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Under the spotlight...

~ This week we welcome our newest creative member, Grant Higgins – creative extraordinaire, to the team here at GPJ. And even though he’s barely unpacked his bags and his laptop's not set up, I thought I’d get in early with a few quick questions to find out more about the man behind the purple glasses… So, Grant, what's your nickname? While my name is Grant, for reasons unknown lots of people call me Grantly, which I quite enjoy. Some call me Grantus too. I notice you've brought a collection of cheeky desk characters with you – which is your favourite one? My blow-up “The Scream” doll and Krusty the Klown because they reflect my inner state – oscillating wildly between the two. Tell us something about where you get your design inspiration, what really gets your creative brain cracking? I’ve always been a writer first, but with design fantasies. Inspiration comes from being obsessively curious. That means plundering blogs, sites and people’s minds far and wide to see what the world is doing and wishing that I could join in. Eclectic tastes and a madly eclectic bunch of friends helps too – they tend to influence me. Where did all this creativity begin? Hard to say, but I think it’s a mix of growing up in a showbusiness family and being immersed in all of that. Then came a strong education while being tormented by cruel nuns and Jesuit priests, which taught me to write comedy in response. University gave me the discipline to research, dig and find. Drama school helped me think and feel as someone else, and AWARD School tightened up the writing to a brief.  It’s a mix. Favourite project/event you've worked on? Impossible to say.  Sometimes the joy comes with a small event that evokes an amazing emotional response from an audience. Then something like New Year’s Eve 2011 was a buzz because you reach a million people in your live audience and billions more beyond. How much the audience enjoys it and engages with it is my barometer. Favourite event you've ever attended? The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It’s like the Olympic Games of performing arts. Imagine about 2,500 different shows in one city over 3 weeks. Not 2,500 performances – that’s completely different shows. You come out of it brimming with inspiration.  I’m going again this year. What's your prediction for the next trend in engagement marketing? When the IOS-Android thing eventually settles down, I think we’ll get the tools to more accurately measure audience responses using people’s own mobiles. Once we can nail that issue of accurately measuring audience engagement, our world will be seen as the most effective investment of all to marketers who need to engage with their target.  We hold live audiences in the palm of our hand  - no other channel does that. Tell me something we might not already know about you? I love my glasses, and have about 35 different pairs from designers all over. Finding a limited edition that you know you’ll never see again by Alain Mikli, or theo soixante-six is always fun. I have a pair of French diamond-shaped glasses from the early 1960’s that I found in a display case in Greenwich Village – probably my favourites. I have a pen and paper here, can you draw me a picture of yourself? See right! Welcome to the GPJ team, Grant!

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