On Designing Visual Identities, Independent Publishing, and Longevity With Tony Brook (E19)

Creative Voyage Podcast

In this episode, I talk to Tony Brook, the co-founder and creative director of a British design studio SPIN and an independent publishing venture Unit Editions. We cover topics such as independent publishing, lessons he learned early in his career, SPIN's organization as a design studio, their process for designing visual identity systems, and much more.

Biography

Tony Brook is the co-founder and creative director of a British design studio SPIN and an independent publishing venture Unit Editions. Founded in 1992, SPIN's small but extremely dedicated team, with Tony as creative director, has received both national and international recognition. They've worked with clients that include Apple, Tate Modern, BBC, Nike, Design Museum, Google, Channel 4, Whitechapel Gallery, and Ministry of Sound, to name a few.

In a feature about SPIN on Lectures in Progress, Will Hudson writes: 'Over the last 20 years SPIN have firmly established themselves as one of London's best design studios. Delivering consistently high-quality work across a huge range of clients that span the arts, communication, broadcast, design, electronics, and entertainment sectors as well as application, their portfolio includes identities, books, marketing campaigns, motion graphics, packaging, and websites'.

In 2009 Tony co-founded Unit Editions, an independent publishing company. In 2011 he was guest curator of 'Wim Crouwel – A graphic odyssey,' a major retrospective at the Design Museum in London. Also, he's a member of the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale, lectures regularly, and is knows as an avid collector of graphic design printed matter.

Selected Links From the Episode

• SPIN
• SPIN's Instagram
• Unit Editions
• Wim Crouwel
• Alliance Graphique Internationale
• Josef Müller-Brockmann

Show Notes

• Introduction [00:00]
• Episode Introduction [00:51]
• Becoming a Creative Professional [02:54]
• Advice for Young Designers [12:49]
• Routines of a Creative Director in a Design Agency [21:15]
• Challenges on Tony’s Professional Journey [31:51]
• Short Episode Break – Support the Podcast [42:09]
• Challenges in the Graphic Design Industry [42:52]
• Design Is About Opinion [48:58]
• How to Design a Brand’s Visual Identity [53:41]
• On Independent Publishing and Unit Editions [01:07:18]
• How to Be a Better Creative Professional [01:12:33]
• Episode Outro [01:16:47]

Full transcript and more at https://creative.voyage/