#32 STEVE LIDBURY - from omnichannel to monochannel; how Eight Inc. design human-centric experiences for brands including Apple, Tesla and Nike
06/30/20 • 38 min
We first came across Steve Lidbury, Executive Principal at Eight Inc. on stage at FashionTech Berlin in 2018 where he shared ‘How luxury brands can remain relevant in a millennial world’ (available on YouTube), and for us, this was one of the standout sessions of the event. Since then, Steve joined us for our London Tech Week panel ‘Why human connection should be at the heart of all technology’ and we’ve had many interesting discussions over the last couple of years.
Eight Inc. are often referred to as Apples best-kept secret due to the fact they are responsible for the renowned Apple Store design. A multi-discipline experience design studio, with 200+ strategic designers and business creatives connected across 11 studios, 6 time zones and 3 continents, Eight.Inc design holistic, human-centric experiences for world-renowned brands including Tesla, Estee Lauder, Coach, Virgin and Nike.
Before joining Eight Inc. Steve, a Ravensbourne University architecture graduate, co-founded Postnormal, collective of like-minded international designers that established a creative presence through a series of both collaborative and individual interior, installation and exhibition projects in Tokyo. He went on to create, Steve Lidbury Design Studio and completed projects in Japan and China that earned him the recognition as a flagship for British design in Japan.
Returning to the UK, Steve took up the role as European Creative Director of the Luxury Automotive Group at Imagination, creating multichannel brand experiences for the likes of Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Steve’s approach to life and work, is to make most of life by exploring the world, it’s different cultures and people which intern drives him to use design as a tool for creating better human outcomes and conditions for the greater good.
Just before lockdown, we sat down with Steve to record a podcast. Since then we’ve checked back to see if Covid-19 has shifted his thoughts around Monochannel, but he assured us that it’s even more important than ever to create a consistent and connected brand experience. An experience that is driven by emotions, sensations, and desires. In our podcast, we discuss what the future of brand and customer interaction could feel like, and how adopting a Monochannel strategy will change the way we do business.
Some brands, particularly small businesses, they may not feel the need to create a strategy to ensure customer records and interactions are unified. However, regardless of business size or ambition to grow, we all have to make sure we understand who our customers are and what they each want.
A relationship is a two-way thing, and if there’s an imbalance of that relationship the customer will move onto another brand who treats them well. It’s time to make sure that doesn’t happen because from a brands perspective it costs a lot more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one happy!
www.blackneondigital.com
We first came across Steve Lidbury, Executive Principal at Eight Inc. on stage at FashionTech Berlin in 2018 where he shared ‘How luxury brands can remain relevant in a millennial world’ (available on YouTube), and for us, this was one of the standout sessions of the event. Since then, Steve joined us for our London Tech Week panel ‘Why human connection should be at the heart of all technology’ and we’ve had many interesting discussions over the last couple of years.
Eight Inc. are often referred to as Apples best-kept secret due to the fact they are responsible for the renowned Apple Store design. A multi-discipline experience design studio, with 200+ strategic designers and business creatives connected across 11 studios, 6 time zones and 3 continents, Eight.Inc design holistic, human-centric experiences for world-renowned brands including Tesla, Estee Lauder, Coach, Virgin and Nike.
Before joining Eight Inc. Steve, a Ravensbourne University architecture graduate, co-founded Postnormal, collective of like-minded international designers that established a creative presence through a series of both collaborative and individual interior, installation and exhibition projects in Tokyo. He went on to create, Steve Lidbury Design Studio and completed projects in Japan and China that earned him the recognition as a flagship for British design in Japan.
Returning to the UK, Steve took up the role as European Creative Director of the Luxury Automotive Group at Imagination, creating multichannel brand experiences for the likes of Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Steve’s approach to life and work, is to make most of life by exploring the world, it’s different cultures and people which intern drives him to use design as a tool for creating better human outcomes and conditions for the greater good.
Just before lockdown, we sat down with Steve to record a podcast. Since then we’ve checked back to see if Covid-19 has shifted his thoughts around Monochannel, but he assured us that it’s even more important than ever to create a consistent and connected brand experience. An experience that is driven by emotions, sensations, and desires. In our podcast, we discuss what the future of brand and customer interaction could feel like, and how adopting a Monochannel strategy will change the way we do business.
Some brands, particularly small businesses, they may not feel the need to create a strategy to ensure customer records and interactions are unified. However, regardless of business size or ambition to grow, we all have to make sure we understand who our customers are and what they each want.
