Nick Garrett

Tag: Business

  • THE Challenging Design Brief

    CASE STUDY

    The Challenging Design Brief
    Jatex International USA
    .
    2005 - Nov 2006: Jatex International, USA Design: 
Furniture and Accessories

Appointed with the brief to bring immediate fresh 
change to unusual blend of product ranges 
which became one of my biggest career challenges. 
Jatex wanted a spicy twist of Turkish 
wovens, copper features, warm tones and Italian flair. 
This posed problems of material 
handling: I created 3 stories which were made in 
2 forms:

1. Copper: XXL Minimalist bowls and platter sets
2. Soft Furniture: Ethnic weaves and leathers dash 
Italian frames dash Chicago Lounger
SWOT:  
My key concern was that the two partners were not in accord.
I had to work with two different world views to find
a common theme.
Additionally because copper was unpopular 
in the market place I struggled to dig out a "Look".  
Creative Challenge: I had not designed metal wares 
for 2 years and I felt a bit 'rusty' mmm sorry about that.. 
After a failed plate design while working on site in Istanbul, 
I created bolder forms, large minimalist platters and bowls 
that overcame style limitations and thankfully these came 
through sampling beautifully and were an immediate success. 
I found the threads by pure hard work, extra long hours and finally
I pulled together the edges forming a unique brand for Jatex: 
Classic Chicago lounge, minimalist and rich spicy twists.

    “Jatex now have a truly popular Global theme

    Chicago Style Jatex USA  
    Finding the brand ID for Jatex International USA needed a sharp eye for line as the
    detailing required the signature richness of copper leaf or copper inlay.
     
Tasks:
Attended Atlanta, Canton shows and comp shopped/researched 
new product skus.
 Sourced complimentary story of Zen ceramics from Foshan China and Asia.
 Designed new collection of 40 pieces in the exhibition hall, on site and 
in UK studio. Set up China sourcing agency.Furniture was another big challenge 
because the client wanted for example a very high quality chair frame sourced 
from China.  
I tasked Fanny Xiang my long time Girl Friday to source the manufacturers
and we arrive a few weeks later.
After a flood of disappointments I secured a manufacturer and stayed in 
order to secure the quality of detail and upholstery.

    • Furniture Design Project: Sourced manufacturer in China for 2 
painted furniture collections comprising 4 styles. Sets included 
also, storage sideboards, low tables and consoles, all in 
rich dark patinas and aged painted finishes following Chippendale 
simple elegance lines with Oriental hints.

    • 2 ranges of fusion Ebonised living room sets including 
kilim-leather mix loungers, armchairs, sideboard, storage, 
low tables, corner tables, console tables and hall stands – 
sharper lines and inlayed walnut veneer details.
Bedroom sets to match included armoires, night stands, 
headboards, mirrors, storage chests, and 
dressing tables.
 
Nick Garrett Desight / nickgarrett2828@yahoo.co.uk

  • Can great Logo save your company?

    I tell my clients all the time,

    “If you’ve come to me for a great price on a logo and your plan is to grab it and go on your way then I’ll do it for $50 bucks”.

    I tell them this because I have a philosophy and an understanding of the relationship between a brand experience and a consumer that I have come to embrace over my career. My sentiment comes from a good place and admittedly I tend to wrap it in a bit of drama to get attention, but the point is simple: my logo design will not save your company.

    I am a brand strategist & consultant first and a designer last. The act of ‘branding’ is an all encompassing act for any product, service or company. From the logo to the new hire training materials, your brand should be procured and managed. To assume you can ‘set it and forget it’ is dangerous. The fact is, you have a brand already. Every company does. What you can not ascertain is the magnetism of your brand, the direction of your brand or the long-term strategy of it. People that you do business with are developing deep psychological imagery of who and what your products and services are to them at all times and if you’re leaving it up to luck to define, you may end up losing out to competition.

    Great brand experiences are the result of endless attention to detail, research, testing and repetitious creativity. It’s also that ‘something’ that can enable you to charge more for your products or services than the competition while actually BUILDING market share.