"Stop wanging on about AI," Nils Leonard says, "and just do some good work". It's a philosophy that underpins much of the way he approaches creativity, and the way Uncommon (the studio he co-founded) functions. He can't bear the endless meetings, the talking that comes with a project. "If you’re with us for three months and you haven’t made anything, we charge you 25% more," he explains. "We don't give a shit about the money... we’re not getting paid to turn up to meetings. We’re getting paid to make."
It's the kind of bold move typical of such a disruptive agency, which is relentlessly focused on moving forward, creating something new, making something famous (the new The Ordinary campaign is a prime example). There's an assurance to Nils, and to the work Uncommon creates that's inherently exciting – especially when it delivers the kind of "magic trick" he uncovered at this year's OFFF Festival, where I sat down to talk to him after his rousing keynote.
