Jan Casey should take the British Heart Foundation one step further still

So Jan Casey has woven her magic again, this time on the British Heart Foundation roster. Input from Casey, an independent advisor, did much to help property developer Land Securities sort out its design buying processes and achieve top-flight design through an exemplary roster, so it should ensure that the charity reaches similar heights.

Casey was initially involved with Land Securities some five years ago when then head of marketing for central London Elizabeth Lockwood brought her in. The result was a ground-breaking approach to design commissioning that raised the bar set by high street retailer Superdrug in the late 1990s.

The system evolved by Lockwood and Casey at Land Securities proved to be a winning formula, resulting in a string of design awards for the likes of GBH and NB Studio for quirky promotions for its various development sites. It was taken up with enthusiasm by Tom Foulkes, then Land Securities head of development marketing, retail, who initiated the company’s first retail design roster, and the awardsfest continued.
Lockwood and Foulkes have now moved on, to Infanta Creative and consulting engineer Buro Happold respectively, and, like its peers, Land Securities is suffering the financial woes that have beset the property world. No design, however good, can fix that. But the principles behind its rosters live on in the annals of design.

You could say that Casey has an easier task at the British Heart Foundation. It has a great track record for design and won Best of Show in Design Week’s Benchmarks last year with the outstanding The Little Creature campaign by Hat-Trick Design. But if she can help it ramp up its efforts we will have another model for success through design.

It takes an enlightened client to engage the expertise of someone like Casey and one that is open to genuine collaboration with its consultant. Hats off to the British Heart Foundation for making the move. We look forward to seeing the outcome.