We were lucky to catch up with Paul Lamb recently and have shared our conversation below.

Paul, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

When I was back home in Plymouth, England, I became obsessed with fashion magazines as a teenager, particularly the photography and typography. The fashion stories and the ad campaigns, the graphic design and the logos, I loved the relationship between type and image. I think in that moment, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in that area. I wasn’t exactly sure at the time what an art director or creative director was, but I knew I wanted to work in that industry. That’s when I started to learn about fashion photographers like Herb Ritts and Peter Lindbergh, and art directors such as Fabien Baron and before him, Saul Bass and Alexey Brodovitch. They really inspired me.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m Paul Lamb, and I’m a Creative Director, Art Director, and Graphic Designer. I studied graphic design at Falmouth University in England, and after graduating, I began my career in the fashion industry. I was lucky, my first job out of college was as a junior graphic designer for the UK department store chain Debenhams. A friend of mine had a family connection to an art director there, which got me in the door for an interview. I landed the role, and that job helped me get my foot in the industry and facilitated my move to London.

I worked in their design studio at their headquarters behind the flagship store on Oxford street. I got to work on all different projects from store graphics, to press look books, to logo design and campaign layouts. When I look back now, I see what an incredible learning experience it was. Through my time there I got to be more and more involved in the photoshoots (something I really pushed for). I was like a sponge, soaking up everything and hungry to learn as much as I could. I got promoted and after a couple years I moved on and went freelance working on a number of different brands. I was offered a design manager position for a major woman’s retailer and I took it. Shaping the design and creative, redesigning their brand identity and steering them in a new direction. By now I had a real level of experience and going freelance again I was retained by a number of clients. I started working on campaigns in Australia for 2 big woman’s fashion brands over there, working with local photographers and models. It was an amazing time.

From then it wasn’t long before I moved to New York. Which was always a dream of mine. II feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with a number of high-profile U.S. brands including Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole, NARS, 2(X)IST, and Lands’ End, as well as smaller, more niche labels.

As a full-service creative, I work with brands to shape powerful visuals from concept through to execution. With my extensive background, I’ve led everything from casting, branding, and creative development to design and storytelling. Clients often come to me when their creative lacks cohesion or clarity. I help translate ideas into work that feels elevated, intentional, and aligned — whether that’s redesigning a brand identity, reimagining a campaign, or building out a complete visual language. I have a very clean design aesthetic.

I guess what sets me apart is a balance of vision and execution. I bring the eye of a graphic designer, the instinct of a director, and a collaborative process that’s both intuitive and grounded strategically.. The result is work that connects both visually and emotionally.

I feel very fortunate to have worked on some amazing projects with incredibly talented crews. I’m really proud of the Kenneth Cole campaigns we created with film director Sean Ellis (we were able to lure him back after years away from fashion to shoot stills again). But I’m most proud of the work I’m producing right now: a special project I’ve been developing with photographer Gary Lupton, titled The Misfits. It’s an ongoing portrait series and forthcoming exhibition/zine inspired by Americana and Western iconography. Each model is shot in a stripped-down, unfiltered way. I’m really excited for it to be released soon.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There have definitely been some knocks along the way. One I’ll never forget was an interview I had at Tatler magazine at Condé Nast — I believe it was with their Creative Director at the time. He absolutely annihilated my portfolio in a very harsh and unnecessary way. I walked out of that meeting feeling pretty angry about the whole experience. As it turns out, this particular individual had a reputation for doing that kind of thing.

But rather than discourage me, it actually made me more determined to succeed in the industry. That experience taught me a lot — especially how not to behave. If that was the kind of culture in that environment, then it wasn’t a place I wanted to work.

Since then, I’ve always made it a priority to build good working relationships with everyone I collaborate with. I’ve never understood bad behavior on set — and in my role, whether as art director or creative director, I believe it’s my responsibility to set the tone. I always try to bring positive energy to a shoot, because that’s when people do their best work creatively. As the one holding it all together, your attitude matters. Reputation is everything, and I really pride myself on being someone who’s considered kind, collaborative, and easy to work with.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To quote the legendary graphic designer, and one of my heroes, Saul Bass:
“I want to make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.”

That truly sums up what being a creative means to me. I love being able to simply create, whether it’s a logo, playing with typography (I’m obsessed with type), or working with photography. It’s the very reason I got into all this in the first place.. What still excites me is when I’m on set and there’s a moment when everything aligns and you get that amazing shot. That reinforces why I chose this career.

P.S. To all the creatives and graphic designers out there: go look up the work of Saul Bass!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://paul-lamb.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealpaullamb @therealpaullamb
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-lamb-31b9a611/
• Other: https://flock-creatives.com

Image Credits

1. Photography Gary Lupton. 2. Photography Anthony Batista 3 Photography Joshua Steen 4 Photography Gary Lupton
5 Photography Tony Kim 6 Photography Sean Ellis 7 Photography James Dimmock 8 Photography Mike Rooke