design/leader: Chris Braden, CCO at Public Address
This week, we interview Chris Braden, CCO of Public Address. He’s helped brands from Netflix and ASICS to the World Cup and Olympics start, scale, and transform. Beyond executive leadership, he’s been a member of the Faculty of Design at OCAD University, teaching typography and design, as well as a guest lecturer at the ArtCenter Brand Lab.
Chris talks to us about optimism, challenging the notion of ‘good’, and exploring cemeteries.
Design
What would your monograph be called?
‘What If’ or ‘FAFO’
One is an invitation to imagine a new possibility. The other is probably the most honest description of the iterative process of design.
What recent design work made you a bit jealous?
Loved the custom font, Taakeferd Condensed by Justin Atallian, designed for Norway’s World Cup kit.
What’s an unusual place you get inspiration from?
Running through cemeteries.
They are filled with beautiful typography. In Toronto, Mount Pleasant and the Toronto Necropolis are particularly good.
Name something that is brilliantly designed, but overlooked.
The Latin Alphabet.
26 symbols that can be combined to communicate nearly every idea. Shapes distinct enough that they can be styled in radical ways without losing their legibility. Incredibly efficient and endlessly expressive.
What object in your studio best sums up your taste?
I have a black-and-white nerikomi ceramic dish my wife made. It’s simple and timeless, but also complex, a little trippy, and full of craft.
Leadership
What feedback felt brutal at the time, but turned out to be useful?
“Be more human”
It doesn’t matter how conceptually rigorous an idea is, or how polished a presentation is, if it lacks humanity. It’s the difference between something you agree with and something you love.
What’s an underappreciated skill that design leaders need?
Optimism.
If you can’t imagine a better future, there is no way you can design one.
What keeps you up at night?
There’s a moment after a project kicks off, before you’ve found the approach — full of ambiguity, potential, fear, and excitement all at once. All the dots are there. I just haven’t found the way to connect them yet.
What trait is non-negotiable in new hires?
The desire and ambition to get better.
I’m always curious about the job they want after the one they are applying for.
Complete this sentence: “I wish more clients…”
…would forget about good.
I’m stealing this from Bruce Mau, the first studio I worked at. Good is a known quantity. We want to work with partners who are looking to make work that challenges what ‘good’ is.
If you’d like to be interviewed for our design leaders series, drop us a line at hello@designweek.co.uk