Interview with Graphic Designer Kevin Finn

Irish born Kevin Finn is an ex Saatchi Design joint Creative Director, currently living and working in Kununurra in Western Australia’s far north. He is also the brain behind the “Open Manifesto” Journals. Here is what he had to say…

What have you been up to lately?
I’ve just got back from a trip to New York and Tokyo so I’m trying to settle back into work :) The trip was part holiday and part design and research related. I had a number of meetings with various designers in New York and was invited to give an informal round table talk at the School of Visual Arts about my publication project Open Manifesto.

Other than that, it’s back to working on a number of projects, finally trying to find time to update my website and getting to the final stages of Open Manifesto #5 (the ‘Identity’ issue), which I’m hoping to publish by Christmas.

You have experience in far ranging places such as Dublin, Wellington and Sydney. How did you end up in Kununurra in Western Australia’s far north?
It’s a long story but essentially my wife got a job with Argyle Diamond Mine, which is based in Kununurra. Her role is in Community Partnerships and includes community relations with the five Indigenous communities on the mine site. It’s pretty interesting as Argyle have one of the most internationally recognised (and celebrated) land agreements with Traditional Owners.

Around eight months after my wife moved to Kununurra and realised it was a place she wanted to spend more time in, I decided to resign from my seven year role as Joint Creative Director at Saatchi Design, Sydney, and came to Kununrra for an adventure and to set up my own studio. That was in February 2007.

I should point out to those who don’t know anything about Kununurra it’s a one-hour flight to the nearest city (Darwin) and is a three and a half hour flight north of Perth. The population is about 5,500, but is usually less than that during the Wet Season. I started my own studio here with very little money, no clients and no clue as to whether this radical move would work. Thankfully, it’s been all good so far.

In your work for local clients your own design sensibility still shines through. How does the work for local clients compared to that of the larger clients you worked for previously and how do you manage creative control?
To be honest, there has been little difference between working in Sydney (or anywhere else) and working in Kununurra. Regardless of where I am I can’t help but apply the same thinking to all the projects that I’m involved with. And clients, regardless of where they are – in a city or otherwise – will always have some fixed requirements, which can often challenge creative work.

But my view is that clients are partners in creative work and when one combines their expertise with design skills, the result is a more powerful outcome. It’s simply about listening to each other and asking questions along the way. In addition to this, a number of organisations in Kununurra are quite sophisticated in many respects. They just haven’t had access to this kind of design work and have embraced it as a result.

Obviously, there are occasions when some indepth ‘discussion’ is required to bring a project to a level I feel is appropriate. But that is usually resolved by talking about the ‘ideas’ behind the work, which is more tangible than trying to convince a client about an aesthetic direction.

On the flip side, I always encourage my clients to convince me that another direction might be more appropriate, if that’s how they feel. Listening and talking are key components to my work. In fact, they are a critical component. In my experience, I find people respond well to sensible thinking, and that’s right across the board – in remote areas as well as cosmopolitan cities. Added to this, while I have been in Kununurra, I have worked on projects of various sizes locally, nationally and internationally. Geographic location hasn’t seemed to be an issue for me.

How has your lifestyle changed between living in Sydney and Kununurra?
Well, in terms of lifestyle, things are a bit more relaxed here and I usually have more time to think than I did in Sydney. But it’s expensive to live remotely (food is shipped in and therefore more expensive). Staff for local businesses can be hard to find and therefore prices go up to cover higher salaries. Accommodation is scarce and therefore expensive. And flying in and out of town is expensive.

The upside is that the cultural education is rich and rewarding. Aboriginal Culture is all around and living in Kununurra gives one a greater sense of the expanse, diversity and beauty of Australia. There are loads of opportunities to see things I’ve never seen before and I also have the privilege of getting involved in some regional specific projects that I would otherwise never get to do in Sydney.

What are some of the important aspects of managing visual identity that your clients commonly miss?
Clients understand the importance of how they are perceived, since it is integral to their business success. And they acutely feel any change in that perception as it can affect their bottom line. When it comes to visual identity I would argue most clients are committed to producing the most appropriate identity for their company, simply because it respects their investment to the project (in time and finance). And of course they have a vested interest in being appropriately represented in a visual manner. So it’s fair to say all clients are interested at the inception of a visual identity.

But design is an activity most companies don’t partake in on a regular basis. As a result, things do slip occasionally. Company priorities change all the time and it’s easy to inadvertently ignore developing their identity. In some cases companies might think that maintaining an identity simply doesn’t take a priority position any more. And oftentimes, clients (anywhere – regional or urban) think a logo and some stationery is the beginning and end of the process – that it is something which doesn’t need to be managed or maintained. And to be honest, sometimes a logo and stationery actually are the full extent of the project. Sometimes this is all that’s required.

Regarding the work I do, I try to identify a statement or a unique proposition for a client, something that can live beyond a colour, or a shape, or a typeface; something that can become part of an ongoing narrative for an organisation. Finding this statement can often make it easier for a company to maintain and develop their identity long after I’ve been removed from the picture because the statement should infiltrate every aspect of the company’s purpose and meaning. And the logo or identity simply reflects this statement.

