Gavin Robin: Coloring Outside the Lines, Journey to Creative Excellence with DAMN GOOD Agency

We’re excited to welcome Gavin Robin, the dynamic founder and Creative Principal of DAMN GOOD Agency, a trailblazer in the world of marketing and branding for nearly 35 years. Hailing from South Africa, Gavin's creative journey took him through the vibrant streets of Toronto, San Francisco, and Miami before he planted his roots in Delray Beach. Known for his bold, unconventional approach to problem-solving, Gavin has built a diverse team of visionaries dedicated to pushing creative boundaries and elevating brands across various industries—from luxury goods to nonprofit organizations. With a hands-on leadership style and a passion for community engagement, Gavin has cultivated strong relationships and a culture of excellence at DAMN GOOD. Get ready to be inspired by a true innovator who believes in coloring outside the lines! Gavin welcome to the iDesign Lab.

Learn more at:
https://twinteriors.com/podcast/

https://scottwoolley.com

Transcript

iDesign Lab Podcast 15

Gavin Robin’s Journey to Creative Excellence with DAMN GOOD Agency

Guest Gavin Robin

The following podcast, iDesignLab, is an SW Group production in association with 5 Star and TW Interiors. This is iDesignLab, a podcast where creativity and curiosity meet style and design. Curator of interiors, furnishings, and lifestyles.

Hosted by Tiffany Woolley, an interior designer, and a style enthusiast, along with her serial entrepreneur husband, Scott. iDesignLab is your ultimate design podcast, where we explore the rich and vibrant world of design, and its constant evolution in style and trends. iDesignLab provides industry insight, discussing the latest trends, styles, and everything in between, to better help you style your life.

Through advice from trendsetters, designers, influencers, innovators, fabricators, and manufacturers. As well as personal stories that inspire, motivate, and excite. So whether you're listening to iDesignLab during your commute, or in a cozy nook in your home or office.

Grab a coffee, or a chardonnay, and join us on this elevated, informative, and lively journey into the world of all things design. We're excited to welcome Gavin Robin, the dynamic founder and creative principal of Damn Good Agency. A trailblazer in the world of marketing and branding for nearly 35 years.

Hailing from South Africa, Gavin's creative journey took him through the vibrant streets of Toronto, San Francisco, and Miami. Before he planted his roots in Delray Beach. Known for his bold, unconventional approach to problem solving, Gavin has built a diverse team of visionaries.

Dedicated to pushing creative boundaries, and elevating brands across various industries. From luxury goods, to non-profit organizations. With a hands-on leadership style, and a passion for community engagement.

Gavin has cultivated strong relationships, and a culture of excellence at Damn Good. Get ready to be inspired by a true innovator, who believes in coloring outside the lines. Gavin, welcome to the iDesignLab.

Today, we have a Damn Good guest. I would love to welcome Gavin Robin to the iDesignLab podcast. Gavin, we've known for quite a few years.

I've had the pleasure of doing some projects, and trying to do some projects with you, where I brought to your agency. But, extremely creative individual, and extremely creative company. Tell us a little bit about the Damn Good Agency.

We love the name. It's a great name. Yeah, how did that even, maybe start with that story? Well, the agency's been around 35 years.

When we started, it was D&G Communications Group. It was very corporate. Agencies took very corporate names, and it was just stale.

I'm originally from South Africa, and I've lived in LA, I've lived in Toronto. I love the city life, and I've always liked pushing buttons. I believe in a disruptive approach to get someone's attention, and do things a little differently.

I noticed that a D&G Communications Group was kind of cool. We just blended. I went to a meeting, and at the end of the meeting, the client turned around and said, tell me a little bit about your agency.

I just said, well, the D&G stands for Damn Good, and that's exactly who we are. Everybody years ago looked at me, and that was it. Then when we moved into our building, we couldn't put signage, because the city wouldn't allow us to put signage, Damn Good, on our windows.

No way. Which we did. Right.

Then we got a hand slapped, and we paid a fine, and everything was fine. Really? Yes. That's funny.

Yes. Well, speaking of your agency and your office, I mean, your office design is truly memorable. I think everybody who walks through the door there definitely knows that there's a lot of creativity that happens at that agency.

How did you come up with your aesthetic, I guess, for creating that design? Great question. I looked at different types of textures, and the textures that I love is concrete, because it's very cold. It's gray.

It's contemporary. I love the idea of natural elements. That's why we put a tree, and we built our couch on a log.

There were a lot of natural elements of wood. Because of the color yellow, which was bright and sunshine, and it just stood out, that was the core color palette and the look and the feel. Then I incorporated stainless steel.

That spiral staircase, a friend of mine who has a company that makes davits for yachts. Both. I designed it.

He made it. Then the industrial steel chairs. I had lettering that I bought over the years.

What about the Fuddrucker sign? Right. The Burger sign. I was going to ask that question.

Were you a Fuddrucker fan? Yes. Burgers? Yes. When I first came to the country, there was Fridays and those Bennigans.

That's true. They're all gone now. Oh, my God, Bennigans.

That's a name from the past. Yeah. They're all gone.

The Fuddruckers I'd gone to, and I loved the concept, which was different. You walk in, you got to see through the glass window, you saw the meat. That's right.

