For this week’s getting to know feature, we’re sitting down with Graham Sykes, ECD at Landor & Fitch and a man with a storied history in the creatives industries.
Tell us a bit about your role! Is there a “typical” day?
No two days are the same, and for this I consider myself very lucky. Each day brings new
and exciting challenges, be those internal or project related. I often quip I have the best job in the studio, and for the most part this is true.
It’s a mix of brain tingling, transformational project demands and helping to shape our collective creative vision in London, whilst collaborating with an amazing team of people who I feel very privileged to work with.
What was the biggest challenge in getting to your current position?
My journey to this role has by no means been conventional or planned. Having left agency life for a tech start-up, vowing never to return to the gauntlet of travel, pitching and extreme client demands again, I very quickly found that I missed it!
The people, the passion, the productivity. The diversity. I missed it on all levels. Luckily an opportunity arose where I had first been exposed to the best version of this, and time away had given me greater perspective. A few bonkers years have followed; the pandemic, the move to hybrid working, the joining of forces between Landor & Fitch — and the arrival of my first child.
If you had told me three years ago that I’d be sat here writing this as an ECD, I probably would have laughed. I’m still waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and tell me there has been a mistake.
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
I grew up in Shane Meadows country, the suburbs of the suburbs in the East Midlands. It was a humble, but great start in life. Very early on I learnt the value of graft, trusting your gut, determination and understanding the perspective of others.
My mum was an emergency call handler for the Fire Service and would regularly take on far greater challenges than anything I deal with day-to-day. It’s a good reminder we are fortunate to get to do what we do.
I found the traditional academic nature of school easier than most, and often boring, which I think lead to more ‘creative’ pursuits in and out of school. I was adamant I wanted to leave at 16, work and continue learning in a college environment. There was maybe something to prove to those who were trying to show me a more well-trodden path.
This subsequently led to me studying at Manchester School of Art and launching a very small, bootleg agency with ambition of changing the industry forever. While we didn’t achieve these beautifully naïve and lofty ambitions at the height of the recession, the journey taught me a huge amount about entrepreneurialism, tenacity, relationships and self-discipline that I still carry with me today.
It also helped me find my first ‘real’ job in London and gave me the confidence to change direction and take opportunities as and when they have appeared over the years.
What is your biggest career-related win? What is your biggest loss?
I think the best is yet to come. If you don’t think that, then what’s the point? The losses should be learned from, not dwelled upon. The biggest wins for me are the things we get to do for the first time, and these are rarely flawless.
If you think you have conquered a project or client perfectly then, frankly, you probably weren’t pushing hard enough. I still enjoy the surprise wins, and to some extent the surprise losses. They keep you on your toes, engaged and ready to give your all at the next opportunity.
Which individuals and/or agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
All of them and none of them. I find keeping up with the agency Jones’ can be a fruitless pursuit, and we regularly see how it creates a multiplicity of aesthetics and ideas. This isn’t to disregard the immense competition we all face, and the crazy talent out there, but just to highlight that I think the focus right now should be on the new.
I’m currently loving the wealth of small experimental teams that sit at the edge of convergence. Those that sit between brand, tech, experience, and the important issues of the day. My hope is that this, combined with the rapidly changing world order, will continue to disrupt the industry in a big way.
I only have one design hero. A man who took me (and my creative partner in crime) into his studio and under his wing many years ago. A typographer by trade, he celebrated our enthusiasm and desire to experiment, allowing us to live and work in Amsterdam throughout our studies.
The months we shared were far more powerful than any of the years of education I had endured up until this point. Unfortunately, his old studio is no longer there, but much more can be found by googling ‘Ewald Spieker’. Look out for the rocking chair ampersand and the ‘YES’ we helped him hang.
If you could go back to your teenage years, would you have done things differently? Do you have any regrets?
There was a bleach-blonde asymmetrical mullet, a very questionable tattoo, and several other ill-advised pursuits that with hindsight I may have thought about for a little longer. All that said, I don’t I regret any of it. To be of the moment is to be in the moment, in my opinion.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
Looking back, if I had listened to others, probably something much more expected and traditional. More formal attire certainly. Looking ahead, I’ve always been interested in owning something small, local, and part of the community.
A newsagent, a sandwich shop, a pub, or Grocer’s perhaps. One of those places on the high street that the world left behind, and that now we need back. The side hustle dream lives on…
What’s your one big dream for the future of the industry?
That we collectively realise our potential to make a huge difference on the issues that really matter. To do this well we need to consider what will matter in the future, not just deliver what the short-lived moment in time dictates.
Our industry will need to continue to retrain and reappraise its working practices and output; specifically tackling issues around sustainability, socio-economic accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The most exciting opportunities lie ahead, but only for those willing to shift quickly.
What are your top tips for aspiring creative professionals?
The clichés are real. Stay curious. Try everything (at least) once. Always have a side hustle. Train your creative brain just as much as you learn any new technology. Help and inspire those around you in any way you can, and some-day, when you need it most and least expect it, they will return the favour!
When first starting out, make yourself indispensable. When you have more skin in the game, don’t forget how you first made yourself indispensable. Be in it for the process just as much as the finish line. Be bold. Be brave.
Be positive. Above all, have a point of view on the context of those you are trying to influence, know what they love and more importantly what really aggravates them. This is where the magic lives!
What are your top tips for other creative leaders?
Do not take the ‘Director’ part of your title too seriously. Be the spotter. Help turn the embers of good ideas into roaring flames. Challenge, explore and question, but try not to take the reins. Then make sure the others get the credit they deserve.
No one needs or wants the Creative Director’s initials on a piece of work anymore. It’s essential to crowdsource ideas from all perspectives, and from far beyond the ‘creative studio’. This is entirely a team sport. Only hire the talent that scares you, and that you know will inspire others.
Always behave the way you would’ve like to have been treated, not in the way you were treated when moving up in the industry. Any processes, politics or personality traits that get in the way of all this should be considered the enemy at large.
When you think about your team, what is the thing that matters to you the most?
That they are happy. Valued. Challenged. That they have a healthy relationship with work and feel they are in control of their own creative destiny. We try to foster an environment that drives both development and entrepreneurial spirit.
Thinking big and acting small is key to creating great work collectively, and essential to having a good time while doing it. Fundamentally we want people to feel proud they are part of the team, engaged with what they do and ready to celebrate the success of others and crave as much input as possible along the way. We’re all human and in this for the right reasons after all.
Do you have any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
Summer is here, the world is open again. I think we’ve all trawled our bookshelves and the familiar blogs aplenty. I wholeheartedly recommend spending a few hours in a new part of town with no particular agenda whatsoever…good will come of it!
