Craig Oldham is a designer and founder of The Office of Craig Oldham, a Manchester-based studio that works on brands, books, objects, films and websites.
Design
1. What would your monograph be called?
I’d see it as a failure to have a monograph solely of my design work. If the work only works in that context, then it doesn’t really work at all. But if you’re pushing me, how about Vanity: My Favourite Sin.
2. What recent design work made you a bit jealous?
Not necessarily a sole piece of work, but a campaign – the work NEON did to release the Longlegs film this year. Christian Parkes (CMO), Bianca Parkes (head of design) and the entire marketing team extended that film world so beautifully, cunningly, and holistically into ours in ways I’ve not seen for a film in so long. It was brilliant, and I wish so much I had worked on it.
3. What’s an unusual place you get inspiration from?
When I see people (not necessarily designers) fixing, modifying, improving, changing, hacking, things. It could be a broken office chair or something in the house, whatever. People often overlook these work-arounds, for a host of snobbish reasons, but if you look at them with an intention of appreciation you often see the ingenuity in the solutions.
That is as valuable a resource as anything compiled by someone in the creative industries.
4. Name something that is brilliantly designed but overlooked.
Desire lines. There’s nothing more pleasing and ingenious to me as when I see where people have voted with their feet as to which way they want to walk. It’s feedback en masse and two fingers up to the idea of control. I love them.
5. What object in your studio best sums up your taste?
I have a collection of commemorative novelty ceramic plates that line the studio walls. They’re perfectly awful, but indicative of British visual culture (particularly of the working class) and I find it endlessly fascinating that no matter the event or celebration, it’s almost always noted in ceramic plate form.
This one is of Princess Diana. I don’t know when it is from but the composition and rendering is, again, awful yet perfect (I love that she is sat on her own shoulder). Ironically, it’s created by the legendary film poster artist, Drew Struzan, of Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Blade Runner fame.
Leadership
1. What feedback felt brutal at the time, but turned out to be useful?
I always tell the story of my nannan looking at a book I’d designed early in my career. I explain it in my book, Oh Shit What Now?!, but in short, it hurt that she was oblivious to the design decisions I had made as she was just interested in the content of the book. It was a burn at the time, but she was and is right – without content, design won’t save you.
2. What’s an underappreciated skill that design leaders need?
The ability to listen more than they speak.
3. What keeps you up at night?
The same things that probably keep everyone up – worrying about money, time, doing the “right” thing, next steps, past steps…
4. What trait is non-negotiable in new hires?
The desire to self-initiate and to have their own opinions on work. And in some way, they have to teach what they learn to those coming up behind them.
5. Complete this sentence, “I wish more clients…”
… would view design as an intellectual discipline and less a visual one. Design thinking can be really valuable to clients, be that their business, their cause, community, action, or behaviour. So it can be useful throughout the entire process, not just the end.