I loved this brand. I heard that the Fuddruckers in Fort Lauderdale was closing. I pitched them and asked if I could buy the exterior sign.

You did. I did. Then I kept that.

When I bought the building, I had steel girders knowing that I wanted to have that sign. Hang that sign. It's brand.

It is. To me, it was brand, and it was bold, and it was a unique brand. Coming from another country to America, the Fuddruckers had this very American iconic- Name or connotation.

Phil, burgers. The damn good agency, a creative design agency, what kind of clients, what kind of projects? When it comes to design, you're everywhere. When it comes to a brand, or a person, or a personality, creating the whole design for tell us a little about- When I started in the design field, I was a kid.

I left South Africa when I was 21, and I arrived in America on my own with two suitcases, and my father gave me $2,000. He was like- There you go. Start your life.

I didn't really have anything behind me, and I wanted to work in Coconut Grove. Did you know you wanted to be in a design or creative? No. Wow.

Wow. How did that happen? Truly entrepreneurial spirit then. I wanted to work in Coconut Grove.

Okay. I found a job at an ad agency in Coconut Grove. I went into the ad agency, and they said, can you do this, and can you design? I've always been creative.

I said, why don't you test me? Right. Try me. They did, and I succeeded.

That's how I thought, I love this. I love design, but I love different design. I love learning about different things.

I always said that when I started my agency, I didn't want to either concentrate on specifically medical or corporate or tech. I wanted to learn everything. I love the challenge of not knowing anything and having to do the research and learning about it to really look at it from a different perspective because you become stale, I think, if you're in the same field of doing design.

If you follow that same design, same, same, same, you become stale. You've got to grow. I'm a sponge.

I love learning. Me too. To me, it was about doing anything and everything.

If it was a challenge and we didn't know, that's it. Let's do it. I love that.

That's how we – Speaking of doing some research because as I was reading your bio and everything, what stuck out at me was that you are the creative director of Damn Good. On my business card, I also have creative director, but we both have two different businesses, two different industries. As I was researching it, I was like, wonder where – because I know I took it from the fashion industry, just reading Vogue all those years and, oh, the creative director of Gucci and the creative so-and-so.

I realized it did start in advertising. Where do you see that creative director title evolving? Well, to me, I think creative director is so more than just creative director. It depends on the individual, but I love fashion.

I love design. I love food. I love movies.

I love architecture. I love everything that's creative. I think that a true good creative director has a vision of everything so that it's just not one layer of delivering a creative piece, whatever it might be, but think about the experience, the person that's opening that, receiving that, experiencing that.

What would the smell be like? So true. What would the look, what would the feel, what would the music sound like? What would the weather – I love all of that. So what kind of clients are your typical clients? Is it – you mentioned different industries.

Is it just all over the map? We – in our history, we've been really fortunate because we've worked for some really cool brands, and we've done some rather large global initiatives. We did United Franchise Corporation. They own many franchises around the world all over, and one of the largest franchises that they own is Sinarama.

Wow. And we were brought in to rebrand from Sinarama to the Sinarama that exists today. And we did a two-year project in doing focus groups and research with different countries in learning about their brand, their audience, their growth, and then reposition them with new branding strategy and creative.

So you're involved from a design standpoint of possibly rebranding a new name, a new logo, what the brand is going to look like, what colors, the palette. Audience. How do you sell it? What are the channels? How do you communicate? If we spoke about the brand now, where will the brand be in three years from now? What are the verticals for this market? Really looking at how you can really push.

So how do you organize all that information with your team to actually insert it into how that campaign, I guess, evolves? What's that process, that strategy? Is there a process? Yes. Yeah. To me? Because sometimes you think of design, you just come off of it at the top of your head and throw it up against the wall, and that's it.

But I guess it's not completely like that all the time. Well, I think creative just comes from research and you see something and it sparks an idea. Agreed.

But I think for me, maybe I'm a little anal in the fact that I like a process. So I like roadmapping and setting meetings to have certain things accomplished by. Meaning, if we brief the team and we consult as a group, I'm going to brief you and tell you what I'm looking for for you to come back to me with some ideas.

So that we can go to the first mile marker and reach that point and then hit the second marker and then reach the third point of then presenting to the client. But I love doing research. And maybe it's because I'm not from America.

The history, or? No, I like to do research and look at brands in other parts of the world. But is it research compared to like who the competitor is? Or is it research just to really understand that particular brand and where they may or should be going in the future? It's kind of all of that. All of it.

So if we get an opportunity with a client in a specific industry and it's for product marketing, product placements on shelves and how do we grow the product and there might be sub-products from that. Right. What I'd like to do is then look at those products in other parts of the world.

How are they packaged? How are they presented? Who is the competition in those parts of the country? And then bring it into America. I feel if you look from America and you just take a national pool, you're thinking is a little stifled. Shallow.

Whereas if you look from other parts of the world before you think of America and us locally, you get a different perspective. It's a different take. So do most of these brands that come to you, are they looking for a global approach or are they… I mean do you even consider that strategy? Are we going local? Are we going regional? Are we going literally global? With every project, even if it's a small account, I still look from an outside competitive landscape or just to get an outside influence from another country.

