With nearly 20 years’ experience of working in the design industry, Johanna Drewe, Creative Director and partner of the London-based studio Output, has had an impressive career path. She currently runs the studio with Managing Director and partner Gemma Ballinger. Together they have been the driving force behind many recent stand-out brand identities and digital experiences created by the Output team.
After graduating, Johanna began her career as a brand and digital designer in various Nottingham (UK) agencies. In 2010 she landed a Midweight Designer role at Output. Over the last twelve years, she has moved to their London studio to act as Design Director, progressing to Associate Creative Director, and on to her current position as Creative Director. Throughout her time at Output Johanna has worked with a wide range of brands, including the BBC, JK Rowling’s Pottermore, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and Mixcloud.
Johanna believes that a successful Creative Director has to be multi-faceted. As she tells us, it’s not just about having “amazing creative ideas with the vision to transform strategy into a compelling concept that reimagines a brand or product.” It is also about understanding how the business works (including the finances), forging trusting relationships with clients and effective leadership and mentoring, which are essential skills when nurturing a team. “A creative lead has so many different facets to their role. They need to have many skills in their arsenal, so I suppose the most important ability is to multi-task or adapt to the moment.”
We talked to Johanna to find out more about pivotal moments in her career, the challenges she’s faced along the way, insight into what she enjoys the most about being a Creative Director and what are the most challenging aspects of the role, plus much more besides…
Where did it all begin? What were your first steps into the design industry?
I guess I’m one of those lucky people that knew what they wanted to do from an early age. I was given a book about graphic design when I was about thirteen. Obviously, it wasn’t design as it is today, but focused on technical drawing and typography. It got me hooked and made me want to be the best graphic designer I could.
I followed a design career path that was quite traditional. I went to art college, then on to university at Nottingham Trent, graduated and stayed in Nottingham working at different agencies. Sometimes focusing on brand or digital design, sometimes both.
How did you progress to your current role as Creative Director and Partner at Output?
I’ve actually been at Output for twelve years. I joined the studio in Nottingham as a Midweight Designer to work with an amazing roster of clients, including the BBC, Sony PlayStation and Ministry of Sound. I progressed through the company and moved to the London studio as a Design Director to work on an exciting brand evolution and digital experience for JK Rowling’s Pottermore.
My next promotion was to Associate Creative Director. As such I took on more responsibility, not just for my clients and creative work but also making sure my team was profitable. That exposure to the commercial side of the business was important for my promotion to Creative Director.
In 2020 we restructured the business. The founders took a back seat so Gemma and I could take over as partners. We’re now responsible for setting the direction and running Output, while reporting back to the other shareholders.
Have there been any pivotal moments in your career that have helped you progress to where you are now?
Looking back on a career you can definitely identify projects that raised the game, pushed your thinking, were a delight to work on and became a springboard for your work and career development. I think BBC iWonder was the one where I fully understood the power a brand has to shape a digital experience.
I was asked to lead the creative team to reimagine Pottermore – a digital representation of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. This was a monumental project for me personally because I moved to London for it. There was such amazing content to bring to life, and we had to evolve a brand to define user experience and visual design to create something magical. During the project I was surrounded by the most inspiring group of female leaders at the company. I felt incredibly lucky to have that experience and it helped forge my path to becoming Creative Director.
”Looking back on a career you can definitely identify projects that raised the game, pushed your thinking, were a delight to work on and became a springboard for your work and career development. I think BBC iWonder was the one where I fully understood the power a brand has to shape a digital experience.”
Are there any barriers or challenges that you’ve faced during your career, and, if so, how have you overcome them?
I’ve had challenges throughout my career but I also think I’ve been very fortunate. I’ve been the only woman in the room many, many times but I’ve never had to struggle to be heard or been disrespected.
At a junior point in my career, I was asked to join a meeting with a new client because it was a ‘sausage party’. Not because I had every right to be in the meeting or that I could offer good insights. I spoke to the relevant person straight away and it’s never been repeated.
I’ve been in challenging situations at work where my leadership and direction on projects was undermined on a constant basis by a male colleague at the same level. I struggled to keep my autonomy and struggled to keep direction and the vision of the project clear and simple for the team. I explored a few different solutions to regain control of the situation before a very frank and facilitated conversation was instigated.
