73 — Made By James

Type & Logo Design

MADE BY JAMES 73

JAMES MARTIN, MADE BY JAMES

MADE BY JAMES

COVER: LOGO SKETCHES

"I'VE ALWAYS BEEN AN ILLUSTRATOR, I'VE ALWAYS DRAWN, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN AN ARTIST. THAT NATURALLY EVOLVED INTO GRAPHIC DESIGN, AND THEN GRAPHIC DESIGN TURNED INTO LOGO AND VISUAL IDENTITY. NOW, THAT HAS EVOLVED INTO BRAND IDENTITY."

BUILDING BRANDS AND LEARNING LESSONS WITH THE CREATIVE MIND BEHIND MADE BY JAMES AND BABY GIANT DESIGN

YOU’RE JUST BACK FROM LA, WHAT WERE YOU UP TO OVER THERE? I was at the Adobe MAX conference.

I was running some whiteboard sessions with The Futur and Chris Do, chatting to a lot of creatives. Just absorbing the atmosphere.

The keynotes were great, and the workshops were fantastic. But the best thing about Adobe MAX was the people.

HAVING BEEN CLOSE TO ALL THAT CUTTING EDGE TECH, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CREATIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY? Especially with the evolution of AI as a tool, this is a big question for the creative industries. Adobe, for example, they've integrated an AI called Firefly, into all of their apps.

So you can tell the artificial intelligence to create things for you. You don’t even really have to create work anymore!

You just kind of tidy it up…

I can only speak from my personal point of view, as a brand identity designer.

But for me, technology allows me to realise my ideas. I don’t need the tools to come up with the ideas. I just need these tools to make my work usable for the client.

That is where the relationship stops.

The tools allow me to execute the things that I figured out in my brain.

THE ULTIMATE IN ANALOGUE TOOLING! I grew up, not completely without these tools, but they weren’t as sophisticated as they are now. So I learned to draw.

Even now, my sketchbook is where my idea generation happens.

I hear now that a lot of young designers just don’t draw. They never conceptualise, they just go straight into asking the AI what they should do. That, for me, is a worry, because I think you move away from being a creative when you start doing that.

AI IS NOT GOING AWAY THOUGH, IS IT? I believe that the people who harness it to speed up certain parts of their process, it’s going to help them. For example, I’m dyslexic. Sometimes it's difficult for me to articulate my thoughts and ideas in written form. So that’s where chat GPT comes in.

If I’m creating a brief, or I want to develop some mission statements or bits and pieces for my client, I can get some help with that. It’s a useful tool.

But creatively, I’d be quite worried if I was an image library, for example, because now you can very quickly create unique visuals for your website.

Do you need stock photos anymore?

IT BRINGS UP SOME INTERESTING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF CREATIVITY, DOESN’T IT? There are lots of people who believe that you’re either born creative, or you’re not. Personally, I think everybody is creative, to a point. Some just harness it more and use it in better ways.

But really, it depends what you class as creativity. Figuring out a shortcut to work is creative. Figuring out a better way to organise your cupboards to optimise space is creative. But I suppose within our industry, we think about it as art, design, or painting, or drawing. People often bundle creativity into that space.

But creativity is, essentially, a mixture of fun, problem solving and individuality.

THE LEGACY STUDIO

JUNGLE CULTURE

GOGO GALACTIC

BLAHZY

THINK LESS

UNINCORPORATED COFFEE ROASTERS

What’s essential, though, is that creativity has to be nurtured. I think you can teach people to be creative.

Especially within design. Colour theory, typography, hierarchy, design principles, layout. You can teach people how to be creative with the information that they've got to hand.

IT’S ABOUT GIVING PEOPLE THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB Yeah, so the idea that creativity can’t be taught, I don’t think that’s correct.

But, at the same time, some people are more creative than others. For example, a lot of people with dyslexia and things like ADHD, they tend to be more creative.

