Glassdoor Creative Director on the Importance of Standing Out
Interview with Jonathan Cofer, the newish Glassdoor Global Creative Director
Jonathan Cofer, the new-ish Global Creative Director at Glassdoor, sat down with me, via zoom of course — we’re in the middle of quarantine — to talk about design, Glassdoor, and what brands can do to stand out. He joined us in January from Upwork where he grew a large team that branded the company from the bottom-up. In the four months, or, if you’re measuring by 2020 standards — four decades, that he’s been here, Jonathan has managed to streamline our processes, add some consistency guard rails to our visual execution and kick off a brand project that will bring the way Glassdoor looks much closer to the mission and values of the company.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. Let’s jump right into the heavy questions. What would you say has shaped your perspective of design?
One of my earlier jobs was at a product design firm called Lunar, working alongside industrial designers to create physical products and their user interfaces. The interesting part about that experience is that it instilled in me the notion that the details and quality of something really matters. We paid attention to every curve, every detail, and how it feels in your hand. When I think about my design philosophy, I think about how to apply a more traditional product design philosophy to digital projects. Whether physical or digital, people might not know why they don’t like or trust something, but they know when they’re interacting with something that is of high quality, and that builds trust. It’s easy for design teams to brush that stuff off and say that people don’t care about the details, but they do.
If all we ever cared about is the function of a product, I don’t think people would enjoy using the products we create. Take a chair. A chair is just something to sit on. But, if all you were doing is solving that one user-need, chairs would all be boring, functional objects. Instead, people want something beautiful they can put in their houses. Something that makes them happy or says something about their personality and who they are. It’s important to go beyond usable to create something that really connects with people.
There’s a lot happening right now; the economy was at a huge high for a while, now it’s at an all-time low. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing brands right now?
Specifically, with the coronavirus, I just saw this mega cut of COVID-19 commercials. They all received the same brief, everything was created in parallel, and in the end, every company has a video with piano music, slow-motion shots of empty cities, and people clapping for healthcare workers. All of them had the same message: “we’re here for you” or “even though you’re alone, we’re together.” Once you see how all companies are putting out similar content, it doesn’t feel genuine. It’s like they’re saying this because they feel like they have too, not because they have something valuable to say. Doing what everyone else is doing can come across as disingenuous.
In general, I see a lot of brands doing the same thing as someone else. Trends take off like wildfire and people blindly copy them, like with the trend in UX where everything is white with black text. You end up with brands that all look the same. That’s the exact opposite point of a brand. I think we’re going to start seeing a reaction against all the conformity. Designers want to try new things, and people want brands to be more unique and differentiated. We’re asking ourselves, now, how can we put something into the world that is helpful and authentic?
So, along the lines of going against conformity, who would you say is doing the most exciting design innovation right now?
To me, Mailchimp and Zendesk — the brands that are taking risks — are the ones that are doing something interesting. I admire them for trying new things. The companies that push the boundaries tend to be big, well-known brands who have really benefited from leadership supporting them. It comes down to the CEO or the founder, someone in a high leadership position, saying, “yes, this is what I want our brand to be.” If I’d showed something like that at some of the places that I’ve worked, I would have been fired the next day.
So the biggest challenge facing brands right now is the ability to stand out. What is the number one thing that you think they can do to achieve that?
There’s no silver bullet. Take MailChimp. They are the first company to come out with those crazy charcoal illustrations. But, it only takes a week for someone else to rip them off, and then they’re not innovative anymore. It’s crucial to find ways to be authentic to your brand in order to stand out. It’s okay if the visual execution is not what’s on-trend. Now, don’t stick your head in the sand and create something that’s not going to resonate with people. Ask yourself, is it relevant to the brand that I’m working on now? Sometimes it’s important to zig when others zag, but don’t do it just to be different, because are you even addressing the true needs of the brand? Or are you just fulfilling your selfish designer’s brain?
So, why were you excited to join Glassdoor?
First of all, I’ve been a fan of the product for years. I mean, I remember using Glassdoor, years and years ago, for researching jobs. I never really stopped using it. The other thing I liked about Glassdoor is that it has this solid brand foundation. I’m coming from Upwork, which was a brand that didn’t even exist when we had to create it. It was fun to move to a company with an established brand and discover how you can push it forward. Lastly, I’d say I really liked the size of the team and the company. When I was young, I wanted to work at Apple, because I loved the Apple products. But the older I got and the more I progressed in my career, I saw that it seemed like a very boring job. Everything has been figured out for you already; so, it doesn’t feel creatively fulfilling. Glassdoor isn’t a giant corporation where you’re a cog in a wheel designing a little corner of something, but one where you can make a really large impact across the company. That’s always excited me. I like the challenge of going in and doing something at a smaller company. I’d also add that, in my interview, there were some of the nicest people.
Who, would you say, has had the biggest impact on your leadership style?
I’ve worked with a lot of different leaders over the years, but the most frustrating has been when leaders give vague and directionless answers. So, you were left more confused than clear on what he was trying to tell you. I found it so frustrating when I was asking for direct feedback to get this vague response. I always told myself that I don’t want to be that kind of leader. I’ve also had leaders whom I reported to that are the complete opposite. They didn’t give you any creative freedom. They didn’t want you for your brain because they were telling you what to do all the time. I try to be something in the middle of these two extremes and solicit feedback to make sure I’m staying in the middle zone.
The job market is pretty tough right now, what advice would you give to young creatives starting out today?
Don’t have an ego. I’ve met a lot of young designers with ego’s that they didn’t earn, and, for me, that’s an immediate turn-off. It shows they’re hard to work with or immature in their discipline. Be confident in your work, but open to feedback. Another thing, real work is very important. It’s really tough to judge student work because they didn’t go through the struggle; the blood, sweat, and tears of what it took to put something out in the world. When I went to art school, I was trained for years to make the best design possible. But in the real world, it’s more about fighting for your design to even see the light of day. There’s so much more that you can learn with real projects. Do whatever you can to find that real-life work experience.
To end on a light note, what’s your favorite snack food?
Well, I’m still trying to follow my diet, so I’m eating a lot of popcorn and, like you, I also love the dried mangoes.
Yea, I’m addicted to those things. Well, that sums up all my questions for today, thanks for taking the time to chat with me.
