Jay Breen

Unique. Challenging. Beautiful. These are the creative principles I subscribe to. My pleasant demeanor hides a raging storm of ideas that think cinematically, embrace wonder, and linger in dreams. Meet your next great storyteller of fury and sound.

When creating a brand identity, how important is target audience research?

Vital! Research and then ignore it all.

Can you discuss the different styles and techniques that help you create a compelling project?

It starts with a long walk.

Then, daydreaming, mind dumps, free association, expensive inspiration decks, plumbing the depths of previous brand work, hair pulling, combing through innovative thinking from wildly different industries and sources, that contribute to keeping your imagination open to original and compelling solutions.

At the heart it, I think cinematically. I ask myself, What would work for the largest screen on the largest stage. And I create for this.

How do you manage critical feedback on your work?

I have a Cooperstown bat that is very persuasive.

Kindly take us through a particular project of yours that you cherish.

The ConceptD Creativity Decoded campaign applied my creative principles of Unique, Challenging and Beautiful.

We proposed a unique opportunity for creator's to complete a personal passion project, ideas that may have been in the back of their mind, but never had the time to produce. We would help finance, provide the equipment, essentially freeing them to bring their ideas to life.

Creativity Decoded revealed creativity reverse-engineered. Not only displaying inspiring creative work made with ConceptD machines, but the steps and how-tos to achieve the work.

What resulted was a incredible variety of stunning work in film, dance, 3D animation and architecture from over 30 major design and film studios around the world.

Can you discuss your experience working with a team, and how you collaborate with other disciplines?

I've trained and worked as an Industrial Designer and have worked many years as a Creative Director. The industries by their nature require collaboration, patience and compromise.

I have found wearing the other hat while working on a project, can help you understand another discipline's point of view. It also opens up your mind to creative possibilities you otherwise hadn't considered.

Illustration of red lines emanating from headphones

How has being based in China influenced your work as a Creative Director?

Every project I've been a part of in China has had contributions from at least 5 different nationalities and often many more.

The experience has trained me to collaborate with many creatives from different cultures, languages and educational backgrounds. The greatest influence would be how it has expanded my world view of any given project.

Please tell us about your recent work and what kind of projects you take on.

Lately I've been creating music as a complete break from my usual work.

I am still very interested in working on film and key visual projects for automotive and technology clients. My heart's desire is to eventually work in immersive experiences for XR/MR/VR.

How do you work with clients to ensure their vision is accurately represented in your work?

Immersing yourself in the brand/client's work and legacy imbibes you with a natural sensitivity of what their vision is.

A detailed briefing and drilling down with clarifying questions about their creative risk tolerance is important to gage how far we can push a concept.

How do you think quality, storytelling, and great teamwork come together on a project?

As Tarantino said: If you truly love cinema, you can't help but make a good movie. And I believe, if your team truly loves the project they're working on, they can't help but make something good.