Who the hell is Jed Carter?

Get to know some of the brilliant minds behind our work. We’re chatting with members of the DixonBaxi studio about what makes them who they are. From the professional to the personal, nothing is off limits here. Introducing: Jed, one of our design directors who grew up in suburban Manchester on a diet of sci-fi and stolen electronic music.

Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Jed, I’m a Design Director. I try to keep it simple:

Design [Be creative] + Direct [Guide creativity into the right place].

I lead our clients and incredible team through the design process on all sorts of different projects, from creating new brand identities to flexible design systems that stretch from billboards to micro-interactions.

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What’s your story?
I grew up in suburban Manchester on a diet of sci-fi and stolen electronic music. My local library gave me a love of imagined worlds and socialist ideals. And Limewire opened my brain to Aphex Twin and seeded the idea that computers were useful for much more than Microsoft Paint. Design seemed like a good idea for a curious teenager with a restless imagination.

At art school, I used to pour over back issues of FUSE magazine, being amazed at the idea that a typeface could be a living organism. And I was drawn to the movement around generative design and the way creatives like Karsten Schmidt and FIELD were creating beautiful living visuals that could respond and adapt to real-time input. The edges of design fascinate me, and I think that’s why branding feels like such an interesting space – a pivot point between visual storytelling, systems and interaction.

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What are you working on right now?
Right now, we’re working on a charming identity for a kid’s entertainment business, and a fresh new design system for one of the world’s biggest film brands.

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“I think my definition is changing constantly. Maybe something solves a problem, maybe it gives you a superpower, maybe it stops you in your tracks, maybe it changes your mind – maybe it’s just really fucking beautiful and makes your day a bit better.”

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Describe your working style in 3 words.
Inquisitive, optimistic, sleeves-up.

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Tell us about some of your interests. What are you into?
I’m trying to get back into playing the saxophone after a lengthy hiatus, so I’m trying to learn Paul Desmond’s iconic Take Five. I’m a fairly voracious reader of short stories and sci-fi: my current favorite author is Ted Chiang. And you can’t beat a long walk on a sunny day.

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Do you think design can change the world? How?
I think people change the world, through singular vision and collective action. Design, and brands, can be an important driver of that, as a powerful tool to help communicate ideas, unite people around a vision or change behaviors.

The world is a pretty noisy place already, so I try to make sure that if I’m adding anything to it, it’s purposeful, thought-through, well crafted, with a good intent.

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If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
At the risk of sounding like yet another white male Youtube life coach: don’t wish for change, make it – even if it seems small at first. Like and subscribe below.

What’s the last song you listened to?
Daniel Avery – Drone Logic. A solid playlist of bleep bloop music is the only way I can fool myself into enjoying running. 

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Why do you do what you do? What motivates you?
I get excited by being able to work with talented people who can design incredible things that feel alive and make some kind of difference to the world. And I love the variety inherent in being a designer: every project is an excuse to get obsessed with something totally new and different.

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What’s your definition of good design?
I think my definition is changing constantly. Maybe something solves a problem, maybe it gives you a superpower, maybe it stops you in your tracks, maybe it changes your mind – maybe it’s just really fucking beautiful and makes your day a bit better.

I’m not entirely sure what good design is, but I do think we all know when design makes us feel good.