2 Minutes With … Miro LaFlaga and Ash Phillips of Six Cinquième

Ash Phillips and Miro LaFlaga are the co-founders of Six Cinquième, a Montreal-based strategic design agency specializing in brand identity and strategy for visionary companies.

With backgrounds in graphic design and business management, respectively, Ash and Miro started their journey in 2015 as freelance creative directors producing visuals for local artists in the city. Driven by their shared passions for diversity and innovation in Montreal’s creative industry, they began a partnership, collaborating on several projects for three years until deciding to carve their own path. They launched their first agency, Divvi Productions, in late 2018, which they then rebranded to Six Cinquième in late 2020. 

Today, the agency is committed to working with like minded, creative individuals who aspire to have a positive impact in their communities and the world.

We spent two minutes with Ash and Miro to learn more about their background, their creative inspirations, and recent work they’ve admired.

Ash and Miro, tell us…

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

• Ash and Miro: Born in and living in Montreal, Canada! The best city in the world.

How you first realized you were creative.

• Ash: I was born creative, and I’m not being pretentious lol. My dad is an artist and I was blessed with his creative genes! Always was encouraged to and loved drawing and other artsy things growing up.
• Miro: I started my career as a stylist. I was always good with putting outfits together. I never saw it as anything special until other people recognized it and would tell me that it was creative how I put things together.

A person you idolized creatively early on.

• Ash: My papa.
• Miro: Tupac.

A moment from high school or college that changed your life. 

• Ash: Probably deciding not to go to university as all my peers did was pretty life-changing cause it brought me to where I am today.
• Miro: This is going to sound blasphemous but smoking pot for the first time. Through that experience I met so many people from all walks of life. We all bonded for a plant and good music.

A visual artist or band/musician you admire. 

• Ash: Donald Glover.
• Miro: It is very hard to say. My taste and moods change all the time.

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring. 

• Ash: Severance on Apple TV. Love an aesthetically pleasing show that makes me question everything. Highly recommended!
• Miro: People want to fight me when I say this, but The Batman by Matt Reeves really had an impact on me this year. The best movie of 2022.

Your favorite fictional character. 

• Ash: Man … It’s hard to say! Morpheus from The Matrix is up there, though.
• Miro: It’s a tie between Wolverine and Future Trunks from Dragon Ball Z.

Someone or something worth following on social media. 

• Ash: I am fascinated by BabelColour, aka Stuart Humphryes’ work. He enhances and restores decades- or century-old color photography. It really modernizes the people and scenes from the past!
• Miro: I really want to expose the world to my little city because the folks here are doing such amazing things. I highly recommend y’all to follow @neverwasaverage and @larueinspire.

How Covid-19 changed your life, personally or professionally. 

• Miro: It changed me because it allowed me to take a pause and reflect. Prior, I felt like I was in a rat race. I am now questioning the world more and my relationship with it, especially capitalism. 
• Ash: Same answer as Miro!

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.

• Ash: All my babies are my favorites so I will just speak about a recent one we did for a CBC Gem show called Revenge of the Black Best Friend—which I recommend you check out. We worked closely with the show’s creator Amanda Parris and did the branding and key artwork.

• Miro: The project we did with Phi Centre called “In Flux.” It was a mentorship program for Black aspiring filmmakers. Not only were we in charge of the branding and strategy portion of it, but we got to be mentors and talked about our transition from aspiring artists to entrepreneurs. The project was also shortlisted at the 2022 ADC awards.

• Ash: Had to check my old saved folder on IG for this! Really loved (and still do) RUFFMERCY‘s work! Would love to collaborate on a project one day.
• Miro: When Kanye released Yeezus in 2013. He did guerrilla-style marketing for the first single called “New Slaves.” He projected the video on random buildings across America—I think globally, too. It was unexpected and random, which I love.

Someone else’s work you admired lately. 

• Ash: My sister’s art. She’s an amazing painter!
• Miro: My homie Nate Husser. Seeing him grow into a superstar is inspiring to see, especially being from Montreal. He just put his blood, sweat and tears into his latest project called “All Time High.”

Your main strength as a creative person. 

• Ash: My open-mindedness and ability to be in the present moment.
• Miro: My compassion and my ability to bring people together.

Your biggest weakness. 

• Ash: The anxiety of public speaking.
• Miro: Overthinking is the death of me.

One thing that always makes you happy. 

• Ash: Being in and exposed to nature.
• Miro: Being on this journey with my soulmate.

One thing that always makes you sad. 

• Miro: Inequality and all forms of it.
• Ash: Leaving my pets alone at home lol. And of course, inequality.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

• Miro: I would be exploring the world and researching animals in their natural habitat.
• Ash: Probably something nature related. Miro’s answer doesn’t sound too bad!