So interesting. You're talking about things differently. Like Australia does things differently.

The UK is different. And then you're talking about other parts of the world like the Far East that is very different. It just sparks ideas, ignites the fire and it creates the drive.

The excitement. Yeah. So do you think that there's… are there any areas in the world where design is more relevant or important than America? I mean where you can say like… Well, that's a loaded question because I mean I think of design.

I mean I think of Europe and I think of, you know, the… Well, you're thinking of fashion in Paris and so forth probably. That's what I'm thinking. But that influences you.

Right. Right. That influences you.

Yeah, definitely. I think that, you know, some European countries are far ahead of design. Yeah.

Correct. There's one designer, actually two designers. I don't know if you know Rick Owens.

I've heard of, yeah. So Rick Owens is an incredible designer and his wife, Michelle Lemme, is… They're genius because they do furniture. They do lifestyle.

They do… I think she used to be a DJ or produce music or movies. I can't remember. But their whole life… That's a lot of creativity.

…is creativity every day from clothing, from everything. And they live in Milan and they live in the States and just… I just think that sometimes the brands are a little different and unique and further ahead than us. So one of the things I was also thinking about when it comes to branding is like in this social media world, in this… Like we just were having a conversation before we started taping about like OnlyFans and just where everybody is a brand.

I mean we are… Like how do you continue to grow in your business and in your field when everybody themselves is creating their own little brand uniquely whether they realize it or not? And is that a good thing or like we were saying like the pros and cons to the social media influence world? Yeah, very interesting question because I think years ago personal brand representation didn't really exist. It was only celebrities and certain people but everyone else was just the norm and then you were under the company. It's not like that anymore.

It's all about the personal brand. And I think growing that is huge. I've known you a long time and everything I know about you is you're connected with everybody.

You're just the nicest guy and you're always connecting and doing everything for everybody. That's your personal brand. Right.

That's how you are known. How do we capitalize on that? Starting OnlyFans. How do we capitalize on that? I think – I love helping people.

I love connecting people. Yeah. I get off on that.

I love that. It's nothing to do with finance or whatever. I just – I love connecting people or bringing things full circle or helping and supporting.

Right. And I think as I've gotten older – I'm only 25 now. So as I've gotten older in my career, I'm focusing more on running and being more of that person that's present to do that connection and manage more of what I was doing than team members.

I'll give direction and support and do everything but I'm more involved in my clients and accounts than I've ever been before. So how many team members do you have in-house or do you also bring in freelance people? How does each account get built? I've never really freelanced before. We've always been an in-house team.

Okay. Wow. I like that myself.

Yeah. I have some team members that have been with me 15 years. So you get to know each other.

I really know how to work with them. I also push everybody. Once I get to know you and I receive back information or design or content, I always like to push it further and take that person further so that they can expand and think a little more.

But you can only do that with people you have a rapport and a relationship and a connection with. With a freelancer, you don't really know. The work might be really good and phenomenal but I prefer building relationships.

Right. And I think actually as our world evolves, as we go into this AI world and all this, I think these relationships, it's going to come back to truly what's most important. When I was researching some things about my field in AI and realizing that one of the industries that wouldn't get hit so quickly was interior design.

And I found that so fascinating because even here in the office, they'll play around with it. And you can't take away that relationship and that partnership of that real-life collaboration. Not at all.

Do you see any AI interference or any growth in a positive way? AI has to be affecting what you're doing. I know just from what we do, like just this podcast. When we're done with this podcast, two years ago and for the last 20 years before, we would edit it and chop it all up and make little clips to put it out there on the internet or on social media to promote it.

Now we just take the podcast, we drag it and drop it into an AI program. And three minutes later, we got 30 clips already produced and done. That's insane.

With lower thirds and whatnot, even stock footage dropped in. Yeah. So with what you're doing, I mean, just chat GBT for scripting and so forth.

Is that a concern or you think that's going to help or hinder the design world? I think it's going to help certain aspects. But I still think that there's a human component that has to know how to manage that and pull what you need from that. If you rely on that totally, I don't buy that.

But it can support you. It's a digital aid. It's a tool.

It's a tool. Yeah. It's a tool in your- So it's like having another freelancer.

Because there's no real relationship. We did a project for a client and we did a photo shoot. And we had to work within the parameters of the surrounding.

And days gone by, you would edit and you would Photoshop that photo and it would take you a while. Within five minutes, that photograph was back on my laptop. They'd sent it to me, one of my team members, and it was phenomenal.

There was a whole background and there was another door going out to another part of the studio and it just looked huge. Right. So there's a benefit.

So that's the benefit. But he knew based on the client on what we needed to have within that visual. So he was able to direct what needed to be done.

Because of the intimate relationship with building that brand and building that team in-house. So when you're creating a design for a client, I've always seen one of the biggest concerns is you're going to create a whole new design, a whole new look, a whole new logo, whatever it is you're designing. You've got to present it to the client.

And everyone has a different opinion of what they like. But fitting in of designing it, also taking into account, is the client going to like this? I mean, what's your process? What's your thoughts on that? Because you've got to sell your design at the end of the day to pay the bills. I'm sure it must be the same in your field.

