Accomplice

Internationally renowned designer, typographer, art director and brand strategist, Neville Brody was D&AD President in 2012-13. He is the founder of the Brody Associates network and partner in each of their operations. Today, in addition to lecturing and contributing to a variety of cultural and educational initiatives, Brody works both independently and alongside designers on commercial and private projects – guiding Brody Associates’ clients and inspiring the wider design community. Here, he reflects on his time as D&AD President, where refocusing on what is offered to emerging and aspiring creatives became his core mission.

I'd come into the presidency a couple of years after the coalition government had come into power in the UK. They had more than tripled student fees. There was a lot of press work that had to be done, a lot of campaigning. It was an active, even an activist, year. The government didn't value what were our crown jewels as an incredibly inventive, creative nation. They were moving the social philosophy, mentality, and community space back towards a hierarchical owner-worker space, where STEM subjects were prioritised over creative subjects.

I took on the presidency because I wanted to shift the focus far more towards two areas: one was education, and the other was helping younger people to be at the forefront of design visibility. The discussion about taking on the presidency was based on D&AD adopting the mantra that they were there to create income and attention, and then refocus that on supporting education. My remit was simple: If you won an award, then you would be encouraged to do mentoring. It was about the idea of looping back in – ensuring that whilst you're rewarding success, you're also opening doors and opportunities.

We also did a couple of important things in terms of restructuring how the management system worked internally. We set up a team which meant that the whole board didn't have to meet as regularly. That helped smooth a lot of things so that they could be done more quickly. We also set up the D&AD Foundation. That allowed the organisation to focus much more on education, early career support, and providing a greater emphasis on exposure of young creators to industry. Some of these things were going on anyway of course, but the foundation allowed a really crisp and clear focus. They appointed Paul Drake as the head of the foundation, and he is still in place and working very hard to support those initiatives. 

That year, instead of giving the annual design commission to an established designer, we deliberately chose a young, early career creative called Fleur Isbell. She was and still is an exciting, exploratory designer, who would happily cross between digital and print spaces so that all those edges melded together. For the awards show, we also commissioned another young agency, Bravo Charlie Mike Hotel, to take that job on. 

We were also really keen on expanding the international reach of D&AD, especially with digital technologies. We tried to move away from being perceived as a mainly British association and awards ceremony, instead making the focus far more global and inclusive. That was a big part of our creative approach – thinking that a good idea can come from anywhere. 

In some ways, it was a difficult time. As well as running my studio in London with a lot of international clients, I was almost full-time Dean of the School of Communication at the Royal College of Art, and also teaching as a professor. That was a hefty three or almost four full-time positions concurrently. Sadly, right in the middle of that year, my father passed away. But I'm still proud of the productivity, as he would have been.

The team at D&AD are incredible and dedicated. It's extraordinary how much they do, and how much they deliver every year. As a president, it was exhausting. But that's why you take it on. It's not just done as a ceremonial thing. It's incredibly demanding. I think my career has always been based on maintaining a questioning mind, and never accepting anything – including anything I've ever done. That spirit was what led me to taking on D&AD, because it wasn't about settling down. 

Looking back, I might have focused even further on the educational aspect. I probably would have tried to engage more with higher education institutions, and even thought too about how D&AD could get involved at primary and junior level. Does it always have to be at the A-level point, where you start to talk about careers? I think D&AD could be playing an incredibly important role in that early education space. How can we engage not only with children at that point, but also parents? And what about people thinking about retraining in creative areas? There's no age limit. There's an incredible opportunity there going forward. 

I've always tried – as a studio, in education, at D&AD – to use what opportunities I have to open doors for other people. This role offers so much visibility: in terms of professionalism, of getting out and meeting different cultures, different nations, having different conversations, and bridging the gap between industries. For anyone coming in, D&AD is a very malleable, very open organisation that really welcomes presidents with vision. For a year, it gives them a soapbox to broadcast some potentially big, community-changing thinking.