Designworks Sydney hires creative director, brand strategist; sets sights on APAC

Samuel has more than 20 years of experience in New York and London, where he has worked with brands including Liberty of London, Aveda, Harrods, Nestlé, Gillette, Diageo and Brown Forman. More recently he was art director for Melbourne Magazine, during which time it won an Australian Magazine of the Year award.

Burgess was formerly strategy director at Sydney independent Frost*, where she spent more than 10 years. She has led rebranding efforts for the Sydney Opera House, Broken Hill and the State Library of New South Wales and has worked with clients including Qantas, Sydney Airport, Frasers Property, Macquarie Group and Four Seasons Hotels.

The pair extend the agency's capabilities in strategic branding and engagement, as well as adding new expertise in beauty, fashion, food & beverage, luxury, property, cultural and destination branding, the agency said.

Sven Baker, chief executive officer, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that Designworks intends to be a "major player" throughout Australasia and is eyeing opportunities in Asia as well. Designworks currently has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Wellington.

"We're a business of significant scale in the Australasia region," Baker said. "So obviously there's an appetite to continue to develop our business and our offering, and bring our unique brand to a broader geographic market." Baker declined to offer specifics about what markets the agency may be looking at, but said that establishing offices on its own, forging strategic partnerships, and making acquisitions are all on the table.

Designworks' unique offering, Baker said, lies in the use of design as a strategic business tool. The company works with clients not merely on how they express themselves in the market, but on using design to drive internal, structural change, he said. Engagements include working with brands that want to "fundamentally change where they sit in the market" as well as brands that find themselves in situations that they can't "communicate their way out of" but instead need to change the way they perceive themselves and do business, he said.

"We see clearly where we fit, and we're certainly not planning to come to the market and offer what everybody else is offering," Baker continued. "We have a unique story. We see ourselves competing with the global brand consultancies," but from a perspective based on native familiarity with this part of the world.

Designworks is part of STW Group.