‘Nobody ever likes to hear that they’re wrong, but it often leads to a breakthrough or makes an idea or execution better in the end.’ – Justin Blyth, Cover Artist for The Failure Issue

A huge thank you to Justin Blyth, Global Head of Creative at Ambassadors, for being our tenth FRONTIER and the Cover Artist of The Failure Issue. Justin leads Ambassadors’ multidisciplinary team of artists in creating high-end craft for clients. Originally hailing from Los Angeles, he’s lived and worked in Amsterdam for over 10 years as a creative director and motion graphics artist. His previous experience has seen him working with agencies, brands, and studios including Wieden + Kennedy, Anomaly, and Woodwork. We chat with Justin about the piece he created for The Failure Issue, his relationship with failure, and explore the question – can creativity be helped by failure?

When given the theme Failure to create this piece, how did you approach it?

I thought about the feelings of failure. In a way, it’s like grief, how you go through stages. Nobody ever likes to hear that they’re wrong, but it often leads to a breakthrough or makes an idea or execution better in the end. So I thought about those feelings of shock and turmoil, self-doubt, going back to the drawing board, and having an important breakthrough that in the end makes the work better.

How do you personally deal with failure?

I went to art school which is a pretty good way to accelerate your tolerance for failure from a creative standpoint. When you go through ‘critique’ as a budding creative mind, with a roomful of strangers telling you why they don’t like your work - it can be a bit confronting! I think like most people I don’t like to be ‘wrong’, but when you can remove that layer of initial shock that your work has been criticised, and open up to the possibility that your approach is indeed flawed, it opens you up to growth, process, and improvement.

What can we learn from 'failed' ideas?

Tons! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right? I tend to obsess over things I didn’t get right, missed opportunities, mistakes. And that usually culminates in doing it differently the next time.

What’s the mistake you've learned from the most?

There is also another lesson to be learned from failure. Sometimes you’re right, even when you’re challenged. Clients, bosses, and colleagues can be wrong too. Sometimes we are pushed to change and revise things that we feel are great, and that can water down an idea, make it more ‘universally appealing/ or become ‘design by committee’. Maybe the best lesson I’ve learned is that when you’re told that your idea has failed, you really have to open it up and look at it from every angle and decide for yourself if you’ve failed or not. Just because you didn’t win a pitch or get an idea through doesn’t mean you failed, it just means the world is not ready ;) I’ve also taken risks in the last couple years that had me flying very close to failure, but which managed to pull up at the last moment. So I guess another lesson about failure would be, it ain't over til it’s over!

Where do you seek inspiration from once you've hit a creative wall?

Usually by stepping away. If I start to dive deeper into solving a problem it can become a messy and confusing feedback loop. Oftentimes stepping away and changing gears for a while allows me to come back with a fresh perspective and figure out how to solve a problem.

Can creativity be helped by failure?

Absolutely. Failure opens us up to the possibility that our best idea was not the best idea. I’ve lost pitches that I was angry about, convinced it was amazing, only to see the winning campaign later and be able to accept that is just a better idea than mine.

How do you ensure that you continue to grow creatively?

As soon as you think you know everything, you stop growing. If you’re not open to suggestions, collaboration, and feedback, you’re gonna be stuck with an overly self-confident approach. Nobody likes a know-it-all.

What has been your favourite piece of work/project to date?

My favourite piece of work to date is a campaign we created for Mascotte King Size which is a foray into premium cannabis rolling papers. This was the first proper campaign we developed for a new client working with REGIME, the agency Justin Townsend and I started in 2019. It was one of those projects where everything just clicked. We won the pitch, had a great relationship with the client, and were able to collaborate with friends to make it all happen. Since I joined Ambassadors last year? I loved working with Veloretti on the launch of their electric bike. This opportunity allowed us to bring real agency thinking to the table, from strategy and copywriting, to creating all assets from the fully CG animated film to in-store and online experience. The teaser’s out and we’re hoping to see the full campaign launch any day now.

If you could pick one recent campaign/project that makes you think, ‘I wish I’d done that’, what would it be and why?

I was really impressed by a film that Builders Club made for Nike ISPA last year and found myself watching it over and over, sharing it with friends, etc. Nike and particularly ISPA are a brand that I admire and creatively they just push things, in their product design and how they brand it. This was a case where they clearly let their creative partner go wild and push it over the edge of weird and crazy. This kind of work doesn’t happen when it becomes overly-critiqued or brands try to make the work appealing to a broad audience. This is pure creativity and execution without limits.

Any advice for young budding creatives?

Focus on the work. Collaborate. Forget everything else. Don’t worry about titles or what other people are doing. None of that matters. If you make great work you will be rewarded by the work itself, and the rest will fall into place.