Unlocking the Soul of Brands with Bruno Regalo
Even within the industry itself, design might be one of the most misunderstood aspects of adland. You create something that looks nice, be it a logo, system or piece of branding, and everyone goes home happy afterward… right?
Not quite so. While there’s a grain of truth to this – that’s the technical part of the business – design encompasses so much more than just what the name implies. As Bruno Regalo, global chief design officer of TBWA\Worldwide discussed at the recent DesignThinkers conference in Toronto, it’s about unlocking the visual brand soul – allowing a brand to articulate its core essence to consumers in the process.
So how does one do this? According to Bruno, it comes down to understanding that the job, at the end of the day, is about connecting with people. After all, when one is aware that our everyday lives are shaped by design, it becomes ever so apparent that the human lies at the centre of the work. Think about it. From the clothes we wear to the phones we keep in our pockets, design is unavoidable. Products and brands – at least the good ones – cater to us, and are forced to contend with the fact that they must stand out in a sea of sameness to survive.
In short, good design is a gargantuan task for creative thinkers around the world, involving precise technical execution, a strong understanding of the audience, and finding moments of inspiration to fuel the work. So, to learn more about what this practice looks like on a day-to-day basis, especially for a man charged with overseeing an entire network’s output around the globe, LBB’s Jordan Won Neufeldt sat down with Bruno for a chat.
LBB> A big point of emphasis in your presentation at DesignThinkers was the importance of unlocking visual brand soul. Can you give us some insight into what this looks like? How do you articulate the core essence of a brand?
Bruno> Sometimes when you talk to people in the industry, they don't quite understand what we as designers do. They think it's about creating something super cool where we make logos, systems, and branding, but that's just the technical part of the business.
Really, this role is about humans and the insights that drive them. So, unlocking the brand is always about understanding the brand voice and the ways in which it will connect with people – with the more human side of the things – versus just the technical part. I think we as an industry sometimes lose this sense of personality. Details like colour and shape are amazing, but this is just the technical stuff. When you're unlocking the soul, you're connecting with the real concept of design.
LBB> Building on this, in your opinion, how does design shape brand identity and influence consumer behaviour? What does it take to transcend beyond logos and visuals?
Bruno> I think it's all about the personal deep dive. You need to have an understanding of the competitors, your market, your DNA, etc.. Only after seeing the bigger picture can you then try to find different inspirations from outside of your business. And after that, try to identify the conventions. Right now, we have this sea of sameness in terms of visuals, colours, and voice – a lot of brands are playing in the same territory. So, we are trying to connect with this human side of the business while simultaneously finding the best way to break these conventions, because that way everybody's going to pay attention to your brand.
Truthfully, if you can’t create this automatic connection, it just won't work. So, shaping a brand identity is, in short, the sum of these things. It's about process first, understanding your market and own DNA second, and then identifying the conventions, breaking all of them, and trying to create some kind of real, human, connection.
LBB> Within your portfolio, we’ve seen you use design as a tool for cultural change, such as with your ‘Black Grammy’ and ‘Behind the Records’ work. Can you tell us a bit more about what went into bringing these projects to life?
Bruno> Both are great examples for discussing the visuals of a brand, and how a design project can be so much more than just its appearance. After all, if you are just looking at the technical, ‘Behind the Records’ is a design system, and ‘Black Grammy’ is a product design. However, they’re both obviously so much more than this. One is changing the music industry, bringing people behind the records to the front and helping them gain better salaries, better creative opportunities, and show off their portfolios. They can say, 'Hey, I was the songwriter for this Taylor Swift album!', and they have physical media to represent this. We're literally marketing the culture of the music industry with one design idea. So, again, if you think about the actual soul, it's not just a design system – you're unlocking many, many more things.
Similarly, for the ‘Black Grammy’, on a technical level you could say 'OK, we're just changing the colour of the trophy', but it's really about creating another category highlighting music by Black people and celebrating all the efforts of those who changed the world using music as a device. Sure, all we did was change the colour of the world’s most iconic music symbol (albeit for a good cause), so if you just look at this as just work, it's very sad and boring, but if you think about the real connection and culture that comes with this design change, it means something much, much greater.
