Creatives of different ages working together: The experiment nobody asked for (but everyone needs)

Hypothesis

What happens when you throw a Boomer, a GenXer, a millennial and a GenZie into the same creative team? A brilliant campaign, or a Cold War of typefaces, emojis and egos? Do we get magic, or just another endless debate about whether design should be “clean” or “have soul”? Whatever it is, someone had to try it.

Spoiler: it works better than you’d think (even if it stings sometimes).

The context behind the intergenerational chaos

In our industry, “collaboration” usually means sharing a Figma file—not sharing empathy. Yet agencies and studios often bring together up to four generations in the same room, where everything is urgent, everything is visual, and absolutely everything is up for debate.

Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) believe that a brief isn’t real until it’s printed, GenX (born between 1965 and 1980) believe it doesn’t need to be printed—but that living inside Canva is a bit much. Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) believe no one really understands them (and they might be right) and GenZ (born between 1997 and 2010) believe everything needs style, vertical format, and at least three layers of irony...

What if this mix, instead of being pure chaos, turned out to be a competitive edge?

How each creative species behaves

🧠 Mindset (cathedrals vs chaos)

Every generation enters the creative arena with a core belief system—the mental software that drives how they approach ideas, conflict and the blank page.

→ Boomer: Tends to see campaigns as timeless, solid pieces meant to convey authority and values. Branding is built like a cathedral. Believes in process, titles, and hierarchies. Distrusts the “anything goes” mentality.

→ GenX: Has lived through both the analog and digital eras. Carries a quiet nostalgia for things done well, and values clarity over overstimulation. Believes in structure, but appreciates a well-placed bit of irony.

→ Millennial: Raised on “be yourself” slogans, but in an oversaturated market. Obsessed with authenticity, yet haunted by the fear of being cringe. Values emotion and disruption—but needs constant reassurance it’s the right move.

→ GenZ: Born into digital chaos. Fast, ironic, aesthetic-first. They don’t want brands to speak to them—they want a meme in return. See branding as real-time storytelling. It’s more about 'how it feels' than 'what it says'.

🦷 Tools (files don't lie)

Show us your files, and we’ll show you who you are. From PDFs to Figma, every generation has a toolkit that doubles as a personality test.

→ Boomer: Outlook, PDFs, and if it needs printing, it gets printed.

→ GenX: Photoshop, PowerPoint, and a lifetime of experience saved in a mental .zip file.

→ Millennial: Google Drive, Notion, and 37 slightly different versions of the same file.

→ GenZ: Figma, CapCut, Discord, and a folder called “FINAL_final_THIS_ONE_FR.”

🫀 Pitching (drama, moodboards and memes)

A brilliant idea badly delivered is just noise. Luckily, every generation has its own performance style.

→ Boomer: Schedules a meeting, explains the idea, adds historical context, and ends with “I’ve seen it all.” Uses references like they’re courtroom evidence.

→ GenX: Presents ideas with logic and structure. Doesn’t say much—but when they do, it sticks. Has a PowerPoint file called “Strategy_final.pptx” that no one dares to question.

→ Millennial: Prefers voice notes (even though they hate getting them). Backs up ideas with moodboards and emotional disclaimers: “It’s just an idea, but if you don’t like it, we can totally redo it.”

→ GenZ: Sends you a meme at 2:13 a.m. with the caption: “This is branding.” Sometimes doesn't explain anything—just drops a 9-second video and disappears.

👁️ Time (always relative)

Nothing shows generational differences more clearly than the clock. For some, time is sacred. For others, it’s just a suggestion.

→ Boomers show up early, leave early, and believe creativity thrives on routine.

→ GenX adapt to any schedule if the project is worth it. They have a life—but will pause it for a deadline. They don’t complain: invoices.

→ Millennials overwork out of insecurity or a need to prove themselves. They can’t fully disconnect, though they subscribe to multiple newsletters about how to.

→ GenZ work off-schedule, in flashes of brilliance. Give them freedom and they’ll nail it. Pressure them and they shut down. For them, time is a fluid concept—like brand identity.

The upside: chaos pays off

What looks like workplace chaos is really just good chemistry. Age diversity isn’t crazy, it’s clever.

Creativity skyrockets

It’s not that age magically makes ideas better. It’s that when different perspectives collide and mix, they spark concepts no single generation could come up with on their own.

According to a McKinsey study, diverse teams (yes, including age—not just gender or ethnicity) are 35% more likely to outperform their competitors.

Why? Because while one person remembers how “that legendary campaign in the 90s” was made, another is already thinking about how to turn it into Reels—and someone else has turned it into an interactive meme.

The result? A solid idea, relevant, and with actual reach.

Decisions get smarter

When people from different generations share the same room, decisions take a bit longer to cook—but come out with way more flavour.

Harvard Business Review found that multigenerational teams approach problems with more angles, more strategy, and more creativity. The veterans know which mistakes to avoid, while the juniors spot opportunities no one else would think of. Translation: what sounds like chaos on paper can easily become gold in execution.

People stick around

Age-diverse teams tend to have lower turnover. Not because everyone’s hugging it out, but because balance makes people want to stay. When a junior feels safe to pitch and a senior feels heard, no one’s rushing to update their LinkedIn.

According to the International Labour Organisation, diverse teams can retain up to 42% more talent.

Learning goes both ways

In a multigenerational team, no one knows everything. Which means everyone has to share. GenZ shows you how to edit in CapCut without touching the mouse. Boomers show you how to survive ten rounds of client feedback without losing your will to live. Somewhere in between, something HR calls “reverse mentoring” takes shape. What it really is: learning from each other without making it weird.

When generations mix, work wins

Working with different age groups might feel like a social experiment nobody signed up for. But like the best experiments, a bit of controlled chaos often leads to brilliant outcomes.

An idea born from a 1993 anecdote, edited by someone mid–quarter-life crisis, and animated by someone who’s never opened a ZIP file… might just be the next big campaign. Because in the end, it’s not about whether you use Arial, Helvetica, or something obnoxiously bold. It’s about whether the message lands. And if it’s built by a team—with age, ego and irony all in the mix—even better.

At Elespacio we’ve lived this first-hand. Not Harvard, not McKinsey—just us. Years of crossed references, clashing processes, and heated debates over what’s “relevant” versus “old.” Years of learning, accidentally and constantly, from one another.

No Excel graphs needed. The proof is in every project: when generations mix, the work gets better. And when it gets weird… it usually gets more interesting.

Imagery & memes: courtesy of the www (😉)