EAT Studio: a global distributed agency that puts creatives first

In an industry often defined by late nights, endless meetings and mental stress, EAT Studio stands apart. Founded by Brazilian creative Renata Amaral Morris in 2009 during the aftermath of the financial crisis, this distributed design practice has quietly built a reputation for innovative work while maintaining an unwavering commitment to its team's wellbeing.

The studio, based in Los Angeles and Paris with members worldwide, celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Its story offers valuable insights into how a design business can thrive by putting people first.

"We had this vision of creating a place that really catered for creatives to thrive because that wasn't something I'd seen in my journey as a professional," explains CEO Renata Morris. Put starkly, after she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her master's at UCLA, she found herself facing the challenges many immigrants encounter.

"I remember sending over 100 resumes and not getting a job, despite having experience with global companies back in Brazil," she recalls. "At that time, being an immigrant wasn't as cool as it became later on. But my attitude was: 'If the door isn't built, let's build the door ourselves'."

Remote-first revolution

That door opened into what would become a genuinely innovative remote-first practice. When her business partner and COO Gabriel Seibel fell in love with Paris, the two made a pivotal decision. Rather than forcing either to relocate, they would figure out how to run a studio across a nine-hour time difference.

Back then, this was seen as pretty out-there stuff. But ultimately, they were just ahead of the curve. "When COVID hit, we had big corporations coming to us for advice on how to lead remote teams," Renata says with a smile.

Today, EAT is comprised of nine people spread across LA, Paris, Lisbon and Brazil. This distributed model has become increasingly common post-pandemic, but EAT's 15-year experience with remote working gives them a depth of insight that few can match.

"We're one in LA, two in Paris, one girl in Lisbon, and we have four creative directors and strategists in Brazil, where we're all from," Gabriel explains. "We were all born and raised in the south of Brazil. This is a company of immigrants dreaming the dream of exploring the world, interpreting the world, and putting all of that interpretation back into the work we develop."

Working relationships

The studio's approach to growth has been deliberately measured. While they started as a full-service agency dabbling in everything from video production to events, they gradually honed their focus on strategy, branding and graphic design, with a particular emphasis on technology and gaming clients. This specialisation happened organically, as they found themselves continuously evolving alongside these rapidly changing industries.

What sets EAT apart, however, isn't just their work; it's their operational philosophy. "We don't really work crazy hours. We don't work weekends. We don't go around the clock," Renata emphasises. Instead, they encourage their team to do things like: "learn different languages, visit different countries, take courses and pursue personal growth. We just don't believe you're going to create your best work if you're always sitting under the same roof, not seeing the world."

This human-centric approach extends to how the founders manage their partnership. They attend weekly therapy sessions together, treating their working relationship with the same care one might give a romantic one.

"You guys know how hard it is when you don't feel like you can express the way you feel," explains Renata. "And I think that usually harms the length of time you will be together with somebody. There's so much not said that if you don't have room to go through those feelings and feel heard in a safe space, it's a real problem."

Shift to consultancy

Looking ahead, EAT is focusing on deepening its client relationships rather than expanding for expansion's sake. It's seeing a shift away from one-off projects toward ongoing creative partnerships, particularly in the tech sector.

"Clients seem less and less inclined to do big one-off projects and are looking more for ongoing creative consultancy," Gabriel notes. "So we're reformulating and rethinking the way that we engage with clients as a whole. It's been exciting for us to think about new ways to engage with clients, more via a partnership or coming in as their creative team, offering ongoing services instead of doing one-offs, for example."

Perhaps most striking, though, is how the studio has become a sanctuary for its team during turbulent times. "This business has been something that kept us together, kept us feeling empowered and successful," Renata reflects. Even if sometimes we're not changing the world or saving kids, we're delivering beauty to our clients and giving them a place to be heard."

Model studio

In an industry that often glorifies growth at any cost, EAT offers a different model: one that proves you can build a world-class design practice while staying true to your values, nurturing your team and maintaining healthy boundaries.

For a studio that started with "little more than a 200-square-foot office with no windows and some dumb jokes over Skype", it's come remarkably far.

But perhaps more importantly, they've done it their way. Proving that sometimes the best way to succeed is, as Renata puts it, to build the door yourself.