5 June, 2025 In this series, Clare Dowdy speaks with design studios that are 30+ years old, to find out some of the secrets behind their longevity. Michael Johnson set up his London-based brand consultancy Johnson Banks in 1992. From Duolingo to Pink Floyd, Cancer Research UK to the Royal Astronomical Society, the studio works with “people who want to do big things.” He sat down with Clare Dowdy to discuss what he’s learned over the past 33 years. Michael Johnson How did Johnson Banks come about? My 20s were very turbulent: eight jobs in eight years, a lot of different countries, different cities, learning on the job. My last job – at Smith & Milton – was relatively settled, I was kind of running a corporate design department. I had a client there, Tom Banks. After I left, he also left his role at Legal & General with the projects I had been working on, and we used that as a basis for the company. That was 1992, the back end of a recession. For a couple of years, everything was fine. Then we started having “creative differences.” And the pressures of running a tiny design company are substantial. So we parted ways in 1995, but I kept the name. Johnson Banks’ symbol for the V&A’s William Morris show At that time, we weren’t really in the branding world. For a decade, we were very distracted by getting on the graphic design map, trying to win D&AD awards, doing lovely stamp projects. And then we started to get some cultural projects: the V&A and the British Council. I started to think, OK, now we’re beginning to show what we can do. When and why did you start thinking seriously about your strategy offering? When we started to get into the branding arena, I knew we were underpowered in terms of the strategic thinking. I may have thought that I could do it, but it takes a bit to persuade clients when you’re 35, with hair almost down to your knees. If you’re up against important-looking people who can field a few grey hairs, you’re going to lose that pitch. So we partnered with strategic companies like management consultancy Circus, and followed that model for much of the 2000s. That led to the Shelter rebrand, and a few other quite big branding projects followed. Johnson Banks’ visual identity for Shelter Eventually we realised that we could do the strategy ourselves. I had sometimes been a little frustrated by the work that my strategic partners – naming no names – were doing. It sounds a bit mean, but sometimes I would get this 90-page PowerPoint document from them, and I’d put it on my designers’ desks, and their faces would go blank. I think that 20 years ago, there was still a bit of the idea that you’ve paid £100,000, so here’s your huge document. We slowly realised that if we were in control of the process, and were involved all the way through, then that jump out of the verbal brand to the visual brand could be much better managed. How did you rethink your strategy offer? The penny dropped in the mid-2000s when we worked with Save The Children. At the time, and I don’t think they’d mind me saying this, Save The Children were a bit of a basket case. They were associated with WI fairs and cake baking, and they had a royal as their patron – they were nothing like what they are now. I realised we needed to work out what they stood for before we did any design. I did this huge chart, and stuck it on a wall at the client’s office. And I said, it strikes me that there are strategic choices that you have got to make as a comms team about where you want to take the Save the Children brand. Johnson Banks’ poster for Save the Children That was an incredibly productive meeting, and also it helped us realise that before we got anywhere near the design, we needed to sort this out. I know that sounds like really basic stuff now. I didn’t trust my instinct for a decade or so, but in that Save the Children meeting, a light bulb went on for me. Once you’d worked out how to do strategy in-house why didn’t you scale up? A lot of companies would have done that. That’s how companies grow, and can end up quite quickly at 60 people. We have nearly always been around six to eight people. Because I could bridge that gap between the verbal and the visual, it meant we didn’t need to add people. And I’ve discovered over the last 25 years, that with a really good account director, Katherine Heaton, and me, and a design team, there is a heck of a lot that we can do. So we stayed small and partnered with filmmakers, animators, cultural specialists. Post-pandemic, a lot of people have adopted that hub and spoke model – we did it 20 years ago. Probably twice a year we’ll lose a pitch because of our scale. But conversely, with some clients you can sell in the fact that they’ll always deal with Michael Johnson. They’re not going to be handed down the chain, because there is no chain. Johnson Banks’ logos for Jodrell Bank Alongside this direct contact with you, what’s your main selling point? It seems to be that we think pretty hard about stuff. We almost never jump into design. A lot of thought goes into what we do, sometimes way too much. Sometimes our projects are incredibly difficult, gargantuan, intertwined and really hard to unpick. That’s a slightly poisoned chalice, because then people go, gosh, well, if they could unpick that, then they could unpick our Gordian knot. For example, we’re working on a major London university brand at the moment that has over 60,000 staff and students, 11 faculties, and hundreds of centres and institutes and departments, and we’re trying to navigate a way through. How did you work out what you wanted to specialise in? Sometimes you can get