We spoke to Fredericus l’Ami about his recent work for Activist Manuka Honey – a project close to his heart – born in New Zealand, dreamed up in California and inspired by a movement, spirit, and mindset.
First of all, tell us about your studio.
I love design (when it’s done well) because it resonates with people on a deep, intuitive level that goes beyond words. I truly believe great design enhances people’s lives and helps us connect with each other.
I’ve worked as a designer for over twenty years, over that time I’ve refined my focus to the concept & the craft. By that I mean my attention is directed toward bringing brands to life through brand identity design & packaging. So in addition to telling a good brand story… people also respond to tactility, something they can touch & feel — which is why the details count, so much is happening at a subconscious level!
Bringing our refined design approach to Los Angeles appeared to be a good fit. We had won green cards in the diversity visa lottery (which is a thing). Besides being coastal, with a balmy Mediterranean climate – we also had friends there. Plus it’s only one flight away from home (New Zealand). So we established the studio in 2014.
I love design (when it’s done well) because it resonates with people on a deep, intuitive level that goes beyond words. I truly believe great design enhances people’s lives and helps us connect with each other.
Can you tell us about the initial project conversations with the client?
I was lucky enough to meet Luke & Gabby through a mutual friend who was confident we’d get along. We’re all from New Zealand, which usually means you’ll either; know of them, know someone who knows them, that is — if you don’t know them yourself (haha) – It’s surprisingly small. Luke & I both surf so it was easy to bond over our shared love for the ocean. We became friends before we started working on Activist, which was a great place to start.
The brief was more of an extended conversation spanning many months of frequent surf trips & dinners together. Luke had mentioned another mutual friend, photographer Derek Henderson was shooting a library of brand imagery that told a distinct New Zealand story. Knowing Derek’s work and the origin story Luke & Gabby wanted to tell was a huge motivator for me. I wanted to be a part of this wonderful product coming out of New Zealand — something I could get behind and be proud of.
What did the design process look like for this project?
Early on there was a lot of dialog, Luke & Gabby provided me with a deck of visual references (this is often something I ask of new clients so I can get an understanding of what they respond to from a visual perspective), In Luke & Gabby’s case, they were crude (in a good way) and raw, they spoke to a time (the 70s mostly). These provided context for the name they’d settled on — ACTIVIST. It represented a movement, a spirit and a mindset that they wanted to build on.
Their story referenced a time of unrest in New Zealand. People were protesting against social issues, mining, etc and using what they had at their disposal – leftover house paint for example was re-purposed for hand-drawn signs (this inspired our color palette) and that DIY attitude needed to inform our design.
For me the initial research is hugely important, it’s an area I put a lot of emphasis on during every project — this informs every concept. If there’s solid thinking behind every approach, it’s more difficult to derail the concept – visual execution can always be refined.
After research, initial concepts were presented, providing an opportunity to play and see what resonated with respect to those early conversations. From there we decided on a direction we wanted to explore more deeply — ultimately leading to what you see in stores today.
ACTIVIST represented a movement, a spirit and a mindset that they wanted to build on… Their story referenced a time of unrest in New Zealand. People were protesting against social issues, mining, etc and using what they had at their disposal – leftover house paint for example was re-purposed for hand-drawn signs (this inspired our color palette) and that DIY attitude needed to inform our design.
Can you talk us through the thinking behind the final design?
We all wanted to land on something that would be a little unconventional in the honey space. The name ACTIVIST was already acting like a brand — by that I mean it already had so much weight imbued in the word itself. We wanted to celebrate the idea by crafting a 70s inspired wordmark that was proudly presented on a colorful label. I wanted it to feel refined, yet still have some awkwardness so not to feel too slick.
We wanted to celebrate the idea by crafting a 70s inspired wordmark that was proudly presented on a colorful label. I wanted it to feel refined, yet still have some awkwardness so not to feel too slick.
Did you face any challenges during the project?
When you’re helping a client bring a personal project to life, there’s so much discussion & education compared to larger scale projects where you’re dealing with a business budget as opposed to ones own money. In addition to the design process, you’re convincing a client of every element that has a cost associated with it e.g the inherent qualities of a cotton stock (which brings tactility & visual appeal, particularly in the food space), embellishments such as metallic foils (which delicately reinforces the premium nature of the product but also talks to a customer in-store)
And when you’re about to print all the labels — there’s a moment of trust — because it’s not possible to see a finished product to sign-off on, and it’s all those conversations that come into play — have I reassured the client at every step along the way? Do they have the confidence to say ‘go for it!’ — in this case, yes!
What was your favorite part of the process?
Ultimately I generate a huge amount of satisfaction from the reaction I get from the final product, how it’s received by the client & their audience — but it’s also the relationship (or in this case friendship) that’s deepened through the process, I love that.
In what ways did the initial concepts differ from the final execution?
I guess there’s a boldness to the final design, which comes back to those early points of reference — those Activist protest signs had a strong message, strength of color (no foil mind you) but in an abstract way, we’re communicating the power of this wonderful product — Activist Raw Manuka Honey.
You clearly put a lot of effort into presenting your projects. Do you have any advice for other hoping to up-level their own portfolio presentation?
I think this is hugely important — this is your face to the world. You need to find ways to showcase your projects in a way that respects the work. I see too many examples of great work overshadowed by confusing presentation (sometimes this is compensating for something else). I prefer to keep things simple, I like to see the images as steps in a conversation, exposing details, revealing ideas that may otherwise be overlooked. Be careful not to overwhelm the viewer — edit your selection, less is more.
Whose work is inspiring your studio you right now?
That’s always a tough question, there’s so much inspiration out there (almost too much), but I’m loving the work of:
1. Think Work Observe (based in Italy), their amalgam of Identity, publication & typographic design is always presented immaculately.
2. Matt Willey. I’ve always been a fan since my discovery of his publication design for Zembla, PORT, and Avaunt. I love his approach to typography.
3. Bleed. This Scandinavian based studio is doing everything right in my book.
4. La Tigre — Milano. I’m currently working with this Italian duo on a project we’re releasing in the New Year. I’ve been a fan since stumbling on their frequent illustration collaborations with Matt Willey.
Behind the Brief is an interview series celebrating the creative process where we speak to the team behind the project, pulling back the curtain on their design thinking, strategy and process to learn how they arrived at the final design.
