“We need creatives who can speak both visual and business, who know how to wield data without being enslaved by it,” says Geet Nazir, managing director, Landor India, while speaking on the impact of new technologies on advertising. India is among the WPP company’s top three markets and it is investing heavily in cross-skilling and exposure. She spoke to Alokananda Chakraborty about how new tools could radically cut production time, auto-generate UI flows, even test creative concepts in minutes. Edited excerpts:
What is the biggest challenge from a designer’s perspective in working with emerging digital technology? How does a brand owner keep her brand consistent when there’s so much going on?
The hardest part isn’t the pace of tech — it’s the temptation to chase it without a filter. Every week there’s a new platform, a new way to ‘go immersive’. But design is not about jumping onto the next thing. The real challenge is ensuring tech is in service of the brand, not the other way around. We obsess over a brand’s centre of gravity — its purpose, its personality — and build flexible, versatile design systems that can thrive across formats without fracturing. In an ever-busy world where ‘new’ is redefined daily, connection trumps consistency – and the job to be done isn’t about designing within rigid templates; it’s about creating a strong point of view for brands, designed to connect in authentic and unexpected ways.
Artificial intelligence has invaded every process in the advertising business. Against that backdrop, how should brands view “creativity”? When can creativity be a real brand differentiator?
AI is great at pattern recognition. But the real magic? That comes from pattern breaking. Creativity, now more than ever, is about originality — ideas that challenge our thinking, in a way that is deeply human. That’s where brands win. We’re seeing creativity matter most when it speaks with cultural precision — when it mirrors the dreams, contradictions, and humour of our audiences. In a market as emotionally complex and visually saturated as India, a clever AI prompt isn’t going to build brand love. Creativity becomes a true differentiator when it’s anchored in insight, layered with meaning, and impossible to copy-paste.
As an employer, do you find any skills gaps in the market?
Definitely — and not in the way people expect. The technical talent is there; what we need to grow into is hybrid thinking. We need creatives who can speak both visual and business, who know how to wield data without being enslaved by it. We’re also seeing a lag in emerging areas like sonic branding and sensorial design — the kinds of experiences that go beyond the screen and are yet incredibly important in bringing alive the experience of a brand. That’s why we’re investing heavily in cross-skilling and exposure. Talent can’t just be good anymore — it needs to be versatile.
How can brands connect the dots between data and creativity? Can brand design enhance credibility among potential consumers, especially when there are hundreds of brands and thousands of influencers online?
Data doesn’t kill creativity — it gives it direction. But only if you know how to read it with empathy. We need to translate behavioural patterns into brand behaviour. For instance, if the data tells us people want authenticity, we don’t just say “be real” — we design how that looks, feels, and sounds across every touchpoint. Credibility is built through coherence — making a brand truly responsive in the way it speaks and behaves and connects with clarity. Amidst influencer chaos and digital clutter, clarity in, and by design becomes your brand’s handshake — the thing that says “trust me” before anyone’s even read your tagline.
What specific metrics or KPIs do you focus on to gauge the effectiveness of a brand’s design strategy? How does Landor stay ahead of branding trends to ensure your clients maintain a competitive edge?
We’re tracking far more than brand recall. Effectiveness is about making the brand more valuable and less vulnerable— is the brand being remembered and invited into conversations? Are people aligning with it, advocating for it, buying more of it? Our robust approach ensures that brands strategically align with business ambitions and outcomes. We track everything from Net Promoter Scores to cultural relevance to sonic recognisability. And we stay ahead by looking sideways — not just at branding, but at cinema, politics, fashion, fandoms. Our proprietary tools, like the BrandAsset Valuator (BAV), help us anticipate shifts in consumer behaviour — giving us the data to stay ahead. But in India, instinct matters just as much. Our edge comes from sensing what people will care about before it turns into a trend report or a case study.
Sonic branding is a big deal nowadays. Has Landor’s acquisition of Sonic Branding Agency amp paid dividends that WPP was hoping for?
Absolutely. With amp in our fold, we’re not just branding what people see — we’re designing what they hear, even with their eyes closed. India is an audio-first culture, sound is memory. amp’s expertise has helped us craft distinctive sonic identities that linger long after the ad ends. We now have the ability to create versatile sonic assets, much in the way that we would create visual assets, to connect and impact in a manner that is relevant and differentiated. We’re seeing higher recall, emotional connection, and brand attribution — especially in mobile-first moments. This wasn’t just a smart acquisition; it was a strategic leap into a more immersive, sensorial future.
How do you think AI will impact the design/developer world, say in the next three years?
AI will make good design scale faster. But it won’t make bad design better. Over the next three years, we’ll see tools that radically cut production time, auto-generate UI flows, even test creative concepts in minutes. But the real shift will be mindset — designers will become curators, editors, storytellers. The ones who thrive will be those who know what to keep from AI’s buffet of options, and more importantly, what to throw out. We’re training for that — not just on the tools, but on the judgment. Because in a world of infinite output, strategic choice becomes the ultimate skill.