Catharine Pitt, co-founder of Brighton-based animation duo Form Play, joins the podcast to talk about what happens when you burn out, start over, and finally build something worth protecting. Catharine and her partner Mark spent years running a full-service design studio doing ad campaigns and seasonal retail work — ticking every box and feeling none of it. In their mid-forties, they walked away. What followed was two years of gradual reinvention: evenings spent relearning, slowly phasing out old clients, and rediscovering the joy of drawing. They emerged with a hyper-focused studio specialising in 2D frame animation, character design, and short-form storytelling — working with brands like Google, Patreon, and Comedy Central, while building their reputation with growth-stage startups who are still finding their voice. The conversation covers their creative manifesto, how COVID gave them the space to develop their micro-story framework, and why they use AI only as a "stress-testing knowledge base" — never for the creative work itself. Most compellingly, Catharine explains how they license rather than sell their characters, borrowing principles from the music and illustration industries to build longer-term client relationships and a more sustainable creative business. Key Takeaways The mid-forties crossroads is more common than you think – Catharine and Radim discover a shared experience: reaching the peak of what they'd worked for, and realising it wasn't who they wanted to be nextBurning out is data – A previous studio that depleted rather than fuelled them became the compass for everything Form Play stands for: client work must energise, not exhaustIncremental change beats big leaps – Their transition took two years, running old and new in parallel, until the new was strong enough to stand alonePlay is the methodology, not just the name – Form Play's approach to creation — sketch, iterate, test, publish, move on — is how they stay resilient, stay fresh, and avoid creative paralysisMicro stories have a formula – Start in the middle of the action; use humor, empathy, and surprise; condense time to exaggerate emotion. Their Instagram playground became their client frameworkAI as untrusted advisor – They use AI to challenge assumptions and explore unfamiliar territory in business, but keep it entirely out of their visual creative processLicensing changes everything – Influenced by the music and illustration industries, they separate creation fees from usage fees, giving clients flexibility and protecting the studio's long-term incomeThe risk of not changing – Rory Sutherland's overlooked point resonates here: staying the same carries its own risk; creative people need to stop treating change as the dangerous optionDistinction will be the premium – As AI floods the world with average output, work with imperfection, humanity, and emotional depth will become more valuable, not less Daring Creativity. Podcast with Radim Malinic daringcreativity.com | desk@daringcreativity.com Books by Radim Malinic Paperback and Kindle > https://amzn.to/4biTwFc Free audiobook (with Audible trial) > https://geni.us/free-audiobook Book bundles https://novemberuniverse.co.uk Lux Coffee Co. https://luxcoffee.co.uk/ (Use: PODCAST for 15% off) November Universe https://novemberuniverse.co.uk (Use: PODCAST for 10% off)
