New D&AD President Kwame Taylor-Hayford Wants to Grow Global Fame and Support
Last week, D&AD, the global non-profit advertising and design association, announced that Kwame Taylor-Hayford would be the new president for 2024/25, succeeding Jack Renwick. Kwame is a New York-based creative and co-founder of the social change-focused agency, Kin.
Kwame is the association’s first president to be based in the US. However, he is no stranger to D&AD, having been a resident executive creative director for the non-profit’s ‘Shift’ night school programme in New York, as well as a D&AD Impact Council member and D&AD Trustee.
Speaking to LBB, he discusses his aims for his presidency, including ‘making D&AD as famous and as well regarded in the US as it is in London’, continuing to support creatives around the world enter the industry and transition to leadership positions, and opening a new conversation about why purposeful work doesn’t need to sacrifice creativity or craft.
LBB> Firstly, congratulations on becoming the new D&AD president. You’ve been a trustee and a member of the Impact Council for some time -- what does it mean to now be president?
Kwame> It's a huge honour. D&AD has been a reference point for me my entire career. When I started out working at Saatchi & Saatchi, for example, I remember going into the office of one of the creative directors at the time, and a Yellow Pencil was beautifully displayed on his shelf. There was a sense of pride and achievement that he attributed to it.
From those very early years, looking at the annuals, I knew this was an organisation that celebrated the very best work in our industry. The people who were maniacal about craft were focused on trying to win a Pencil and be elevated in that forum. It always held a place of high regard for me coming up in the creative industry.
So now to be president, in a way, it's a massive affirmation of a lot of the values that I hold true; things like working with emerging talent, through D&AD Shift and New Blood, and helping give them their first opportunities in the business -- or continue their education, learning and build their skill set through masterclasses.
I love the community. So many impressive and generous people are a part of D&AD, and are willing to share their knowledge, experience and perspective to help anyone further their creative journey. I feel like I could talk forever, and maybe that's why I've been such an involved part of D&AD to this day.
LBB> You’re the first D&AD president based in the States -- what are some of your main goals more generally in this position? And how are you aiming to help D&AD’s American influence to grow?
Kwame> For me, the goal is, very simply put: How do we make D&AD as famous and as well regarded here in the US as it is in London? It's so clear to me, when I attend the festival or come out for board meetings, or when I meet with designers, art directors or writers in Europe, that the organisation is just so well known and respected.
The way that D&AD enables and supports creatives through their journey is something that I feel creatives here in the US, and around the world, would benefit massively from if we're able to scale and build our operations, infrastructure and learning programmes, and make them as available here as they are in London.
We're well on our way with Shift, for example, and there's a lot we're doing with masterclasses, but I think D&AD has much more to offer, and that's what I'm excited to help accelerate.
LBB> Speaking of D&AD Shift, we hear it’s evolving already with the addition of ‘Shift Studio’. What can you tell us about that, and why now is the right time for expansion?
Kwame> Shift has been an amazing programme to get people, mostly without a college degree, into the creative business. It's the first on ramp, the first opportunity. It's in-person and with practitioners and talented creatives who are working in the industry giving their time and knowledge to help people who might be comedians or graffiti artists or tattoo artists, to see how their creative prowess can transfer and be really impactful in advertising.
We scaled Shift globally -- we're in Berlin, Sydney, London, São Paulo and New York. But once students graduate from Shift, we feel there's still a lot they can offer. Shift Studio is an attempt to create a bit of structure around that incredible group of alumni and connect them with agencies and brands, so that their creativity can still be meaningful and impactful for real world briefs. We're having some amazing conversations with a few brands about how we can partner with them and their agencies to give this talent another outlet for their amazing ideas.
It’s an offering that can only continue to grow -- there's this demand for fresh thinking and ideas from unexpected places, and unexpected solutions that can come in and help disrupt what's happening in advertising. Having an option like Shift Studio is only going to help further that and deepen the connection that brands and agencies can have to eclectic, excited and engaged talent.
LBB> As well as helping creatives start their careers in advertising, you have a focus on empowering the next generation of leaders -- helping people in the middle of their careers to progress and develop leadership skills. How will you and D&AD assist in that effort?
Kwame> There are so many challenges to building a career in the industry, as a creative. And it's changed dramatically since covid. We're all working from home and we’ve lost a bit of the connection that we had -- that learning through osmosis, that mentorship, that ability for you to really connect with people in real life.