That could just be because, at school, they were told that they weren’t bright enough for maths or whatever, so they spent a lot more time drawing. That's where they were accepted and allowed to be themselves - because there wasn't a right or wrong answer.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THIS LINE OF WORK IN THE FIRST PLACE? I was one of those kids who was told he wasn’t smart enough for academic subjects. I grew up in a world, at a time, when creativity wasn’t really nurtured.

Art or design was OK as a hobby, something you would do on the side of a proper job. But it wasn’t a career.

I was always very sporty. And my parents were always very kind and nurturing. But at school, it was all about doing something which you can make a career out of.

Ultimately, I fell into graphic design, but before that I went to art college, then I studied design at college and university. And then I did some random design jobs.

And I was always at the bottom of the class when it came to Maths, English and so on. Today, we know more about dyslexia, and things like ADHD, but 35 years ago, they were ignored.

Eventually I was faced with the choice of looking for design jobs, or starting my own agency. I thought, “if I don't do it now…” So my buddy Ade and I set up Baby Giant. That was 13 years ago.

Art, on the other hand, was something that I always felt safe with. It felt like a classroom that I could feel a part of, that I belonged in, I was never judged.

About seven or eight years ago I began to focus on visual identity. That was something that I really enjoyed doing.

And, as I talked more and more about that, suddenly this ‘Made by James’ audience started to grow.

That's obviously escalated into where I am today. It’s been a long road. But art was probably the only thing I trusted for a very long time. And that's something that has always stuck with me, in one form or another.

Whether it be teaching art, or the tattoo apprenticeship which I did. I’ve always been an illustrator, I’ve always drawn, I’ve always been an artist. That naturally evolved into graphic design, and then graphic design turned into logo and visual identity. Now, that has evolved into brand identity.

A LONG AND WINDING ROAD YOU’VE TAKEN, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE A VERY NATURAL EVOLUTION TOO? I think patience and perseverance are rewarded with opportunities.

WHAT KIND OF STUFF WERE YOU SHARING WITH THAT AUDIENCE? I was talking about my process around logo design, in the beginning. Then how I built out visual identities. And that has now evolved to a lot of other stuff. In fact, just yesterday we tipped over 500,000 followers on Instagram…

I’ve always just tried to share real insight from a real designer, going through real problems with real clients.

And I share my work too. That’s basically what it's always been.

And it’s escalated into something that's much bigger than me. To the point where I’ve published a book. There are courses now, I do creative coaching…

But it's always from a perspective of one designer, helping another designer.

"I'VE ALWAYS JUST TRIED TO SHARE REAL INSIGHT FROM A REAL DESIGNER, GOING THROUGH REAL PROBLEMS WITH REAL CLIENTS. AND I SHARE MY WORK TOO. THAT'S BASICALLY WHAT IT'S ALWAYS BEEN."

THE MADE BY JAMES BOOK

HAPPY TOOLBOX

CUPS

I am still doing the work every single day that I am sharing, and teaching.

I think that kind of proximity and that realness, it lights people up. I'm in the trenches with them, trying to help. I've gone through the same things that they’re going through.

I've been in the industry just shy of 20 years. This evolution into who I am now has come from hard work. I think the opportunities I have now have come through the universe saying, ‘thank you for your dedication’.

THE WHOLE DESIGN BUSINESS HAS CHANGED A LOT IN THAT 20 YEARS, HOW HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED THAT RATE OF CHANGE? I always say to myself, “Evolve or die!”

That’s a very cutthroat kind of way to look at it. But I'm always very good at embracing new technology, new ways of sharing. I embrace the future.

I think it was Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, who said, “You’ve got to have one foot in the present and one foot in the future.” That really resonated with me.

That’s something I’ve always tried to be very aware of. So I know exactly who I am, I know exactly how I help people. I know exactly how I do that today. But I’m always thinking three to five years ahead. Always looking into new technology. I’m always looking to new ways of sharing my ideas.

I’ve always been very adaptable. I talk about the same things, I just do it in different ways. And I think that has helped me evolve with different platforms.

I also know that my clients today are very different from what my clients will be in 10 to 15 years. The 10 to 15 year-olds of today are going to be the decision makers one day. I need to be relatable to them as much as I need to be relatable to people now.

