Meet The Team | Casey Bennett
It’s been a full season, to put it simply. New projects, wrapping projects, a historic studio move and, excitingly, new faces here at Nimble. Without further ado, please join us in welcoming Senior Signage and Wayfinding Designer, Casey Bennett, to our Nimble. crew. As our first full-time experiential designer, Casey serves as a collaborating lead on our projects team responsible for translating brands into permanent form for the built environment. 60 days into his new role, we caught up with Casey for a touch base on what he’s learned thus far and what’s driving him in 2023.
👉 Learn more about Casey and his new role at Nimble. in this 5-minute read.
Let’s jump in.
Casey, whew. 60 days in. Tell us about your onboarding journey at Nimble. thus far.
The pros, the learning curve, the opportunity ahead.
CB: Where to begin! First of all I feel fortunate to have come onboard just in time to move into our new location, Buro.
It’s also been an amazing journey getting to know Nimble.‘s history, mission and employees. I’ve felt so welcomed and have been doing everything I can to immerse myself in the lovingly curated culture to become a full fledged Nimbler. One of the largest hurdles has probably been overcoming some assumptions from past roles to trust that my contributions won’t be unfairly judged. Instead I’ve found myself part of team who respects each other immensely and values clear, constructive communication skills.
What led you to this specialized field of signage design
(aka experiential design, EGD)?
CB: Being introduced to the world of EGD during my internship in college opened up new perspectives for me on what’s possible when designing for a physical space. It’s something of a secret language everyone inherently knows but to peek behind the curtain of how it’s created is the only way to be able to see it all around you and understand how or why it was crafted; the good examples and the bad. Becoming aware of how impactful well-designed surroundings can influence a person’s journey through those spaces was an exciting realization. I quickly discovered that my experience to that point combined with my natural inclinations toward creativity with purpose was a perfect fit for EGD.
I’ve been in this industry now for gosh, 14 years.
What brought you to Nimble.?
CB: A leap of faith over a cup of coffee at Sessions Stand shared with Candice and Lauren. I am genuinely excited to lend my years of signage and design experience to brand integration and overall environmental impact for our projects’ complex needs and clients who trust in the creative process.
Keys to designing for EGD?
CB:
A deep understanding of the environment you’re designing for, observed and clearly defined user pain points to solve for and an alignment with client goals and success objectives. Couple these criteria points with the practice of considering brand, user profile and human behavior, and you’re now looking through the right lens to design successfully for spatial.
How has EGD changed in the past decade? Where do you predict the field will go/grow in the next decade?
CB: Historically, EGD has been somewhat underrated, a niche area of specialization, but awareness of its layered impact has been growing with the appreciation of an experiential brand. [EGD] is now being discussed more directly during formative college years and studios, like Nimble, are creating visual awareness for the industry through demonstrated portfolio work solving for complex wayfinding needs.
With more awareness has come more study into how it can be achieved successfully, and with more information available to novice designers the EGD community will only continue to grow. In the coming decade I expect the normalization of this study to allow for more avenues to be explored, pushing the boundaries of what we can collectively achieve in and for the built environment.
What excites you most about your role at Nimble. and supporting a team dedicated to designing for the built environment?
CB: I joined Nimble. for the daily opportunity to collaborate with like-minded creatives and diverse clients. My past roles in-house could be pretty siloed and execution-focused. In making the leap to a studio environment, I hope to apply my deep knowledge directly to clients who value creativity and being an active part of the creative process.
What projects are you most excited about right now?
CB:
Projects that most excite me begin with unique problems to solve using ingenuity and originality. Also clients who are interested in going beyond conventional solutions and pushing their brand further than most to achieve memorable differentiation.
Meet the Bennett Fam! Casey, Jayme, and their littles. Penelope (8) and Desmond (6)
Where are you when you’re not at work? Who are you with?
CB: With family! I have an incredible wife, Jayme, and two children, Penelope (8) and Desmond (6), in addition to three pups, Sullivan, Gus and Luna. We live in the Woodstock area and enjoy doing house projects, playing video games and going to the movies together.
What motivates me to come into work each day is…
CB: My love of design and an interest in helping to create something special. Also getting the opportunity to interact with talented and friendly teammates.
Designer superpower?
CB: Being thorough and paying attention to detail. Also having an overall positive attitude!
If you had five minutes to teach someone something, it would be?
CB: Depends on the audience I suppose.
In a professional capacity I’d enjoy teaching someone the difference between required signage, wayfinding and environmental graphic design (and the ways in which they can overlap/aid each other).
In a casual capacity I’m always down to describe the difference between the Marvel and DC comic universes (and how their respective “multiverses” function/interact with each other).
Fast Five (Fun Facts)
CB:
I met my wife in art school in Albuquerque while she was studying interior design.
I’m a drummer who used to play and tour with punk bands.
I played drums in the 2000 Super Bowl halftime show.
I hosted and produced a podcast about comic book movies for 7+ years.
I have OCD tendencies; such as including this bullet simply because I wanted there to be five ;)
Thanks for reading the newest interview in our Nimble. Meet the Team series.
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For questions or to add to the conversation, contact us at hello@nimbledesignco.com.