Ten years ago, design was the differentiator in business. You could tell an innovative company from a dud just by looking at the logo. Now? Good design is table stakes. From digital UX to product packaging to advertisements, everything has trended so much better that “spectacular” can feel synonymous with “mediocre.”
So where does design go next in business? And how should its impact be measured? “The [client] will be worth more or it won’t,” says Jonny Bauer. “And that’s what we want to be held up against.”
Bauer is an advertising world vet and founder of FundamentalCo, what he describes as a “value creation company” or “business design” firm that’s changing the model of a creative consultancy. After 13 years at the advertising agency Droga5, Bauer joined Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm with assets totaling over $1 trillion. There, his team worked with 50 of Blackstone’s portfolio companies, and contracted branding giants Collins and Pentagram, to help deliver on the singular goal of building value.
Three months ago, Bauer spun out FundamentalCo as an independent operation in hopes of building the team and expanding its client base beyond Blackstone’s portfolio companies (Blackstone remains the firm’s anchor client). It announced an impressive 12-person team including Sarah Thompson, who oversaw more than 100 agencies as global head of advertising at Accenture, and Jenna Lyons, the storied former president of J. Crew and reality TV star.
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