Daniel Edmundson Interview
If SYLVAIN partner Daniel Edmundson wasn't in the branding world, he might be in a hardcore band. Instead, he channels his finely tuned skills into work that blends strategy and design.
Published on
Jan 29, 2025
6
min. read
Where’s your hometown and where do you live currently?
I grew up in New Jersey and currently split my time between Philadelphia and the western Catskills in upstate New York.
What would you say is the difference between the work life in NYC versus elsewhere? What drew you back to Philadelphia?
In Philadelphia, you feel the character of the city in every interaction. David Lynch once said something like Philly “is a mood,” and that’s pretty accurate. While everybody here wears a bit of their heart on their sleeve, I would say that New York maintains its emotional distance, making it easy to retreat into your own bubble. Here, the city is a part of every one and every one part of the city. We dig that kind of emotion, community and care, and want our son to feel connected to it.
Do you have any advice for creatives who want to make the move either to NYC or out of NYC?
In making the move to New York, extract and maximize all you need from it all. Hustle hard, make it worth your while, but don’t feel the need to make it forever. There’s lots there, but lots more elsewhere, too.
In a few sentences, describe what you do.
I help to connect the strategy and design worlds, making both stronger. I’ve done this at creative agencies and management consultancies like Mother, Gretel and now SYLVAIN, where I help to manage the design group with my partner, Michael Ian Kaye.
What are the skills that make the biggest difference in your work?
Quickly spotting ideas as they form and building up momentum with teams is a big strength of mine.
I also hate feeling like I’m doing creative work alone—I definitely despise the myth of the lone-wolf-savior-syndrome or the “smartest person in the room” idea. I’m a big advocate for creative teaming, constant conversations and iteratively building everything. Being able to collaborate easily and often is a big factor in making the work better.
What’s one major takeaway you’ve gained from each studio you have worked for in your career so far?
Earlier agencies = how to be creative
Mother = how to feel comfortable in myself
Gretel = how to form a standard
SYLVAIN = how to grow
What do you feel were the major turning points in your career–especially in your turn towards strategy? How did you navigate these turning points?
The turning points were the people that steered me: Rev. David Brown. Anita Lewis. Heidi Hackemer. Alain Sylvain. Michael Ian Kaye. Ryan Moore. People recognizing and identifying, “I see you doing this, but you maybe should be doing this.” It’s made all the difference and has contributed to my hybrid nature.
There’s also an arc of when you start working for people vs. with people—all great mentors in my life have felt like an exchange, rather than a sense of servitude.
In addition to incredible mentorship, I’ve gotten to work globally for extended periods of time in places like India, Rwanda, Korea and Japan, as well as unique pockets of the US like Detroit and Oakland. Designing research and spending time in those communities helped me pivot towards a strategy practice, wanting to include more empathy, understanding and inclusiveness in my overall approach to professional work and its outputs.
How does your background as a writer impact your approach to strategy and design?
I care about how things look and sound as much as what they say. Strategy should feel clear and divergent, not just literally describe those things. The visualization and verbalization of strategy can be just as important as its contents, and my background as a writer/creative reinforces that hybrid thinking in everything that I do today.
What are some of your go-to frameworks, methods or processes for strategy?
I’m always pushing for the “less, better things” mentality when it comes to strategic frameworks or approaches. Less components and minimal layers are always better. Although we’re often sharing strategic thinking with accomplished business leaders and clients at all levels of huge organizations, they’re still people. They feel the nuances and needs of simple, memorable language, even in their internal work and worlds.
What is your definition of brand strategy? Has it changed over time?
Over time, I’ve witnessed lots of brand strategies go unused and never remembered due to their complexity. If we’re not creating thinking that is highly actionable, ownable and memorable, then what are we doing?
What is your favorite and least favorite brand right now? Why?
I tend to put lots of energy into the brands that I work with. My favorites are the boring brands trying to be better—the ones with a real problem to solve or back up against the wall. My least favorites are the frontrunners always claiming to be the best. We could all benefit from a little less bluster today.
What’s a piece of feedback that still haunts you?
I’m gonna flip this—to a piece of feedback that’s kept me going. A member of my team once explained that they appreciated working for me because I was myself and didn’t care what anybody else thought. As someone who comes from a humble upbringing, and being a hybrid creative/strategist I know what not fitting in feels like. It’s important to retain your identity in your work while making it, but never making it about you.
Do you have rituals for finding inspiration, or do you let it come naturally? And what’s your favorite offline source of inspiration?
My family and the places I live are my biggest sources of inspiration.
What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?
Digging for obscure music, constantly.
What about the industry do you wish you knew starting out in your career?
We’re always chasing versions of ourselves that aren’t. Leaning into you makes your contributions inherently useful and valuable.
Where can The Subtext readers keep up with you? (blog, social channels, linkedin, website, etc)
Bonus Round
What do you listen to while working?
I grew up a hardcore kid, so some mixture of Dischord Records paired with local punk, or hip-hop is my jam.
What’s your most creatively inspired time of day?
Mornings upstate
If you could ban one copy line/phrase, what would it be?
“Category of one”
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
Probably playing music.
Describe your creative process in three words.
Instinctual. Consequential. Messy.
As a Partner at SYLVAIN, Daniel leads the development of the design practice. With experience at both creative agencies and brand consultancies like Mother and Gretel, Daniel's focus lies at bridging the gap between business and expression. He frequently comments on the structures and systems of design, business and strategy across publications, conferences and podcasts.
