By Design: Jordan Blood on Healthy Disruption

Jordan Blood leads the global design output for Girl&Bear and VCCP. With a passion for craft and technology, his career has spanned motion graphics studios, digital design companies, and branding agencies. However, it was in adland that he found the perfect environment to integrate all these skills under one roof.

Promoted to the role of head of design in 2020, he expanded VCCP's design department from six designers in London to 30 worldwide, and has played a key role in developing Girl&Bear – VCCP's global content creation studio. Girl&Bear's integration has amplified the agency's capabilities, contributing to VCCP receiving Campaign's Gold Award for Global Integrated Agency of the Year and Campaign’s UK Integrated Agency of the Year.

LBB> Tell us about your current role and design specialism(s)?

Jordan> I’m the head of design at Girl&Bear, which is the global content production studio belonging to VCCP and home to a team of around 200 people all across the world. My team consists of 30 wonderfully talented designers and over the past few years my focus has been on building and scaling design teams, while also developing new business opportunities. But I have to keep hands-on so I also lead a couple of accounts.

LBB> What drew you to design in the first place and how has your design career evolved?

Jordan> I was obsessed with drawing. My parent’s walls were covered in crayon and felt-tip. This then evolved into permanent marker on my friend’s pencil cases and tipex on my classmate’s bags. When I started getting offered school tuck shop sweets in exchange for portraits it seemed I was on to something.

But looking back, my career has been pretty zig-zaggy.

I started off working on music videos in the MTV era; then the Dotcom boom happened and I worked on websites and flash animations – the ones that everyone used to skip; following that, I studied an MA and subsequently started working in branding; and for the past nine years I’ve been working in advertising which is a fast paced, slightly intoxicating world where I can bring all of my skills together.

LBB> What aspects of design do you get really nerdy about personally?

Jordan> My dad was an engineer and I guess have some of his traits. I’ve always liked building structures and systems for the designs we make. I can also get in the weeds when it comes to the detail of logo design e.g. Bézier curves, optical balance, contrast etc. 

LBB> There are so many new design tools out - what tools do you like to use and why? 

Jordan> Illustrator is my core tool. I can transfer images and thoughts across various canvases and sketch ideas here and there. It just seems to work for me and how my brain functions. But I also rely on handwritten notes. They keep my thoughts organised as I've always struggled with my memory.

LBB> Design Thinking - thoughts?

Jordan> IDEO did a brilliant job bringing design further upstream with this language all those years ago but our industry is full of buzzwords. We have developed a simple, clear and collaborative approach with our clients, which helps us to focus on solving problems without getting bogged down with jargon.

LBB> What are the most persistent misconceptions about your particular design specialism that you see across the advertising and marketing landscape?

Jordan> I feel incredibly lucky to be a designer. We’re jacks of all trades. We can develop basic strategies, design solutions, produce the work and sometimes we can sell it. But in the context of larger advertising and marketing businesses I see and hear frustrations. Designers can get disheartened when they’re wholly employed to “beautify” things.

But, equally, an oversight from most designers is that the kind of work they want will just materialise. We’re in the business of a people therefore building relationships is key to unlocking further potential and opportunity.

LBB> Accessible design is an increasingly prominent topic - from your experience what are the most challenging facets of accessible design? And what does best practice in accessible design in your particular design specialism look like?

Jordan> Accessibility is incredibly important. Why wouldn’t a brand or a designer want as many people to see and understand the work as much as possible? Colour and typography are very important in distinguishing brands from one another but the biggest watch out for me, as the world moves towards a more accessible one, is that we are able to create clear territories for these brands to thrive without compromising inclusivity.

LBB> What do you think about the ethics of design?

Jordan> I’m fortunate to be surrounded by some brilliant humans. We’ve got a very open culture and we’re always sharing tips and inspiration for accessibility, social impact or how we can produce something in a more eco-friendly way. My team proactively holds several fundraisers throughout the year generating money for charities and non-profits, often in their free time.

LBB> What are some of your favourite examples of creative design solutions that inspire you?

Jordan> I love seeing the collabs from Palace. They make it look effortless. It’s incredibly creative (and amusing) how far they can stretch the brands they work with.

LBB> Which design projects throughout your career have been the most satisfying to work on and why?

Jordan> I thrive on design projects with small, tight-knit teams where the chemistry is right. When that alignment happens, it can lead to impactful work and open more doors to further opportunities.

A prime example of this is our collaboration with Stef Jones and Ian Priest at Onwards&Upwards. We helped develop their first brand, XO Bikes, a social enterprise that trains ex-offenders as bike mechanics so that when they leave prison, they have a job waiting for them on the outside.

Over the past two years, the business has grown significantly, and we're now working on creating new brands for additional ventures that will continue to support prison leavers.

I also take great pride in supporting team members with their personal projects. One of the benefits of working for a large advertising agency is the vast network we have access to. With just a few conversations, we can often connect these projects with the right people who can help bring them to life.

LBB> What’s going on at the moment in design that’s getting you particularly excited?

Jordan> Currently, there’s some healthy disruption in our industry with AI and automation. I love how production is becoming a hot topic for brands. There seems to be more opportunities than ever for designers to talk about the merits of these emerging technologies and how to dovetail them with craft and brilliant ideas.

LBB> Who are your design heroes and why?

Jordan> Well I’ve had to cut this short to three!

Alan Fletcher for his ability to "look sideways" and find inspiration in the most unexpected places.

Jonny Ive and Steve Jobs for teaching the world the value of design in creating meaningful experiences.

Brian Collins for being such an enigmatic and thought-provoking leader for our discipline.

LBB> Thinking of people at the beginning of their career, what advice would you give them for navigating this constantly changing field?

Jordan> We’ve seen a lot of change over the past few decades. Take music for example – records, cassettes, CDs, mini discs, MP3s, subscription models… What has kept me interested (and ultimately employed) is having a curiosity for culture and technology. These things are always evolving, so finding a way to integrate them with your practice will always help you stand out.