THE WHOLE IDEA OF WHAT A BRAND IS, WHAT AN IDENTITY IS, WILL PROBABLY HAVE SHIFTED IN THAT TIME TOO? A logo is nothing, unless you can market it. It’s the same for products and brands.

I have learnt that the intentionality behind my design is more important than the design itself. This leans into what I do now, which is build brands and identities by telling stories, defining positions, clarifying audiences.

By humanising brands, they can connect with an audience using their visual identities, verbal identities, and so on.

That is how my mindset has changed. At the beginning of my career, I was very much an order taker. The client would come to me and say, “I want a logo”.

And I would reply, “Coming right up.”

That request would be the whole conversation.

Now, a client will come to me and say “I want a logo.” But I’ll ask them, “Why?” And when they answer that question, I'll realise that they’ve got problems with their website, they’re not marketing particularly well, they have really bad reach. They’re bringing out a new product, and they've got no packaging for it.

So they may come in asking me for a logo, but they need lots of other stuff too. Because the logo is going to be pointless unless they do all this other stuff.

So yeah, the intentionality behind my decision-making is very different these days. That comes through experience.

Sure, the formats of where a logo needs to work have evolved. Yes, now we have mobile, social media, and websites. There’s so many more touch points that a visual identity needs to work on.

But, even with the most beautiful visual identity, the most beautiful logo and the greatest colours, if you don’t have the ability to market your brand to a particular audience, it’s all pointless.

I think that’s where a lot of companies come unstuck. They focus too much on how they look. They don’t focus enough on who they are there to serve.

WILDEN

DOMINIUM

ON THE SUBJECT OF AUDIENCE, WHO WAS YOUR BOOK AIMED AT? WHO DID YOU WRITE IT FOR? The book is very much focused around logo design. It’s for logo designers, but also for creative people.

I wanted my book to be a friend to designers and creatives. There’s obviously a bit of my work smattered throughout, there’s a few case studies and so on, but I go into things like how to deal with clients, how to come up with ideas… I tried to fill it with a lot of tips and tricks on how to navigate the creative world.

Ultimately, I suppose it’s probably targeted at me, circa 2005! But I’ve had architects, photographers, all sorts of people read that book and get something out of it.

HOW DID THE BOOK COME ABOUT IN THE FIRST PLACE? The publishers reached out to me. They had followed me for a long time on social media. That’s actually a really interesting thing to think about: People are watching!

That’s why I always say, “you never know who's watching. So you've always got to show up and be consistent.”

IT MUST BE VERY REWARDING TO PUT SOMETHING OUT THERE THAT ACTUALLY HELPS OTHERS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS. Yeah, it is. When I was walking around Adobe MAX last week, people were coming up to me with my book for me to sign, because they knew that I was going to be there.

Things like that blow my mind, because I’m just a guy who got into the design world. I live in a small village. I didn’t grow up in a rich family, it was all quite a struggle for my mum and dad.

If you had told me when I was 17, that I would be travelling around the world, talking about my experience, and have a book out and multiple courses that have done extremely well, I just wouldn’t have believed it.

But I think very differently now I’m almost 40. I know that I’m going to die.

That doesn't scare me, but the idea of not fulfilling my potential really does scare me.

I wasted so much time when I was younger. That’s why I give so much back. I want other people to make the very best of themselves.

If I can be a helping hand, give them one little tip or trick, or help them with their creative process just by gifting my time, that’s wonderful.

THERE’S SO MANY WAYS TO UNDERMINE YOURSELF, BUT ON THE AMAZON PAGE FOR YOUR BOOK, YOU SINGLE OUT, “THE INABILITY TO DEAL WITH THE INNER VOICES” AS THE CREATIVITY KILLER. Yeah. That’s the biggest killer of creativity.

As a designer I put a lot of heart and soul into my work. I know we’re taught to be all objective, not to get too attached to the work. That’s true, but it doesn’t stop me loving the stuff that I'm creating.

