Hi. I’m Rich (aka) ALF, the Senior Designer at The Behaviours Agency. I have been with the company for just over 6 years. I love typography and I’m also known for owning over 100 pairs of adidas sneakers. 

WHERE IT BEGAN

I have always been interested in Art & Design ever since school, and have really only wanted to get a career in this industry. I studied Graphic Design and Art at Salford University and graduated with a BA Hons degree. My first job was at Telegraph & Argus as Typesetter and Designer in the newspaper industry.

I moved to Manchester in 2008 and landed my first big break in the design world at Iris Manchester which sadly no longer exists. There I picked up so much knowledge and got to work on some great brands including adidas (a particular favourite of mine), Lacoste, Hertz, Kelloggs and Wonderbra. I then moved to Momentum Manchester and got to work on some other great brands such as Asda, coca-cola Dulux, and William Hill. Following my time there I was fortunate enough to move to The Behaviours Agency (formerly The Market Creative) in 2013 and have been here ever since and continue to work on our great brands.

TYPOGRAPHY

Along my career I have always had a keen interest in all things typography. Having a background in typesetting, I love all things typography from the old wooden type blocks in letterpress to the love of kerning and type layout, I’m known to be a bit of a type geek in the office and tend to be the go to guy when anyone needs to know a typeface. I love the way you can say so much with typography and paint a picture with words.

I’ve also created a few bespoke typefaces myself, as seen below a bespoke stitch typeface for a Lacoste trainer launch. 

MY LOVE FOR SNEAKERS & SPORTS BRANDS

Another keen interest or hobby of mine is collecting rare and deadstock trainers. I am lucky enough to own a pair of ultra rare adidas FAC51-Y3 Hacienda trainers, only 250 pairs have been made in the world. Any chance I get to work on a sports brand is a treat for me, I spend so long looking at trainers I am well placed to lend my expertise and attention to detail to any job. 

During my time at The Behaviours Agency (formerly The Market Creative) I have been fortunate to work on a great retail and in store campaign for New Balance as shown below, this was great because not only did I get to combine my passion with my creative side. I also got to see my work at Cheshire Oaks retail park, which was great for me. I have the opportunity to work on many great brands but don’t often get the chance to see them up close and personal with the added bonus of seeing consumers looking and reacting to them.

INFLUENCE ON MY WORK AT THE BEHAVIOURS AGENCY

I’ve always had an interest in shopper marketing, and gained a lot of great knowledge at the agencies I’ve worked at, so the transition to shopper behaviour at The Behaviours Agency was exciting, using behavioural economics to inform creativity in our day-to-day work makes every day different and challenging. Scarcity has to be my favourite behaviour bias, with my huge collection of rare trainers and interest in retail, companies use this bias a lot to sell / promote the scarce sneakers.

You can see parts of my work throughout our work pages. Some of my favourite work can be found in our case study on NEW BALANCE retail & instore campaign.

By Rich Garnett

Senior Designer