Third Afterlife – James Greenfield
Perfectionist, knowledgeable, passionate; are the main words when I think about the talk. He wants to help people and share his excitement about design. He even was excited by the name of his company which I’m sure he sees daily. Koto; meaning experience or more in depth engagement/ use-ability over beauty.
He has worked with some huge brands and I was intrigued by his work for Air B&B. The way he spoke about branding was compassionate and light-hearted. He says brand is the way people think about the company without them there. Our role is to utilise this conversation, make it our own (or the brands). We can use culture and stories to make these brands. For instance Air B&B is an experience in someones home, to travel to a new destination – not the basic this room to rent like a hotel.
In his talk he used many quotes to explain his thoughts and where he stands in the world because unlike many other designers he holds his moral and perfection as the most important element of his life. He believes to design you should follow 4 simple steps. Talk. Write. Design. And Sell. This means he holds collaboration as one of his prides.
My favourite quote he used was “think progress, not perfection.” I need to hear this more often. I want to progress my work and capability but more often than not I get caught up in the look. I only wish I truly listened to this idea in penguin and some other projects.
Fiona Fraser's Graphics 