LBB> Of course, great creative moments like these don’t come without strong insight. From your experience, where do ideas like this come from? Are you always looking for opportunities to innovate, disrupt, and highlight real world truths?
Bruno> Most of the time, projects like these start with a simple brief. Something like, 'Hey, we need to solve that problem', and this can be for anything. From there, we go in with the understanding that we are trying to use design as a tool to unlock new forms of inspiration.
Unfortunately, I think right now, people are spending too much time trying to find this inspiration by looking at references and watching the same things over and over. In reality, they just should be outside. We always say the industry hates fresh air, but especially for design, you need to walk around and engage with new, interesting people. You need to watch good movies and see cool things. All the experiences you have in your life are going to make the difference. Your films, your concerts – everything you do outside the agency will play an active role in the final result. So, I think it's two different things. First, the brief is an impression. How can we impact the culture based on this brief? And the second thing is about where the inspiration comes from. The sum of both sides is where the good solutions lie.
LBB> With that in mind, where do you look for inspiration in your day to day life? How does this translate into your approach?
Bruno> I'm super intense in the work, but share the same intensity outside of work too. I'm always travelling, going to concerts, reading books, having interesting conversations with good friends – I'm always connected. Truly, I believe design is found outside of agencies. It's your cellphone, your clothes, your glasses – everything is about design. You cannot avoid it, and must be sensible enough to understand how to observe it. From there, you can emulate and think about how to use this in your daily practice.
LBB> With all this in mind, should more agencies and brands be trying to give designers a seat at the table from the get-go?
Bruno> I totally do. However, I also think that right now, there's a good movement going on. All the agencies are opening their own design studios, and this is a great sign for the market. People are understanding that design is a core element of advertising, the same as strategy or copyrighting. Some think of us as the people who ‘just make some logos or create some bags’, but design isn’t just about creating beautiful things. We play an equally important part in the agency mindset and bring this mentality of not just showing things visually, but from all kinds of perspectives, for all kinds of perspectives.
Right now, it's super clear that all the clients are searching for this kind of viewpoint paired with the visual lens. Because, at least for me, visuals are almost like a human sense. You can’t not watch something – it's inescapable. So, you need to use that force in an amazing way. Especially because you have many tools, many touch points, and many media formats to play with right now, that’s why I think design is even more important than ever before.
LBB> Of course, with many formats comes the need for accessibility. How do you approach this aspect of your work?
Bruno> First of all, you need to lead and brief inside these meetings. I think that's the most important thing. The industry needs designers to be part of agency life and discourse, because it means you'll connect with more opinions and influences. If you don't do this, sure, you'll still end up producing films and putting them on social media, but you'll never get people to care. Sure, you will care, or the creative who suggested it will care, but generally others won't be interested.
This is why the most important thing, for me, is trying to find space to connect with people in a more authentic way, because otherwise the work becomes an interruption. You're doing something, I'm interrupting your time, and that's terrible. We have to have a better understanding that we're all fighting for attention and time. Good, technical work is not fluid enough to win on its own – you need something that will connect with culture to make people pay attention.
LBB> Let’s talk a bit more about you. Obviously, you’re overseeing all the design at TBWA. So, globally, what does the network’s practice look like, and how are you working day to day to enable its success?
Bruno> Right now, my work is divided into a few parts. Unsurprisingly, the main thing is that I'm taking care of all the big projects coming out of TBWA in terms of design. We have offices and teams around the world – about 7,000 people on board – so I love collaborating with them all and having a hand in the work coming out across various regions.
Besides that, we now have a global studio called Design by Disruption which we launched one and a half years ago. We have our own clients and physically, we’re working in LA and New York, but we also have teams around the world – specialists, graphic designers and typography experts – who help create an almost 24/7 production format. This allows us to consistently prototype to make clients happy, as there’s a stream of non-stop ideas.
In short, I’m overseeing the big projects while trying to boost TBWA’s iconic culture and methodology of disruption in order to unlock the visuals of the brands all over the collective – all while leading and working physically with Design by Disruption.
LBB> Given that you’ve got a hand in so many pies, how do you approach tailoring design to local markets?
