We sat down with Steve Pannett

Great creative doesn’t happen by accident, it takes the right person. Steve Pannett joins Make the Break as Lead Designer, bringing over 16 years of experience in brand identity, creative campaigns and design leadership across agency, in-house and freelance environments.

We sat down with him to find out what he’s been up to, what he’s brought with him, and what he’s looking forward to getting stuck into.

You’ve been in design for over 16 years across agency, in-house and freelance. What’s shaped how you work most?

I think my clients have shaped my career. I’ve been lucky enough to have worked with some incredible people and organisations over the years, so I’ve been constantly motivated to help them succeed in whatever creative, design or communication challenges they face. And, in turn, producing great work makes me really proud of what I do. It’s a win-win!

You spent nearly five years at BetterYou building their internal creative function from the ground up. What did that teach you?

That every circus needs a solid Big Top! And by that I mean that creative teams need to feel somewhat circus-like in order to be able to produce the most effective, envelope-pushing work possible but they also need a solid structure around them, to make that happen. Foundational processes, ways-of-working and the right culture underpin every great creative team out there.

In addition to that, I learned a lot about just how integrated creative teams should be within any given business. So much work goes through the department that you need to know how to operate with lots of other people and teams, all of whom have their own challenges to juggle!

You use the word “remarkable” a lot. What does that actually mean to you in practice?

I mean it in the purest sense of the word. The world is so visually noisy, and we’re all so good at filtering stuff out, that great creative work has to be worthy of attention. I don’t believe you can get cut-through if you play things straight down the line, and I often tell clients that “the only danger is in playing it safe” when it comes to your design and messaging.

Brand identity, campaigns, creative leadership. Where do you do your best work?

A blend of all of the above! I get a thrill out of helping to shape a brand’s true identity, and I love it when a creative campaign lands and smashes all of its objectives.

I think in terms of leadership I’m a big advocate of other creatives. I’m very much a creative generalist, but I’m also very good at getting the most out of specialists and in developing designers and copywriters who are a bit earlier-on in their own careers.

I’ve also worked under lots of other creative leaders over the course of my career. Some good, some bad. I learned something from all of them. It’s helped me find my own voice and my own leadership style, both of which I’m very happy to apply to any given situation!

You describe great creative as a business driver, not decoration. How do you make that case to a client who isn’t sure?

I ask them to think about some of the best examples of creative work that they’ve seen, either in their industry or just in general. The best adverts, the best brands, the best products, even the best art. All of it will have been successful in some way or another. And while media placements, timing and targeting are all really important, it’s the creative that really hooked you in and made you remember it.

Essentially, if you don’t get your creative right, all of the other work will be for naught.

You’re organised as well as creative, how does structure help rather than hinder the ideas?

It’s the circus analogy I mentioned earlier. I’ve entered into creative teams where it’s just abject chaos. The work that got produced was good, but it could’ve been great and the journey to it was stressful. When I introduced some structure to those teams, suddenly there was even more headroom for creative-thinking. Good work became great work, and everyone was having more fun doing it.

That isn’t to say there’s some kind of fixed process for producing great ideas, there isn’t, but if you’re organised and have a strong foundation under your feet you have much more bandwidth to commit to the work itself. That can only ever be a good thing. 

What does a rebrand actually involve, and what’s the moment you know you’ve got it right?

Most brands don’t actually need a rebrand. It always tends to be more of a refresh or, if something has shifted, strategically, a repositioning or recalibration. Most of the time the brief for a rebrand suggests evolution, rather than revolution, is the right route forwards.

But even then there are lots of lightbulb moments throughout the process. I’ve had things click when I’m talking to colleagues, just the same as when I’ve been head-down in the design work myself. Some moments will get cut short, as you encounter challenges or difficulties, and others will lead to even more sparks of delight. It’s all part of the process.

I think the defining “eureka” part often comes when I’m talking to client-side stakeholders. I will either see a penny-drop moment in their body language, or they will outright declare their admiration for something in the work. Either way, that’s the moment when I know we’re onto a good thing.

Our clients are technical businesses in renewable energy which is maybe not obvious creative territory. What excites you about that challenge?

I think that challenge in itself is an exciting one. Industries that aren’t necessarily known for their creative flair have the most opportunity to do something different and exciting.

Not only that, but working across this sector means that you’re only ever one or two steps away from the frontline of something making a genuine, positive impact on the world. It’s important to me that I use my knowledge and experience in this way.

Is there a type of project you’re itching to get stuck into at Make the Break?

I’m really keen to turbo-charge what we can offer our clients from a brand identity perspective. Having a unique, brilliantly-realised brand that your whole team buys into can be the difference between success and failure, so I’m excited to offer that service to clients.

You write fantasy novels and illustrate for fun. Does any of that bleed into your design work?

I do! But no, not in any meaningful way. A design brief is sacrosanct, so bringing any personal thoughts or feelings into it wouldn’t do it justice. Very occasionally the stars will align and something that I did for fun will be relevant to an upcoming brief, in which case it will get thrown into the mix, but other than that they’re fairly separate worlds.

I do, however, enjoy reimagining cover designs for books that I read. This allows me to set my own brief, based on what the book is about and what I believe the intended audience is. It keeps me sharp and is a lot of fun. That’s in addition to designing the cover artwork for my own novels, and writing them is my perfect pastime.

Connect with Steve.