sucked into something that you just don’t want to be doing. By the end of the 1990s, Johnson Banks had got a reputation for doing annual reports. Part of me quite liked doing them because there was an interplay between words and pictures. And we were getting senior level access to clients, which makes you feel a bit better, because you’re having an interface with chief executives. But then I was thinking, hang on, we’re in danger of getting stuck here, because of course, they’re cyclical. And the death of the annual report – and the death of print – was coming over the horizon, with the internet. Johnson Banks’ Annual Report for Polygram (1995) Since then, my interests have changed. I do not have any interest any more in doing awful blue chips or terrible fintechs. I want to apply all the comms and the branding that I’ve learned to people who could really use it – not-for-profit, culture, education, philanthropy. You know, doing good. How did you build up this not-for-profit work? You lean into the referrals you’ll inevitably get within silos where you want to be referred. I learned this from Mary Lewis of Lewis Moberly. We were pretty close in the 1990s and she always said that referral business is the best business. Over 85% of our clients are not-for-profit – most design companies have a 20-80 split between non-profits and commercial clients. I never liked that ratio, what you might cruelly call ‘the Robin Hood principle’ – we are going to steal from our luxury car account and give to the charity. We did do a bit of that for a while. We did an airline in 2009/10 at the same time we were doing charities. I would justify that with the Robin Hood principle, but I just felt more and more uncomfortable with that. Johnson Banks’ campaign visuals for Cancer Research UK As our percentages went up and up in not-for-profit, eventually I said, look, we should just tell people this is who we are, and this is what we do. It was obvious anyway, so let’s be explicit about it. A few people said we were crazy, that we’d never get any work. But the reverse has been the case. We’re on our sixth environmental project. If you say this is what we want to do, and this is what we will do for you, then I think, funnily enough, clients find that very helpful. How did you build up to bigger projects? Let’s take education. We’ve done three or four really interesting campaigns for universities and now we’re in the position where we can do university rebrands, and have won a top 10 global university. But it has taken 15 years of education work to get to that point. I may not have thought that it would take quite so long to persuade people that we could do their identity. But education is a very conservative sector, and moves slowly, like museums and galleries. If you’re small, you can afford for a sector to move slowly, whereas bigger agencies need a pipeline. I’ve watched dozens of companies get to this critical point where they’ve grown and grown and then they’ve just fallen off the cliff because they’ve been feeding the monster. To help with that, agencies often add a new business person. No-one ever talks about this, but a new business person costs around £50,000. The rule of thumb, in my world at least, is that you have to take that salary and triple it with turnover to pay that salary. So you need £150,000 worth of projects to pay for the new business person before you’ve made a penny. So to make a profit, the new business person has to bring in over £200,000 of work. And if this person can do it, which is not guaranteed, then the company has to scale. It’s so easy to get caught on a treadmill. What else has helped you stay in business so long? We’ve always led with the thought behind the idea, not the way it looked. Because I was always much more interested in the idea behind something, I think that has helped us not get sucked into the visual, to use the type face du jour, the colour that everyone else is using. And it’s understandable, because graphic designers want to do stuff that their peers really like. But paradoxically the trick, in my opinion, is to try and zag away from the trends. Create a new trend yourself. Johnson Banks’ globe symbol for the COP 26 climate conference Design disciplines in this article Industries in this article Brands in this article What to read next Neville Brody on clients, education, and his unexpected OBE Graphic Design 30 Jan, 2025

ipopba - stock.adobe.com News Maturing UK fintechs increase tech and cyber security hiring Increased hiring reflects that fintechs are maturing and now require more cyber security and compliance experts By Karl Flinders, Chief reporter and senior editor EMEA Published: 27 May 2025 16:23 The UK’s financial technology sector, or fintech as it is widely known, will see a 32% increase in professional hiring this year, with cyber security and technology roles the most in demand. As the fintech sector matures, and companies underpinned by tech seek to expand product ranges, increased demand for tech-related roles is inevitable. According to a report from recruitment services firm Morgan McKinley and labour market data company Vacancysoft, the increase comes as many UK fintechs move beyond the startup phase, add products and scale their operations. Technology-related hiring will see the fastest growth at 39%, driven by the need for engineering, cyber security, and IT management and development professionals. “London continues to dominate hiring in this space, buoyed by the upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. As fintechs replace legacy systems and meet rising compliance expectations, system