Katie Moon
Creative Director at Moon Haus
Right now, I’m Creative Director at Moon Haus — which is a fancy way for saying after six years in agency-land, I’ve become self-employed. My LinkedIn bio will tell you that I’m a “creative multi-hyphenate solving problems at the speed of social”, but I'll tell you that I specialise in content, culture and driving earned creativity, and; others often hire me when they’re short on ideas or words.
Career & Background
What inspired you to do what you are doing now?
For me, “what inspired you to do what you are doing now” offers a boring answer (and somewhat sad story) where a young woman who chose a Mass Communications degree over Forensics because it “was too odd” or Art because it “wouldn’t make her any money”.
But “what inspires you to do what you do, every day” provides a far more interesting (and somewhat more motivating) response. Instead, we’ll hear how a young woman ended up where she is now through a relentless pursuit of learning. How every day she’s excited to create something that makes an impact — Even if only a small one. Like the way that this answer might encourage someone to rethink the framing of their question.
What was your journey and where are you headed in your career right now?
Before Moon Haus and over the last decade, I’ve worked in both an agency environment and across a variety of in-house roles.
Most recently, as Creative Director at Aruga, I led marketing, social and activation projects for countless clients, including Brisbane EDA, Curiocity Brisbane, The Tivoli, The Princess Theatre and Brisbane Airport Corporation to name a few.
Prior to Aruga, my agency career started when I landed at Red Havas to fill a one-month contract which instead turned into a two-year tenure. During that time, I was lucky enough to be a driving force within Red Social, delivering successful campaigns for Aspen Australia, Beko and Caravanning Queensland.
For additional info, caffeine is required — simply know that it primarily involved fashion e-Commerce and hospitality marketing.
Your favourite food for thought
Books
- The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
- Creative Acts for Curious People by Stein Greenburg
- The Art of Creative Thinking by Rod Judkins
Podcasts / Thought Leaders
- I would say my favourite podcasts / thought leaders depends on the topic of interest. My current favourite is Hacking Your ADHD.
What drives and inspires you
What are your core values?
- Authenticity
- Growth
- Kindess
Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
My biggest inspiration is David Bowie. I even have a Barbie collectible doll of the pop chameleon that sits on my desk as a daily reminder of his legacy.
He’s an inspiration for so many people, but for me David Bowie is a reminder of a few key things…
At the risk of sounding too trite to be taken seriously, David Bowie is a reminder to “Be Original by Being Yourself”.
He put his heart and soul into everything he did and proved that even if being yourself meant swimming against the stream, you could still thrive.
He was never one to fall behind and constantly took the world’s changes into his own hands. In fact, Bowie released an internet-only single long before most artists had even thought about the internet.
Plus, he was the king of collaboration and harnessed it’s power to produce some of his most famous work, including “Fame” which he co-wrote with John Lennon.
He was a true creative multi-hyphenate that never stopped seeking inspiration or creating. During his life, Bowie reached far beyond his role as a musician and explored so many things, from music and musicals, to writing, miming and movies.
You as a Mentor
Why have you decided to become a mentor?
Just over 12-months ago I was diagnosed as an AuDHDer. Naturally, this led to a lot of reflection about myself and my past experiences, including wondering how different my life, and my career, might have been if I had known earlier.
Now, I’m instead thinking about how great it would have been to have a mentor who’d been through it all before to help me figure things out. In absence of that for myself, I thought I should afford someone like me the opportunity to have that, particularly when I have the stories, experience or toolkit to offer it — whether they’re keen on support to navigate life, career or the world as a newly diagnosed AuDHDer.
What are the top 5 skills or qualities you bring to mentoring?
- Connected
- Direct
- Empathic
- Knowledgeable
- Passionate
Ready to apply?
The best time is right now. Take a chance – you never know where an Assisterhood mentor can take you.