Share ›

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Today I have a breakdown of the 16 sessions of the 2015 Brand New Conference that took place this past September 24 – 25 in New York, NY, and which was awesome. (If you are looking at this in an RSS reader head on over to the real thing, too much heavy formatting). This is a very long post with a photo of each speaker, very brief summaries from me and my partner in crime, collected tweets from the audience, and a preview of their video/session, so give it a good time to load. A few other things worth bullet-pointing:

• Videos for purchase are now available.

• A lot more photos from the event have been posted in this Flickr album.

• Additional videos from the conference not included in this post: Day one opening remarks and BNConf identity presentation / Day one closing summary / Day two opening remarks and Brand New summary / Day two closing summary.

• Registration is now open for the 2016 Brand New Conference in Nashville, TN, on September 15 – 16.

• In a couple of weeks I will post this year’s identity materials. Just have to photograph it after I come back from Oslo where I will be all of next week.

That’s it. Enjoy the post. There is a lot of great content from all the speakers.

Photos by Eric Ryan Anderson.

Jonathan Hoefler / Hoefler & Co. / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

An explanation on the importance of selecting robust type families for clients for the best and broadest brand implementation.

Bryony’s summary

Jonathan recommended we don’t choose and buy typography as we would would a t-shirt. Best to Involve all the parties, especially your design czar–perhaps yourself–to help demystify how fonts work and to make informed choices to develop the best brand outcome by clearly defining what is needed.In a nutshell, increase the dialogue and involve your local typographer.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Philippe Apeloig / Apeloig / Paris, New York

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

An exhaustive, entertaining, and admirable showcase of Philippe’s various logos and identities. Bonus: plenty of unselected logos shown.

Bryony’s summary

In listening to Philippe today I finally understand why I have been attracted to his work for so long. He is that kid at the candy store with a $5 dollar bill who will spend hours analyzing and studying his options until finding the perfect one. He is the doodling artist, the dancer exploring the white space, and the kid that finds awe and delight in letterforms. My lesson learned? Invite your inner kid to work with you every day. I bet you will be awed.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Andrew Schapiro / Airbnb / San Francisco, CA

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

An inside look at the development and implementation of Airbnb’s 2014 redesign and the impact the community had in it.

Bryony’s summary

Andrew gave us a masterful example on how to expand a brand and create a passionate commitment to the brand by starting at the core. From the founders all the way to the lowest denominator. And he did this by embracing the value of community crated through fun and engaging channels. Good luck proposing this idea at your next client meeting. But you should still try.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Tom Geismar, Ivan Chermayeff, Sagi Haviv / Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A spirited conversation between the three partners on collaboration and process with insight into some of their favorite projects.

Bryony’s summary

Tom, Ivan, and Sagi demonstrated chemistry like no other through their arguments, chiding, innocent bickering, and difference of opinions you can grasp s deep respect for each other–and their individual methodology. A respect you call all, respectfully, be jealous of. And their commitment to simplicity? They married this idea years ago and have, and will remain forever faithful.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Paula Scher / Pentagram / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A resolute response to feedback on three poorly-received identities on Brand New and a call for better understanding of identity redesigns.

Bryony’s summary

Paula reminded us to not judge on day 1. we all belong to the same industry and we should be working together and not against each other. Through her case studies we were able to see how one mark, which you might or might not like, comes alive and becomes so much more than a group of letters or icon one. So can we, as individual designers.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Hilary Greenbaum / Whitney Museum of American Art / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A fast-paced overview using only images available on social media of the materials created for the Whitney relocation.

Bryony’s summary

Hilary conveyed how working in house the project never ends, but the narrative keeps evolving.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Rodney Abbot / Lippincott / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

An in-depth overview of the strategy, thinking, and business-plus-culture considerations behind the Southwest identity redesign.

Bryony’s summary

From Rodney we heard that the purpose of the brand is to advance the business: look inside, look outside, embrace reality, and remember good design is making something intelligent and memorable.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Larry Pipitone, Eric Collins, Joey Ellis / Grand Army / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A reveal of how three twenty-one-year-olds started a business, landed large clients, and now run a successful design firm by “faking it”.

Bryony’s summary

Larry, Eric, and Joey gave us several, very tweet-able bits: Don’t be safe; Don’t fear fear, Do stuff you care about, for stuff you care about; Don’t have a style; Jump in the boat of the “I’ve never done that before” boat. It’s fun.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Christine Taylor / Hallmark / Kansas City, MO

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

An entertaining look into an entertaining career that bridges iconic pop-culture brands like Star Wars with the Hallmark galaxy.

Bryony’s summary

Christine, even in what can be perceived as a highly corporate company with hundreds of employees, and teams, and product branches, showed that it is possible to find that sweet spot between a highly recognizable brand–like Star Wars– and your own voice. And while doing that you can live up your childhood dream. With fans and unexpected awards.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Fredrik Öst, Magnus Berg / Snask / Stockholm, Sweden

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A rowdy description of the madness behind the team — from how to hire the best talent to getting banks to “be sexy”.

Bryony’s summary

Freddie and Magnus were full of advice: Drink a miniature beer, hop in the shower, and embrace the absurd. Aim to make things some will love and some will hate, make enemies and gain fans. Be professional or be fucking rock and roll, either way dance your way to the tattoo parlor. Manage your costs, build it, don’t fake it, get into it, fool your colleagues, and ask: Isn’t that the point?

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Johnny Earle aka “Cupcakes” / Johnny Cupcakes / Boston, MA

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A high-energy narrative on the origins of the Johnny Cupcakes brand and the positive attitude that has fueled it all these years.

