We Are Social’s Lucie Torcikova, Head of Content and Design and Tom McMahon, Design Director, sit down to compare notes and reflect on the challenges of navigating multidisciplinary social-first teams across design, content and production. 

Lucie: There’s still a lingering narrative that social content is somehow less crafted just because it looks lo-fi or effortless. But the design fundamentals you acquire from years of formal training haven't just disappeared. Rules around messaging hierarchy, pacing, storytelling and overall visual problem solving are just applied differently. Whether it's through hooks, editing rhythm or how something lands in your feed, we are still making informed visual decisions that influence culture and how people think, feel, and behave. Just like they always did.

Designers become generalist, holistic thinkers applying visual instincts and deep familiarity with how social platforms actually behave. One-man bands. Categories of one. And it’s not something that is totally new either. It reminds me of the Bauhaus movement, when new tools and audiences forced designers to rethink form, function and production together. Social creativity feels similar and is a great example of ‘evolve or die’.

Would you say the industry and agency structures have fully caught up with that shift yet?

Tom: That’s the million-dollar question, right? Can agencies and creators actually play nice, or is the traditional model holding back the best work? We see it all the time: social creatives and content creators essentially do the same job twice. The really fascinating part is the training gap. So many creators bypass traditional schooling and come in through a side door. It’s a massive win for fresh and exciting ideas, even if some of the foundational craft gets missed along the way. As the industry keeps evolving, a hybrid approach is definitely the way forward for now.

Lucie: I’m starting to think the biggest barrier isn’t actually craft, talent or technical skill, but passion and curiosity. Some people are brilliant creatives, but they’re simply not living in those spaces. If you’re not immersed in that environment, watching how people behave on platforms, how humour travels and how formats evolve, it’s very hard to create work that is meant to live there.

Tom: Definitely! Context is key. The best social creatives live and breathe internet culture, just like packaging designers study store shelves. It’s an easy step to miss, but it's essential. Even though the phrase 'chronically online' makes me cringe, that deep dive into culture is exactly what drives top-tier work. We always push our team to bookmark unique, attention-grabbing posts to fuel our creativity and keep us on trend.

Lucie: The ability to see something culturally relevant, flesh the idea out, and go create it is such a rewarding skill. There’s also something interesting about the way people get a little dopamine hit from likes and comments under their own posts; social creatives experience something similar when they’re able to ship ideas regularly and see audiences respond to them, all in real time. And you can make a career out of this? C’mon. Brilliant.

I like to talk about going from ‘talkables’ to tangibles” - actually getting on with something, instead of just talking about it. Back in the pre-social era, great craft meant polishing and iterating to perfection for weeks or months before you could even show someone you did that. That craft hasn’t disappeared, it has just evolved to meet the tempo social runs on. I think cheaper, faster and better can be achieved; it’s just hard to spot when we are left with the same stiff processes. Speed arguably becomes the most looked-after discipline.

Do you think that shift in speed and feedback has fundamentally changed how creative teams operate? Are industry processes actually built for it, or is this total perpetuum mobile?

Tom: In some ways, yes! On one hand, the pace of reacting to culture can be more stressful, and mistakes can be made. But on the other hand, that rush of dopamine you mentioned is such a draw. There will always be longer campaigns throughout the year that can be crafted more traditionally, so in many ways, we have the best of both worlds. There’s also an element of educating marketers on the fast-paced process that comes with creating work for social.

Lucie: People love an ominous-sounding prediction, what’s yours? Mine is that in a few years we’ll stop arguing whether there’s craft in social and start dramatically announcing the death of traditional advertising… again. Just in time for today’s content creators to start transitioning into agency creative directors.

Tom: My prediction would be similar, that what is considered advertising won’t be recognisable in today’s terms. However, what we might have traditionally considered ‘craft’ will become valued by people seeking a more meaningful and considered artistic communication. I’m excited to be on the journey!