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Nourhan Moaz is a creative director at FP7 McCann Cairo. Join her in her abstract rambles, as she muses on her favorite places, pleasurable distractions and numerous inspirations through this lighthearted Q&A that ArabAd regularly submits to top regional creative to pick their heart and mind and expose the other side of their talent and creativity.
What gets you up in the morning?
Coffee and working out.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Cracking a brief and seeing people share memes and talk about the ad positively.
Who do you ultimately want to become?
Hmmm… me!
What is your greatest extravagance?
Travelling.
What keeps you in the game?
The challenges. Every brief is a different challenge. The journey of cracking a brief and transforming a concept into an execution, then see how it the end result on air; or the fact that you have to sum up a concept in few seconds. It's a daily challenge! The game also changes everyday. With a social media world in constant change, there are always new things to learn, different things to tackle. We woke up one day having to shoot vertical for example. Regardless of liking the change or not, it makes things less boring… especially that I easily get bored.
What keeps you up at night?
Over thinking silly thoughts. And a brief that isn’t cracked yet.
What would be your worst nightmare?
Any creative’s nightmare is making an ad that doesn’t get good feedback; but ‘worst’ nightmare? Getting my shields out to protect a good idea that’s about to be ruined.
What inspires you most?
I don’t want to sound cliché, but there is no ‘most’ here, as I find inspiration in everything: people; my dogs; Netflix; Tiktok; the street; cars; ads; news… The list is endless.
What music have you been listening to lately?
I have a problem with my memory; I don’t remember the title, but it’s a great song!
What is the gadget you cannot live without?
Phone of course.
What can we find on your phone?
So many pictures and screenshots I never go back to, but here is my screensaver.
Hard to grasp what is in the picture but… it’s a group of whales I captured from a helicopter in the big island of Hawaii. It was hard to take a photo, but what a breath taking moment it was!
What quality do you most look up to in a man?
Confidence; so many other qualities flow with it. And a good sense of humor of course.
What quality do you most look up to in a friend?
Trust. Consistency.
Who would you like to sit next to on a seven-hour flight?
So many…
Charlie Chaplin is one of them, I think I’ll laugh and cry a lot.
If you could live for one day the life of another person, who would it be?
I’d like to be the founder of Tesla for sure.
If you could have dinner with someone, living or dead, who would it be; and what question would you ask him/her?
Gaudi... What was the substance you were on that made you think of making buildings look like illusions?
If you were to be reincarnated, what would you like to come back as?
A dog. Would love to do nothing but eat, walk, play, and sleep… and have some human arrange this for me.
If you were to change profession, what would you choose to do?
Paragliding instructor.
What do you consider to be the greatest slogan of all time?
Just Do It.
What business tip would you give the newbies?
Don’t chase money or titles, be hungry to learn, and everything will come just in time… And stay inspired.
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Supportive family.
Where can we find you on a Friday night?
Depends on how the week went by; so either at home watching something, or out with friends chilling somewhere, or at a party.
If you could choose one superhero power, what would it be and why?
Being invisible... I’d take the first flight to Tokyo.
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Buy a house in each continent.
What is the one word you catch yourself saying too often?
’Fahem qasdi?’ (Arabic: do you get what I mean?)
What would you like to be doing five years from now?
Worry less.
If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
Like right now? Los Angeles.
What’s the last book you read or movie you saw?
Terrible memory… I don’t remember titles, but it was a good book and a terrible movie.
What is the one thing you wish you have designed?
A cool car.
I AM...
I am... curious
I like… to workout
I want... to eat
I have... 3 dogs
I wish... close friends remained the same
I hate... judgements
I fear... the unknown
I Google... every.single.thing
I wonder... why some people act the way they do
I regret... eating at 2am yesterday
I love... a back-and-forth conversation
I need... more time
If I ruled the world... I will use dictatorship to establish justice
I dream… that all animals are safe and happy
My Favourite…
Dream Destination: Tokyo at the moment.
Restaurant: any restaurant with good food.
Meal: red pasta and chicken pané.
Quote: “everything happens for a reason” (it keeps me going)
Book: can’t remember the title.
Movie: so many I can’t remember them. ‘Life is beautiful’ is one I recall-- what an inspiring unconditional love a dad could have for his son!
Flower: any that has a subtle scent, not a strong one.
Animal: goats, dogs, donkeys, sheep, horses, cows.
Poet: ‘Gibran Khalil Gibran’ only because my favorite poem is by him and it is called ‘Al Ba’ad Nohebohom’ (البعض نحبهم)
Music/band: I like a good song regardless of the band.
Painter: I appreciate a good painting, but not necessarily all the painter’s work.
