Instagram’s got a glut of agency folks on the platform. Some do it for the food porn; others show off their side hustle. We’ve rounded up some of U.K. adland’s most inspiring ‘grammers for you to copy — sorry — get inspired by.
The concept guy
Mark Shanley is an art director at Wieden + Kennedy London. Besides his main account (titled Shark Manley), he also runs 100Paddys.
Here, he is transforming his copywriter partner, Paddy Treacy, into 100 different works of art on a daily basis as part of the 100 Days challenge.
There’s Paddy as a Roy Lichtenstein painting, Paddy in an Ikea catalog and even Paddy as a mythical potato.
The cartoonist
Jacob Hill-Gowing is an art director at agency BBD Perfect Storm. He uses his Instagram page to create large-scale cartoons that intersect across multiple images on his feed.
There are surrealist animals like cat-men and also some clever twists that mix photography with his brightly colored drawings.
“I’m inspired by everything really: current affairs, things I’ve heard, stuff I see on the way to work. I’ve really enjoyed experimenting with drawing onto photography,” he said.
The clown
Miles Bingham is a creative director at J. Walter Thompson London. He describes his feed as a combination nature shots and stupidity.
There’s a ton of taxidermy animals, some with jaunty hats, some on skateboards. What more does one need?
It’s also worth mentioning fellow JWT creative director Fernando Barbella, whose eclectic feed includes aerial shots of all the places he has lived.
The artist
If you like someone that commits to a theme, you’ll love the Instagram of Winston Duke, a motion designer at TMW Unlimited. It’s all black and white, as far as the thumb can scroll.
With a mix of portraits and brooding light tricks captured on 35 millimeter film, Duke says the account is about pure self-expression. Plus, there’s some of his hypnotic, creepy-cool GIFs, which have been featured in exhibitions including Giphy’s Loop Dreams in New York.
The intern
Joseph Paul is an intern in Ogilvy & Mather UK’s six-month placement program. A keen Instagrammer, he’s got the pale color palette and clean, symmetrical lines of Wes Anderson. He posts incredibly pleasing shots of tidy workspaces, too.
“Almost every shot I share, though, has the focus in the center. I tend to ignore the rule of thirds,“ he said.
He’s also passionate about only using his iPhone to shoot on Instagram, even though he has an SLR camera.
“Last week, I used the native iPhone camera to shoot my commute to Ogilvy and preparing my Monday morning breakfast in slow motion, and then edited and uploaded each shot to Stories afterwards. It was different. People seemed to love it.”
The emoji lover
Caroline Roose is a designer at Odd London. She’s a big fan of the Clarendon filter, and, if you need a lesson in emoji mastery, she is your woman.
“And you should follow me if you like tattoos because 90 percent of the people I follow are tattoo artists,” said Roose. “If you lurk which pictures I have liked, you discover amazing artists.”
The traveller
Zach Sheppard is a designer at DigitasLBi’s London office who will put your hotdog legs to shame with his stunning travel photos.
Recent shots include scenic views at Canada’s Yoho National Park, monkeys in Gibraltar and adventures into woods, lakes and cities.
“’My photography is a showcase for my love of travel and adventure,” he said. “Whether I’m exploring epic landscapes or discovering abandoned urban spaces, I like to make sure I’ve got my camera to hand to document it.”
The street art connoisseur
Dan Harvey is the chief creative officer at digital agency Zone. He has spent the majority of his career in New York, but since moving to the U.K. he’s become interested in the country’s thriving street art scene.
“For an expat like me it’s encouraged a lot of exploration,” he said.
His favorite photo so far is the one he took of the David Bowie mural in Brixton (above) shortly after the star’s death. “What resonates with me about this photo is how the mural is still a point of pilgrimage for heartbroken Bowie fans,” he said.
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