Bryony’s summary

Johnny urged us to do more of what makes you happy, and you can make others happy. Create pre-orders for calculated risk, sell on Fridays or holidays, and remember you are always representing yourself. Reinvest in yourself, and get hands-on experience. Think creatively, know that strange is good, leave your social circle, And finally have at least a dozen things that separate you from everyone else.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Gabor Schreier / Saffron Brand Consultants / Madrid, Spain

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

An insightful talk on why disruption equals relevance and what that means for a brand as explained through two case studies.

Bryony’s summary

Gabor said everything is disrupted or disruptive. Disruption is everywhere. We should disrupt the irrelevant and create relevance amongst change while creating meaning for people. Remember that what matters most is what the company does, not what the logo looks like. So let’s focus less on giving “thumbs up” and more on thinking. Do not conform. Find and create balance between charm and brutality, but most of all, rethink convention, even if it’s hard.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Julia Hoffman / Etsy / Berlin, Germany

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A heartfelt presentation on the importance and influence that an in-house design team has for a brand — especially a community-driven one.

Bryony’s summary

The first lesson from Julia? Embrace the unknown and don’t be a control freak. It is important to understand and know that it is the culture, not the structure of the company that creates the brand. When the brand health is compromised you enter into damage control and maintenance mode–not a fun or creative place to be in. But when brand health is maintained then you have the freedom to experiment and play with the guidelines that keep you on track. Finally, she demonstrated by experience that the future of branding lies in a strong in-house team that knows how to collaborate and champion the brand.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Brett Wickens / Ammunition / San Francisco, CA

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A savvy recollection of his career path, from working with Peter Saville to working in Los Angeles to his current role creating products and brands.

Bryony’s summary

Brett has learned that everything eventually connects. People, ideas, objects. But it’s all about the quality of these connections. That even if you live in LA, the most risk-averse city in the world, as a designer you can play a bigger role in making things through partnerships where you assume both risk and rewards. Simply by investing your time and effort if not the contents of your wallet. Design is about ideas, design is not an event, it’s part of a process, design is the key distinguisher. If you try to make sense of many voices you won’t succeed, especially in making things that matter. And remember, everyone can complain about something. Usually everything.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Emily Oberman / Pentagram / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A comprehensive and witty overview of her work for Saturday Night Live since 1994 with some tangents on other entertainment industry projects.

Bryony’s summary

Emily showed how, if you think the TV and movie world is glamorous, know that it is not. Far from it. But it is a heck of a fun ride that is very rewarding. It’s a world wehre being funny is serious business, even if it’s sometimes creepy. When the client cares, it shows. And I am going to add that when the designer cares it also shows. As in the case of Emily, who believes hell is quite exciting. And she leads by example by always thanking her crew and given credit where credit is due.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Greg Hahn, Ryan Moore / Gretel / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A brief insight into their process highlighted by three case studies of motion branding including a first-peek at work for Netflix.

Bryony’s summary

Greg and Ryan showed how by starting with ethos at the core, followed by voice, and wrapped by the visual identity as designers we need to solve branding challenges by revisiting our core elements. Type, color, image, composition, and movement. Ask, what can movement say about the brand?

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

David Heasty, Stefanie Weigler / Triboro / Brooklyn, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A detailed breakdown of four of the small studio’s big-time projects for the likes of Nike and The Standard.

Bryony’s summary

Stephanie and David showed us that there is always something hiding in the brief, and it’s up to us as designers to unearth the possibilities.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich / de Vicq design / New York, NY

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

An unexpected history lesson on the relationship between hair styles and typography from the Middle Ages to today.

Bryony’s summary

Roberto blew my fucking mind! I wish we had given him four hours to take us down history as he juxtaposed hairstyles and evolving typography age by age. The unspoken bond between hair and type has been around for centuries, so we should be careful about what we do with our hair tomorrow, because it can lead to really horrible typography.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Susan Skarsgard / General Motors / Warren, MI

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A sharp presentation on the legacy of General Motors lettering and logos and her role in it since 1994 as a designer and now master archiver.

Bryony’s summary

From Susan we learned that a love of letters and typography can lead to a lifelong career where you end up designing logos for cars and archiving the history of America as seen through cars and nameplates. How cool and geeky is that? The best part? Is that the archive is being created by someone that has a deep understanding of the material, which is more often not the case. My suggestion to all of you? Keep a sassy outlook in life and work.

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Ty Mattson / Mattson Creative / Irvine, CA

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin’s summary

A highly amusing and insightful call for allowing our childhood objects to influence our work and the unexpected benefits of taking “creative initiative”.

Bryony’s summary

Ty encouraged us to look into our childhood and bring back the things that amazed us into our work today. Also to take creative initiative and pursue the things we love. Finally, set the stage for inspiration — there is an intrinsic connection between where we work and what we make — and consider the notion that design is more about recovery than discovery.

So now I ask you: what the hell are you doing with YOUR life?

Tweets





Video Preview

BUY VIDEO

Yay 2015! See you in 2016?

2015 Brand New Conference: Photos, Tweets, and Videos

Armin & Bryony’s summary

Now in our sixth year you would think we have things figured out but this was possibly our most challenging conference yet. Logistics, timing, adversities… everything proved a little harder than usual so when we were done and people were overwhelmingly positive in their feedback we knew everything was worth it. We were both ecstatic with the conference: from speakers to attendees to volunteers to venue to weather. Everything worked out. Many thanks to all who came and we hope to see as many of you (and as many of you who didn’t come) in Nashville, TN, in 2016 for another 2-day event.

Tweets




Comments

Share ›