over time, I’ve built a trusted community of specialists, people I rely on when I need expert advice or support. I like to think it’s a two-way street too. I might need to start counting how often I’m the one calling versus answering!
What is the best thing about the industry you work in?
I’m passionate about helping businesses understand the value that great design brings.
The industry is evolving rapidly, driven by companies like Canva, Microsoft, Atlassian, and the increasing influence of Artificial Intelligence. Every year brings new innovation, which keeps us creative professionals on our toes. For me, there’s nothing better than turning a written brief into an exceptional piece of work, helping businesses generate ideas, solve problems, and tell their story through creative design.
And the biggest challenge?
While project-based creative work remains rewarding, maintaining commercial viability is becoming more challenging.The market is shifting towards a "pay less, get more" mentality.
Budgets are being stretched, but the iterative creative process (where refinement is key) has not gotten any shorter. There’s a misconception that design has become easy thanks to tools and AI. While technology can assist with certain tasks, real creativity still requires human expertise, intuition, and craft. At Cureative, we’re meeting this challenge head-on by focusing on building strong partnerships, investing in continuous improvement, and finding smarter ways to deliver outstanding work.
Where do you turn for inspiration?
Self-learning is part of my everyday routine. Whether I’m listening to podcasts, reading books, or exploring new fields of knowledge, I try to keep my mind stretched and challenged. I believe inspiration often comes from unexpected places, and a well-rounded approach to learning helps fuel both creativity and strategic thinking.
My Favourite Advert Is:
The Specsavers campaign, "Should’ve gone to Specsavers," stands out for me. For more than a decade, they’ve consistently told clever, relatable stories and remained relevant to a wide audience. One of their most recent campaigns involved trolling tourists by welcoming them to the wrong city, it was a brilliant example of keeping a legacy campaign fresh and culturally sharp.
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you:
I’m fascinated by the human mind, body, and soul. Recently, I’ve developed an interest in astrology and the concept of other worlds. I’ve also found myself drawn to learning more about historical mysteries like how and why the Egyptians built the pyramids which taps into my natural curiosity about the universe.
In five years’ time, I will be:
I see Cureative continuing to grow and evolve. My goal is to continue expanding our presence internationally, building our teams across multiple time zones without losing the personal, high-quality service we’re known for. I also want to focus more on mentoring young creative talent helping the next generation navigate the same challenges I once faced.
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