Bruno> One of the great parts of being at TBWA is that we’ve got strong partners in every single country. That’s exactly what you need to succeed in a role like mine. They're your bridge – you need to have a leader in each market to help you to translate the nuances for the culture, because, like you said, it's totally different in Asia versus Europe versus the Americas. Everything from colour to shape to meanings of different symbols and design principles? Distinct to each market. So, we have individual design leaders everywhere, and I stay connected with them in order to create that kind of bond and understanding. Even across the globe, we almost have an office mindset. New, fresh eyes everywhere, and also a lot of hands to get the work done.
LBB> Speaking of regions, how is the quality of Canadian design at the moment? Where do you think Canada’s place is in this world?
Bruno> I love Canadian design for a lot of reasons! Canada, both as a country, but also in terms of roots and design, is really beautiful. Not only that, but there’s a lot of great talent here. The people are super engaged in terms of visuals and design approach, and overall, the work coming out is amazing.
However, what makes it especially interesting is the fact that Canada has such a great mix of classic North American culture mixed with European. These shared roots make for super interesting projects and ways of seeing design, and in turn, a very unique market. There’s a good connection between the minimal – something a little bit more European – with the American sense of personality blended in. It’s very different from other parts of the world, and I personally want to connect with more of the people here to start using them in our global teams.
LBB> Moving back to your own body of work, your projects like ‘Gatorade Water’ and the ‘NBA 2K’ cover are stellar! Can you give us some insight into your own personal process? How are these projects reflective of that?
Bruno> I truly believe every single one of us has some kind of superpower. Specifically, the way in which all your life experiences can help the work find its soul is nothing short of amazing, and this is apparent in both those projects.
In the case of the ‘NBA 2K’ work, I'm a huge fan of basketball, and that drove this project. In particular I'm a die hard supporter of the LA Lakers, so I put that heart into this work. And when you do that, it's amazing. When you jump inside this kind of project with that mentality, it creates a different kind of environment. It's more about love, care and connection versus technical output.
Meanwhile, for Gatorade work, I'm actually a musician outside of the agency. I love music, I play a lot of instruments, sometimes I'm kind of a music producer, so I figured why not use this? Why not bring dancing, street art and music together? I think in every single project, you need to inject a little bit of your background and try to find the intersection between you and the brand new. That's the cool part of both these projects, and that's what I love most about advertising. Every single day you're going to have a different challenge, and you can just add another layer of your life to enhance other people's lives with that sense of mutual connection.
LBB> Of course, equally important is adapting the craft to the times – something that appears especially challenging given the plethora of new tools entering the industry. How do you approach this? And are there any you’re keen to play with?
Bruno> Like I said, I really do think it's a great time to be a designer, and to be honest with you, part of that is because I love playing with the new tools! I believe that it’s important to be updated and spend time learning and studying – especially things like AI specifically – because I use these on a daily basis with my team.
Right now, AI is becoming the best assistant of all time. People are trying to fight against technology, but to me that sounds crazy. It’s like the classic joke about an old lady bringing water back to the ocean. Why fight it? Embrace it! Think of ‘Back to the Future Part II’. Bringing back an almanack is nice, but imagine if Biff had brought back AI tools instead. He’d be king of the world… and we have that same capability right now, in the present. In a few minutes, you can have an incredible illustration. You can have an amazing animation. This was impossible a few months ago. You have all this possibility to solve the most impactful problems or create something amazing, all while speeding up the process. Even for people like me who have been in the industry for a long time, this is remarkable. We can combine our past experience with technology to create something bigger, and that is very powerful for the design world.
LBB> Finally, you’ve previously discussed the importance of keeping humans at the centre of design. How do you ensure this stays the goal, even with all the new tools available? And should this be the end goal of all designers?
Bruno> I do. I have a belief that at the end of the day, it really is all about human connections. Sometimes people treat brands and design work like just an object or colours and products, but it's so much more than this, and always will be. There is always some kind of invisible yet real connection between you and your favourite brands. For example, your cell phone is probably a super important part of your life, which means you have a real connection with it. The design is made for people because it’s a human business first – people just sometimes forget that. But this is the only human truth you can apply all over the globe. So, why not be more intentional about it?
