Interview with the Creative Director

What are you sources of inspiration?

I'm aware this sounds a bit cliche, but the everyday environment acts as an endless source of design inspiration. Essentially, being nosy pays off. I try to look in shop windows, pick up books, study labels, packaging and look up at architecture for any sort of inspiration or design nugget that I can find to inspire the studio's work.

When we work in sport, with Sussex Cricket for example, we became part-time sports historians - it was great fun. We emptied archives and libraries to see every single garment or printed document, all the way back to the clubs inception. These are the places where, often, gold can be found. Inspiration based on tangible history rather then simply following trends.

Naturally, we always study our contemporaries, competitors and more broad examples of great design. There is value in standing out, of course, so this can often lead to us finding creative guidance from beyond the industry that our client sits within.

What excites you about the current state of the Design Industry at the moment?

I think there is a general wariness that AI is going to destroy the detail and execution that designers and creatives put so much care and attention in to. I'm enjoying flipping that narrative on it's heard. Asking what it (AI) can offer our work, and how can we 'beat the bots'. My mantra is that you can't prompt creativity, so let's prove it. It's pushing everyone to be more creative, more human and more extreme. To me, that's really exciting.

What are you excited to see Jard Studio doing more of in 2026?

Whilst we're fundamentally a brand studio (creating new brands or rebranding existing businesses) we really enjoyed the discipline of creating a robust campaign around a new service from our friends at the ITIA; The Line. So I'm hoping we can flex our muscles in shorter form output.

Song of 2025?

Father John Misty - I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All