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2 Minutes With … Kingdom of Something's Maxwell Reed
On Tökr and Dubai Design District
Maxwell is co-founder and creative director at Kingdom of Something. He established his motion design company in 2016, serving clients such as Adidas, KFC, Nike, Samsung and others.
We spent two minutes with Maxwell to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired.
Maxwell, tell us …
Where you grew up, and where you live now.
Born in Canada, and grew up in the south of Sweden. But for the last 10 years I have lived in the amazing city of Amsterdam.
How you first realized you were creative.
When I was about 15 or 16, my friends and I would record stunt videos, à la Jackass. And thus my creative journey had begun.
A person you idolized creatively early on.
Bradley G Munkowitz a.k.a. Gmunk.
A moment from high school or college that changed your life.
My time at Hyper Island. There, I met the three guys with whom I would eventually start Kingdom of Something.
A visual artist or band/musician you admire.
Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino. Writer, actor, musician—the man is exceptional at everything he does.
A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.
I recently watched the docuseries How to Change Your Mind, which is about how psychedelics are being used as a therapeutic tool. I found this fascinating, considering the controversy surrounding these drugs.
Your favorite fictional character.
Deadpool. He’s the ultimate antihero.
Someone or something worth following on social media.
RevThink/Joel Pilger have created a community with podcasts that are constantly insightful and inspiring.
One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.
Tökr. I made it back when I was a lot more hands-on and it has a nice polished flow to the animation.
A recent project you’re proud of.
We handled a project for Dubai Design District, recreating an entire city block populated with Steven Harrington’s characters in 3D.
Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago.
Giant Ant from Vancouver.
Someone else’s work you admired lately.
State.Design. Not only is their work top notch, but their conceptual tone of voice is clever and captivating.
Your main strength as a creative person.
When I am inspired by something, I have an ability to get others fired up as well. A useful trait when running a creative team.
What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.
Probably a mechanical engineer. Or else I’d try acting.
2 Minutes With is our regular interview series where we chat with creatives about their backgrounds, creative inspirations, work they admire and more. For more about 2 Minutes With, or to be considered for the series, please get in touch.
