Arize: KDU, Keystone Design Union, has a great body of work and designers. Can you give us a small bio of you guys and the operation?
We are a private, global creative collective. We are not an art collective, many of our members are not artists - they are managers, publishers, writers, lawyers, curators, teachers, business leaders, etc. We are basically a single, organic talent asset. A self governing system that is used to rapidly develop and accelerate brands. Personally, I am a designer and a strategist. I spend most of my days working with clients and working to manage the network. Since the KDU is quite different from other systems, it takes a lot of effort to maintain the constant growth. We are lucky right now that so many global brands are flocking to us, since their existing agencies and internal teams are failing to meet the modern challenges they are faced with.

What makes us a target is we are not an agency, we are a "private" group and I also think that many people have strong opinions because I tend to be quite vocal with my points of view...

Arize: The KDU being a collection of designers and artists, how did this idea come up and how did you obtain such high caliber artists?
The idea came from me witnessing the close knit family structure of Rocafella Records. When I was there, the ROC ran the entire industry.

It was an amazing time to be involved in hip hop. The family took care of itself. Upon leaving I wanted to replicate the family structure. This is how it started, mimicking what I had experienced, but then it then evolved into something more structured and more similar to other systems. The basic structure we implemented on the first day still fuels us today - One hand washes the other. Many members have come and gone, but this ethos remains. People helping each other to progress their careers.

Arize: Can you sum up what you want people to think about when someone mentions The KDU?
It depends on who you speak with. If you are talking to our clients, they see us as a great asset to help them accelerate their brands. In regards to all others, I hear all types of crazy things... I have heard we are fake or even we are a conspiracy. Some of the confusion comes from a certain level of secrecy that is required to protect our projects and goals. What makes us a target is we are not an agency, we are a "private" group and I also think that many people have strong opinions because I tend to be quite vocal with my points of view on various industry topics. I am not one to bite my tongue when there is something that needs to be said, so this outspoken stance comes with a price. I personal like the accusations we are fake. What they (naysayers) dont seem to get is that our clients write the checks, not our competitors. If my competition is not aiming at us, they will never be a threat.

Arize: With all the high caliber clients you have and the brands you guys represent. How did all this success start? And how do you guys obtain such a fun client base?
It is simply a matter of time and word of mouth. We do one job and it succeeds, and then another. Success begets success. The clients are all somehow connected. We have a few key relationships that drive projects.

When I was there, the ROC (Rocafella Records) ran the entire industry. It was an amazing time to be involved in hip hop. The family took care of itself.

Arize: I’m sure you guys stay busy. What are some of the current projects in the works? Anything we should be on the lookout for?
We have a even 3 way split in projects. One is our consumer facing brand work. One is our strategy work and then we have our own brands. Our own brands have to come last due to our client workload. Clients must come first, always. We will however be launching our next SVSV collection this summer at Bread and Butter.
We are about to do a few talks at the OFFF conference in Lisbon Portugal. We do all the cover to cover creative direction on URB magazine. We have been doing alot of strategy work lately - this is tough because of the nature of the work, you cant spin it. You cant show the plans in advance and many times you can simply never show your "touch" on project. We have recently completed some great work for Coke, Wrigley's gum, Icebreakers Gum and Mints, Samsung and Bread and Butter.

Arize: Thanks for sitting down with us!
Thanks for the opportunity, we appreciate it. Links:
www.thekdu.com