The best anyone can do (client or designer) is to keep a check on all communications material being produced and, where possible, ensure that this remains consistent with the company’s visual identity. And I might add, Style Guides don’t necessarily guarantee this is done. I think identities and visual identities need to mean something essential to an organisation in order for it to be maintained or developed over a period of time and in a consistent fashion. And if this ‘essential aspect’ really means something to a company, beyond being a ‘logo’, then the identity has a better chance of being maintained in the absence of the original designer.

Of course, the ideal is if there is someone championing the identity from within the company, someone who can become a brand guardian. But this isn’t a guarantee either since, as we all know, people move on from their jobs in companies.

With all my clients, I do my best to highlight the importance of remaining committed to the visual identity that we have created together. And this is part of the solution; clients should have joint ownership of the work produced. Besides the fact their involvement in a project’s development ensures this joint ownership, once a designer’s commission ends it is the client that has to carry the brand. Luckily, all the clients I have worked with to date have, for the most part, been successful in keeping things on track. And even more reassuring, many clients have come back to me on occasion to ask questions about something we may not have covered in the project, which is great. But to answer your question directly, “What are some of the important aspects of managing visual identity that your clients commonly miss?” I’d have to say this has always been a case by case issue.

How did you come to the idea of creating the ‘Open Manifesto’ journal?
My decision to set up Open Manifesto is a long story so I’ll give you the shorter version. I had been thinking about doing the project for 8 years before I had the courage to just get on and do it in 2003, regardless of whether I felt qualified or credible enough. Not having any experience of being an editor, writer, journalist or publisher held me back until one day (in 2003) I questioned what I was doing as a designer: Is design just about getting a brief and doing something clever for a client, with the possibility of winning an award?

Not only did this feel a bit dull, it also felt a little shallow. I missed the intellectual rigor of discussion that I had at University about bigger issues involving design, media and communications. And since there were no publications catering to this in Australia, my frustration was doubled. Essentially, as much as I ‘wanted’ to do this project, it was more about my ‘need’ to do it. Otherwise I was seriously considering getting out of design and looking for a new career, with new challenges. To put it bluntly, I think Open Manifesto saved my design career, which I hope, for my clients at least, was a good thing.

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
My view of Art, particularly Modern Art, is: Modern Art is meaning before understanding.
I don’t say that in a derogatory sense, but in a practical sense. Put simply, I can never really understand the meaning behind a piece of art until I read the little white card next to the exhibit. The same can be said of Aboriginal Art, which is always telling a specific story, but through a code, which is embedded in the art itself. The meaning is rarely ‘delivered’ comprehensively through the artwork and usually requires further explanation for the viewer (unless it’s an artist like Barbara Kruger, of course.) As a graphic designer I find this kind of approach difficult to decipher, as I prefer clearer communication.

But on an emotional level, art is like music and I love a wide variety of music, just as I love a wide variety of art. But if you were to pin me down, and at the risk of sounding populist, I would have to say I find Damien Hirst to be very interesting, not just because of his work but also because of his general attitude and ideas towards art itself.

Broadly speaking, I love looking at art and absorbing whatever I can from the work – the messages and ideas (even if they are aesthetic ideas). I could go on to list some artists I like, or particular pieces they or another artist has produced. But to be honest, I don’t follow art in that way, nor do I follow any one specific artist. To be frank, I find Art, and Modern Art in particular, to be challenging on many levels – almost to the point of frustration. But I think that’s why I keep going back to galleries and museums – for the challenge, as well as the inspiration.

Where do you find inspiration?
I have to say I’m pretty much interested in everything, which is both exciting and exhausting. I mostly find inspiration in people, places, nature, food, design, film, music, magazines, books, art, news and current affairs, dogs, etc. Life in general, I suppose. One of my favourite quotes comes from a particular Paul Smith book cover – “You can find inspiration in everything, and if you can’t, look again.”

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Who knows? I never planned to live and work in Kununurra. But I’m glad I’m here, as the adventure has been great so far. I don’t even know how long I’ll be in Kununurra for. All I do know is that I will probably seek to be involved in something creative that requires thinking and some sort of creative expression. Hopefully that will continue to revolve around designing, as well as producing Open Manifesto. Essentially, I’d be happy to simply continue learning new things.

Any advice would you offer to younger designers entering the industry?
My advice to younger designers, students in particular, is actually quite simple. And rather than tell them what they ‘need’ here are two things they ‘don’t need’: Fear and Arrogance.

1) Fear
You don’t need to be afraid to voice your opinion, even if you are fresh out of school and working in a studio of designers who have decades of experience. Remember, you’ll be in a position to offer fresh perspectives on various situations, simply because you should have a fresh view of things coming out of design school. Listen carefully to what’s going on but don’t keep your opinions to yourself. All opinions are valuable and lead to further discussion.

2) Arrogance.
Although you may have a fresh view of the world, we all have a lot to learn so never be arrogant enough to think you know it all, or that something is beneath you, or that your opinion is the right one. Arrogance is never, never, received well in a studio. Intelligence is.

Put simply, my opinion is that young designers should be both confident and humble. That way you can give and receive in equal measure.

Links:
www.finncreative.com.au
www.openmanifesto.net