How one can get probably the most out of long-term initiatives
Many projects come and go, with tight deadlines and quick turnarounds that feel firmly anchored in the creative world. However, there are some projects that linger or clients that keep coming back and what started out as a one-off turns into a long-term commitment filled with ups and downs.
To get an idea of what's involved in a long-term project, let's talk to design studio Sawdust about the ongoing typographic work with Wired UK. Photographer Alessandra Sanguinetti on her decades-long project about the lives of two cousins in Argentina; and Nick Hulley and Nadja Lossgott from AMV BBDO on what it's like to run the global Guinness account.
JONATHAN QUAINTON AND ROB GONZALEZ, SAWDUST: WIRED UK
Jonathan Quainton and Rob Gonzalez jointly run Sawdust, a London-based studio that creates bespoke fonts and identities for a range of clients including Apple, the New York Times, Nike and many more. One of their longstanding customers is Wired UK. "I think our first project was to create a series of headlines for an article on the latest technology in medicine, which is 2014," says Gonzalez.
Customized typography as part of a redesign of the magazine, 2014. Images: sawdust for Wired UK
Since then, Sawdust has worked with the magazine on a variety of briefs, from custom typography for individual articles to entire issues, font ads, type-based images, and wordmarks. "We worked mostly with creative director Andrew Diprose and art director Mary Lees, who are always trying to raise the bar," says Gonzalez. "These are the types of people you would like to work with in our industry."