Wallace Waiguru: The most Eligible bachelor in town

Yes, you read it right, Wallace Waiguru, MoSound Creative Director is SINGLE and ready to MINGLE but there's a catch. He tells us all it will take for him to put a ring on it.

What does a creative director for an events organizing and management company do?

Well, I generally manage a creative team, produce creative concepts and create designs for events as well as brand communications.

Since you have been doing this job, which particular assignment/event was most challenging and why?

Every job has its challenges but there is nothing more fulfilling than cracking a creative challenge. I call them “warm-ups”. Big briefs like Groove, which we have been running for 11 years now, new product launches and campaigns often make creative directors fold their sleeves to work.

Repetitive events can be challenging where you must package each new brief in an almost absolutely new way each time, meaning new designs and concepts, each better than the last (which was best at its time). My team does a lot of research and brainstorming. It is not easy pleasing a bunch of creatives.

 It is easy to assume that your line of work has so many distractions. Fun activities, which events organizing is definitely part of, often have a million distractions during work and off work hours. How do you deal with the distractions?

First, I draw my value system from my faith. No matter how busy I am, I try to find time to build that. My weekly study reminds me what’s important. Second, I am very careful of the company I keep close.

 It helps to have a gang that is real enough to tell you when you are losing your way. Third, I have a simple rule that has kept me grounded: Do not mix business with pleasure. That’s only in scripted movies.

Being a creative director means you have to listen to the ideas that your team puts across and the ideas that your client has for what they want. How do you harmonize the two?

Ideally, my job starts with understanding the client: who they are, what they want to achieve and the best way to create a memorable experience. From here – we dream and ensure that we find the single most persuasive statement or compelling visual that can achieve the objective.

 Which one do you prefer; creative processes by committee and consensus or singular creative processes?

Creative process by committee and consensus any day! We may not always agree on one thing but respect for each other’s art allows us to dissect each idea, mix them all up till we get something amazing. And besides, the ideas generated create a bank of creative solutions that always go beyond one assignment.

 You do know that companies are turning to celebrities to be their creative directors. Alicia Keys for Blackberry and Justin Timberlake for Bud Light Platinum. Should we expect to see the trend catching on here in Kenya? And what are your thoughts on celebrity creative directors?

Interesting. See, an artist or entertainer is a brand. The above mentioned celebrities have taken their “brands” into the boardrooms and considered them worthwhile for corporate partnerships with mutual benefits.

These are active responses to market needs where consumers are relating to products that have both emotional and fun/happy connections. We are living in exciting times and I look forward to this trend catching on in Kenya.

 I understand that you are a bachelor. What part of your bachelor life do you love the most?

You are right...I am an eligible bachelor. I like it that I am able to make sacrifices and adjustments which I may not be able to when I have someone in my life. When that time comes, I will have to think about how these decisions will affect them, and I will be happy to do that.

Your job is an exciting job. That’s a fact. And I bet it comes with a lot of attention from the ladies. How do you handle all the attention?

At this point in life, I can only do a solid relationship, and that’s not something I will get from random interactions for the sake of fun, so I forego it all together. I also keep work related matters strictly professional.

What qualities would you want the woman that you will (if you will) eventually marry to possess? And please don’t say humility because I bet humility would bore you to sleep.

My firecracker... fun but not superficial, ambitious, easy to get along with and definitely easy on the eyes- I mean, this is someone I will be waking up next to for the rest of my life. She also should be able to whip decent meals. Did someone say food? That’s a food way to a man’s heart. Sorry, meant good.

What are your two greatest fears about marital life?

What’s the fun in fearing something you haven’t even began? Isn’t the uncertainty of life half the fun?

So where do you call home?

Anywhere I can let my hair loose, listen to good music and let my mind wander as my fingers create.

Your biggest achievement so far...

Carving my own path and a space I am comfortable being myself, in a world that is constantly trying to fit you into an idea of who you ought to be. This went a long way into my getting into the design industry.