Tag: Emotive Brand

As an agency, we have the benefit of outside perspective on client work. Our distance allows us to see situations with a more objective lens. But what happens when we get too close to our own work or get caught in a creative slump? As Design Director Robert Saywitz tells us, sometimes the best solution to in-house problems is outside inspiration. We sat down to discuss how his background in illustration, graphic novels, and mixed-media informs his design thinking.

Tell us a bit about your artistic practices.

I do a little bit of everything: painting, drawing, ink, mixed-media works on paper, graphic novels, personal and commercial illustration. I work with many non-traditional and found materials, such as antique books, wooden crates, or music-related items like vinyl and cassettes. Part of my process is to breathe new life into discarded or antiquated things that often find themselves on the street or in second-hand shops. I not only try to find materials that will work as a blank canvas for a drawing or painting but I also look for specific materials that relate to the subject matter, and to my own sense of storytelling.

For example, as part of my series, Music Was My First Love, I used antique, leather book covers as canvases for ink drawings of jazz musician and composer, Ornette Coleman. The triptych shows him at three stages in his life – a rising star, at the height of his powers, and as an aging legend. The deterioration of the materials adds much more to the story than any ink wash or layered background I could have tried to create by hand. This was also a nod to the process and how we convey and gather information – reading about art and music – as well as my own love of the physical book. At my heart, though, I’m a drawer. It all goes back to pencil and paper.

How does that sensibility feed into your practice for client work?

I never start on the computer. You have pens, paper, scissors, drafting boards, and oh, a computer as well. It’s just one piece in a massive toolkit to tell a story. I’ve always viewed myself as a visual storyteller. Whether it’s a singular poster or a super complex brand system. For me, I’m always searching for that layered story. Too much focus on any one instrument, like the computer, tends to dilute the experience. The computer is an amazing tool, but it’s not an idea generator. You can have happy accidents, but you can’t let the tools dictate the idea. I didn’t get into design until later in life. I came to it from an art background – and I think my sideways path in has made a big difference in how I approach work.

You mentioned the idea of posters. You often start projects by designing a poster, even if it won’t necessarily live in this format. What does this process illuminate for you?

The poster, for me, is a perfect object. It’s that blank slate, open canvas, anything-can-happen object. Whether it’s a logo or complete brand identity, I tend to think in terms of the poster. If you can figure out what the big idea is in a single frame, then you have the spark that allows you to expand the idea into an entire campaign. Solving the poster is like this secret puzzle that will inevitably answer questions that come up later in the process.

Initially, it was album covers and film posters that sparked my love for design and it was people like Saul Bass, who you felt could capture the entire mood of a two-hour movie in a 2-D plane. There’s something magical about starting from a simple rectangle and trying to tell a story in multiple parts. Again, for me it goes back to the pencil and paper – the sheet of paper is essentially that blank poster frame where the problem needs to be solved in a clear and compelling way. That’s how I approached the poster for Knucklehead, which is another example of letting the idea (not the computer) drive the design. My watercolor and ink illustrations with collaged magazine clippings captured the emotional quality and narrative of the film more than traditional photography could have hoped to achieve.

How much of your client work is inspired by these other worlds?

I think you can see it in almost everything I do. If there is ever an opportunity to bring in something that feels hand-drawn, organic, or illustrated, I think it adds warmth and empathy. My gut instinct is the pencil, not the mouse – and that line of thinking will always filter in. The art of making something is nuanced and gestural. I love when you can feel the hand of the creator a little bit. Especially in the digital age, when things can feel a little too slick, too polished, too clean. Obviously, every project has its own parameters, but at the end of the day, everything is human and you need that component. Even if it’s just a starting point that gets digitally refined later, the emotional core will bubble up.

For example, the identity I created for Normandie – a new restaurant in Portland, Oregon – began as an actual linoleum block print before getting tediously refined on the computer. The only way to create a bespoke, block-printed logo was to make it by hand.

