Justin Wong on why tech brands need to get funny
As AI and emerging technologies reshape the industry, Justin Wong believes the brands that succeed will be those that entertain as well as inform
Tech brands may be in the business of making the future feel tangible, but many have a hard time seeming human. The sector has spent years polishing itself to fit what is now an overly familiar visual and verbal mould: clean, premium, professional and ultra precise. Yet as technology has become ever more deeply embedded in our daily lives, that formula is starting to look less convincing.
So what’s the answer? Justin Wong thinks humour could be it. The New York-based design lead and art director has spent the past decade working with clients such as Apple, Google, Meta, WhatsApp and the Wall Street Journal. His work spans branding, campaigns and activations, and has been recognised by D&AD, Communication Arts and the Type Directors Club, among others. He is also the newly elected president of AIGA New York, having previously served on its board.
In other words, he has spent plenty of time inside the machinery of big-brand communication. And his diagnosis of the current moment is fairly blunt. “Brands are abandoning their old playbooks because they’re not connecting with audiences in the same way they used to,” he says.
