Next Wednesday, the Kennedys officially invade our offices. As a reminder, the Kennedys is the creative incubator we’re launching alongside our offices in Shanghai and Amsterdam. Our own Tony Davidson describes the experiment as nothing less than a “crash course in creative chaos.”

After a two month-long selection process, which included parsing through hundreds of applications and inviting 18 finalists to furiously tackle a set of tasks in London, we’re happy to have seven Kennedys joining us for some havoc-wreaking.

Yes, you read that correctly: so impressed were we by the quality of applicants, we made room for a seventh Kennedy to round out our chaos-making task force. You’ll be hearing a lot more from the group over the next seven months: the projects they’re working on, what they’re making, their trials, tribulations, triumphs, and foibles — the whole gamut.

To kick things off, we’re introducing the group here on the blog. Read on to find out where they’re from, what makes them tick, what they’re looking forward to over the course of their time here, and more. Without further ado, and in no particular order:

Kennedy #1: Daniel McKee

Hailing from Droitwich Spa (also the hometown of Rik Mayall), Daniel applied to The Kennedys expecting something akin to a real-life version of The Breakfast Club (“just set inside an agency opposed to a high-school library”). He was an in-house runner at Academy Films before accepting the position, keeping himself inspired in his downtime by “investigating a whole new compass of things that have a relation and influence” that drive him to create and stay curious. Once he makes his way to W+K, he’s looking forward to abandoning himself to the environment and playing a role in bringing ideas to life.

Kennedy #2: Peigh (Patrick Asante)

Peigh is a self-described “London boy” who spent weekends “playing disco and funk to tipsy restaurant-goers in Soho” before earning his spot in the Kennedys line-up. He also set up and runs a swim lesson club called Swim Dem Crew, which saw him “barking orders to swimmers and non-swimmers alike.”

Peigh wowed the selection panel with a quick-fire, Snapchat-crafted video featuring friends telling their phone cameras why he’d be an amazing fit for the programme. He’s expecting many a “fast paced, chaotic, creative, sleepless” night once he officially joins his fellow Kennedys at our offices, and he’s looking forward to the “growth, education, and clarity” he hopes the program will bring.

Kennedy #3: Amy Fasey

Where was Amy just a few weeks ago? Answer: “Most definitely drowning in champagne,” following a celebratory streak that involved finishing her degree, earning the Kennedys position, getting nominated for a Cannes Future Lions award, and celebrating her 22nd birthday — all in one week. The Graphic Design major first heard of the Amsterdam Kennedys program a few years ago and had been wanting to apply ever since.

Originally from “Shoreditch-on-Sea” — that’s Hastings, to be exact — she stays inspired by running, taking photos of random things she comes across, and talking to people “a lot,” believing “a tiny snippet of conversation can spark the most valuable idea.”

In terms of her favourite work from W+K, Amy’s a fan of “Keep Up” and the Three Pony: “Who doesn’t love a moonwalking Shetland?!”

Kennedy #4: Rachel Clancy

Rachel is originally from Limerick City, where she studied Visual Communication and Graphic Design at Limerick School of Art and Design. She’s worked various creative jobs over the years, including a stint overseas in Boston, but in looking for a new adventure decided to apply to The Kennedys.

She describes the interview process as “an absolute gauntlet” — a welcome taste of the madness to ensue over the coming months. In terms of what keeps Rachel creatively piquéd, she’s inspired by music, experimenting with Photoshop, her friends from LSAD, and beekeeping. It remains to be seen if we’ll let her install a beehive on the office roof.

Kennedy #5: Marcus Lackmann

Marcus joins us fresh off a Graphic Design course at Berghs School of Communication in Stockholm. He grew up in a town just north of Stockholm called Åkersberga, known for “Tommys tokiga torsdagstimme” (roughly translated: Tommy’s Crazy Thursday Hour), where 18 Swedish crowns (£1.50) gets you a beer. “Good times,” recalls Marcus. 

He lives by three tricks that “aren’t really tricks,” in his words, to stay inspired: “1. Leave it (it will come later). 2. Talk to people. 3. Draw stupid things.” As a Kennedy, he’s looking forward to working with real clients and great people. That last part is especially important to Marcus, as he’s driven by those who “don’t settle for ‘good enough.’” It’s a personal truism that sounds awfully similar to one of our Wiedenisms: “Find people who make you better.” He’s looking to emerge from the Kennedys experience smarter and better, with work he can proudly put in his portfolio.

Kennedy #6: Vytas Niedvaras

Vytas was studying Creative Computing at Goldsmiths before joining The Kennedys, an opportunity he was compelled by for the chance to apply his skills to a “diverse range of mediums and practices.” In the end, Vytas simply wants to “make cool stuff” and integrate his technical practice with “traditional approaches to concept[ing] and content creation.” Hoping to learn a lot, question things, and build amazing stuff, Vytas is the Kennedys’ resident tech expert, who brings his practice of “control, recursion, emergence and chaos” to the programme.

Kennedy #7: Emma Moffat

After studying History at university, Emma found herself working as Line Producer of feature films at Double Negative VFX. She was drawn to the Kennedys as it sounded like W+K was just the sort of chaos- and eccentricity-embracing place that she was searching for.

Emma writes and directs films in her spare time, and she also uses prompts to write short stories, reads (a lot), and consumes a range of films, theatre, and television shows to keep her creativity sharp. Once she joins the team, she’s looking forward to “getting involved in direction where possible,” “creating awesome ideas and working with interesting people.” All that, and taking advantage of the many cushy working booths we have at the office.