Fia Townshend Interview
Fia Townshend, Copy Director at Ragged Edge, shares her journey, verbal identity process, and advice for writers breaking into the creative agency world.
Published on
Apr 29, 2024
0
min. read
At The Subtext, we closely follow the latest rebrands and always look forward to new work coming out of Ragged Edge. The London-based agency is known for delivering unexpected and delightful work for clients of all stripes — tech to finance to consumer goods.
We are thrilled to interview Fia Townshend, the Copy Director at the agency and the woman behind much of their awe-inspiring verbal work. It's always been clear to us that Ragged Edge takes verbal work seriously and this interview confirms our suspicions. Enjoy!
Where’s your hometown?
A slice of quaint English countryside called Woodbridge, Suffolk.
In a few sentences, describe what you do.
Truly, when I introduce myself as a writer I feel like I’m lying. But if you’re still reading after that admission, I’d say I’m an ideas person who happens to have a way with words.
At work, people call me a copy director!! Which means I create the verbal identities for the brands that come through the studio, flying the flag for writing internally and externally.
What was your path to your current role? How and where did you get your start?
In classic copywriter style, I’ve never studied English but I’m a sucker for a story. So I studied the story of art (Art History) at uni. Retrospectively, the theories around aesthetics and visual communication feel pretty relevant now.
The art world wasn’t it for me, but the hunt for a creative career led me to an advertising masters. And my extraversion got me onto the copy team at my first agency, Robot Food.
After a few years up north, my sights were set on London. I loved the writing Ragged Edge was doing and applied for a junior role they weren’t hiring for. Today, I lead the writing team here.
What’s your advice for writers wanting to get their foot in the door at great agencies?
Seeing it written down, I feel like my own trajectory makes a case for shooting your shot. You never know what might come of it.
Beyond that, refine your own tone of voice. Your cover letter, your bio, hell, even your subject line is the perfect place to SHOW people how good you are. Before you start telling them. We’re lucky enough to be in the creative industry. There are no rules.
Have fun with who you are. Double down on what makes you different.
Can you tell us a little bit about the verbal identity process at Ragged Edge. And how is it different from other agencies?
Unlike other agencies I’ve come across, at Ragged Edge, writing and design are on equal footing. We form a creative team from concepts through to implementation. Meaning words weigh in from the outset.
Really, there are no designers and writers in the beginning stages of a project, just creatives in a room (or on a figma board) hashing out ideas. And then, as the project goes on, we use our individual skill sets to form a distinctive brand with a point of view. Our recent work for Omlet is a great example of this. The tone of voice is grounded in questions that inspired real projects. And that voice helps create the world of wonder evoked in the identity.
The more agencies and brands I see waking up to the importance of words, the better. This is 2024! Brands need to be so much more than beautiful. They need a reason to exist and a way to express it.
Is there a Ragged Edge project you feel particularly proud of? What made the project successful?
While we created it a while ago, watching our Papier brand out in the world makes me so proud. Their recent launch in Liberty London feels particularly satisfying as we took so much inspiration from luxury and fashion for the brand.
During the branding project, we came up with the idea to call their customers ‘Paper People’ and now that’s what they call themselves internally.
To me, these feel like successes. Seeing the work we do evolve and take on a life of its own.
What are some copywriter green flags you look for when hiring freelancers and writers on your team?
I love to see people use their powers of persuasion for their own gain. If you’ve got the skills to make a brand stand out, you shouldn’t have any trouble standing out yourself.
What do you enjoy most about working in an agency? What do you wish was different?
I think the best ideas come out of collaboration. I’m surrounded by people who won’t settle for the easy way out and aren’t afraid to stew on a problem even if it feels uncomfortable.
What (or who) are your go-to’s for inspiration or trends that influence your work? Brands? Literature? Thought leaders?
As a kid, I loved stories. As an adult, I understand that everything has a story. And I read everything. The more fodder I fill my brain with, the better ideas I come up with.
I get most of my inspiration outside of branding. Last weekend I watched (not ran!!) the London Marathon. No writing involved, but inspiration by the bucketload.
What are some skills beyond good writing that make the biggest difference in your work?
Communication and humility. What we do is a team sport. We create something from nothing and we do it together. Staring at a blank page is less scary when you allow yourself to be a bit wrong to begin with.
What’s one thing you wish more people understood about our industry?
That brand language is so much more than just the words you see on the final deliverable. A great idea is only as good as the way it’s articulated. A verbal identity should run through every facet of a business.
And, more importantly, that everything would be better with less barriers. There’s value in every kind of difference and there’s still so much work to do in our industry. Did you know that only 12% of creative directors are women?
Writers go by many names in our industry – copywriter, brand writer, verbal specialist, verbal designer, and so on – what name feels most right to you?
Honestly, you do you!
Where can Subtext readers keep up with you?
Over on LinkedIn, trying not to overthink every post.
Bonus Round:
Fuck, marry, kill (copywriter edition): Billboards, Manifestos, Taglines
Fuck a billboard, marry a manifesto and kill a tagline. Don’t @ me!
