Keeping Creativity Impactful with Graceful Monkey’s Kyle Grace
In the world of creative production, play and problem-solving go hand in hand. We spoke with Graceful Monkey’s founder and creative director, Kyle Grace, about how curiosity, collaboration and clarity drive better ideas.
In an industry where deadlines are tight and technology changes every week, Graceful Monkey has built a reputation for bringing imagination and precision together. The studio’s work combines motion, CGI, and interactive storytelling to help brands simplify complexity and connect with audiences in fresh, human ways.
We sat down with Kyle Grace, founder and Creative Director, to talk about how the world of creative production is evolving, why play still matters, and how clarity is often the most powerful form of creativity.
Redefining Creative Production
Mark Kershaw: Kyle, how would you describe what Graceful Monkey does today?
Kyle Grace: It’s definitely evolved. We started out as a production studio focused on craft and visuals, but now we think much more strategically. Most of our projects start with reshaping the brief before we touch any creative tools.
We work across live action, motion, CGI, interactivity and AI, depending on what the project needs. That flexibility means we can design the most efficient process possible and avoid what we call “digital wastage.” The result is better outcomes for clients and a smarter, more sustainable way to create.
Graceful Monkey helped launch Puma’s Future Boot SS24
The Role of a Modern Creative Director
Mark: And your role in that process?
Kyle: I’m more of a conductor now. My job is to talk with clients, to really understand the problem, and craft the solution. We always attack the challenge from 2 distinct angles; from the viewer / user's perspective, but also from the client’s investment. It has to wow the audience but it also needs to deliver long term. Good decisions during the planning phase maximises the return on investment through future flexibility and adaptability. I still get hands-on occasionally, but mostly it’s about guiding the vision and helping the team bring their best ideas forward.
An Industry in Flux
Mark: How does the creative landscape feel right now?
Kyle: It’s busy, but it’s shifting fast. The pace of change is constant. New tools, new platforms, new expectations. You have to stay curious and adaptable. It's challenging, but it's also what keeps things exciting. There is a huge amount of poor information and bad advice around. We spend a lot of time guiding clients and navigating through the BS to ensure we deliver creative excellence AND technical efficiency.
Graceful Monkey developed the Android Virtual Learning Lab in WebVR
Why Play Matters
Mark: You often talk about the importance of play. What does that mean for your work?
Kyle: Play is where creativity starts. I love the Sir Ken Robinson TED talk about how schools kill creativity. Kids see a paperclip and imagine a thousand uses. Adults see it as a paperclip.
We try to protect that childlike thinking in our studio. We don’t have a single house style. We explore, experiment and have fun with the process. That’s what keeps our ideas fresh.
Rewriting the Brief
Mark: What part of the process do you enjoy most?
Kyle: The very beginning. I love rewriting the brief. That’s often where the real creativity happens and value is created. Clients come to us thinking they need one thing, but once we talk it through, we often discover a smarter, more effective direction.
It’s not about making things bigger or flashier. It’s about finding the real problem and solving it in the most creative way possible.
Graceful Monkey developed a wheelchair configurator for Sunrise Medical
Finding Inspiration Everywhere
Mark: Where do your ideas come from?
Kyle: Everywhere. Mostly from people and how they use things. Both Mark (Hinks) and I come from product design backgrounds, so we’re always observing how people interact with products or environments.
I find inspiration in films, photography, architecture, even random moments in everyday life. Creativity thrives when you look beyond your own field.
How Ideas Take Shape
Mark: Do you follow a set creative process?
Kyle: Not really. For me, creativity is about conversation and collaboration. Pressure helps too. Deadlines focus the mind. But creativity is rarely linear. It’s messy and surprising, and that’s the fun part.
Our process is about problem-solving, not self-expression. We design creative solutions that work for our clients, as opposed to obsessing over awards.
Graceful Monkey worked with Cowboy for the Cross’s bicycle launch
When Collaboration Clicks
Mark: What kind of projects bring your team together best?
Kyle: The ones that are complex and multifaceted. The Cowboy Bikes project was a perfect example. It involved multiple models, colours, formats, CGI, animation and AR. It took the whole team working together and learning as we went.
That’s when production becomes pure creativity. Every iteration makes the outcome stronger.
Simplifying Complexity
Mark: Your studio tagline is “simplify the complex, heighten the interactive, make brands memorable.” What does that mean to you?
Kyle: It’s about focus. The world is overloaded with noise, and audiences are overwhelmed. We strip things back to their core message and find the most effective way to communicate it.
Creativity isn’t always about adding more. Sometimes it’s about taking things away until what’s left is perfectly clear.
Graceful Monkey helped simply the complex with Corteva
The Value of Creative Production
Mark: What does creative production add to a campaign?
Kyle: A new perspective. With so much automation and AI, human creativity stands out more than ever. The best ideas make people feel something. They don’t just look beautiful, they connect emotionally.
Our role is to see things differently and uncover what others might miss.
How to Make Collaboration Work
Mark: What helps clients get the best results when working with a studio?
Kyle: They don’t need to understand production. They just need to know their goal. Define what success looks like, and we’ll handle the process.
It’s like designing a house. You decide what kind of home you want before you start picking sofas and sinks. Clarity always leads to better creativity.
Graceful Monkey worked with Innovate UK on a WebVR space for brands to demo, sell, & educate
The New Relationship Between Brands and Studios
Mark: More brands are working directly with production partners now. What’s behind that shift?
Kyle: Openness. Brands are becoming more collaborative and more comfortable partnering directly with creative specialists.
We find brands value expertise and efficiency as much as creativity. For them, creativity is an investment in their brand, as opposed to an output to win an award. Brands are just as interested in how we plan projects around flexibility and asset maximisation, as they are in the creative solution to get them noticed. The bottom line is profit, the investment needs to yield results.
When there’s trust and shared vision, that’s when the best work happens.
Cross-Industry Thinking
Mark: What about working in new sectors?
Kyle: That’s where the magic is. Clients sometimes want proof that you’ve done something similar before, but creativity thrives on fresh perspective. The most interesting work comes from cross-pollination, not repetition.
Graceful Monkey worked with JBL to promote their Google Assistant integration
The Dream Brief
Mark: What’s your dream project?
Kyle: Anything that brings all the disciplines together. Live action, CGI, sound, editing, design - all working in harmony. When everything connects, and every detail feels intentional, that’s when the craft, story and emotion line up. That’s what we love to chase.
Mark: Thanks for the chat, Kyle.
Kyle: Always a pleasure.
About Graceful Monkey
Graceful Monkey is a creative production studio based in London, helping brands and agencies tell stories that connect. The team blends design, motion, CGI and interactivity to create work that simplifies the complex and makes brands memorable.