resilience and threat mitigation skills are in high demand,” said the report. Risk and compliance professionals are also in increasing demand. Hiring in this area is projected to rise by 29% in 2025, according to Morgan McKinley and Vacancysoft, with financial crime professionals and fraud-related roles most in demand. This increase is due to growing regulatory scrutiny and operational complexity. “As regulatory expectations shift from minimum standards to active governance, fintechs are investing accordingly, seeking experienced professionals to strengthen internal control frameworks and support future authorisations or licensing requirements,” said the report. Fintechs are prioritising strategic hiring, investment in high-impact roles in compliance, product engineering and IT security, according to the report. Meanwhile, hiring for generalist functions remains flat or subject to cost review, it said. Mark Astbury, director at Morgan McKinley in the UK, said despite the uncertain economic climate, the UK fintech sector will see “one of its strongest hiring outlooks in recent years”. He said the rise in professional vacancies is led by London, but is echoed nationwide. “The data tells a clear story: despite subdued venture capital flows, demand for specialist talent remains robust. This isn’t a hype-driven rebound, it’s a grounded response to real-world pressures. Fintech firms are hiring to meet rising regulatory expectations as they grow, to counter increasingly sophisticated financial threats, and to build more resilient digital infrastructure,” added Astbury. “The surge in fraud risk and compliance roles, alongside double-digit growth in IT security and engineering, reflects an industry maturing in response to both opportunity and obligation,” he said. The increased recruitment of professionals comes with the backdrop of sector investment falling by over a quarter to $9.9bn, down 27% from $13.6bn in 2023, according to KPMG’s Pulse of fintech report. In the report, KPMG said geopolitical uncertainty, high levels of inflation and higher interest rates all contributed to “more subdued levels of UK fintech investment”. KPMG’s figures mirror those published by Innovative Finance last month, which reported a 37% fall in investment in 2024 compared with 2023. Innovate Finance, the industry body for fintech in the UK, blamed tough market conditions that included “rising interest rates, geopolitical instability, as well as a recalibration in venture capital fundraising”. The UK’s fintech sector attracted $3.6bn investment last year, which was only bettered by the US. Read more about fintech In The Current Issue: UK government outlines plan to surveil migrants with eVisa data Why we must reform the Computer Misuse Act: A cyber pro speaks out Download Current Issue SAP Sapphire 2025: Developers take centre stage as AI integration deepens – CW Developer Network Microsoft entices developers to build more Windows AI apps – Cliff Saran's Enterprise blog View All Blogs

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images; Getty Images; BIWall Street banks are proving that generative AI is here to stay, and the tech is not just a fad.Business Insider has reported on how some of finance's biggest banks are approaching generative AI.See how giants like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are weaving the tech into the fabric of their firms.Wall Street bank leaders say generative AI is here to stay, and they're weaving the technology throughout the fabric of their banks to make sure.From trading to payments to marketing, it's hard to find a corner of the banking industry that isn't claiming to use AI.In fact, the technology's impact, made mainstream by OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022, is becoming cultural. Generative AI is changing what it takes to be a software developer and how to stand out as a junior banker, especially as banks mull over how to roll out autonomous AI agents. The technology is even changing roles in the c-suite. But it's also presented new challenges — bank leaders say they are struggling to keep up with AI-powered cyberattacks.From supercharging productivity via AI-boosted search engines to figuring out the best way banks can realize a return on their AI investments, here's what we know about how Wall Street banks are embracing AI.JPMorgan ChaseJPMorgan CEO Jamie DimonTom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesJPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon is a "tremendous" user of the bank's generative AI suite. We have the story of how he and other bank executives use AI.JPMorgan's AI rollout: Jamie Dimon's a 'tremendous' user and it's caused some 'healthy competition' among teamsJPMorgan is making a big bet on AI. Here's how its private bankers are using it.Dimon also laid out his vision for how America's largest bank will win the AI battle against fintechs through data. Meet the leaders of that mission.Jamie Dimon says he's out to win the AI arms race. See who he's put in charge of this critical mission.JPMorgan's Lori Beer just added 2 new tech leaders to her ranks. Meet the team behind the bank's AI future.Mary Erdoes, the boss of JPM's asset- and wealth-management business, used these slides to outline how she wants to get her people ready for the "AI of the future."Here's how JPM boss Mary Erdoes wants to use AI to eliminate "no joy" workIt's not just JPMorgan's in-house tech teams that have been gearing up for an AI future. Cloud partners, like AWS, also play an important role.AWS is helping financial giants like JPMorgan and Bridgewater with their AI ambitionsGoldman