When I speak to creatives in the middle of their careers, they have so many questions that previously were much easier to navigate because you had proximity and access to many people in the same space. I feel this responsibility to help amazing people in that time of their career, where they're trying to figure out the next step: ‘How do I get to the next role?’, ‘How do I figure out an opportunity to work on that amazing project that's going to open more doors career-wise?’.
We, as an organisation, can help make those connections. We can provide the training and the development. We can help with advice, and in so many aspects of that transition. I’m very excited to lean in and work [on that] within D&AD.
We’re developing, for example, a course that's all about the first 100 days in a new role -- ‘What are the things that you should pay attention to?’, ‘How do you connect with your colleagues?’, ‘How do you participate in the culture to ensure that you are adding value beyond the description of your role?’ It goes without saying, that's what makes you indispensable to a company -- when you're able to pour in and connect.
So we’re excited to continue exploring ways to help creatives navigate those really important, formative years.
LBB> As well as excellent craft, purpose-driven work is also a priority for D&AD. Is the creative industry doing enough with this in mind, and in the right ways? Where do you want to see improvements during your term?
Kwame> I think the current state is, unfortunately, not positive. There are many attacks on companies who are trying to see their role as more than just selling a product, owning their place in creating a much better society for us to exist in. I think a lot of the attacks on this work are a bit misguided and misplaced.
Long-term, the benefits of it are more than proven. So much data says it's something that young millennials and gen z consumers want, and something that is hugely business impacting -- if it's done in the right way.
What I get excited about is having a new conversation about what it means to do work that is filled with purpose, or work that’s a bit more impactful. I don't think the work needs to sacrifice the very high bar that we have for creativity and craft.
At D&AD, we hold both things true. You can do work that is incredibly creative, innovative and massively meaningful, when it comes to driving conversation and culture. But that work can also be business and brand accretive. It can help transform community and society. And actually, when you do the work at a high level creatively, and work that is impactful on an issue, it ends up being a force multiplier, creating a disproportionate benefit for the brands that choose to lean in.
That's something we've seen in work that Kin has done for MailChimp and Delta Air Lines, for example. So we're excited to continue seeing companies not shy away from work that really connects with who they are and their values.
LBB> As you mention, your own company, Kin, has helped address cultural impact and social change through its work. How can you communicate the importance of these topics to up-and-coming creatives?
Kwame> My message on that is quite simple: You don't have to leave who you are at the door. You don't have to walk away from what you believe in. Not too long ago, there was this thought that your work is your work, and your life is your life. But what I’ve found is that the more I’ve brought those two things together, the more I've enjoyed the work that I do, the more I've been able to orient my work in a way that drives positive outcomes for my life, my community, and for society at large.
For me, it’s hard to separate that. Maybe it’s because I'm passionate about what I do, and I get very excited about working with very smart, talented people that challenge my worldview. Advertising and design is a very special place for that. The world we live affords us the privilege to go out and make things, connect with people and move them.
Sometimes, we annoy them and make them a bit upset, but sometimes we inspire them and fill them with ambition to change or improve a circumstance, or help someone. That's what's super special about what we do.
LBB> And where do you see D&AD’s role in that?
Kwame> We are, first and foremost, an educational charity. It's our role and responsibility to make sure that we're arming today's creatives -- and tomorrow's creatives -- with everything that they need to achieve their creative ambitions. Whether that ambition is to win a Yellow Pencil for creating the most amazing, innovative design system, or design and build an awesome new digital product, or to make the most mind-blowing commercial that you've ever seen, I think we have to be here for all of it.
LBB> What are you most looking forward to during your D&AD presidency?
Kwame> The day after my inauguration, I was asked what it felt like to be president, and I joked that, honestly, it kind of feels the same. It feels great! And it's always felt great to be part of D&AD, and be on the board. To me, the work continues. I'm excited to have a slightly bigger platform for some of the things that I'm passionate about within what D&AD is doing. But overall, I've been so aligned with the mission and our charge to help grow and support creatives and creative leaders around the world, that I'm eager to just continue the good work that we've been doing for so long.
LBB> You’re succeeding Jack Renwick -- has she offered any advice for your presidential term?
Kwame> Jack is awesome. The thing she said to me that really stood out is how it’s really important for us to celebrate the people who make the work. In a lot of what we do, in design and advertising, there's sometimes a bias towards celebrating the people for whom the work is made on behalf of. We need to ensure that the people who are in the seats, designing on Photoshop, writing in a Google Doc or producing on location are really being empowered and supported by this industry.
