Converse Visual Center & Brand Experience
Thanks To
David Carrewyn
VP, Global Creative Director, Brand
Adam Cohn
Creative Director, Brand Experience
John Coulthard,
Ture Lillegraven,
Carlos Serrao,
Photo
Jukebooth
Video
All Good Things
Production Company
Who
Converse
When
2016
Where
Converse
Role
Associate Creative Director, Global Brand Design
How Do You Keep a Global Brand Unmistakably Authentic?
By 2016, Converse was growing faster than Global Brand Design could create every asset the organization needed.
Twice per year, regions received Global Marketing Directives from the Global Marketing Team, but regional teams increasingly needed the freedom to create stories and assets for their own markets.
The challenge wasn't controlling that work. It was articulating a common understanding of what made something Converse.
The Visual Center gave each part of the brand a point of view.
Identity? Our Logo Is The Logo.
Content? Content Is Our Color.
Photography? Real Is Always Right.
Typography? Swiss, But Rockwell.
Copy? Talk, Don't Write.
How Do You Create Consistency Without Creating Sameness?
Not with more rules.
The Visual Center articulated principles rather than prescribed outcomes. Some elements remained remarkably consistent and accrued meaning over time. Everything around them could evolve.
The goal wasn't uniformity. It was coherence.
Inspiration is much better than policing.
What Does Good Creative Direction Actually Do?
It sets a clear standard, articulates the thinking behind it, then gives talented people room to raise the bar.
The Converse Visual Center represented the work and thinking of a larger Global Brand Design team, with different people bringing expertise to different parts of the Converse experience.
How Do You Define a Style Without Overprescribing Constraints & Rules?
That was my team's particular challenge.
As an Associate Creative Director, I led a team of art directors responsible for photography and film supporting Converse's global seasonal product stories.
Our principle became:
REAL IS ALWAYS RIGHT.
That meant creating the scenarios to capture creatives, instead of orchestrating them. it meant casting talent that had real creative outlets and something beyond their look, that authentically connected to the brand, because Converse believes that unleashing the creative spirt can change the world.
How Do You Elevate the Ordinary?
Converse was already connected to real people doing interesting things. We didn't need to manufacture aspiration. We needed to recognize what was already there.
Art direction elevated the real through casting, composition, environment, light and movement.
Start with something true.
Find the point of view that makes it uniquely Converse.
GOT A PROJECT OR OPPORTUNITY BREWING?