GROUP EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
LANDOR & FITCH, NEW YORK NY
Alasdair Lennox is a designer and the Group Executive Creative Director of Experience, Americas for Landor & Fitch. Based in New York City, Lennox oversees more than 70 employees across North America, comprised of creative directors and designers who will continue to elevate the transformative work of Landor & Fitch. He began his career in FITCH London and rose to become Executive Creative Director for EMEA in 2014 before moving to the US in 2018. Lennox now works across all Landor & Fitch studios in North America, integrating Landor’s brand consulting and strategic design capability and FITCH’s experience design and retail consultancy. He has extensive experience in both strategic and creative assignments for a wide variety of global clients including Accenture, adidas, apple, Dell, Lego, Lynk&Co, Microsoft, Pfizer and Walmart.
How did you become involved in socially responsible communications and why do you believe design can be an effective tool for this goal?
Early in my career I had the great honor of working with the late Rodney Fitch. Rodney had many opinions and provocations; however, a key belief was that “Good design is a useful to society as good money.” This philosophy ran through the veins of every designer and team member in the studio, it wasn’t a tag line, it was a genuine belief that we all had the opportunity to drive positive change through design. Now, 20 years later, I am fortunate to be working at Landor & Fitch which still strives to make a positive difference for our clients, our communities, and the world with extraordinary brand transformation.
A recent project that I’m particularly proud of is our work with Answer the Call, the NY Police & Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund to support a team fundraiser in honor of the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Our team created the logo design and tagline creation of “20 years since the towers fell and heroes rose up” as well as designed merchandise to help provide financial assistance to the families of FDNY, NYPD, and PAPD heroes killed in the line of duty. As a designer and now a New Yorker, this campaign and activation was especially powerful for me and fully embodies designing for good.
Given the confluence of events and challenges our society now faces, does 2021 present any special opportunities, urgencies, obstacles to designing for good?
2021 has given its fair share of challenges for us as people and brands. These types of challenges do provide a rare opportunity for companies to reevaluate priorities and build a culture that is focused on a sustainable and responsible future. Depending on where the company is on its sustainability journey, it can always be built to ‘be good’ through the lens of innovation: whether that’s transforming an existing brand or designing new sustainable brands for a select category or business model. Brands can, and should, do good while doing well. The key is to approach sustainability through a brand-led lens. Sustainable design is not only an opportunity, but also an urgency.