It is, yeah. You listen to the client and you take everything that they tell you and find those key words that you can latch onto that when you do your presentation, you can present it back to them. You said, this is what you were looking for.

You said that this was your brand. You said that this was. So you're telling them what they've told you.

So there's an important skill that I have noticed, especially with Tiffany, what she does. It's reading the client. Listening to the client is what you're saying.

100%. Yeah. 100%.

Because I see that with Tiffany, with clients that come in. The house is like drab and whatever. And then a week, two weeks later, she comes up with a design.

And I sometimes say to her, is this client going to like this? And sure enough, they do. And I think it's because she really does a good job reading the client. So you must.

100%. That's why I totally think it relates. Because you have to understand them.

You have to take into consideration their lifestyle, family dynamics. Well, it's a lifestyle approach big time for me. I mean, that's definitely the biggest part of how I approach things is how people are going to live in their house.

Right. And their level of entertaining, their level of family interaction, kids, all that kind of is a very important dynamic. You have to listen.

So I guess it would be the same in branding. And then once that presentation time comes, what does that look like? Is that all like a presentation on a digital package? Do you do that in-house? How does that work? Face-to-face. So I'm a little old school.

Okay. Because to me, tactile, actually opening up something and interacting with it is very different than just a digital presentation via Google Meet. Right.

I agree. So I did a presentation yesterday where I took them paper samples and color and texture, very high-end real estate company within Palm Beach Island. So the homes that they sell are $50 million and above.

Very high-end. That, to me, is that person that you're speaking with and you interact with, whatever tools you provide them, they're going to look at this because it's all about the level of quality. So I do that in person.

A lot of our meetings are done via Google Meet, most of them, because we don't meet clients like we used to in person anymore. Which I think is a shame. Terrible, because you lose so much.

Oh, yeah. You lose so much. But we can still get it done.

But any opportunity, I'm willing to drive. I even drove to Melbourne for a meeting to present to them in person because it was important. And I get excited.

I do, too. And I'm very pumped and I'm excited. If I'm Phil, I've nailed this.

Right. That's a good feeling. You know, sometimes we don't like this, we don't like this.

And that's okay. We'll pivot. Yep.

But I get excited about what I've put into this to present to you. I love that. So when you've done that work and a brand is evolving, I mean, are you with that company mainly for the long haul? I mean, do they constantly evolve their, I guess, their design of the actual logo or color scheme? Like, how often is it, I guess, natural that clients or brands would pivot and update? Or where is consistency? I guess what I'm trying to ask is.

I think, you know, with technology and website and social media, things evolve much quicker with a brand. And in order to keep a brand fresh and relevant, you have to implement certain things and you have to refresh the brand. And global brands, Burger King, every brand, they refresh their brands, their color palette, and their marketing.

We've been really fortunate that a lot of our clients are repeat clients for like the third time of working with them. And we work on retainer with some clients. So some of them are retainer annual projects or annual relationships that might be a long-standing relationship.

A long-standing relationship was a 13-year client relationship until they sold the company. But brands do need to refresh and you do need to keep constant. So we generally, like on a five-year plan, really look and analyze the brand, where the brand is, and how we need to propel it forward or what we need to do.

But there's project work of evolving the website and other marketing pieces as far as email drip campaigns and landing pages and paid marketing initiatives that are ongoing on a regular basis. What is the, you know, I feel like years ago it would have been like in a print ad, I mean, or in magazines. Where is the information being received the greatest in the world we live in today? Instagram, TikTok, YouTube.

So it really is a social media. So you think that's killed print and TV? Unfortunately, unfortunately. So where will print go? I mean, are we going to stop paper printing, like books and all that kind of stuff? I don't think so, and I hope not, because… But a lot has disappeared.

Yeah. But there are, you know, the staples, I think, will always be around because everyone still likes to pick up a magazine or a book. You know, I used to, part of what I did for years was I used to go to the bookstores and I would buy all the foreign magazines.

And I would spend a ton of money and come home and just read and look at the ads and even in other languages. And I loved that. And over the years, I've stopped doing that because there's less of those magazines that are available and people don't read.

But you keep leaning back to, you seem to be getting more inspiration on international design than North American design. I do. Which I don't agree with yet also.

They have a different take. And a lot of the, especially Australia and the U.K., are a lot more advanced as things they can say and imagery that they can showcase. Really? Yeah, than the states.

We're more conservative in our approach. And I, again, I like that disruptive approach because I think that that's what draws attention and that's what can really… Right, as long as they're talking about you. Exactly, exactly.

So for an individual who wants to get into your industry, what skills do you recommend or you feel that a person really needs to have? What are the most important? It's funny because I don't even think that they relate to the job requirements. I think passion. Passion is number one for me.

And the willingness to learn. Because be open to learning from everybody younger than you, older than you. Everybody is going to teach you something.

But if you've got that passion and that thirst for learning and you've got the knowledge of being open to every form of design, don't just focus on your specific area, you're going to be a huge success. What would a dream client look like for you? I mean, would it be like a Tesla or would it be like our new restaurant in a small area like Delray where we live? Or do you not even really think of it like that? I think, again, I think it must relate to your industry as well. But your journey with that client is so much richer and successful if they're in it with you.

