Expanding its capabilities in design and motion work, Los York has signed award winning designer and artist Cian McKenna to its roster. Based in Ireland, McKenna began his career in design and typography, and expanded to motion design and directing. McKenna’s work, which is defined by precision, simplicity, beautiful composition and elegance, has been featured in brand campaigns for Google, Irish Distillers and Hublot watches, among others. His design, animation and typography work on the main title sequence of the second season of the popular HBO series White Lotus was nominated for an Emmy.
Before joining Los York as creative director, motion, McKenna worked freelance for 10 years, most recently with Los York on a campaign for Logitech G to promote the launch of the New Pro X Superlight 2 Dex wireless gaming mouse.
“I’ve been working freelance for a decade, it’s taken me a very long time to build up client relationships and I was finally really enjoying building my business,” McKenna explained. “And then I started working with Los York, spending the entire summer with them and loving the energy. When Scott [Hidinger, Los York ECD/partner] dangled this role at the studio, initially I thought no. I enjoy being the master of my own destiny, so I told him, ‘Dude, I’m unemployable.’ But the more the idea sat with me as I worked with them, the more it felt right. Los York’s team energy, the types of projects they work on, and the opportunity to grow and expand in the commercial space became irresistible.”
Hidinger said, “When I first met Cian, I was looking for a design lead on the Logitech film. During the process, not only was his design work elevated, he led the team brilliantly, with a super positive attitude, coaching the creatives with lots of motivation. When you’re working in a remote environment, it’s important to simulate what it’s like to be in a studio. Cian is so good at dealing with the human element, he has a gift for pulling teams together, creating an esprit de corps. And of course he has an incredible eye.”
McKenna joins Los York studio’s creative leadership team, which includes Hidinger and global creative director Kevin Cabuli, director of VFX and motion Casey Hupke, who onboarded in May this year, and Los York founder and CEO Seth Epstein, who is a commercial director and motion graphics designer. McKenna brings to the shop an expertise in photo-real 3D and elevated motion design as well as an ability to conduct workshops and speak on industry panels.
“Our leadership team collaborates across disciplines and Cian adds another important pillar to this dynamic at Los York,” said Hidinger. “He’ll be collaborating with our other leaders to create unexpected creative outcomes. These internal creative lead partnerships add depth of thinking to everything we do. It’s uncommon for talent at this level to have access to each other every day. It is Los York’s super power.”