Where’s your hometown and where do you live currently?
I grew up in New Jersey and currently split my time between Philadelphia and the western Catskills in upstate New York.
What would you say is the difference between the work life in NYC versus elsewhere? What drew you back to Philadelphia?
In Philadelphia, you feel the character of the city in every interaction. David Lynch once said something like Philly “is a mood,” and that’s pretty accurate. While everybody here wears a bit of their heart on their sleeve, I would say that New York maintains its emotional distance, making it easy to retreat into your own bubble. Here, the city is a part of every one and every one part of the city. We dig that kind of emotion, community and care, and want our son to feel connected to it.
Do you have any advice for creatives who want to make the move either to NYC or out of NYC?
In making the move to New York, extract and maximize all you need from it all. Hustle hard, make it worth your while, but don’t feel the need to make it forever. There’s lots there, but lots more elsewhere, too.
In a few sentences, describe what you do.
I help to connect the strategy and design worlds, making both stronger. I’ve done this at creative agencies and management consultancies like Mother, Gretel and now SYLVAIN, where I help to manage the design group with my partner, Michael Ian Kaye.
What are the skills that make the biggest difference in your work?
Quickly spotting ideas as they form and building up momentum with teams is a big strength of mine.
I also hate feeling like I’m doing creative work alone—I definitely despise the myth of the lone-wolf-savior-syndrome or the “smartest person in the room” idea. I’m a big advocate for creative teaming, constant conversations and iteratively building everything. Being able to collaborate easily and often is a big factor in making the work better.
What’s one major takeaway you’ve gained from each studio you have worked for in your career so far?
Earlier agencies = how to be creative
Mother = how to feel comfortable in myself
Gretel = how to form a standard
SYLVAIN = how to grow
What do you feel were the major turning points in your career–especially in your turn towards strategy? How did you navigate these turning points?
The turning points were the people that steered me: Rev. David Brown. Anita Lewis. Heidi Hackemer. Alain Sylvain. Michael Ian Kaye. Ryan Moore. People recognizing and identifying, “I see you doing this, but you maybe should be doing this.” It’s made all the difference and has contributed to my hybrid nature.
There’s also an arc of when you start working for people vs. with people—all great mentors in my life have felt like an exchange, rather than a sense of servitude.
In addition to incredible mentorship, I’ve gotten to work globally for extended periods of time in places like India, Rwanda, Korea and Japan, as well as unique pockets of the US like Detroit and Oakland. Designing research and spending time in those communities helped me pivot towards a strategy practice, wanting to include more empathy, understanding and inclusiveness in my overall approach to professional work and its outputs.
How does your background as a writer impact your approach to strategy and design?
I care about how things look and sound as much as what they say. Strategy should feel clear and divergent, not just literally describe those things. The visualization and verbalization of strategy can be just as important as its contents, and my background as a writer/creative reinforces that hybrid thinking in everything that I do today.
What are some of your go-to frameworks, methods or processes for strategy?
I’m always pushing for the “less, better things” mentality when it comes to strategic frameworks or approaches. Less components and minimal layers are always better. Although we’re often sharing strategic thinking with accomplished business leaders and clients at all levels of huge organizations, they’re still people. They feel the nuances and needs of simple, memorable language, even in their internal work and worlds.
What is your definition of brand strategy? Has it changed over time?
Over time, I’ve witnessed lots of brand strategies go unused and never remembered due to their complexity. If we’re not creating thinking that is highly actionable, ownable and memorable, then what are we doing?
What is your favorite and least favorite brand right now? Why?
I tend to put lots of energy into the brands that I work with. My favorites are the boring brands trying to be better—the ones with a real problem to solve or back up against the wall. My least favorites are the frontrunners always claiming to be the best. We could all benefit from a little less bluster today.
What’s a piece of feedback that still haunts you?
I’m gonna flip this—to a piece of feedback that’s kept me going. A member of my team once explained that they appreciated working for me because I was myself and didn’t care what anybody else thought. As someone who comes from a humble upbringing, and being a hybrid creative/strategist I know what not fitting in feels like. It’s important to retain your identity in your work while making it, but never making it about you.
Do you have rituals for finding inspiration, or do you let it come naturally? And what’s your favorite offline source of inspiration?
My family and the places I live are my biggest sources of inspiration.
What’s your favorite way to procrastinate?
Digging for obscure music, constantly.
What about the industry do you wish you knew starting out in your career?
We’re always chasing versions of ourselves that aren’t. Leaning into you makes your contributions inherently useful and valuable.
Where can The Subtext readers keep up with you? (blog, social channels, linkedin, website, etc)
Bonus Round
What do you listen to while working?
I grew up a hardcore kid, so some mixture of Dischord Records paired with local punk, or hip-hop is my jam.
What’s your most creatively inspired time of day?
Mornings upstate
If you could ban one copy line/phrase, what would it be?
“Category of one”
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
Probably playing music.
Describe your creative process in three words.
Instinctual. Consequential. Messy.
As a Partner at SYLVAIN, Daniel leads the development of the design practice. With experience at both creative agencies and brand consultancies like Mother and Gretel, Daniel's focus lies at bridging the gap between business and expression. He frequently comments on the structures and systems of design, business and strategy across publications, conferences and podcasts.
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