McCann has launched McCann Design, a dedicated cross-network team with resources in New York, London and Toronto that will offer clients a multiplicity of innovative and market-shaping design solutions, from graphics to motion to 3D animation, product and packaging design and more.
“Exceptional design is core to the visual expression of a brand and its ability to live across multiple channels,” said Chris Macdonald, global chairman & CEO, McCann.
“Expanding this capability with this dedicated team ensures we can deliver best-in-class visual craftmanship for our clients and allows us to scale this expertise to McCann’s largest markets. We see design as an integral part of both brand and business problem-solving, enabling us to deliver the most meaningful brand platforms to our clients with the greatest creative and commercial impact.”
As part of the new offering, McCann New York has recruited Matt van Leeuwen to lead the new practice hub in the U.S. He joins Lisa Carrana, head of design for McCann London, and the design team in Toronto, led by Josh Stein, chief creative officer, McCann Canada.
van Leeuwen has spent the past five years as creative director at Mother Design in New York, where he directed both identity design and communications for brands like Dave & Buster’s, Tripadvisor, Target, Park Lane Hotel and Cadillac. His 20-year career includes serving as the design principal at Interbrand New York, among other high-profile agency roles in the U.S. and the Netherlands. His work has garnered awards from many of the industry’s leading creative organizations, including the Art Directors Club, Cannes Lions, D&AD and the One Show.
“Design is paramount to everything we do,” read a joint statement from Shayne Millington and Pierre Lipton, the co-CCOs of McCann New York. “Which is why McCann New York is recognizing the power and importance of a strong design practice within our walls. It will not only shape the work and stretch the boundaries of what we can create, but it adds energy and fidelity to the entire agency. We’ve been huge fans of Matt’s and believe that his expertise and infectious positivity make him the perfect person to help lead us into this next chapter.”
McCann New York’s expanded design team includes design directors Ethan Buller and Mook Phoungbut; Emely Perez, design director for the agency’s Verizon business; and David Mindel, design director for XBC, the agency’s dedicated global Mastercard unit.
“My design philosophy is to keep things simple and let design, in its purest form, speak directly and to the point,” van Leeuwen said. “When design truly works and sings, it simply feels right. The Truth Well Told mantra of McCann is close to my heart.”
van Leeuwen maintains a strong interest in social causes, reflected in his bold redesign of Chelsea’s Callen Lorde, an icon in LGBTQ healthcare in New York, and the redesign of Eyebeam, a not-for-profit art & technology center, deeply engaged in society’s relationship with technology.
As head of design at McCann New York, van Leeuwen will work closely with leadership and design leads across the agency to bring design to every aspect of McCann’s work and build out a best-in-class design discipline across the agency’s global network.
“In a world that’s becoming more and more visual across so many new media platforms, design is essential to standing out,” van Leeuwen said. “To quote Paul Rand, ‘Everything is design. Everything!’”
