{"id":15165,"date":"2025-10-11T10:45:19","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T03:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/design-leader-not-wiedenkennedys-adam-rix\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T10:45:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T03:45:19","slug":"design-leader-not-wiedenkennedys-adam-rix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cstc.vn\/blogtsk\/design-leader-not-wiedenkennedys-adam-rix\/","title":{"rendered":"design\/leader: NOT Wieden+Kennedy\u2019s Adam Rix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Adam Rix is head of NOT Wieden+Kennedy<\/a>, the design studio spun out of the famous ad agency. It works with clients like Upwork, Dark Arts Coffee and the Eurovision Song Contest.<\/p>\n

Design<\/h4>\n
What would your monograph be called?<\/h5>\n

WIP. <\/em>I wouldn\u2019t be able to commit to a title, because I\u2019d change my mind six months, or maybe even six minutes after it went to print. Because whilst I have strong points of view, they\u2019re all pretty loosely held.<\/p>\n

When I first came across the old adage, \u201cthe only constant is change,\u201d it really stuck with me. It\u2019s true of our industry, our culture, technology \u2013 and to be honest, most of my workdays.<\/p>\n

So if we\u2019re not constantly evolving the way we think, work, and see the world, I think we\u2019re kind of screwed. But I actually think that\u2019s a really positive, exciting thing. I never want to feel like I\u2019ve figured it all out and I always believe my best work is still ahead of me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m constantly evaluating our processes, replaying things I could have done better \u2013 and often, there\u2019s plenty \u2013 learning from others, challenging my own thinking, blaming myself first when things go wrong. I get bored when I feel too comfortable \u2013 and I\u2019m always ready to have my opinion changed.<\/p>\n

Because if I ever get to the point where I think I know it all, that I\u2019m no longer a work in progress \u2013 it\u2019s not just me that will be screwed, the work will be too.<\/p>\n

Or, in the charismatic words of Dan Wieden, \u201cWhen you don\u2019t know, you try desperately to find out. But the minute you think you know, the minute you go \u2013 oh, yeah, we\u2019ve been here before, no sense reinventing the wheel \u2013 you stop learning, stop questioning, and start believing in your own wisdom, you\u2019re dead. You\u2019re not stupid anymore, you are fucking dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

What recent design work made you a bit jealous?<\/h5>\n

Turns out it\u2019s not recent, it\u2019s from 2022 \u2013 and it\u2019s the livery for the German airline Condor.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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 \u2013 and it instantly just made me smile.<\/p>\n

Vision Alphabet\u2019s new designs for Condor<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a big believer in the power of design to go beyond ideas and aesthetics and make people feel something \u2013 and this did just that.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> in Berlin, and Condor.<\/p>\n

Ironically I can only find it on one design website, but I\u2019ve 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 \u2013 the best measure of success in my eyes.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an unusual place you get inspiration from?<\/h5>\n

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 \u2013 but never sitting around with a notepad, and never ever endlessly scrolling online.<\/p>\n

I feel like my strongest, clearest thoughts come to me when I\u2019m 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\u2019m not thinking. Complicated, aren\u2019t we?<\/p>\n

Name something that is brilliantly designed, but overlooked.<\/h5>\n

The banana\u2011peel 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\u2019s the moment that saves your back, and your dignity. And studies show \u2013 that\u2019s how into this I am \u2013 that it commands 22 times more attention than traditional slippery floor signs.<\/p>\n

The banana peel wet floor sign<\/p>\n

What object in your studio best sums up your taste?<\/h5>\n

Technically it belongs to my kids, but our Kit-Cat Clock \u2013 Earl Arnault\u2019s 1932 tail-wagging, eye-swivelling answer to lifting peoples\u2019 spirits during the Great Depression. More proof that great design can be joyful, weird, and a little bit stupid.<\/p>\n

Adam Rix\u2019s Kit-Cat clock<\/p>\n

Leadership<\/h4>\n

1. What feedback felt brutal at the time, but turned out to be useful?<\/p>\n

\u201cOther people feel your emotions.\u201d Which is great when it\u2019s the good, positive, excited kind. But when it\u2019s stress, panic or negativity \u2013 the people around you start to feel that too \u2013 and that\u2019s not so great.<\/p>\n

The feedback I got was more around the latter. It sounds stupidly obvious when it\u2019s said out loud, but it\u2019s not something you tend to think about earlier in your career when you\u2019re focussed on the work, taking on more responsibility and feeling the pressure of looming deadlines.<\/p>\n

Our job isn\u2019t just to create great work ourselves \u2013 it\u2019s about creating the right environment for others to do their best work too.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s an underappreciated skill that design leaders need?<\/h5>\n

Invisibility. But balanced with availability. Hire good people, then get out of the way.<\/p>\n

I believe people do their best work when given autonomy, ownership and responsibility. I don\u2019t think \u201cleaders\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 just leave everyone to it.<\/p>\n

What keeps you up at night?<\/h5>\n

Scroll up to the very first question. That, and too much coffee.<\/p>\n

What trait is non-negotiable in new hires?<\/h5>\n

Paul Arden said, \u201cNo talented wankers.\u201d Netflix\u2019s culture document puts it a little more gently \u2013 \u201cBrilliant jerks. Some companies tolerate them. For us, the cost to teamwork is too high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whichever you prefer, both reflect my view that talent alone is not enough, and that ego is an absolute no-go.<\/p>\n

Complete this sentence, \u201cI wish more clients\u2026\u201d<\/h5>\n

This might sound a bit kiss-ass, but I\u2019m really not into the client-bashing narrative. Like all of us, I wish every client bought the most creative idea on the table \u2013 but if they don\u2019t, then more often than not, I think it\u2019s on us to do better.<\/p>\n

To put ourselves in their shoes, to understand what\u2019s 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\u2019t the risk \u2013 not buying it is.<\/p>\n

\nWhat to read next: <\/strong>design\/leader: Fluid\u2019s Stacey Bates-McCue<\/a> | design\/leader: Conran Design Group\u2019s Lee Hoddy<\/a> | design\/leader: Jolie founder Franky Roussell<\/a> | design\/leader: Middle Boop\u2019s Gordon Reid<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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