That's true. They're helping support you and they're together with you. So sometimes a client will hire us and they're not really involved in their brand.

They just want you to deliver the elements so that they can go to market. But they're not there on the journey. But if they're with you on the journey, the end result is far greater.

It's true. Very much with her business. It's funny because when I first started, I was only in high-end residential, super high-end residential.

And, you know, that's all I knew. That was the only world I knew. And then as I became a mother and met people through my kids' schools, they were like, Oh, do you think you could come help me? And, you know, slowly my project started being more young families.

And it was such a much more rewarding, you know, feeling and being a part of something where you're really educating them essentially along the way as well. I mean, evolving their tastes, evolving their lifestyle of things that you've learned. You know, educating them on better quality items and not the instant gratification.

And, you know, the reward is definitely much better than a second home or a third home. And they're here. They fly in and the candle's lit.

You know, totally different experience. And most of those projects continue. Like they just evolve.

Then you go from nurseries to teenage rooms. And now my backyard needs a refresh. And you just… Because you've built that relationship, that connection.

You know that person. So that's why working with a freelancer, you don't have that. Whereas when you have that real connection and you've taught each other, you've worked with each other, you know each other, obviously there's going to be more opportunities to work together again in the future.

You know, there's something interesting with the interior design with Tiffany's businesses. I would say that almost every client of hers is involved in the process. But there's a big distinction and difference is that the clients that are very involved but they go completely 100% in Tiffany's direction.

Meaning whatever she's bringing to the table, they're going along with. And those projects are the ones that are just spectacular. Like, you know, magazine worthy or in magazines afterwards.

But it's the projects where the client is very involved but wants to have the final say in every single aspect of it. They don't come out to the degree that you would expect them or should because that client's not really, they hired an expert but didn't trust or let the expert provide. And it's, you know, I've seen this, I just came from a home this morning where I had to stop by the Tiffany's doing.

And it's a project that the city is very involved in because it's an historic house. It's been taking forever. But the battle that she's gone through with the city to get the house to what it should be, you know, this morning I walked around going, my God, this is like unbelievable.

But that particular client, no matter what Tiffany has brought to the table, that woman has like, yes, let's do it. Let's do it. And excited.

I love that because they trust you. And you're 100% correct. You hire the expert.

Let the expert do their job. You can work alongside with them and be involved but let the expert do their job. Right.

But coming from the production business, working with so many corporations and companies over the years where you've got a marketing department, you've got, you know, involved in the executive of marketing, and they've got their own opinions. It's like a battle of trying to provide. So you must have that same situation.

That's a little frustrating at times. Actually, taking it to the flip side, one of the reasons I wanted to start my own agency, I always knew I wanted, you know, at 21 when I started and I loved this field, I want to have an agency. But as I grew and I started working in agencies, I found that the account executives would meet with the client.

They would have that connection and that rapport. It would go through to the creative director and the brief, and then the creative director would brief the art director and the art director would brief me, the next person in line. But there was no connection for me with the end result.

I didn't like that. And I knew that the only way that I could get around that was that I have to be in the driver's seat. Right.

Well, that's where the boutique operation becomes so important to that connection. The boutique operation. Have you ever had aspirations? You are a boutique, you know, organization.

But then you look at, you know, the Chiat Days, the BB, you know, the big, huge agencies. Even Zimmerman, which Tiffany has done his house like twice, I think. I mean, have you ever aspired to want to have a huge agency or build it? No.

Because that's a whole different, you know, business in itself. No. No.

I like to, you can ask anyone on my team. I will give my input. I will give my direction.

But I won't change their design. In other words, if that's what they've come up with. And I ask them, you sure this is right? And we drive to that conversation.

I will still present what they've done. I'm not going to change it to the way it should be for the way I like it. So how do you, like, even accept that process? Like, without, like, does your gut tell you something different or you trust? Generally, when I ask the question, are you really sure that this is it? No.

Well, what do you think? And then I'll tell them what I think. And then we'll compromise or we'll generally land up with where I think it should be to meet the client's needs. I think that's the best way for positioning that, that we still deliver.

But I'm involved in every aspect. Yeah. Because I just, I am.

Whereas I couldn't if I was in a big, it's not me. It's not my being. When I first worked, too, and I worked for another company for just one year before I started my own business, I never forget literally getting in the office in the morning.

It was 45 minutes just on inner office voicemails. And I was always like, that's so crazy. That's like so much time that we're not being creative.

And then, too, when big companies, sometimes they limit you because not only with your time, but they've got deals with this person and that deals with that person. You got to use this color schemes from these people. Like, you're very limited.

Do you ever come across that type of thing at all? Yes. With bigger? And I think being able to be agile and, you know, get it done is the attitude. Whereas in corporate and in bigger firms, it's not.

Right. And I just found that, to me, there's more stumbling blocks. I agree.

Do most of your clients, are they in the area? No. No. How do people find you, get to you? Relationship word of mouth? Word of mouth and relationship.

We don't market ourselves. And it's a big noise. It's a cacophony out there.

And how to, you know, get through is kind of hard. Word of mouth and referrals, that's how I built my business. So you're designing social media.

