Buck Amsterdam Adds Ward Graumans as Creative Director

Buck Amsterdam has hired Ward Graumans as creative director. He’ll be part of the European creative directors team. Ward previously worked at agency for mission-driven growth Dawn.

The global creative studio Buck has been working directly for brands for some time now – around design and branding, but also on campaigns and more strategic work. “What makes Buck different,” says Vincent Lammers, executive creative director and partner at Buck Amsterdam, “is that we can ensure the makers themselves are a direct part of the team (creatives, strategists and client) working on these various different kinds of project.”

Mind for strategy, heart for craft

Vincent explains why Ward has been brought in: “Buck has grown a lot in the last year, both in Amsterdam/Europe and other countries. Allowing us to create a range of work in collaboration with brands as well as agencies and other creative partners. For the Amsterdam office, we were looking for a creative director who could bridge the gap between our craft and production work on the one hand and our branding, design and campaign ambitions on the other.

“Ward's profile was a perfect fit, with his background in design and animation from his days at MTV, and his more recent experience with strategic and conceptual work at Dawn. He has a mind for strategy and creative campaigns, and a heart for craft and design.

“Ward will be part of our European creative directors team, alongside Richard Gray and Jennifer Zheng, who is based in London. His appointment reflects how Buck is increasingly focusing on Amsterdam and Europe as a creative hinterland.” 

Ego-free culture

Ward Graumans, creative director at Buck Amsterdam, on his switch: “Buck is a studio, production company and agency with an ego-free culture, where absolutely everything is geared towards the end product. It’s all about creativity here, striving for the best possible creative output and fresh solutions. Whether it’s film, design, brand identities, series, games, immersive projects or something new that Buck itself comes up with that didn’t previously exist.

“We’re problem-solvers, with the expertise available across a wide range of areas with which to solve a problem: craft, production, creative direction, strategy, animation, live action, creative technology… you name it. And we’re continuously evolving and looking for new areas where we can utilize the talent we have in-house. So the playing field is getting bigger and bigger.”

“The chance to work with so much talent in so many different fields and different locations around the world – which means that for any new idea there’s always someone who can make it a reality – and for such a variety of clients. It really does make this a dream job.”