Most companies carry out brainstorming sessions when inspiration runs low, but Wolff Olins employees get a lot more than that. Not only do they get a series of talks from invited speakers in the creative industry that have included the likes of Paul Smith, Cornelia Parker, Ron Arad, Richard Wentworth, David Shrigley, Bruno Monguzzi, Amanda Levete, Foreign Office Architects, and Ken Shuttleworth (to name an illustrious few), but also some very beautiful accompanying talk posters to go with them.
Initiated in 2003 by the brand and innovation company's Creative Director Marina Willer, 'Because' is a series of back-to-college style talks at Wolff Olins borne from the need for inspiration.
Devised to feed a steady drip of debate and energy into the studio, the talks take place every few months and are open to employees, as well as a lucky list of clients and friends.
The graphic identity they designed for the series is an open system that can be used in endless ways. Each design by in-house designers at Wolff Olins, is an interpretation of the word 'Because'. But in order to avoid trivializing the work of the speaker, the graphic design is kept random and never related to the speaker it represents.
Although there is a framework used - designers work to a clear grid made of little crosses and a standard typeface - there is a lot of flexibility within the poster's creation.
Willer explains that this freedom is key to the design, 'Sometimes the designers don't even know who they're designing for and that can be very liberating' she continues, 'it's almost like a puzzle you play with. That really is what imagination and inspiration is about'.
