We’re delighted to announce the appointment of Scott McGuffie as our Creative Director. Scott has been working in the creative industry for over 30 years, with a particular focus on brand architecture, campaign development and overarching branding and rebranding programmes – and how these fit into the overall business strategy. He’s worked with businesses like Barclays, Standard Life, WWF Worldwide, Oxfam and the DofE to name a few.
We sat down with him to talk about his approach to design, his take on new tech developments like ‘no-code’ and AI and how he envisions the future for Hamilton-Brown.
Scott, what attracted you to the Creative Director role at Hamilton-Brown?
My wife joined Hamilton-Brown 18 months ago, which gave me a fantastic “peek behind the curtain” at what it was like to work for the agency. Suffice to say, she only ever had great things to say about the company and the team, so I was confident we’d be a good culture fit.
Having spent the last 23 years predominantly focused on the not-for-profit sector, I was also excited to be working with international brands again. Hamilton-Brown’s client roster is impressive and exciting, and I’m drawn to the opportunity to have an impact on the world through creative leadership for some of the world’s leading B2B corporations.
To do that, I’ll be bringing my wealth of experience across from FMCG, not-for-profit organisations, retail, arts and culture and many more for new potential programmes of work.
As a Creative Director, what are the fundamental principles that guide how you approach the work you do for clients?
My background has been heavily focused on the strategic challenges that businesses and organisations face. As such, my approach to design is honed on addressing answers to those strategic questions that solidify the longevity of the businesses I work with.
Central to this is landing on a core idea: one big, fundamental strategic idea upon which other, smaller ideas are built. In my experience, this is the only way to ensure that the components that comprise a campaign are cohesive and geared towards achieving the same goal. They should all start from that core idea.
In previous agency roles, I was a champion for distinctive, strong ideas that engage audiences and drive user behaviour, and combining that with my emphasis on brand strategy is a key priority at Hamilton-Brown.
What emerging technologies or design trends do you think will shape the future of design?
AI is going to have a huge impact on design, both from a passive and an active perspective. Passively, the way AI is already complementing our existing software bodes well for the future – whether that’s integrated content ideation or something as simple as automated note taking on Zoom.
But when we look for opportunities to harness AI proactively, there’s a whole range of use cases for creatives. Image generation platforms like Midjourney and Dall-E can make concepting much quicker, and as designers, we need to carefully consider how we develop our prompting skills to get the most out of that software.
I’d expect this technology, combined with the emerging popularity of ‘no-code’ design platforms, to democratise digital design. As our recent ‘no-code’ white paper explores, removing the need for coding expertise lowers a lot of the traditional barriers to entry.
Let’s talk more about ‘no-code’ technology – what about that excites you so much?
It gives businesses an opportunity to not throw out the baby with the bathwater, if you’ll pardon the expression. I regularly see brands reluctant to implement new digital experiences for fear of disrupting their existing digital products, most of which are complex and expensive. ‘No-code’ allows these brands to add new digital experiences without jeopardising their existing digital assets, which is huge.
But the most interesting thing about ‘no-code’ for me is its ability to create never-before-experienced digital environments. Just because it’s a website, it doesn’t mean it has to look or feel like a website. With ‘no-code’, we can explore a diverse range of digital environments on behalf of Hamilton-Brown’s clients: ones that reject conventional digital design aesthetics and redefine what we mean when we say “digital design”.
How do you stay on top of those advancements? And how do you ensure Hamilton-Brown remains at the forefront of these sorts of innovations?
Primarily by investing the time and resources into learning more about these emerging technologies. Whether it’s partnering with exciting new design platforms or commissioning analysis on digital trends across the world, I think it’s essential to keep our ear close to the ground.
The end result is a constantly evolving knowledge of the best technologies to incorporate into our offering. In turn, that means our clients get to leverage the new possibilities that technology unlocks sooner than their competitors.
It’s 2029. What does digital design at Hamilton-Brown look like?
Hamilton-Brown has always been a future-focused agency, being quick to adopt new technology. That’s not going to change. We are ambitious for growth and on a big change journey, so in five years I expect our portfolio to extend across numerous new sectors, beyond our current B2B specialism. But I also expect – and hope – that our core values, approach and execution will remain steadfast.
That means a continued commitment to utilising the world’s best technology to design unique, memorable, distinctive and engaging brand experiences that have a positive impact on the world and the people in it.