In one word, what is the enemy of good creative work?
Ego.
At The Subtext, we closely follow the latest rebrands and always look forward to new work coming out of Ragged Edge. The London-based agency is known for delivering unexpected and delightful work for clients of all stripes — tech to finance to consumer goods.
We are thrilled to interview Fia Townshend, the Copy Director at the agency and the woman behind much of their awe-inspiring verbal work. It's always been clear to us that Ragged Edge takes verbal work seriously and this interview confirms our suspicions. Enjoy!
Where’s your hometown?
A slice of quaint English countryside called Woodbridge, Suffolk.
In a few sentences, describe what you do.
Truly, when I introduce myself as a writer I feel like I’m lying. But if you’re still reading after that admission, I’d say I’m an ideas person who happens to have a way with words.
At work, people call me a copy director!! Which means I create the verbal identities for the brands that come through the studio, flying the flag for writing internally and externally.
What was your path to your current role? How and where did you get your start?
In classic copywriter style, I’ve never studied English but I’m a sucker for a story. So I studied the story of art (Art History) at uni. Retrospectively, the theories around aesthetics and visual communication feel pretty relevant now.
The art world wasn’t it for me, but the hunt for a creative career led me to an advertising masters. And my extraversion got me onto the copy team at my first agency, Robot Food.
After a few years up north, my sights were set on London. I loved the writing Ragged Edge was doing and applied for a junior role they weren’t hiring for. Today, I lead the writing team here.
What’s your advice for writers wanting to get their foot in the door at great agencies?
Seeing it written down, I feel like my own trajectory makes a case for shooting your shot. You never know what might come of it.
Beyond that, refine your own tone of voice. Your cover letter, your bio, hell, even your subject line is the perfect place to SHOW people how good you are. Before you start telling them. We’re lucky enough to be in the creative industry. There are no rules.
Have fun with who you are. Double down on what makes you different.
Can you tell us a little bit about the verbal identity process at Ragged Edge. And how is it different from other agencies?
Unlike other agencies I’ve come across, at Ragged Edge, writing and design are on equal footing. We form a creative team from concepts through to implementation. Meaning words weigh in from the outset.
Really, there are no designers and writers in the beginning stages of a project, just creatives in a room (or on a figma board) hashing out ideas. And then, as the project goes on, we use our individual skill sets to form a distinctive brand with a point of view. Our recent work for Omlet is a great example of this. The tone of voice is grounded in questions that inspired real projects. And that voice helps create the world of wonder evoked in the identity.
The more agencies and brands I see waking up to the importance of words, the better. This is 2024! Brands need to be so much more than beautiful. They need a reason to exist and a way to express it.
Is there a Ragged Edge project you feel particularly proud of? What made the project successful?
While we created it a while ago, watching our Papier brand out in the world makes me so proud. Their recent launch in Liberty London feels particularly satisfying as we took so much inspiration from luxury and fashion for the brand.
During the branding project, we came up with the idea to call their customers ‘Paper People’ and now that’s what they call themselves internally.
To me, these feel like successes. Seeing the work we do evolve and take on a life of its own.
What are some copywriter green flags you look for when hiring freelancers and writers on your team?
I love to see people use their powers of persuasion for their own gain. If you’ve got the skills to make a brand stand out, you shouldn’t have any trouble standing out yourself.
What do you enjoy most about working in an agency? What do you wish was different?
I think the best ideas come out of collaboration. I’m surrounded by people who won’t settle for the easy way out and aren’t afraid to stew on a problem even if it feels uncomfortable.
What (or who) are your go-to’s for inspiration or trends that influence your work? Brands? Literature? Thought leaders?
As a kid, I loved stories. As an adult, I understand that everything has a story. And I read everything. The more fodder I fill my brain with, the better ideas I come up with.
I get most of my inspiration outside of branding. Last weekend I watched (not ran!!) the London Marathon. No writing involved, but inspiration by the bucketload.
What are some skills beyond good writing that make the biggest difference in your work?
Communication and humility. What we do is a team sport. We create something from nothing and we do it together. Staring at a blank page is less scary when you allow yourself to be a bit wrong to begin with.
What’s one thing you wish more people understood about our industry?
That brand language is so much more than just the words you see on the final deliverable. A great idea is only as good as the way it’s articulated. A verbal identity should run through every facet of a business.
And, more importantly, that everything would be better with less barriers. There’s value in every kind of difference and there’s still so much work to do in our industry. Did you know that only 12% of creative directors are women?
Writers go by many names in our industry – copywriter, brand writer, verbal specialist, verbal designer, and so on – what name feels most right to you?
Honestly, you do you!
Where can Subtext readers keep up with you?
Over on LinkedIn, trying not to overthink every post.
Bonus Round:
Fuck, marry, kill (copywriter edition): Billboards, Manifestos, Taglines
Fuck a billboard, marry a manifesto and kill a tagline. Don’t @ me!
In one word, what is the enemy of good creative work?
Ego.
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