An Interview with Graham Fink

Graham Fink is the former creative director of M&C Saatchi and Ogilvy & Mather China; he’s a creative artist, and became the youngest ever appointed president of D&AD. In the course of his career, Fink has worked with British Airways, Land Rover, Hamlet Cigars and Dixons, winning a multitude of industry awards and accolades along the way.

The Effect of the Pandemic on Global Advertising Opportunities

Pondering the effects of the pandemic on the way in which companies conduct their business, Fink suggests that one of the major impacts of the lockdown was how it changed the way that people communicate; most crucially, how businesses communicate with their customers has drastically developed over the last two years.

For Fink, the necessity of needing to innovate new ways to interact has opened up exciting opportunities in creative marketing. In the interview, he also posits that the pandemic has changed forever how we view mental health as a society, and the vital importance of connection with others.

Designing a Dream Blitz Squad

Fink debates the members he would choose for his dream Blitz Squad. The Blitz Squad is a consortium of creative professionals assembled by Blitzworks, the agency founded by Marcus Brown, Ajab Samrai and John Pallant in 2017 to deliver creative and strategic solutions to their clients.

Elon Musk and Banksy were selected by Fink; he goes on to add Bjork and Will Self, along with The New Yorker’s cartoonist Bob Mankhoff and businesswoman and Instagram star Lu of Luland.

Fink opts, too, for the inspirational Pride of Britain winner Emmie Narayan-Nicholas who, while in hospital being treated for leukaemia, innovated the idea of — and went on to open — Emmie’s Kitchen, a registered hospital meals charity that provides nutritious, homemade food for the families of other young patients.

Finally, Fink chooses Semiotics genius Chris Arning, master copywriter Juggi Ramakrishnan, and the photographer Paola Parades… plus Andy Warhol and Ai-Da, the first humanoid robot artist.

Advertising and Artistry

For Fink, to create the best work in either art or advertising, keeping a single idea or point of focus at the centre of a project is crucial, and this central concept needs to be able to grow and evolve as the work expands and develops.

Fink’s inclusion in D&AD’s Art Direction Book in 1996, which showcased the 28 most talented art directors in the world, alongside the plethora of advertising accolades he has won, are a testament that his blueprint for creative design in advertising is astonishingly effective.