You're designing ads. You're designing marketing for all these other brands. But you're not doing any for yourself to grow your – I mean, to find your clients.

But it's all organically just coming, which has a lot to say of you and your agency. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, we've participated and I've been involved in organizations. And we've done various things to promote the brand.

But past COVID, it's more of a word of – it's always been a word of mouth referral. But now we're totally just relying on that word of mouth referral, which has carried us. 35 years being in the industry.

Right. We're known. Either you like us or you don't.

Right. We're the right fit or we're not. Right.

So if someone wants to find you, it's damngood.com? Dot agency. Agency. Damngoodagency.com. No.

Damngood.agency. Oh, damngood.agency. Okay. Years ago, again, I didn't want a dot com. I wanted to be different.

Disruptive. Exactly. So there was no one with dot agency.

So the idea is we're damngoodagency. It's just damngood.agency. Yeah. Okay.

So you don't do dot com? No. I didn't even know you couldn't do that. Of course.

Yeah. So many – I'm not very illiterate, but – Yeah. Wow.

Brands years ago, everyone was either a dot net or a dot com. Right. And we did research, and I'm talking like 15 years ago, of establishing a dot agency.

Wow. Wow. So how do you use social media, or don't you, personally or – I mean, personally for your business development? You know, there's no difference between personal life and business life.

No, it's a blurred line. It all meshes. It's all the same.

It's blurred lines. My wife is always irritated with me because we'll go anywhere, and I start looking around and start thinking about how I would change the architecture. Yeah.

That's a personal problem of mine, too. And I love that because it's just – Same thing with watching a movie or a TV show. I'm like, oh, my God, look at that sconce on the wall.

You know, like everything's – you know, I'm honed in on something else that has to do with a design detail, visual. I guess I'm very visual. And back to the question, which is, you know, I partake in everything from a social media perspective because I think that that's obviously the channels that we market through and that you need to be aware of everything that's out there and see how others do it.

And you learn so much from social media. As much as it's wonderful, it's also a negative. But it's definitely a tool and a channel that is most absorbed.

People want quick, bite-sized pieces of information that they can absorb quickly. And how do you get through their feed to make them look at this? Depending on their age group and their dynamic and their industry, how do you get them to absorb and take action, purchase, follow through, book, whatever it is? Yeah, there's been a big, I'll say, paradigm shift in the interior design industry. We talked a few minutes about AI and digital and so forth.

But I could tell you that the clients that are coming in now for interior design, Tiffany and the group, they'll design – let's just say it's a kitchen. But all the design, all of the ideas are basically created in a 3D photorealistic image, photo, picture. That's what's presented to the client.

They're seeing blueprints, they're seeing the layouts, they're seeing mood boards of all the furniture and so forth that's going in. But the actual furniture and lights and everything are put into that photorealistic picture. And then Tiffany presents, here's your room, what it looks like.

Here's your kitchen right now, and this is what your kitchen could be, and it's so real looking. It looks like someone took a picture in the future. And virtually every client, when they see it, oh my God, that's what my house could look like.

That's exactly what your kitchen could look like. Where do I sign? I want this done. I mean, it's changed the business.

Is there something like that in the creative agency that's made a big difference? Yes. We've always, like I said, the very tactile component of showing everything. When we present anything, we go to the level of producing it to what it should look like.

We just did a pitch yesterday. We showed them the outside of their building. Palm Beach Island, they have a building.

They have a historic building. We repainted the building. We put up new signage.

We put up shutters. We changed the plants. So very similar.

Exactly. And we showed that to them, and they were blown away by this. They were like, absolutely, how do we get this approved? Right.

And that's, you know, I don't know. That's on you. Right.

But we've given you the vision. So you recreate everything in the real sense that they can touch and feel and see and hear. Yeah.

And then it connects. It does connect. That's interesting.

How do they get it done? Scott's got to finish this. We're helping them get it done as well. Because we've created this idea, or Tiffany and the group has created this look, this idea, like the house that's the historic house that I just mentioned.

Okay, now how do we get this passed through the city that the city is going to say it's, you know, historic? Well, I said that I would help them because the way that I got my building painted and my building executed was I fought the city five times. And then eventually I got the board turned over. But I have a way – we're going to document video of color palettes on the island that are similar.

And we're going to put a movie – a video together that will present the case for them to get the building painted. And it's not a drastic change. It's just Palm Beach Island.

Right. Yeah. Right.

Well, that had to be a fun project. Yeah, I'm excited on this one. Do you pitch projects and go in, like, against other competing agencies? Yeah.

How does that work, where you're not, like, giving away the ideas for free, I guess? To me, it's about the presentation. So we – for every – I'll give an example. Perot Farms.

Okay. You can see all their vegetables are – Yeah. Yeah.

They're huge. They're here too, right? Yeah. We pitched and we went in against 10 agencies.

Wow. And we actually made our presentation in a seed package that was big, that was their brand about their new produce, their new vegetables. We designed it.

We wrote the copy. We put it in a kraft paper package with fake vegetables, with brown hessian at the bottom, and we delivered it to each person. Oh, my God.

I love that. That makes an impression that's different than everything that's coming across digitally. Agreed.

That's – to me, that's how you do it. So when we get these opportunities, we go overboard with food. We do cookies.

