Zambezi Hires Deutsch, MullenLowe Alum as Design Director
Norm Brown most recently served as creative director for M&C Saatchi L.A.
Zambezi, the Los Angeles-based full-service agency that has worked with clients including Beats by Dre, TaylorMade and Venmo, hired Norm Brown as design director. In the role, he will be tasked with working across the agency’s client roster while collaborating closely with Gavin Lester, who joined Zambezi as CCO and equity partner in 2017, and his team.
“Zambezi is an agency that greatly values exceptional craft, and we’re thrilled to bring Norm on to lead and elevate our design discipline,” Lester said in a statement. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with him in the past and appreciate that he is not only an experienced and gifted designer, but also someone that’s fantastic at nurturing talent and amplifying our broader creative output. We’re excited to see the great work that Norm will undoubtedly create for our agency and clients ahead.”
A multi-talented creative, Brown has held a variety of roles over the course of his 15-year career. He most recently served as creative director for M&C Saatchi L.A., where he led the design of a new corporate website for ActivationBlizzard and also worked across clients including Amazon Music, BMW Motorcycle, FX Network and the San Diego Zoo. In April, M&C Saatchi Los Angeles ceased operations due to the business impact of Covid-19. Brown isn’t the only M&C Saatchi alum to join Zambezi in a high-profile role. In 2017, M&C Saatchi vet Erickson Ilog joined Zambezi as chief financial officer and chief organizational officer.
Prior to M&C Saatchi, Brown held associate creative director roles at Deutsch and MullenLowe, and briefly served as senior designer, brand experience for Uber. Some of his other notable projects include a recent rebranding for Pandora Music and a mini-documentary celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Beastie Boys’ album Ill Communication, titled Still Ill.
Brown is also an instructor at ArtCenter College of Design, where he teaches classes on graphic design and leads a four-week immersion Brand Camp course. A champion of greater diversity and inclusion in advertising, Brown has lent his time and design abilities to support and develop creative materials for racial justice movements Uproar and WhereAreTheBlackDesigners.