I think, as creative people, we deal with a lot of self talk. And a lot of it is negative, ‘Is this good enough? Am I good enough?’ Especially when it comes to promoting yourself and marketing yourself, you worry about what other people think.

But it’s not like a maths equation where there’s a right answer and a wrong answer. With art, it’s subjective. When you put something out into the world, people will give you their opinions, and not all of them will be very nice.

I think that’s something that a lot of creative people battle with. It gets easier over time. The less you give a shit about what other people say, the easier it gets. But that’s easy for me to say, as a 40 year old man who knows himself.

LOGOFOLIO

"I THINK, AS CREATIVE PEOPLE, WE DEAL WITH A LOT OF SELF TALK. AND A LOT OF IT IS NEGATIVE, ‘IS THIS GOOD ENOUGH? AM I GOOD ENOUGH?’ ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO PROMOTING YOURSELF AND MARKETING YOURSELF, YOU WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK."

I don't think those inner voices ever go away, you just learn to deal with them.

In fact, if you're not questioning yourself, and you're not doubting your ability, maybe you're too comfortable?

Comfort zones are very dangerous. Just maybe you're not pushing yourself hard enough.

All the time now, I try to put myself in difficult situations. For example, there are many people who hate the idea of speaking on stage. But that's a challenge for me. I love the idea of getting up there and not being very good. And hopefully getting better at it.

How I feel when I get off stage now is incredible, I feel like I'm growing every single time. I’m always thinking, what's next? One foot in the present, one foot in the future…

WHAT'S YOUR YOUR ROUTINE WHEN STARTING A NEW PROJECT? For me, it always starts with a call. We have a discovery session where we dive into the client’s identity and their story. This conversation is all about trying to get to the truth.

The reason I want to find out the truth is because I know the truth is easy for them to replicate, it's easy for them to remember.

I’ve had clients say stuff like: “For every project we do, we're going to plant a tree.” When I ask why, they can't give me an answer. The reason

for that is, planting a tree is just something they think they should be doing. It’s gonna make them look cool.

Now, I make sure to leave gaps around my projects. So I'm going to have the whole of December off.

But once we find out more about them and their story, we realised, “hang on, why don't we try supporting mental health, because that's something you have struggled with. In fact, that's the reason you started your business!”

I say I’m taking December off, but I’ll be hard at work on my passion project. My vision is free design education for the world.

In this way we help them understand their story, their purpose and their audiences. This helps me be more intentional and accurate with my work.

But it also helps the client be more intentional in the way they speak to people, so they can convey why they do the things they do.

HOW MANY LOGOS YOU THINK YOU'VE DONE AT THIS POINT? I would say something in the region of 800? There was a stage about five or six years ago, where I was doing 100 per year, consistently.

These days, my projects are bigger and I'm creating more deliverables for my clients. So I probably average anywhere between 15 to 20 a year.

When I was doing 100 per year it was becoming gruelling. I started to realise “there's no longevity in this.” I loved it to begin with. But if your ‘to-do’ pile never gets smaller, it starts to get to you.

THAT IS QUITE AMBITIOUS! Next year I'm launching a Design Academy, where people can access educational content for free. That is what's taken up my time lately. I'm trying to be a better human and leave a positive impact on this planet.

For me, that comes in the form of the MBJ Academy.

We have a sponsor, and in the first instance it’s going to be a ‘Pay what you can’ scenario. All the money will go back into the Design Academy, allowing me to produce more content.

The academy site itself is built. I’m building syllabuses now. There’s merch’ too. I brought out a load of notebooks that are ready to launch for Christmas.

Accessible design education for the world. That keeps me up every night.

Imagine designers able to support their families without going to university and getting saddled with crippling debt.

That is the MBJ Academy.

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COLOPHON PUBLISHER Design Friends COORDINATION Hyder Razvi LAYOUT Hyder Razvi INTERVIEW Mark Penfold PRINT Imprimerie Schlimé PRINT RUN 250 (Limited edition)

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This catalogue is published for the lecture of James Martin “Carnage To Clarity“ at Mudam Luxembourg on 17th of January, 2024 organised by Design Friends

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