Adam Rix is head of NOT Wieden+Kennedy, the design studio spun out of the famous ad agency. It works with clients like Upwork, Dark Arts Coffee and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Design
What would your monograph be called?
WIP. I wouldn’t be able to commit to a title, because I’d change my mind six months, or maybe even six minutes after it went to print. Because whilst I have strong points of view, they’re all pretty loosely held.
When I first came across the old adage, “the only constant is change,” it really stuck with me. It’s true of our industry, our culture, technology – and to be honest, most of my workdays.
So if we’re not constantly evolving the way we think, work, and see the world, I think we’re kind of screwed. But I actually think that’s a really positive, exciting thing. I never want to feel like I’ve figured it all out and I always believe my best work is still ahead of me.
I’m constantly evaluating our processes, replaying things I could have done better – and often, there’s plenty – learning from others, challenging my own thinking, blaming myself first when things go wrong. I get bored when I feel too comfortable – and I’m always ready to have my opinion changed.
Because if I ever get to the point where I think I know it all, that I’m no longer a work in progress – it’s not just me that will be screwed, the work will be too.
Or, in the charismatic words of Dan Wieden, “When you don’t know, you try desperately to find out. But the minute you think you know, the minute you go – oh, yeah, we’ve been here before, no sense reinventing the wheel – you stop learning, stop questioning, and start believing in your own wisdom, you’re dead. You’re not stupid anymore, you are fucking dead.”
What recent design work made you a bit jealous?
Turns out it’s not recent, it’s from 2022 – and it’s the livery for the German airline Condor.
It’s pretty unusual, as people in the industry, that any of us get to experience work for the first time outside of a bento box. But last year I landed at Frankfurt airport, looked out of my window and saw five planes all wrapped in different brightly coloured stripes – and it instantly just made me smile.
Vision Alphabet’s new designs for Condor
I’m a big believer in the power of design to go beyond ideas and aesthetics and make people feel something – and this did just that.
I love that the client must have believed in the idea so much to invest in full plane wraps in a multitude of colours, so hats off to both Remo Masala of Vision Alphabet in Berlin, and Condor.
Ironically I can only find it on one design website, but I’ve found lots of coverage in mainstream media and plenty of chatter on social and Reddit threads of people going out of their way to share their love for it – the best measure of success in my eyes.
What’s an unusual place you get inspiration from?
This might not be unusual for everyone, but it is for me. I used to find inspiration by doing, but as life has got busier over time, I find I now need to make time and space for my mind to be able to wander a little – but never sitting around with a notepad, and never ever endlessly scrolling online.
I feel like my strongest, clearest thoughts come to me when I’m walking up a hill, going for a run, or checking out an exhibition. I need to create that time and space and then trick my brain into thinking I’m not thinking. Complicated, aren’t we?
Name something that is brilliantly designed, but overlooked.
The banana‑peel wet floor sign. On a good day it delivers a moment of joyful silliness as you remain upright walking past. On a more spillage-y day it’s the moment that saves your back, and your dignity. And studies show – that’s how into this I am – that it commands 22 times more attention than traditional slippery floor signs.
The banana peel wet floor sign
What object in your studio best sums up your taste?
Technically it belongs to my kids, but our Kit-Cat Clock – Earl Arnault’s 1932 tail-wagging, eye-swivelling answer to lifting peoples’ spirits during the Great Depression. More proof that great design can be joyful, weird, and a little bit stupid.
Adam Rix’s Kit-Cat clock
Leadership
1. What feedback felt brutal at the time, but turned out to be useful?
“Other people feel your emotions.” Which is great when it’s the good, positive, excited kind. But when it’s stress, panic or negativity – the people around you start to feel that too – and that’s not so great.
The feedback I got was more around the latter. It sounds stupidly obvious when it’s said out loud, but it’s not something you tend to think about earlier in your career when you’re focussed on the work, taking on more responsibility and feeling the pressure of looming deadlines.
Our job isn’t just to create great work ourselves – it’s about creating the right environment for others to do their best work too.
What’s an underappreciated skill that design leaders need?
Invisibility. But balanced with availability. Hire good people, then get out of the way.
I believe people do their best work when given autonomy, ownership and responsibility. I don’t think “leaders” should feel the need to have their finger prints all over the work, or that they need to be the loudest voice in the room.
But they do need to be available to guide, support, and soak up the pressure when things go wrong. And if things are going brilliantly – just leave everyone to it.
What keeps you up at night?
Scroll up to the very first question. That, and too much coffee.
What trait is non-negotiable in new hires?
Paul Arden said, “No talented wankers.” Netflix’s culture document puts it a little more gently – “Brilliant jerks. Some companies tolerate them. For us, the cost to teamwork is too high.”
Whichever you prefer, both reflect my view that talent alone is not enough, and that ego is an absolute no-go.
Complete this sentence, “I wish more clients…”
This might sound a bit kiss-ass, but I’m really not into the client-bashing narrative. Like all of us, I wish every client bought the most creative idea on the table – but if they don’t, then more often than not, I think it’s on us to do better.
To put ourselves in their shoes, to understand what’s keeping them up at night, and to make the wildest, most unexpected idea feel like the most logical thing in the world. To help them see that buying that work isn’t the risk – not buying it is.