Interview with Colleen Gilligan from United States

Sophia Larroque and Chris Fitzgerald founded Étage to utilize creativity for good. We believe that human ingenuity is the single inexhaustible resource to make the world better.

We believe in bringing more technology to humanity and more humanity to technology. We do this for corporations, non-profits, academic institutions and start-ups.

And we only do work that matters. We specialize in crafting communications that measurably move the needle for people and the planet in the right direction. We believe creativity will change the world.

To Étage, "creativity" means changing the world. We pair creativity with strategy to inspire meaningful change that serves the greater good. We create direct messaging, combined with beautiful graphics, to produce work that matters.

To us, a successful creative idea or design has the following elements:

1. Messaging must be evocative where appropriate and push the limits of possible to provoke new ideas.
2. Graphics must be intriguing, different, beautiful and inviting.
3. The work must be purpose-driven, impact-oriented and helpful to the greater good.

We believe in client partnership. Our work is only as strong as the relationship and trust we can build with our clients. Étage has an integrated process that involves a lot of listening, questioning and collaborating to get to the root of the problem to be solved.

We then deliver strategic and creative solutions to match the problem and elevate the playing field, allowing our clients to change their competitive landscape and challenge perceptions.

Our favorite part of the creative process is unraveling the client’s need to reach beyond the deliverable to shift perceptions and encourage meaningful change.

Our simple guiding principles are: Care. Think. Trust. Enjoy. Help.

Étage translates to “a higher level” in French. We choose to only do work that elevates beliefs, lifts up the greater good and measurably moves the needle for both people and the planet in the right direction.

Winning Gold at the 2023 MUSE Creative Awards is a tremendous honor. It validates the importance and impact of prioritizing integrity and service in creativity.

The “Mondavi Sisters Family Legacy: Leading Between the Vines” project is a story of American heritage, growth and finding one’s own voice.

Painting the picture of the establishment and growth of California’s wine country, the Mondavi sisters embody a beautiful, powerful balance of maintaining family legacy while breaking from tradition to take a new foothold in the winemaking community.

The biggest challenge with this project was ensuring a phenomenal production within the constraint of a considerably tight budget.

Winning this award is validation from our community of peers and that validation is deeply rewarding and elevating.

Our top three favorite things about our industry are creativity that pushes the envelope, community that inspires us to continually reach for new heights and the camaraderie that comes with both.

The United States, like many countries has an ever growing foundation of content creators who choose to cut through the noise to produce meaningful work.

We hope that the creative industry will evolve in the direction of quality over quantity.

Étage would offer our simple guiding principles to students and aspiring MUSE Creative Awards submitters: Care. Think. Trust. Enjoy. Help.

EQ is important – develop it and prioritize it. Keep your eyes open for inspiration which can be found anywhere and everywhere. Keep a running list of creative samples in the form of a document, folder or Slack channel where everyone on your team can be inspired.

One of our greatest inspirations is Étage Co-Founder, Visionary and Strategic Director Chris Fitzgerald. He has always inspired us to think differently, approach things differently and ask the question “why.” He has been converting complex concepts into powerful ideas for over 40 years, and on top of that is a poet, a farmer, a family man and a winemaker.

Be human. Honor emotional intelligence. Help others. Keep inspired. Have an opinion. Use your creativity to serve the greater good. Create a community that works, grows and elevates others, and the world, together.