Lorenz Perry co-founded the small indie agency Splinter Group two years ago following stints with a few of the big boys. But he has decided bigger is actually better and started as the creative director at Interbrand this week, replacing Debbie Hyde. The talented art director, typographer and designer has worked at Saatchi & Saatchi Auckland and Sydney, Publicis Mojo Auckland, Ogilvy Auckland, Rainger Direct and the Department of Doing on clients like Vogel’s, Honda and Speight’s. And he’s taken home a few awards in his time, including a Grand Prix at Axis and Gold at Cannes (for an Amnesty International print campaign), as well as Silver at Clio and various accolade at the Best Design Awards. But he hasn’t just won. He has also been enlisted to judge at the AWARD show in Sydney on three occasions. 
At Splinter Group (which, despite the ‘group’, ended up just being him) he was sharing a space with DM agency Twenty and worked with other independent writers, designers, digital developers, with his main client being Tiger Beer.
Interestingly, the Splinter Group manifesto claims “there is a better and more effective way to service clients and that’s by being unencumbered by the multi-national business model” and “Splinter Group works far more closely with clients than the traditional agency model allows”. But he’s looking forward to being slightly more encumbered once again and working on some bigger projects rather than scrambling for the rats and mice during what has been a tough couple of years for many of the indies. 
“I’m really excited to be back in a global agency and partnering with James [Bickford] to grow Interbrand locally to lift its creative profile,” he says.
Interbrand managing director James Bickford says Perry’s depth of experience in the industry will make him an invaluable addition to the team (which has had a wee reshuffle, with Brad Green also leaving for Interbrand Vancouver) .
“This is a fantastic hire for the agency and the wider DDB Group. It signals the next phase of growth for Interbrand NZ as we position the business locally as a world class design and brand strategy leader,” he says.
DDB Group executive creative director Toby Talbot says Perry is a great designer, typographer and art director and he is also very well versed in digital, as evidence by his recent work redesigning the Tiger beer website.
“I can’t wait to see what he does. This is a huge hire for Interbrand,” he says.