How can say, a B2B tech company, get out of their comfort zone and let outside creativity bolster their offering?

It sounds cliché, but inspiration is everywhere – you just have to be willing to see it. A lot of that is just getting outside and looking for answers in unexpected places: the museum, the used bookstore, public gardens, architecture, travel guides, novels, even the design of old appliances. You’d be surprised how many times the work of someone in a completely different field can inspire or solve the problem you’re working on. It can be as simple as watching a really good documentary series, like Abstract, which showcases the work of designers in different fields at the top of their game.

A very tangible lesson is to set up Google Alerts under research categories you’re interested in. I have one set up for “book arts.” Every day, I get four or five unique articles sent to me from places I would never think to look, like a local paper in Des Moines, Iowa. You need to be open to everything serving as a potential source of inspiration, whether it’s going on a trip to the post office or wandering into an estate sale. The beauty of the iPhone is you always have a way to capture that random spark.

Beyond the digital, I think it’s incredibly important to start a physical inspiration folder. Put one in your design department and start to collect objects that intrigue or inspire. It doesn’t have to make sense right away. The internet tends to feed on itself, and there’s something liberating in having your designers get bold new ideas from the world around them. My personal studio is full of seemingly random artifacts: old instruction manuals, maps, magazine clippings, keys, matchbooks, old manual typewriters, compasses, ticket stubs. Design is all around us and you never know what object will unlock or inspire. I recently submitted to The Sketchbook Project, which is a crowd-funded sketchbook museum and community space. My submission was all about tiny maps, and its creation was a direct result of the process of maintaining this archive of physical inspiration.

How do you manage your creative and professional lives? Do you view them as at-odds or supporting one another?

A big internal obstacle for most working creatives is separating your two lives – the creative and the professional – because they don’t fit in. You feel like your day job is taking away from your art, or vice versa. I’ve struggled with that.

To be honest, coming to Emotive Brand is the first place where I truly feel those two lives are intermeshed. There’s no shame to keep one hidden. In fact, we’re encouraged to share and inspire others. In all the jobs I’ve worked, it’s never been that way, and it does a huge disservice to the employee, the agency, and even the client. When you build a culture of expression, the ideas just get better and feed off one another. It’s liberating and opens up all these other doors. I’ve always bifurcated my creative lives, but I don’t have to do that here. At a previous job, I would have my work included in a group show at a gallery and not tell anyone. Here, I feel totally enabled to let my outside creativity influence and improve everything else I do.

Check out all of Robert’s work on his website here.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design agency in Oakland, California.

Cover Image by Robert Saywitz: Chinatown (detail), watercolor and graphite on paper, 5 x 7 inches

Last week, Emotive Brand, Oakland-based branding agency celebrated its ten-year anniversary. To mark the occasion, we sat down with Co-Founder Bella Banbury to discuss her experience starting a business with her best friend, the importance of culture, and what it will take to be successful moving forward.

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Ten years ago, Tracy Lloyd and I were working together at another agency that abruptly closed its doors. We found ourselves unexpectedly without jobs and we needed a plan. So, on the first day of our newfound freedom, we met for breakfast at the W Hotel in San Francisco, evaluated our options, and agreed that we might as well start our own company. Most raised their eyebrows and said, “You’ll never do it, you’ll fall out, it’s too hard.” Well, it was hard. But we did do it, we’re still doing, and we’re still best friends. I’m incredibly proud of that fact. Ninety-five percent of small businesses fail within the first five years and, not only have we continued to thrive, we’ve managed to stay independent.

For me, one of the biggest markers of success is our sustained relationships with clients over time. I’m proud of the reputation we have in market, the following we’ve cultivated, and the fact that many look to us as thought leaders and for inspiration all things brand related. When I think about the amount of work we have done – clients, projects, pitches, even the ones that got away – we have probably touched something like 500 or 600 companies since we started. That’s a massive impact.

