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Sid Lee's Johan Vakidis of on Creating the First LED Basketball Court with Nike
The power of simplification
Johan is chief creative officer and president, North America, of Sid Lee. With over two decades of experience in Asia, Johan has built an award-winning career across advertising, marketing, gaming and entertainment, blending technological innovation with storytelling.
He has held leadership roles at Ogilvy Shanghai, established AKQA in China, launched R/GA in China and Japan, and spearheaded digital transformation at Disney. Over the course of his career, Johan has worked with such brands as Electronic Arts Battlefield 6, Nestlé, Samsung, Nike, Coca-Cola, Mercedes-Benz, and Tim Hortons.
We spent two minutes with Johan to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired.
Johan, tell us …
Where you grew up, and where you live now.
I grew up in Montreal, until I was 21, then moved to China for an exhilarating work and life adventure. I returned to Canada at the age of 42 and am now based in Montreal again, though I travel frequently for work.
How you first realized you were creative.
I drew a lot as a kid and enjoyed building things. The defining moment came when I got my first PC, a Pentium 286. The first thing I did was experiment with design and typographic placement. My first creation was a New Year’s dinner menu for a local restaurant I often went to with my parents.
Your most important creative inspirations, and some recent stuff you love.
I’ve always been drawn to designing around data – infographics or anything that visualizes information in unique and interesting ways. Lately, I’ve been inspired by visualizing bird chirps using lines, pops, and pixels. I found an artist on Instagram that draws lines and visual pops around nature sounds, and the ones that really connected with me featured birds in the rain.
One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.
“RISE” for Nike. I worked on it in 2012-13 while at AKQA. It was the world’s first LED basketball court, which not only helped players get better at their game, but the evolution of the project became an amazing training tool for drills and techniques.
A recent project you’re proud of.
“Destruction Receipts” for Electronic Arts. It leveraged AI to tell a story that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. But just as importantly, it relied on strong human input to make it meaningful.
Someone else’s work you admired lately.
I recently came across a long-form film, which doubles as a website and sales kit piece for The James, a luxurious mid-rise rental building in Toronto’s Rosedale neighborhood. The storytelling single-image animation technique is simply beautiful and so well done; it’s honest and truly convincing.
Your main strength as a creative person.
My ability to break down complex ideas and turn them into clear processes and flows.
A mentor who helped you navigate the industry.
Rei Inamoto taught me a lot. He constantly reminded me of the power of simplification, something that is integral to how I work today.
What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.
Carpenter or a mechanic. As a child I was taught to make things: toys, games, decorations—so that’s the carpenter side. My side passion has always been cars. And if there is one thing I’m learning every day, it’s how to work on them.
2 Minutes With is our regular interview series where we chat with creatives about their backgrounds, creative inspirations, work they admire and more. For more about 2 Minutes With, or to be considered for the series, please get in touch.
