Computer Arts

VIDEO INSIGHT SPRING 2017

computerarts.creativebloq.com

JONATHAN FORD

Creative partner

DAN gLADDON

Acting creative director

Jonathan is one of the three

co-founders of Pearlfisher.

Dan joined the agency four

years ago. After a formative

spell in the NYC studio as a

design director he returned

to London as acting CD.

BUILD AN ICONIC BRAND

In our first video creative partner Jonathan Ford

discusses Pearlfisher’s three-pronged strategic

approach with acting creative director Dan

Gladdon including how design can help brands

on the journey from challenger to iconic.

you’re living in a world of disruption you need
to understand how to clear the noise. You want
to see or hear something that stands for
something clearly and all that ‘future thinking’
is there to achieve cut-through and ultimately
create that gem in every brand.

How do you apply insights in practice?
Dan Gladdon: it isn’t a clear line. as Jonathan
says we talk about them not as trends but as
as shifts – and how we can communicate those
through design. it’s exciting to talk about new
ways of communicating. We work with sophie’s
team to create language that can resonate with
consumers at any level.
it’s all about the big idea. What problem are we
solving – is it a new form of food? a new drink?
a new piece of communication? How do we keep
things fresh but with a reason behind it? How
we distil that and deliver that message is key.

How much two-way communication is there
between Futures Strategy and Design?
DG: l et’s try and throw ‘strategy documents’
out the window. that for me already becomes
a rigid thing. things should be organic within
reason. conversation happens development
happens. We have our three divisions but they’re
not at three different stages of the project. We
don’t just do the Futures insight then pass it
on to strategy. if we did it like that you wouldn’t
be able to join those three dots. it needs to be
a cohesive journey. it’s organic. things change.
it’s not: ‘this is what you need to achieve this
is the brief’ before we even get involved. For me
that’s the excitement. i’m a very strategic thinker
and i wouldn’t want to have a strategic brief put
in front of me without knowing why it’s there.

Do you have any advice for creative directors
in smaller studios to develop iconic brands?
JF: Focus on the idea. an idea can transcend
borders cultures and scale. a brilliant idea can
come from the youngest junior designer who may
be terrified of putting a thought on paper or a
strategist who’s thought about it for two months.
DG: From a directional point of view it’s then how
you guide that idea grow it push it. We’re always
going to be learning and growing. as Jonathan
says you’ll still get challenged by interns. Great
why not? they’re the fresh thinking on the staff.
JF: Great ideas are key but you also need
incredible talent to help that come through. if
you’re not a conceptional thinker and you don’t
focus on quality through your staff it’s probably
time to go and become an estate agent.

Pearlfisher is a previous BIA winner. Enter your
best branding at http://www.brandimpactawards.com

WATCH THE VIDEO NOW AT

http://www.bit.ly/ca265-pearlfisher

Left and below:

pearlfisher created the

theoretical brand allay

as part of a project with

surface magazine to

“imagine the future of

marijuana.” allay provides

stress anxiety and pain

relief by harnessing the

power of the marijuana

root in the form of three

products: a wristband an

edible oil and oral tablets.