SachsGoldman Sachs' David SolomonMichael KovacIs Goldman in its AI era? These real-world stories about employees using AI (in some cases daily) make it seem so. Take a look at how AI is being put to the test across the bank and seniority levels, from C-suites to analysts.7 Goldman Sachs insiders explain how the bank's new AI sidekick is helping them crush it at workGoldman is assembling a growing arsenal of AI tools. Here's everything we know about 5.AI is doing 95% of the work on an IPO prospectus, Goldman Sachs CEO saysGoldman's top partners and CEO David Solomon are eager to see AI rev up their businesses. From realizing internal productivity gains to capturing more business as clients look to raise money in anticipation of AI development and acquisitions, here's what the top echelon is expecting.How AI will shake up Goldman Sachs, according to top partners and CEO David SolomonInside Goldman Sachs' plans for AI, from helping non-tech workers do more with software to streamlining how code is documentedThere is no AI without data, and there is no data strategy at Goldman without its chief data officer, Neema Raphael. Raphael gave BI an inside look at how his roughly 500-person team melds with the rest of the bank to get the most out of its data.Meet Neema Raphael, the data whiz key to Goldman's AI ambitions who's overseeing the bank's army of engineers and scientistsAI's impact has ripple effects that go far beyond technology. Goldman's chief information officer, Marco Argenti, predicts that cultural change will be critical to getting the bank to 100% adoption.Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti says Wall Street's 'next big wave' in AI will come down to culture, not just technologyMany dollars are being spent on Wall Street's AI ambitions. But how do you measure the return on the investment? Argenti offers some tips on the calculus that can help firms prioritize where to invest.As AI usage ramps up on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs CIO details how the bank analyzes return on investment for the techMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley CEO Ted PickJeenah Moon / ReutersMorgan Stanley wants to turn employees' AI ideas into a reality. Here's an exclusive look at that process.Morgan Stanley has 30 AI projects in the pipeline. Here's how the bank sources employees' ideas for inspiration.See how AI is transforming Morgan Stanley's wealth division and the jobs of its 16,000 financial advisors.Morgan Stanley is betting on AI to free up advisors' time to be 'more human.' Nearly 100% of advisor teams use it, and here's how.Thanks to its partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Morgan Stanley has ramped up its AI efforts. The exec in charge of tech partnerships and firmwide innovation opened up about how it all started.Morgan Stanley's new innovation head lays out his plan for more OpenAI-type partnershipsA Morgan Stanley exec breaks down how the bank courts tech partners like OpenAICitiCiti's Jane FraserNICHOLAS KAMM/Getty ImagesMeet the new exec in charge of giving an AI facelift to Citi's lagging wealth business.Citi snags AI leader from Morgan Stanley to help turn around its wealth techCiti's top tech executive, Shadman Zafar, outlined the bank's four-phased AI strategy and how it will "change how we work for decades to come."A top Citi tech exec breaks down the 4 phases of the bank's AI strategy that will impact everyone from operations to wealth and productBank of AmericaBank of America's Brian MoynihanJohn Lamparski/Getty ImagesBank of America's chief experience officer, Rob Pascal, details how the bank's internal-facing AI assistant helps bankers collect, record, and review client data. Here are all the ways it's helping employees be more effective and efficient.How Bank of America is using an AI-powered tool to help its bankers prep for client meetings more efficientlyAI hits the investment bankWall Street investment banks prepare for an AI future.Momo Takahashi/BIInvestment bankers are hopeful that corporate America's obsession with AI could kick off a new era of mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs. From execs stepping into recently created roles to accommodate the sector to industry veterans launching their own AI-focused M&A-advisory firm, meet 11 investment bankers poised to lead Wall Street's AI revolution.Wall Street is gearing up for an AI shopping spree. Meet 11 bankers poised to come out on top.We spoke with four of those AI bankers about why 2025 is going to be all about AI pickaxes and shovels rather than pure-play AI deals.The deals 4 tech bankers think the 'AI arms race' could drive in 2025AI could save junior bankers time by automating tedious tasks known all too well by Wall Street's youngest ranks. But it can also make it harder to break into the industry by shifting the skills required for entry.How AI will change the job of the junior banker and raise the bar to entryA former Goldman Sachs managing director built an AI-powered networking tool to spur dealmaking. The budding startup, Louisa AI, already has a few clients, including Goldman Sachs, Insight Partners, and a global exchange.See the pitch deck that helped a former Goldman Sachs exec raise $5 million for an AI-powered networking startup that feeds deal ideas to bankers.Here's how former investment bankers left their Wall Street jobs to build an AI startup to solve junior bankers' woes.See the pitch deck that helped former investment bankers raise a $7 million seed round for their generative 'AI consigliere' to bankers and analystsRead the original article on Business Insider