How we got here, what we're working on, what we're into, and what's next.
Meet the Studio
03.05.2020
Working in a studio is an exercise in participation.
When everything happens in one place (work, meetings, reviews; coffee, lunch, perhaps a drink) community becomes more than a catchphrase. For us, we’ve always been happy to work in a house, a sunny duplex in San Francisco’s Lower Haight. Like an atelier, we’re surrounded by the objects we admire, the books we return to over and over. A rare stick plant, a monarch fern. Original work from Sahar Khoury, Jared Jethmal, Koak, Brian Longe. A Nobuyoshi Araki in the bathroom. The influences hanging on the walls are as diverse as the people in the room.
Not just a company, good company.
We caught up with each member of the studio to find out how they got here, what they’re working on, what they’re into, and what’s next. As always, the door is open. Come visit anytime.
Photos by Ryan Lowry
Designer
› You’re from Indonesia. What’s the biggest creative difference between here and there?
Maybe the biggest difference is that Indonesia is not as appreciative of fine art and creativity in advertising and design. Elegant, minimal design doesn’t really exist. And polished, highly creative commercial design is just not very common. It’s incredibly freeing to work here, where we’re always looking at work through the lens of art and culture. That opportunity is special, and rare.
Writer
› How did you get into naming?
After I finished my MFA in poetry I started to look for ways to use that professionally. Branding is kind of a poet’s dream job because you’re consistently working in the world of voice, creating a verbal texture to encourage certain feelings or actions. Great brands can use language to own an attitude or behavior, and converse beyond their category. Anyone that’s memorized a song lyric without trying to will know that language has a certain sticking power. A philosophy, a mantra; the ability to inform a lifestyle.
Associate Creative Director
› You run Landscape’s content and production. What’s influencing you right now?
To me, the most interesting and inspiring photography goes beyond the image and plays with the idea of form, medium, and process. We work with such a diverse range of clients and industries that it's almost impossible to get trapped in a prescriptive style of work. The way you approach shooting AI-powered robots is different than how you would shoot imagery for a design festival—we’re activating the same attention to detail and quality in every project. We bring a style of art direction, photography, and videography to industries that are often underserved by more forward-looking work.
Jae Jeon
Designer
› You joined the studio last April. How was your first year?
It’s been a good year. I wanted to join Landscape because I was very excited about the diversity of the work. Small tech and big tech, start-ups, cultural projects, galleries, non-profits. It’s a much more diverse portfolio than other agencies. And across clients, the studio’s taste and perspective stays tight.
Founder and Executive Creative Director
› Landscape turns 8 this month. How’s it going?
What’s keeping me excited eight years in? I think the short answer is, I’m still learning. Learning about how people see the world around them, how to create an atmosphere that fosters trust and a feeling of safety for both our clients and our team. Making great work is hard work and feeling supported by the whole team (internal & client) goes a long way toward creating the mental space to experiment and push outside the safe or expected answers. How do you navigate different opinions? How can you manifest opportunities that offer meaning to your team and value to clients? So far, a day doesn’t really go by where I’m not constantly learning to relate to other people. And isn’t that what “design” is? Relating something to someone else clearly or intentionally?
Moreover, we just had an incredible year of learning from our clients. Supply chain optimization, machine learning, domestic furniture manufacturing, biology lab automation, new models for retail, world-class photography, etc. You might say that design, advertising, and experience are kind of artificial titles at this point. We’re just trying to be sensitive to the ways people interact with the world, navigate relationships, manage their time. Brands that tie all this together in a meaningful way are the most successful. Our partners have invested so much time in becoming experts within these unique sectors, pushing on how the world might work. The opportunity to sponge up their perspectives is a gift honestly.
Associate Creative Director
› You’ve been here for a minute. How has the growth of the studio helped you grow as a designer?
What’s that old saying… the more you know, the more you know you don’t? That’s actually really exciting for me. Working in a small studio means wearing a lot of hats and thinking about things holistically. We don’t work in silos here. Over the past five years, I’ve learned how to manage complex projects, doing everything from writing and strategy, to visual and interaction design, as well as art direction for large scale content creation. Projects that involve all these facets are the most challenging and the most rewarding. Of course, I don’t get to a solution without a lot of digging, reasoning, questioning, and exploration. In the end, I think our process is structured in a way that feels both rigorous and open-ended — which enables me, as a very rational person, to do things that are a little scary and take more creative risks.
Illustrator
› Cool title. What illustrations are you working on?
Lately, I’ve been doing some really fun illustrations for Hopelab. A series of drawings that can be a really approachable metaphor to communicate challenging, health-related initiatives. The Landscape tote was also a rad project. On our studio retreat last year we saw this beautiful, handmade blanket at an estate sale with these four flowers grouped together. It was just a really simple, beautiful design. So that became an inspiration for the final graphic. On my own time, I’ve been making gouache paintings. I’d like to paint bigger whether that’s canvases, walls, or whatever.
Frank H Vial
Strategy Director
› You’ve worked in Europe, Asia, and across the US. What brought you to Landscape?
I studied business and design in Germany, then started working on web platforms for global corporations. After working in Asia and traveling around the world, I became curious about shaping brand narratives, and that’s when I joined Landor. Years later, working as a freelance strategist, I had the chance to collaborate with Landscape. At the studio, the process always felt different: more optimism, trust, freedom, bolder clients with emerging ideas, all leading to great work that goes a bit further. That’s what I wanted to be part of.
Associate Creative Director
› What are you reading right now?
Currently: The Ultimate Egoist - Vol. 1, short stories by Theordore Sturgeon. Still getting through Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan. Next on the list: After Man: A Zoology of the Future by Douglas Dixon. If comics and graphic novels count for recommendations, I love sharing oddball comics like Patrick Kyle’s Distance Mover, or Vortex by William Cardini. Also Jim Woodring’s comics like Poochytown, but that one doesn’t involve words!
Camillia BenBassat
Creative Director
› You ran your studio in New York for 10 years. Tell us more.
After 20 years in London and New York, I was excited to return to my Californian roots (and my dog is over the moon, barking with joy). In NYC, I founded a brand and digital agency called Avec, which focused on consumer-facing and cultural brands. Bringing this experience to Landscape means adding to the breadth of experience we can draw from, and the opportunity to do more work at scale. For me, it’s an opportunity to tap into the west coast’s entrepreneurial spirit, which I’ve always loved. Aside from losing too many of my favorite plants in the move, joining Landscape has been an exciting next challenge, an opportunity to team up with an agency with a kindred philosophical spirit.