A relationship is a two-way thing, and if there’s an imbalance of that relationship the customer will move onto another brand who treats them well. It’s time to make sure that doesn’t happen because from a brands perspective it costs a lot more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one happy!
www.blackneondigital.com
Previous Episode
#31 WILLIAM DEFEBAUGH - creating a new narrative between climate and culture with Atmos Magazine
Atmos Magazine is beautiful, eloquent and inspires action. The biannual publication delivers a culturally-led luxury fashion feel with the substance of the National Geographic. Atmos was founded by Jake Sargent, who previously managed Monocle’s retail and product collaboration development before taking up the position of joint Creative Director alongside Daniel Corrigan for the premium denim brand Simon Miller. In 2017 Jake founded Magic Hour, an early-stage venture capital fund with a portfolio of brands that spans wellness, social consciousness, environment, food and fashion with the common thread to inspire change and transform consumer behaviour.
Following a reconnection through a mutual friend, Jake and William Defebaugh began to bring Atmos to life. Will’s career in fashion publishing began after moving to New York to intern at Vogue Magazine. After working at GQ Magazine, Will moved to the distinctively cool, culture obsessed, V Magazine, where during 5 years there, rose from assistant to Editor.
Why would you leave a career that appears from the outside the perfect example of a focused and driven fashion professional? Well, after experiencing what Will calls ‘fashion fatigue’ ne hit a turning point around the time of the Trump election and decided to use nir voice as a writer and editor to make a difference in the world. As someone who leads a consciously connected life, and helps others to live in alignment, Will could no longer be part of a system perpetuating consumerism.
Now as Editor-In-Chief of Atmos, Will has created a new narrative between climate and culture to re-connect us with nature and ourselves. Recognising that we have become divorced from the very thing that sustains us - the Earth - Will opens up the channels of communication between an aesthetic that we desire and the insight that we crave.
After recently launching Atmos Magazine Volume 3 entitled Flourish / Collapse we caught up with Will to talk to about; life in the fashion industry, the concept behind the title of Atmos Magazine’s latest publication and the Future Earth Day project.
https://atmos.earth
www.blackneondigital.com
Next Episode
#33 KARINNA NOBBS - on moving to Ibiza, digital experiences for the circular economy and ways to develop personal and professional innovation
Karinna Nobbs approaches her life in fashion with three guiding pillars; investigation, conscious innovation and education. Someone whom we may consider a Futurist, she has recently felt the need to turn her attention to the present rather than striving to create the future. So, it stands to reason that Karinna recently entitled herself a Nowist, rather than a Futurist. The current pandemic has made us consider all aspects of our lives and work out what’s essential and important to us. For Karinna, that has led to her making a conscious decision to move more into the present, and be more connected to nature, living in Ibiza where she moved just before lockdown.
Karinna started her career as a visual merchandiser and moved into fashion academia when she realised how addictive researching and teaching could be. During her 15 years full-time academic career she has taught in more than 25 institutions, spoken at 87 conferences, across 19 countries and currently lectures at London College of Fashion, the Antwerp School of Management, ESA, Istituto Marangoni, Hyper Island and was awarded an affiliate Professorship at ESCP Europe in 2018 where she teaches Innovation and Trends.
Since 2017 Karinna has also has worked alongside agencies including Holition, Sunshine and Wednesday, for media brands such as the Business of Fashion, Decoded Fashion and Frieze plus with luxury brands including La Prairie and The Vampire’s Wife.
We visited and featured Karinna’s self-funded project HOT:SECOND, which brought to life the world’s first circular economy concept store where she traded physical products for digital experiences. This project brought together various digital and sustainable applications, concepts and brand into one place for the public to play with and contemplate a different kind retail experience.
Turning her attention to what kind of support and inspiration creative professionals may need post-pandemic, Karinna has been working on creating a transformational experience designed to enable both personal and professional innovation. The Think (Re)treat offers a carefully constructed seven-phase programme delivered intensively over 48 hours in an exclusive environment on the island of Ibiza, due take place in October 2020.
In this podcast, Jodi Muter-Hamilton talks to Karinna about:
- What it’s like to follow your instinct to a place that has yet to be defined
- Her future plans for HOT:SECOND
- Working on The Dematerialised with another incredible woman in innovation, Marjorie Hernandez, Co-founder LUKSO
- Why she felt it’s time to help others develop both personal and professional innovation roadmaps http://karinnanobbs.com www.blackneondigital.com
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