We do different presentations based on the opportunity. I've done so many different things like that over the years about the presentation or just delivering. I had a contract that I was trying to win with NASA, a space agency, and it had to do with producing or updating the films at the Kennedy Space Center, the amusement – well, not amusement park, but the visitor center and so forth.

And we created all the storyboards and so forth, and then I had three of the guys that worked for me drive the presentations up to NASA to drop them off. But I went to Costume World and I rented three NASA suits, like from the 1950s, like what an astronaut wore in the early part of the space agency. And then we went and bought these really cool boxes, you know, with like little metal edges to them and so forth.

We made stickers that looked like, you know, like they traveled all over the world, all having to do with space and aviation, put them all over it. Then we took the boxes, went out in the street and kicked them around to make it look like they were worn and had been used. And then inside the box was foam, and back then it was VHS tape when we did this, or DVD, you know, so everything was inlaid in the box.

And the guys delivered these boxes that looked like, you know, the road cases from NASA in NASA outfits to the NASA, you know, marketing PR. And we won the contract because of that, because they just could not forget how we delivered. A hundred percent agree.

Yeah. There was a large project that was being reconstructed from an old shopping center in Boca, corner 18th and Powerline. Okay.

The Wolfside. Yes. Yep.

And that was up for bid with a lot of agencies, and we got hard hats in their color. We had their logo put on. I got my staff to roll up like floor plans.

We all came in with laptops, and we came into a meeting that they were having, and we had these signs that we had made 3D that said, we'll get it done, and we'll get it done now. And we walked in, and we said, hi, and we all had our laptops open, and we said, we're ready to get this result, and we put this down in front of everybody, and everyone was just looking because they weren't sure what was going on. But we made an impression.

We didn't deliver just a piece of paper or a digital presentation. And I think going that extra mile shows the creativity, shows that you're willing to put more into this, and that you stand out. That's the approach.

Obviously, it works. Yeah. It definitely works.

So you want to ask some of these little interesting questions? Sure. We end our podcasts asking our guests some interesting design questions. You want to do the first one? What is your favorite gift to give? It varies because I like gift giving based on the person, meaning if they're very into music, then it would be music tickets or something like that.

If it's dining experience and they're foodie, so I like giving very specific, yeah, that means something. Right. Because I always feel like sometimes I don't get so clever, but those two ideas actually were really clever.

What's your favorite restaurant from a design standpoint? Do you have one? Yes. Do you have one you can think of? I've never been. I think it's called Kuntou, and it's in a hotel called Azulik.

Where is that? It's Tulum. Oh, fun. And it's a bird nest.

Yes. It's different bird nests. Okay, I'm familiar with it, too.

You sit literally in a bird nest on different levels, and the dining experience is phenomenal. It's very sensory, so it's from the tasting of the food, and you're sitting in the jungle, and you hear all the sounds. Really? Yes.

Tiffany did a house in Tulum. Yes. I'm familiar with it because that's what we were using as a lot of inspiration and everything.

I know Tulum is a design. The design created Tulum. I mean, really.

The whole brand that they created of this bohemian, earthy, put Tulum on the map. Exactly. The whole idea of this hotel is everything is experiential.

So you're different in these little villas. Bird nests. Bird nests that are made from wood and everything.

Your bath is outside, and your swimming pool is outside. But the whole, it's sight, sound. So they do different forms of gathering together as a hotel group, and they do different treatments.

It's not normal spa treatments. Everything is just you taking in what Tulum has to offer you. And experience.

I love that. So it goes even beyond the restaurant. The whole design of this is just walking from the cart.

I've not been, but walking from, I've watched a lot of videos on this. It's got to go on your bucket list there. Because that was actually my next question, was a hotel.

As we were just discussing that place in Tulum, it brought to mind the brand situation of literally, what, seven years ago, Tulum was nothing. And now people are building getaway houses there, and it's pretty amazing. My client was telling me, he's like, I'm going to rent this house out.

I'm like, well, who's going to rent this house from you? He's like, oh, there's all these digital nomads. I had never heard of such a thing. But people who literally go and live in different parts of the world for months at a time.

Well, you fly to Cancun, then you drive like an hour. No, now there's an airport. Oh, there's an airport in Tulum now? Yeah.

That's the one thing that the world has changed, you know, past COVID, that you can do all this. You can experience, and you can meet, and you can. And I love that.

I do too. From that perspective. I agree from that perspective.

Do you have a design hero? Oh, yes. Tom Ford. Oh, I love that.

It's so funny you say that, because when I do my research and items and dive into all my things I do, Tom Ford, he is somebody who is so passionate about every level of design, and he's a collector. He's a film producer. Yeah.

He started off in design at an agency. He turned Gucci around. Yes.

So I don't know if you remember his campaign that was his perfumes and his aftershave that were positioned in the most provocative locations. No. No.

I'm going to have to look it up. I'll send you. Oh, I'd love that.

He broke every rule by using naked people with the bottles of perfume or aftershave in the most inappropriate locations. It wasn't dirty. It wasn't anything.

It wasn't pornographic. It was just a beautiful, creative thinking of, wow, and it stood out. He's so intentional with everything.

