How To Design With Wit

Brand ImpactAwards judge Jim Sutherland reveals what he looks for in good design, and why a sense of playfulness helps create impact.

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What design has an impact on me? Plenty of classics spring to mind – FedEx, V&A, Pirelli slippers, i-D magazine covers, the Mexican 1968 Summer Olympics, Tate, Shelter. More recently, there’s the Tusk Conservation Awards and MIT Media Lab – I could name many, many more. They’ve all had an impact on me, on the world of design, and on the wider world. Otherwise why would so many still be around?

They’re very different projects, but the common element among them for me is a sense of wit, playfulness and thoughtfulness. A sense that the designer has gone beyond the conventional answer to find something extra – they’ve injected joy into the work, and the viewer gets some of that joy at the other end, even years later. For me, that’s what it means to truly make an impact.

When it comes to executing that in your own work, there’s never an easy answer – but there are plenty of questions. These are the questions I ask myself in my own work – and these same six questions will be in my mind as I judge the Brand Impact Awards later this year.

DOES IT WORK?