Dan Simon Considers "Paddlers, Swimmers, Divers" to Design Experiences With "Cultural Memory"

Creative director Dan Simon has spent almost 10 years at Imagination, an experience design agency with 14 offices around the world, including in London and Los Angeles, Dubai and Detroit. Imagination Australia works with clients like Telstra, Commonwealth Bank, and Nissan. Before he joined in 2016, he worked as a sculpture and installation artist, interior designer, and experiential designer. 

Here, he tells LBB AUNZ managing editor Brittney Rigby how he designs experiences for die hards looking for an "epic payoff" and passers-by who think, “Well that’s not what I expected from that brand.”

LBB> Experiential is really impactful, but it has to live beyond one moment. How do you think about this, and reach people who may not have experienced it for themselves?

Dan> For me, it starts with designing for depth. I use a framework I call 'paddlers, swimmers, and divers'. It’s a way to think about audience needs on different levels – some people skim the surface, others wade in a bit, and a few go all the way under. We have to make sure that no matter their level of engagement, there’s value in it for them – whether it’s the epic payoff for the die-hards who queue up, or the passer-by who catches a moment and thinks, “Well that’s not what I expected from that brand.”

If we get the storytelling right, the experience reverberates. It turns into content, conversation, and connection. That’s how it lives beyond the walls we build.

LBB> What's an experience you've created that has had a bigger life?

Dan> The Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experience will always stay with me. Half a football field of priceless historical artefacts, immersive environments and a deep sense of responsibility to get it right. It was designed to tour the country, so we had to make something that would resonate with all Australians. It wasn’t about bells and whistles – it was about tone, truth and honour.

People cried. We had to install tissue dispensers. That says something.

It wasn’t about marketing metrics. It was about cultural memory. And that’s a bigger life than most projects ever get.

LBB> A piece of work you didn't create, but wish you had?

Dan> Bit of a cheat answer, but I’m going to say the Guinness Storehouse.

It’s one of Imagination’s OGs -- a brand home that redefined what immersive brand storytelling could be. From the brewery tour to the bar at the top, where you trade a resin token containing a drop of Guinness for a pint (or a keepsake), every detail is considered and cleverly loaded with meaning.

It’s still one of the highest-rated visitor experiences in the world – and for good reason. The architecture, shaped like a perfectly poured pint, is a flex. Credit to our owner, Gary – that one’s still an icon. I would’ve killed to be part of that.

LBB> How do you build accessibility into experience design?

Dan> Accessibility gets talked about a lot, but often as a checkbox or compliance hurdle. For me, it’s a mindset. It’s about asking, “Who’s not in the room?” or “Who’s not going to be able to engage with this – and why?”

I try to humanise the conversation. What would this be like for a family with a child with low vision? Would they feel welcome? Could they be included? Even excited? It’s not always about providing the exact same experience – it’s about designing something meaningful for everyone, even if it’s different. That’s more powerful than ticking off guidelines in a PDF.

And honestly, brands have a responsibility here. Showing up for everyone isn’t just good practice, it’s good business.

LBB> How is AI shaping how you approach experience design? I know gen AI featured in a recent activation you created for CommBank at Vogue Codes.

Dan> We’re living in the wild west of AI. It’s exciting, messy and a bit untrustworthy -- but also full of potential.

At Imagination, we’ve embedded AI into our creative process across everything from early-stage strategy validation to rapid visualisation. For CommBank at Vogue Codes, we built an activation powered by generative AI that turned guests into magazine covers, live and on site. We’re also using enterprise-grade language models to workshop customer journeys, and AI visual tools like Midjourney to bring concepts to life faster.

We’re innovating fast, but with caution. AI isn’t replacing anything yet – it’s just giving us sharper tools to cut with.

LBB> You've been at Imagination for a decade. What's made you stick around?

Dan> The people. I work with some of the most talented, curious and just genuinely good humans you could hope to meet. We solve big, complex problems together – and have a laugh doing it.

The culture has stayed strong through it all. We’re ambitious, we care about the craft, and we’ve got each other’s backs. And I still get to wake up and make weird, bold, beautiful things. That’s rare.

LBB> How has the type of work you do, and the clients you do it for, changed across those 10 years -- or hasn't it?

Dan> We’ve always tackled the big, complex stuff -- from the International Fleet Review to New Year’s Eve on Sydney Harbour. But the landscape has shifted.

During COVID, we pivoted hard into the corporate world, and found our sweet spot delivering huge brand events for AWS, Telstra and CommBank. Now we’re stepping into automotive with Ford and Nissan, delivering the Ford Australia Centenary and a massive global launch for the new Nissan Leaf, complete with hundreds of dancers, filmed in Japan. We’ve also branched into government, with work in the agtech sector.

It’s been an evolution actually, not a pivot. We’re handpicking talent from across the world to grow our team and continue delivering the quality we’re known for.

LBB> There's a lovely tension about creating long-term partnerships with clients to build ephemeral, short-term experiences for them -- how do you approach building client partnerships with longevity?

Dan> We help clients create a trail, not just a moment. One great event is nice, but a considered sequence of experiences over time? That’s what builds momentum.

We’ve partnered with Telstra for 13 years. CommBank’s not far behind. That kind of longevity comes from trust, fresh thinking, and showing up with strategic smarts and creative flair -- even when the pressure is high. Honestly, our superpower is just getting stuff done. Especially when it matters most.

Of course, it’s not without its challenges. Brand fatigue is real. So we go to great lengths to bring fresh energy and outside inspiration to both our team and our clients. It’s our job to bring the world in and contextualise what brands need to do to stay ahead.

LBB> You work at a place called Imagination. How do you nurture yours?

Dan> You’d think I listen to TED Talks and go on vision quests. But really, I just surround myself with brilliant weirdos.

Unexpected ingredients make the best work, and our team brings plenty of them. My job is to clear space, push for better, and sometimes just stand back and admire what we’ve built together. That’s where I get my fuel.

LBB> Anything else to add?

Dan> We’re in a weird and fascinating time. Content is getting shorter. Attention spans are shrinking. The volume is exploding, and the quality is tanking. Add to that a world of misinformation, fake content, and consumers literally paying to avoid ads – and it’s getting harder and harder for brands to cut through.

So where does that leave us?

I don’t have all the answers. But I do know this -- when done right, experience still has the power to connect. It’s real, it’s human and it sticks. That’s what I’m here for.