Designer Self-Statement: Love and War’s Turn from Dissatisfaction

Is was through their work for New York City Restaurateur and Food Network star Geoffrey Zakarian that creative agency Love and War caught my attention. A clear truth emerges when the agency describes themselves: Dissatisfaction leads to something better. The founders of Love and War took their dissatisfying work circumstances, envisioned a workplace aligned to their work-style, and then made it real:

“Love and War is the agency we wanted to hire, but couldn’t find, when we were on the client side. It is the company we wanted to work for, but couldn’t find, as creatives.

Instead of departmental silos, we wanted a single ‘go to’ team that could attack problems, develop creative solutions, and execute across print, web, and broadcast media. We wanted to work with people who had an intuitive grasp of brand strategy and a knack for breakthrough creative.

We wanted a streamlined structure and a flexible process. We wanted to work with people who would roll up their sleeves and get it done.

We couldn't find the agency we wanted. So we created it.”

There’s a “viral” quote that goes “The best way to complain is to make things.” It’s attributed to James Murphy, founder of retired band LCD Soundsystem. Creating is complaining, and Love and War is doing just that. They also call themselves “creatives” which may make you run, but in this case, toward them because they mean it.

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This is a piece in a series focused on collecting and pointing to “effortless” expressions, created by designers describing themselves. In these pieces, designers reveal something about their attitude toward work—whatever their discipline may be—one “About Me” at a time. In case you missed the previous release, read about Lundgren+Lindqvist’s Enthusiasm for Design and Friends Along The Way.