Walaa Ellabib

For Walaa Ellabib, a creative career wasn't always the plan. She started out studying pharmacy but realised it wasn’t for her. Motivated to learn graphic design skills herself, everything soon clicked when Walaa discovered the world of advertising. Since then, she’s taken part in schemes at Wieden+Kennedy and BBH, developed bold ideas for brands like IKEA and PETA and landed a role as Junior Creative at agency Atomic London. Here, Walaa shares her journey, the lessons she’s learnt and why rejection is simply part of the process.

What I do

How would you describe what you do?
The simplest way to put it is that I come up with ideas for clients for whatever they are trying to advertise. Whether it’s a poster or a stunt, I come up with the concept and bring the idea to life in the best way possible.

What are the main influences and inspirations behind your work?
This is tough because I draw inspiration from a whole range of things. Really, it’s just anything I like or find interesting. I’m big on funny, so you’ll find a lot of the work I’ve done has a comedic factor to it. I’d also love to bring more of my Sudanese influence to my future work. Some of the biggest inspirations to me so far have been my brother Ahmed Ellabib and the one and only Tony Cullingham, as well as many others I’ve met along the way.

Would you say you need any specific training for what you do?
Yes, I believe you do need some type of training to really get to the fundamentals of what makes great ideas and brilliant ads. My time at The Barn really helped to take my bundle of thoughts and turn it into a single-minded idea. Being in The Barn also helped with general career (and life) lessons that will always be useful, such as facing rejection. You’ll hear ‘no’ 100 times before you hear ‘yes’ – but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad creative, it just means that idea isn’t right for the brief.

What’s been your favourite project to work on from the past year, and why?
My favourite project in the past year has definitely been IKEA’s 'Hus of Frakta'. It was complete fun from the ideating stage all the way through to production. It was the first big idea that went through, and watching it come to life was truly a blessing and so surreal.

What does a normal day-to-day usually look like for you?
Constantly generating new ideas – whether that’s on existing work or new work. A lot of deck building and editing, as well as photoshopping. Lots of crazy conversations to help get the creative juices flowing. And most importantly, fun! If you’re not having fun on most days, then something isn’t right.

How I got here

What was your journey like when you were first starting out?
To be completely honest, it was strange and slightly uncomfortable at first. Going from pharmacy to creative was a huge shift. From saving people’s lives to doing puppet shows in The Barn, it almost felt like it was too good to be true.

Could you tell us about the shift from studying pharmacy to deciding to do creative internships?
I always had a love for anything creative, so I knew pharmacy wasn’t for me. At that point, I didn’t know much about advertising, so I taught myself graphic design and got a few jobs from that before realising it wasn’t what I wanted either.

That’s when my brother told me about art direction and copywriting. It sounded exactly like what I wanted to do, so I applied and managed to get into The Kennedy’s and The Barn, and it all went on from there. There are many things I was able to take from pharmacy and use in advertising, such as attention to detail, problem-solving, an insight into human behaviour and communication.

How did you go about landing your first few jobs?
Landing a place in The Barn was a surprise. I had to answer crazy questions followed by an eight-hour interview before going head-to-head to secure the final place. It was a rollercoaster. At the end of The Barn, we made our student books that we sent out to a range of companies we liked in order to secure placements, and it all kicked off from there.

What are three things that you’ve found useful to your career, and why?

What has been your biggest challenge along the way?
I would say it’s between transitioning from placement to my first junior role and having to look for a new partner. Finding the right company that fits your personality as well as clients you have passion to work for can be difficult. Looking for a partner too – that’s your work wife/husband for life, so it can’t just be anyone. It has to be someone you can bounce off, communicate well with and spend most of your time around.

Advice

What’s the best career-related advice you’ve ever received?
Don't give up. You may hear ‘no’ a million times, but don’t let it get you down. If you keep pushing and keep believing in yourself, you’ll eventually get to where you want to be.

Also, always have fun. Even on the things that may seem boring or annoying, try and find the fun in it because, as many ad legends have said, it's only advertising!

What advice would you give to someone looking to get into a similar role?
To the people interested in being a creative, I would definitely recommend the many ad schools that are there to help you. The Barn, BBCU, Brixton Finishing School and the many others out there. They really help to shift your thinking to fit what’s needed to have a successful advertising career.