What is your role at Deepend NYC and how does that tie in with other worldwide offices?
I am the Founding Creative Director of Deepend New York since its inception in May 2000. My role here is as diverse
as our projects. I try to keep my hand in everything that passes through the studio — I define the studio as being the combination of: designers, strategists and
technologists; it is through this collaborative process we are able to provide clients the best possible solutions. I primarily act as the backstop in the studio,
making sure that the throughput and output of the studio is on brand every step of the way, to ensure that the quality of work that leaves the studio is to the
very high standards that we set ourselves.
The reality is that I still design and work on my fair share of projects, passing on the knowledge I have picked up along the way to others in the studio.
Lead by example — it’s the only way I know.
I joined Deepend London way back in 1997 as the first full time graphic designer. Being part of the team from the start has meant that I have personally
enjoyed a working relationship with the majority of the senior members from the other Deepend studios over a number of years. I consider them as friends
rather than co-workers or business partners. This means that the relationship we all share is unusually tight — a global coalition forged from the legacy
of the now defunct London studio.
What are some of the differences between client expectations in London, where you started
with Deepend, and New York City as far as web-based/interactive work?
What we brought to New York in 2000 at the launch was the exact same offer as the London studio. What we
lacked was the recognition and reputation of the Deepend brand here in the United States — initially we thought this lack of recognition had led to the
differences in client expectations of our work and of us as an agency.
However, since then the observations I’ve made have been contrary to our initial thoughts.
The main differences in business practices between here and London is two-fold:
Firstly, clients in the U.S. market seem a little reluctant to shop around for the various services they need. There is a tendency towards approaching a full
service agency rather than approaching a number of agencies and awarding the project to several based on their strengths and merits. In London these offerings
were segmented into the different Deepgroup companies: strategy, branding and design, technology, public relations, online advertising and maintenance; clients
were given the opportunity to pick and choose from the various specialties each company offered to suit their overall needs.
Secondly, during the courting process of the relationship between client and agency I found that London clients would make you work harder to win the work,
but once the contract is awarded the client would loosen their grip and hand over control. Here in the U.S. it seems that the courting period is shorter,
appointments come more quickly but clients find it harder to let go and relinquish their hold on the project.
We never ever want to just take it and make it, our belief has always been that the best results are achieved through an equal collaboration between ourselves
and the client — after all, we are both working for the brand and not for each other.
What are some of the projects that you work on with other offices, globally?
The reasons we are able to work effectively with the other Deepend studios across the globe is one of commonality:
we all share the same heritage, we all have the same approach, adopt the same beliefs and practice similar processes. This level of consistency allows us to work
together seamlessly despite the boundaries of geography and time zones.
Previously the most involved project collaboration was that for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney (www.mca.com.au),
this project saw contributions from London, New York, San Francisco and Sydney.
More recently in New York we have collaborated with Deepend Sydney on designing and producing a promotional microsite for Taco Bell/Microsoft Xbox through
Foote Cone & Belding in San Francisco; another example, Lavalife (www.lavalife.com), was a collaborative effort between New York and Toronto for this Canadian
client.
Are cultural barriers ever a problem outside of London and New York City?
Through the inherent accessibility of the web I find that audiences are more receptive to the communications
delivered through the medium regardless of cultural background insomuch that these communications are targeted at a specific demographic regardless of cultural
differences other than language.
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