"Graphic design’s like acting” and other things we learned at Here London

During Charlotte Heal’s brilliant run-through of her career and her redesign of Kinfolk, she revealed that undertaking each project is like an actor getting into a new character for a role. We’d never considered pushing pens and pixels as analogous to treading the boards before, but as with all our speakers at last week’s Here London, the It’s Nice That-curated creative conference, Charlotte made us look at creativity in a new way. Here’s what else we learned:

1. Creativity makes you cooler

Dutch illustrator and painter Jordy van den Nieuwendijk started drawing pictures of Warner Bros character Tweety Pie in school to impress girls. When that was deemed too cutesy he started making graffiti art. Instant cool points ensued.

2. A good interview uncovers something new

SHOWstudio editor Lou Stoppard revealed how the site’s INFASHION series was filmed using a two-way mirror. She sits side by side with the interviewee, and as they talk they make eye contact only in the reflective glass in front of them She feels that in this way, she manages to secure what makes an interview great: that nugget of information that no one else has managed to get. “People always cry after the interview,” says Lou. “Talking about yourself for an hour is quite an intimate thing – people have said some really really intimate stuff.”

3. A good creative studio is one with a bar

Not a bar being raised high or any of that nonsense, the sort with some well-stocked optics and ice. Hjalti Karlsson, one half of Karlssonwilker, says: “[In our studio] we have a fake fireplace that doesn’t work. We have a bar that works well.”

4. Everything around you can be useful

As Haw-lin ran us through their portfolio, they showed us how much of the set design and props are drawn from bits and bobs they have around them. “We use everything in the studio as props,” they say. “I think one of our best shots came from just using a turntable in the studio.”

5. ManvsMachine are all about client briefs, not personal projects

“We’re trying to infiltrate the mainstream,” Mike Alderson, ManvsMachine co-founder said, having already shown us how it is possible to be a skateboarder in a full Liverpool kit. “We don’t do personal projects. We dedicate ourselves to being creatively fulfilled by client briefs ,” he added.

6. TV channel rebrands are the best projects you can do (but don’t tell anyone)

More gems from Mike here, in insights gleaned from massive projects including the More4 rebrand. “Don’t tell anyone, but it’s the best work ever, because you do everything – create the logo, animations, live action…all that’s yours,” he said. “We love that idea. [TV] clients treat you as the experts, which not all clients do.”

7. If you’re working in print, print your work

Seems on obvious one but often a point made by Charlotte Heal that’s often ignored. If what you’re designing will be printed, don’t just look at it on a screen, print it out and touch it.

8. Scott King “has a problem with public art”

In an interesting talk from Scott, he delved into the realities of public art and what they can (or mostly can’t) do for an area. “If it really worked and building gigantic monuments in depressed areas was successful, then the policy would be employed in Afghanistan and all its problems would go away.”

9. The Grand Budapest Hotel graphics drew (some) inspiration Hitler’s business cards

In an incredible talk from The Grand Budapest Hotel graphic designer Annie Atkins, she revealed the painstaking process that goes into creating the graphics for Wes Anderson movies. One real gem was the moment she showed us some business cards created for the film, based on a combination of those used by Hitler and Eva Braun.

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