Marina Willer

Why brands like Rolls Royce + Tate are built to last

In episode #44, Ross is joined by Marina Willer – graphic designer, filmmaker, and Partner at the world’s largest independent design studio, Pentagram

Marina has led the design of major identities for Amnesty International, Tate, and Oxfam, among many others. More recently she led the rebrand of Battersea, one of​ ​Britain's oldest and most famous animal rescue centres, and Rolls-Royce. Willer's first feature film, Red Trees, premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was released worldwide by Netflix in 2018.

Ross and Marina discuss why experiences outside design make for better designers, and how to create brands that are more adaptable and built to last.

More about Marina

Marina Willer is a graphic designer and filmmaker with an MA in Graphic Design from the Royal College of Art. Before joining Pentagram as a partner, she was head creative director for Wolff Olins in London.

During the course of her career, Willer has led the design of major identities schemes for Amnesty International, Tate, Southbank Centre, Serpentine Galleries, Oxfam, Nesta, Second Home, Sam Labs, and the largest telecoms in Russia (Beeline) and Brazil (Oi), among many others. She was also one of the designers behind the brand for Macmillan Cancer Support. More recently she led the rebrand of Battersea, one of​ ​Britain's​ ​oldest and most famous animal rescue centres, Maggie's and Rolls-Royce.

Willer’s first feature film, Red Trees, premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was released worldwide by Netflix in 2018. Her films have been shown at Fondation Cartier in Paris, the ICA in London and prestigious film festivals worldwide. Marina has made several films for iconic British architect Richard Rogers, including “Exposed” — a film to introduce Rogers' exhibition at the Pompidou Centre and the Design Museum — and “Ethos”, which was screened at the Royal Academy of Arts. The films are the result of a longstanding collaboration with Rogers and his architectural practice RSH+P, for which Willer created the visual identity. 

A multi-faceted designer, Willer has recently turned her hand to exhibition design, where she has completed work on major exhibitions for the Barbican (‘Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics’) and the Design Museum (‘Ferrari: Under the Skin’).

She has been an examiner at the Royal College of Art and is a member of the AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale), the most prestigious graphic design association in the world. She has been chair of the D&AD jury on numerous occasions.

During the course of her career, Willer has been the recipient of a variety of industry honours and she is consistently recognised as a leading figure in UK design, including Creative Review’s Creative Leaders 2017, Design Week’s People Who Made an Impact on Design 2017 and The Dots’ Female Creative Leaders 2017.

Awards include best Brazilian short film at the São Paulo Film Festival, 2004, Best British Promotional Film at Promex 2000, Grand Prix for Oi at the 2002 Design Effectiveness Awards and Gold for Macmillan 2007. Her Serpentine Galleries identity was among the 2014 nominees for the Design Museum’s ‘Beazley Designs of the Year.

Find Marina here: LinkedIn | Instagram