There were constant challenges at the beginning of Covid and lockdown, as I’m sure everyone would say. Understanding how to work from home, learning new tools to facilitate workshops, creating shared files and still continuing to raise the benchmark of our creative work wasn’t easy. We had to ensure the team were happy and motivated and find ways to check on work casually like we would in a studio, rather than by formal reviews. It was a learning experience, but we won some great commissions during that time and created some brilliant brands and experiences.
“I’ve been in challenging situations at work where my leadership and direction on projects was undermined on a constant basis by a male colleague at the same level… I explored a few different solutions to regain control of the situation before a very frank and facilitated conversation was instigated.”
What does your current role involve and what does your typical workday look like?
From a Creative Director point of view my role is to lead the creative vision of the studio, push the benchmark of our creative team through every project and ensure our work is constantly pushing clients to reimagine their brand or experience. I make sure my team and the wider business are happy, motivated and inspired, they’re empowered to push creative boundaries and supported to learn and thrive.
That means lots of check-ins with project teams, the Design Directors and the Production team. It might mean some pushing and prodding where necessary, or simply allowing the team the space to explore.
Depending on the type and scale of project, I’ll be more or less directly involved. But I take time to ensure every project is seen by me and I attend the client meetings. There’s a certain amount of new business work that also requires my time, meeting with potential clients and working on pitches and proposals.
From a partner perspective it’s more about check-ins with Gemma, our Managing Director. We run the studio together, so we chat around the studio as a whole, finances, ongoing and new projects and the team. We’ll set out the vision and goals for the year and check regularly that we’re meeting them.
Can you talk us through a key project you’ve recently worked on at Studio Output?
The work we’re most proud of is the brand refresh for the Campaign Against Living Miserably. CALM is a fantastic organisation on a mission to unite the UK against suicide, and they really wanted to avoid a corporate look. It’s more like a magazine because the content they create always needs to feel new.
The brand has to do so many different things, from support to activism, but always needs to feel like CALM. We knew it should be a natural evolution – the next iteration of a much-loved brand, rather than something completely new.
So, we revisited the speech bubble logo, and used an extruded text style to define the graphic language beyond it – the helpline number, website URL and framing devices. Now, you don’t even need to see the logo to know it’s CALM. That structure gives freedom for the brand to flex to lots of different touchpoints – from bringing people together to fight for change, to helping someone in crisis – all in the same brand.
What do you enjoy most about being a Creative Director and Partner and what do you find most challenging?
I get a constant buzz about the potential of my team and the kick-ass brands and digital experiences we can create together. They’re truly a wonderful bunch and I’m privileged to encourage, inspire, empower and mentor them. We’ve recently looked at what we all want from our work – what we find most enjoyable – and select clients that can make a difference in their category or the world. We co-create solutions that can take a brand to the next level and make everyone feel super-proud.
The biggest challenge is always time. My own time across the many facets of my job. The time for the designers against a budget or timeline. Finding time to be inspired and learn a new tool or skill or do R&D and studio projects. And time for everyone’s personal and mental health.
We believe in respecting everyone’s time and try to avoid communication beyond working hours. We’re trialing a nine-day fortnight over the summer in an effort to give more time back to the team and acknowledge the hard work we do during the rest of the week.
“I get a constant buzz about the potential of my team and the kick-ass brands and digital experiences we can create together.”
What do you think are the most important qualities for success in a creative lead role?
The role of a creative lead has so many different facets. Creative leads need to have many skills in their arsenal, so I suppose the most important ability is to multi-task or adapt to the moment. There are three core areas I’d look for:
- Have amazing creative ideas with the vision to transform strategy into a compelling concept that reimagines a brand or product.
- Forge deep trust with clients, so they believe in you, your team and a shared vision that transforms the category. This trust lets you push clients to believe in standing out because it’s right for them and push the boundary of expectation to be a true reflection of their business.
- Be a coach, mentor and leader. You need to champion your team and their ideas, empower and nurture in equal quantities and ensure everyone can thrive under your guidance.
Do you have any advice for women, gender diverse and non-binary creatives looking to move up to a senior role in design?
Be active. Be the biggest advocate of yourself and your own career. Don’t wait for opportunities to come your way, champion yourself and your skills, believe in your ability and be single-minded in going for what you want. Find the best environment for you to grow in, find people who will support and empower you. Stay on your game by taking every opportunity to listen and learn.
“Don’t wait for opportunities to come your way, champion yourself and your skills, believe in your ability and be single-minded in going for what you want.”