Fern to rule them all
the design was. I was getting really frightened because I wasn’t able to create a unique design.
‘‘But just before the last deadline, I woke up at about two in the morning and got a simple idea to create a wedge shape that mimics the fern.’’
Another demanding project for Clark was redesigning Air New Zealand’s logo.
‘‘Airline design is just so complicated. Even if you are going to change the tail plane logo you need to be so careful because of the extra weight of the paint detail, things you wouldn’t normally think about.’’
In his four decades in the industry, he has seen the transformation technology has created with the merging of advertising and design agencies.
‘‘When I arrived in the country, the ad agencies ruled the roost and they owned all the media advertisement and promotional channels, but now it’s a completely different picture.
‘‘There’s this incredible merging of medias to the point where the advertisement and promotion space is occupied by people, who five years ago, weren’t in it.’’
Clark said Kiwi talent in the design industry was world class, with the likes of Weta’s Sir Richard Taylor, fashion designer Karen Walker and acclaimed director Peter Jackson having successfully increased the wealth of the country.
He said the future of the design industry is very much to do with technology and how we use it.
‘‘Design is a surprisingly large industry, but an invisible one that not many know about. My own vision is to leap into this new digital future using the energy of our young designers.’’
As for the future he hopes to see his company grow internationally and use Kiwi savvy to do that.
‘‘I’m 67 which is very old for my industry, but if the philosophy and thinking is right, then I can probably hang around here for a few more years.’’