Pride in perfection: Glenn Tutssel on finding design inspiration in everyday life experiences
Inspiration comes to us in so many ways from everyday life experiences.
Glenn Tutssel
I remember noticing a framed certificate that had always hung on the wall of my childhood home. At first, I was impressed by the hand-drawn calligraphy, written in black ink on vellum. Then one day I read it. The words told the story of a man aboard a lifeboat who dived off fully clothed into rough seas. He saved one man from drowning and safely brought him back to the boat. Through the swelling of the waves, he saw another man in distress and dived back into the water and saved him. The story was both compelling and true.
The hero was my grandfather and I was then, as I still am, inspired by the story. The elegance of the hand-drawn calligraphy is still a reference point for me today, as is the work of the master of calligraphy, Peter Horridge.
Compelling stories are what great brands are all about. The story of Johnnie Walker and his business success was told by Robert Carlyle in the mini movie ‘The Man Who Walked Around The World’. John Hegarty's agency BBH created the film and it is truly inspirational both for its production but mainly its storytelling.
Having studied the history of French painting as an art student, I had only ever seen images of the paintings as small reproductions in art books. In Paris, I first saw Delacroix's painting ‘Liberty Leading The People’. You could get so close to it that you could almost smell the paint on canvas, it was truly inspirational. Delacroix himself was so inspired by the way in which British artist Constable painted skies in his work that he repainted the sky of his masterpiece.
When I direct a designer to get the best out of their work, I encourage them to go out and see real experiences, not just scan the internet. Around the world we are fortunate to have amazing art galleries as ‘living books’. Websites allow us to take a virtual tour through their works of art without leaving our chairs, but nothing truly beats the real 360 experience of being there.
It was the late, great Rodney Fitch who re-fired my enthusiasm for museums as a source of inspiration. Those ‘stuffy’ institutions are bursting with creative resources. London's V&A, with its collections of ceramics, paintings, sculpture, jewellery, clocks, fabric and fashion, informs us with layers of creative inspiration. The demonstration of master craftsmanship is enlightening and it is refreshing today to see ‘Walpole British Luxury’ championing ‘Brands of Tomorrow’ and Guy Salter's creation, ‘Crafted, Makers of the Exceptional’, bringing the talents of young designers into our mindset. The creatively inspirational work of British designers can also be seen at Mark Henderson’s ‘The New Craftsmen’, an eclectic group of astonishing talent.
Reviewing a young designer’s portfolio is always challenging, both for the reviewer and the student. The student wants reassurance, confidence-building comments and enthusiasm, whilst the reviewer wants to be constructive, sometimes brutally honest, but above all inspired. But inspiration comes from their infectious passion, dedication and commitment to creativity and big ideas. All credit to our art schools and their teachers who maintain the world class standard we so admire.
I was inspired by another compelling story. When fire threatened to completely destroy and rip the heart out of Glasgow School of Art, one of the world’s greatest creative schools, the foresight of the local fire brigade saved total devastation. The architectural heritage of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's work would have gone forever, but the immediate reaction from the brave firemen was to quickly construct a firewall that saved the day.
Students past and present were gutted (their work quite literally so), but a spark of inspiration came to ignite not the flames, but the refurbishment of the school. Actor and lover of architecture Brad Pitt and former Glasgow School of Art graphic design student Peter Capaldi both agreed to become trustees and help raise £20-35m needed to restore the school back to its former glory.
Music, drama and the arts inspire, but nothing is more compelling than film – the moving image weaving sound and vision and storytelling together to communicate. Be it live action or CGI-rendered, film is engaging to its audience from big screen to iPhone.
Storytelling is at the heart of our emotions and director Clint Eastwood mastered these emotions in his movie ‘Sniper’. Benedict Cumberbatch conveyed confidence over the prejudice in ‘The Imitation Game’ and Eddie Redmayne's portrayal of Stephen Hawking in ‘The Theory of Everything’ brought the genius of a genius into our lives. We sometimes dismiss humour, but who can forget Her Majesty the Queen and Daniel Craig's parachute jump on the opening night of the Olympics against the backdrop of Danny Boyle’s vision?
Film is a magical medium where we can generate and manipulate imagery faster than ever. We expect technical excellence and creative genius. A big idea beautifully crafted is what makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
As I was walking through London’s East End recently, I stopped to admire a female stone mason who was carving the building's name into a block of granite which was embedded into the wall. With mason’s hammer and chisel, she painstakingly cut the serif letterforms into the stone with the precision of a surgeon. I am inspired by craftsmanship, people who have pride in perfection.
Flawlessly, the mason had cut the typeface into the stone and as I was thanking her for taking the time to tell me about her art, she chisel-cut the full stop!
Glenn Tutssel is founder of Brand Inspiration Limited and a former chairman of Brand Union