Four years ago, one of Chicago's most accomplished and renowned digital designers and marketers was growing disillusioned with the industry that he helped pioneer.
"As the company became more successful, I found myself less and less satisfied with the work," said Jim Jacoby, founder of Manifest, a fifteen-year-old digital experience design agency. "I had to focus on putting meaning back into the work I was doing."
And Jacoby, who left Manifest in 2013, found that meaning in an unlikely project - helping build the world's most powerful luxury motorcycle, The Bienville Legacy.
Shortly after Manifest, Jacoby partnered with manufacturing entrepreneur Scott Miller on the American Design and Master-Craft Initiative (ADMCi). The foundation's mission is to empower and reinvigorate master-craftsmanship, to enable the world's most gifted makers to build the best products that they possibly can, explained Jacoby.
So, to prove the model, the ADMCi commissioned J.T. Nesbitt, a celebrated New Orleans-based motorcycle designer, to "reinvent the motorcycle." The result, the Bienville Legacy, is a 300 horsepower work of art, complete with patented leaf-spring suspension, independent steering, and aerospace-grade titanium construction. Only 12 will be made and each costs $350,000. When the first model debuted in 2015, it was universally heralded as a "motorcycle design for the history books" and a "superbike."
"The goal [with this first commission] was to observe a master-craftsman at work, to live that life and view the world through that lens," said Jacoby
And during the three-plus-year construction of The Bienville Legacy, Jacoby explored, tested, and refined what he believes to be the tenets of craftsmanship, establishing an ethos that would allow him to expand and scale this approach to the broader business landscape. Now, nearly four years after the launch of the ADMCi, Jacoby is ready to bring the initiative to an industry that he thought he had left for good.
"If you asked me a year ago if I was going to get back into the agency world, I would have told you that hell would have had to freeze over," laughed Jacoby. "But if I learned one thing in life, it's that you tend to get back to where you belong and for me that's user-centered design. People are making things so quickly that have a massive impact on the human condition. We need to do that consciously and with a craftsman approach."
So, phase two of the ADMCi model, which Jacoby is in the early stages of launching, is aligning with digital agencies to bring a sense of master-craftsmanship to their work, products, and brand. And craftsmanship, as defined by Jacoby, is a combination of quality and humanity, of strength and courage. In other words, Jacoby is now committed to taking what he learned from observing and working with an ultimate craftsman and infusing the digital design industry with that mindset.
"We're now focused on affecting the culture of corporate design and behavior, on applying the tenets of master-craftsmanship to unlock core truths and drive real innovation," added Jacoby.
To do so, ADMCi will assist digital design agencies through positioning, messaging architecture, technical platforms, financial modeling, and leadership coaching. Already, the ADMCi is working with MSTQ, a Chicago-based user experience design studio.
Jacoby also believes that Chicago, with its rich history in manufacturing and advertising, is uniquely positioned to be a hub for this new approach to design.
"Chicago’s known for architecture and economics" said Jacoby. "But I believe Chicago can really come to be known for this movement in design that is based on craftsmanship, while also being human centered."
(Images via AMDCi, The Bienville Legacy, and Gun Hill Studios, UK.)