His latest aftershave, fucking fabulous. As a mainstream. Yeah.

That's the name of it? Fucking fabulous. Yeah. It's on the bottles.

It's advertised. Well, he bought Betsy Bloomingdale's iconic home in Hollywood, and he has a home here in Palm Beach. I mean, he's a collector of furniture.

I have a client. When we were curating their house, we went in a store, and they were like one of these antique stores, and they're like, oh, they only have their desk. There's only two of these made.

There's a black one and a white one. You can have this white one, but Tom Ford has the black one. It was like, I'm taking it.

It's all you had to say, and that desk went home, and that room needs nothing else. I mean, he's so intentional. I love that.

He really is. He's definitely an icon and really under the radar to a degree. That's the other thing that I really like is he's just normal.

Yeah. You know? I like the way he's positioned himself in his ads, but he's not over the top. He's just a normal guy.

And yet classic, like you just said, too. He's pushing the envelope in so many ways. So elegant, though.

His aesthetic is really so old school and classic and truly timeless. Oh, my God. I love that.

Yeah, his campaigns are phenomenal. Does he work with one agency, or does he spread it over? I mean, is that another? I don't know, but I think that he has different creative teams for the various campaigns, and they evolve. So I don't know if it's the same team, and he's bringing on some new people.

Yeah, he's an icon. There's another guy that I truly love. His name is Woodkid.

He's a musician. I'm not familiar. He's a creative art director, and he shoots in very high definition, ultra black and white.

So it's super sharp, very emotional, and he does storytelling. And the one year he did an album that was devoted to kids following their passion and their dream and becoming something. And it was based on a key to life.

And all the videos were shot in the same manner and the same theme and the same everything. And then the next album was very focused on the world that we live in and these big oil rigs and companies that are just destroying the world. And it was called Yellow.

And then he comes up with a logo. Yeah. But he comes up with a logo and a theme and a brand and a color palette and messaging.

What kind of music? Soulful. Instrumental? It's electronic dance music that is soulful, but it's very mellow, and the words are really powerful. I don't know.

Wait, what's his name? I gotta write that down. Woodkid. Woodkid.

He must have made up that name, too. Actually, we went to see him, and we went to Montreal, and we were walking the streets. Oh, is that who you just went to see? No.

Oh. No. And we were walking the streets, and I happened to see this man walking with his dog, and his head was down.

And I said to my wife, he looks like he's wearing a baseball hat like Woodkid. And we happened to, like, brush shoulders because he moved because his dog was right there. And I looked at him, and I was like… That is Woodkid.

And then I, like, pushed him because I was like, you're Woodkid. And my wife was like, that's creepy. Don't do that.

And then he stood back and looked at me, and we spoke, and I took a photograph, and I couldn't believe it. It was just walking the streets. Oh, my gosh.

Wow. Wow. But a really cool guy that's just really inspirational and, again, a true vision of creativity that is so, you know, deep in messaging in every aspect of his life.

Oh, I love deep messaging. That's a great… You know, just from color to, you know… You can come up with an album, but he designs a logo, and it's got a theme, and there's a story behind that. Right.

Very cool. How does someone like him evolve, keep, like, creating a new story within the new… New album. New album.

But I think it's the social channels that feed the creativity that is far beyond just music. Right. It's like with that Taylor Swift, she drops these little nuggets, and people… Right.

People, like, look at the way she just made a post and what her eyes looked like. They're like, that means this. Right.

And it's really… Right. Really amazing. Last question.

Which building or structure captivates you? Is there one? A building or a structure? Design. So, there's two architects that have broken the mold. Zaheer Hadid.

Uh-huh. She's phenomenal, because every structure… Again, she's about the… She's about captivating everything beyond just the architectural elements, and she pushes boundaries. Yeah.

And Frank Gehry. Yeah. Uh-huh.

Again, the whole… He's iconic. The whole idea of just taking pieces and throwing it up and having them form into… Well, he's got so many good ones. But is there any one that you really like? I love every piece that Zaheer Hadid does.

You know, she did a thousand museums in Miami, which is, I think, one of my least favorites of her. But Frank Gehry, I think it's the Bilbo Museum in Spain. Uh-huh.

Yeah. That's, like, the same iconic one. That structure is just phenomenal.

It's just… Well, and for her, there's not a lot of female architects. I kind of have one of my kids I'm trying to, like… Push, yeah. Push a little that way.

Push a little that way. Push. She's push.

Because for a female, you know, like, there's just such a different… Yeah. …facet. I mean, she was respected world… She was a worldwide respected architect and a female that had so much, like, she was just so different.

And she pushed all the boundaries. She did. It's phenomenal.

It's an exciting career to watch. Well, thank you. Thank you.

That was really nice. Thanks for having us. I enjoyed speaking with you.

Thanks for coming here and having a conversation with us. Thanks for inviting me. Thank you.

I learned so much. For anyone who's looking and interested in learning more about Gavin, it's thedamngood.agency… …is what you should be looking up and Googling. Thank you.

Thank you very much. iDesign Labs Podcast is an SW Group production in association with the Five Star and TW Interiors. To learn more about iDesign Lab or TW Interiors, please visit twinteriors.com.