This evening we were delighted to welcome to W+K Garrick Hamm (above left, dancing) and Richard Williams (right) of
Williams Murray Hamm to talk to us about their approach to branding and
design. Established in 1997, WMH set out to offer clients an
alternative to the intrusive logos and graphic formulas that had become
commonplace in the world of 80s and 90s brand design. Their belief was
and is that robust ideas were of much greater value to clients than
decoration and derivation. I saw Richard speak recently and was
impressed by some of the philosophical similarities between their
approach and ours, in particular the desire to get cut-through by
disregarding category conventions.

With the help of some fearless
clients, WMH has gained an international reputation for creative and
commercial success. They have won major awards at D&AD, Design
Week, Clio and New York Festivals and been named No 1 for Creative
Awards in 2005/6/7 (Design Week) and No 1 for Design Effectiveness
2003/4/6 by the DBA for work with clients like Clipper Teas, Cobra and
Sainsbury’s. This has led to Garrick Hamm being appointed D&AD
President for 2008/9 and WMH featuring in The Guardian’s ‘Top 50
Hottest Names in Design’.

They were responsible for this famous and highly successful bit of packaging design:

And recently created this airfix kit-inspired work for the Jamie Oliver Recipease brand:

It was an entertaining and thought provoking talk – always interesting to hear how other creative businesses in different fields approach what they do.

WMH apply 5 principles to their work. (I hope I scribbled these down right).

1. Difference – imitation should have no place in branding

2. Focus – try to say one thing well

3. Bravery – embrace risk

4. Judgement – trust your instinct and intuition not research

5. Think big – the idea is the most important thing

Big thanks to Richard and Garrick for taking the time to come in and talk to us.