What risks are you most proud of taking?

We launched this company on the premise of feelings driving behavior to create meaning – and then we took that idea into arguably the least emotional space possible: the B2B world. Looking back, that was pretty risky. Especially in the beginning, when we were trying to build credibility. Over the years, we’ve watched other agencies lean into our thinking and approach. Our methodology continues to evolve to stay at the forefront of what businesses need to grow, but the emotive DNA remains constant.

What has your experience of being a women-led agency been like? Do you view it as a differentiating factor?

I’ve always wanted this company to stand on the strength of its ideas, not the identity of its founders. Personally, I never really thought the fact of being a women-run company was important or differentiating until people started telling us how inspiring it was for them. Especially during the interview process, I constantly hear candidates say, “I think it’s incredible to see two women founders. I’d love to work for a women-led company.” It’s a story I hear a lot, which makes me feel great. I guess women do think and process information differently than men. We definitely play to our strengths and instill a work culture that focuses on communication, empathy, and multitasking.

What has been the importance of culture in building and sustaining Emotive Brand?

Culture is vital to sustaining our business and brand. It connects our team to each other, it’s what drives us. How people show up each day is a direct reflection of the culture we have developed. We have a huge amount of respect for each other and embrace our talents and our differences. We know our team is stronger when we each bring something different to the table. We care deeply about each and every person who works with us and never forget they have families and lives outside of work that impact them on a daily basis. We don’t expect people to leave those aspects of their lives at the door when they come in each day. Instead, we try to nurture and support them. We think the small gestures add up to making a big difference in people’s lives. We spend a lot of time together, we demand the highest standards, but we try to have fun along the way. We’ve worked our way through a lot of tequila over the years – that helps, too.

What will it take to continue to be successful in the future?

The absolute number one thing we cannot get around is talent. To do the work we want, at the level we want, requires an unbelievably skilled, unique, and special group of people who are passionate and curious about the world we live in. They seek out the trends and forces that are at play in any given situation to help craft solutions to the most complex problems, turning them into something inspiring, engaging, and memorable. Our clients are some of the most forward-thinking leaders, disrupting industries and categories globally. They come to us to help them solve their problems and tell their stories, so we have to stay current and always one step ahead. That game’s not for everyone.

As we grow, we need to continue to build our methodology and develop tools that help us solve problems. Whether that’s new workshops, new ways to facilitate meetings, new technology, or embracing more agile work styles. Staying relevant is a constant battle. You can’t assume what worked yesterday will work for tomorrow, never mind the next ten years. Every client is unique and has its own flavor – the last thing we want to do is throw them into a one-size-fits-all template.

I’m in the middle of watching the Queer Eye series on Netflix right now, I love the stylist, Tan, because in many ways it reminds me of what we do every day. I love the considered way he applies style to each individual. When you’re an expert, it’s so easy to bulldoze the situation and force your own rules onto someone. What’s fantastic about Tan is that he’s able to see the individual for who they are – whether they’re a NASCAR fan, bartender, or married with kids but living like a college student – and make them see the best version of themselves. In a funny way, that’s what we do here. Our continued success is built upon the belief that we meet clients where they are at, and help them see the best version of themselves within the structure and methodology we provide.

If you were starting all over, what do you wish you knew on day one?

I would just remind myself how lucky we are to do this. Over the last ten years, people gave us a chance. They trusted us. They followed our lead – most of the time. We’ve seen the insides of so many different companies in cities across the U.S., like VMware, Citrix, Informatica, UPS, and Western Digital. We’ve had the opportunity to learn about so many different industries, from machine learning and AI to blockchain and big data. We get to work, think, sweat, challenge ourselves, and laugh out loud every single day. And so, I’d just remind myself that this is one hell of an opportunity. This job is about lifelong learning. You carry around this backpack of experiences and stories, and it only gets richer over time.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design agency in Oakland, California.