What led you into design?
The creative stuff always came naturally, but I was a very poor student.
My sweet mother, understanding that I might struggle if judged solely on academics, gently encouraged me to explore the practical side of the arts. When I was young, she’d say with her New England accent, 'You’re so good at art and math—you should be an architect!' Being a true Cranston girl, she’d add, 'Maybe RISD?!'
At 16, I moved from Southern California to South Florida, which was really rough. My siblings and I were the youngest people there by 60 years. But when we were moving, my father busted his hump to get me into a magnet school for the arts, which inadvertently sorted out the poor grades, and accidentally introduced me to some of the most inspiring people I know, to this day. Boring places are great like that; it’s sink or swim, so the swimmers are really amazing.
Somewhere along the way, I tricked myself into thinking it was all my idea and ended up at Design School. For Architecture. In Rhode Island. Lols.
Origins aside, the reason a creative life stuck was because it’s actually just so useful. I think it was John Maeda who said, “Design is a solution to a problem. Art is a question to a problem,” and there are just so many problems. Fun ones, serious ones, pretty ones, ugly ones, small ones, big ones… if you build a life around solving and questioning problems, you’ll always have something to do.
What does a typical day look like?
Without routine, I fly off into space, so I’m pretty pattern-based.
5:30a Wake Up, coffee, identify the day’s stressors: More than anything, I’m looking to spot the things that are connected to other things. Our work can be complex, which often means lots of moving parts, and identifying those things early makes every day easier.
6:00a Gym or Running: I’m getting too old to PR anything, but I still have a mix of road races and triathlons on the books to keep me dialed in. Again, consistent routine = good for Brennan.
7:00a Help get my son ready for the day: This is one of my favorite parts of the day. My son’s school is a 10-minute walk away, and so every day, rain or shine, I walk him to school. In a world that can feel really chaotic, this little part of the day feels so simple and old school. Love it.
9:00 - 1:00p Smart Work: This is prime brain time—the golden hours when your mind is freshest, most creative, and best able to solve complex problems. Smart Work is anything that demands real thinking, originality, or emotional nuance. It’s the kind of work that moves the needle, not just keeps the lights on. It includes anything that requires charm, strategy, or inventiveness—writing, designing, planning, making important decisions, or having conversations that involve empathy or leadership.
1:00 - 6:00p Stupid Work: I save this chunk of the day for rote, mechanical, or low-stakes stuff that doesn’t require much thought. It’s work I can do on autopilot—responding to emails, organizing files, updating trackers, formatting things, or knocking out small admin tasks. I don’t need to be clever during this time—I just need to be consistent. I might throw on some music or a podcast and let myself jam. The goal isn’t brilliance—it’s momentum. I’m clearing the runway for tomorrow, making space, tying up loose ends. It's not glamorous, but it’s necessary. By offloading this kind of work to the afternoon, I protect my best hours for the deeper, more valuable stuff earlier in the day.
6:00 - 9:00 WiLd CaRD - Live entertainment, shows, openings, dinner with friends, clients, or clients that are friends. I try to limit the amount I’m out to a few nights a week, but this is the squishy, flexible time that makes life great.
9:30p Sleepy time
What's your workstation setup?
I stare at a computer more than I’d like, but Combo has a pretty sick office in New York. We’re located on Bowery in Chinatown and have designed our space to be highly community-oriented.
Some days we’re grilling out in the backyard, other days we’re digging through a collection of design books for ideas, or just tossing around thoughts in the kitchen. It’s not your typical office — it feels more like a creative space where things happen naturally.
These days, my “desk” is wherever I’m sitting with my laptop, moving from room to room while chatting about design and strategy with friends. It makes the work feel less like work.
Where do you go to get inspired?
I live in NYC, and it feels profoundly layered—like a million cities stacked on top of one another.
Wanna go to an opening? Yes. Wanna go surfing? Sure. Wanna go to a Matcha Ceremony at Silence Please? Can do. Wanna check out a new extension of a museum by OMA? Obvs. Wanna see the best musicians in the world in a 20-person venue? You bet.
I’ve found that if you just keep saying yes to stuff, your cup of inspiration stays very full. The real trick is shaping those ideas into something new and meaningful, always respecting the hard line between influence and imitation.
What product have you recently seen that made you think this is great design?
I’m really liking the car design scene right now. People are (re)imagining automotive design in the coolest ways. Yes, venture groups are powering romantic ideas for how we travel (Scout), but the small shops are pushing ideas by reworking old classics (Nardone 928), and even the AI stuff on IG is going to have a positive impact on the category (Turbo Treasury). There’s a lot to like in automotive design these days.
What pieces of work are you most proud of?
I think the stuff we’re proudest of falls into two camps: Highly Visible and Totally Invisible.
There’s work for groups like Away, Saie and Nue Co, which is everywhere; Highly Visible. All of these companies were started and built with amazing leadership at the helm, so we can't take full credit for their success. But with Away, the reason we are proud of it is because we were able to touch every aspect of it, from the logo to the suitcase itself. They still trust us to do weird shit with their brand. Keep your eyes peeled for the summer campaign launching soon!
On the other hand, we’ve got the Totally Invisible camp; the work no one sees. In many cases, the work we’re able to do with brands like Diageo and Target won’t be seen for another 3-5 years. With this stuff, we’re going deep on research and strategy, and helping shape what their companies will be like in the future. It’s hard to be patient, but the outcome is so substantially satisfying.
What design challenges do you face at your company?
There are two things that are on our minds a lot.
One is that we continue to wrestle with Post-Covid-Collaboration. We’re lucky to work with some of the smartest, most talented people, but finding a way to work together feels stuck between pre-COVID habits and the remote routines we developed during the pandemic. We’re still figuring out whether to print and sketch on paper or gather around a digital Vibe board. You know? We’re in the process of shaping the future of collaboration — blending in-person creativity with digital tools to create a way of working that feels natural, inspiring, and truly connected.
The second thing is that we struggle with is AI, and people's motivation to use it. It's not outlandish to say that AI has the capacity to amplify the ideas and values of those with access. At the moment, there seems to be a bit of a war between those who want to use AI to enhance output, and those who want to use AI to make things cheaper. At first glance, those two things don't seem at odds, but as a person who feels incredibly grateful to have been able to break into a creative career young, I'm concerned the economic expectation from the buying side will make hiring harder for agencies. I'm personally excited by AI's ability to create more ideas but I'm nervous that the only visible outcome after 10 years will be fewer people able to support themselves in our field. We're very conscious of this possibility, and are working really hard to embrace changes in technology while making sure our field stays human at it's core.
What music do you listen to while designing?
Any advice for ambitious designers?
In the mid-2010s, the culture of work began to focus on boundaries, which was a necessary move for the time.
HOWEVER. The unintended result of that era is a new generation of creatives who are particularly wary of being taken advantage of. My advice for ambitious people (including designers) is to give a lot. Make things. Something always beats nothing, so if you find yourself talking too much, or describing who’s really responsible for some deliverable, make something. Focus on what can be added vs. what’s being taken away.
Anything you want to promote or plug?
Combo owns a piece of a skincare brand called Koa (livingkoa.com). We have some really exciting changes to the brand coming up. Can’t really share too much atm, but I’d encourage anyone reading this to keep your eyes peeled.
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