James Hopper

BSc User Experience Design Blog

Greg Quinton Talk

On Wednesday 1st November, author of the updated edition of A Smile in the Mind Greg Quinton visited NUA to give a talk on his work, his process and his involvement in A Smile in the Mind.

I found the talk to be highly engaging and especially interesting, despite not necessarily being the primary target audience of the talk as a UX student. Quinton has worked on a wide variety of brands and projects, ranging from Aston Martin to Argos to the NASA Artemis program, producing some impressive and witty work.

Work History

  • Nick Asbury @asburyandasbury
  • 11 yrs at The Partners
  • 3 Studios
  • CCO Superunion
  • DB&P – Design Bridge & Partners

A Smile in the Mind

Worked on updated version – redesign, new sections, new interviews, updated copy, 600 new examples.

Wit…

  • “Wit is the ability to use words and images in an amusing and intelligent way”
  • Engaging the brain vs Eye candy
  • Wit is the style of graphic design and communication
  • “Wit is magical”
  • “Wit combines thoughts”
  • “Wit sees the world differently”
  • “Wit builds big brands”
  • “Wit helps small companies”
  • “Wit works on the WWW”
  • “Wit encores”
    • 2001 – LSO Logo
  • “Wit sells insurance”
  • “Wit delivers a smile”
  • “Wit makes friends”
  • “Wit is elegant”
  • “Wit worms into the brain”
    • McCann Australia 2012 – Dumb ways to die – Metro Ad
  • “Wit is bananas”
  • “Wit fuels sales”
  • “Wit ain’t easy”
  • “Wit we wanted”
    • Couldn’t have certain things in new version of smile in the mind – unofficial lego posters
  • “Wit will never die”
  • “Wit is always evolving”
    • Perfume that looks like window cleaner
    • “Opening the river” – zip shaped boat
  • “Wit is out of print”

One Liners

  • “We are not artists”
  • “It’s not a job, it’s a vocation’
  • “Great work attracts even better clients”
  • “Great briefs are rarer than truffles”
  • “Be honest with yourself”
  • “Be single minded”
    • Clear Mobile – Ireland – Simple branding
  • “Think your solution (You can’t design it.)”
  • “Respect your audience. Tell them a story”
  • “Get it on the wall”
  • “Every project and brand needs one thing… soul”
    • The Globe Shakespeare rebrand
  • “Nice is shite”
  • “Avoid average. Full Stop.”
    • Argos rebrand – “value not cheap” – Simple Value by Argos
  • “Work with people smarter than you”
  • “The solution is in the problem”
    • LSO Brand (London Symphony Orchestra)
    • Aston Martin

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