An Art Director's Hilarious Guide to Dealing With His Former Copywriter Partner

Paul Gregson, a British art director, and Jono Flannery, an Australian copywriter, have been a creative team for the better part of a decade—first at M&C Saatchi in Sydney, and then, for the past three years, as creative directors at Johannes Leonardo in New York. Along the way, they’ve won a slew of awards, including three Grand Clios. 

Gregson, though, is now leaving for a new opportunity. But he’s ending the partnership in the best way possible, having drawn up a hilarious set of brand guidelines—actually, “Fland Guidelines”—for anyone fortunate enough to work with his colorful former partner in the future. 

It’s a very entertaining document indeed, mostly roasting Flannery, but with clear affection on Gregson’s part. The details are wonderful, and a richly amusing—and perhaps even useful—portait of Flannery does emerge. 

Click on the first image below and click/swipe through: 

Gregson tells Muse he got the idea for the “Fland Guidelines” a few weeks before his last day at JL. “I was thinking about what I could leave as a parting gift for Jono, and once the idea came to me, each section just seemed so easy to write,” he says. “I felt like the longer it got, the more fun it was to design. I just did it section by section as a little personal project.” 

By all accounts, Flannery is a larger-than-life figure who deserves this kind of grandiose yet tongue-in-cheek treatment. 

“Jono is a great character, to say the least, so I wanted it to have the right mix of sentiment and blatantly giving him some stick,” Gregson says. “We’ve always had good humor about keeping each other honest over the last seven years.” 

Gregson’s favorite sections of the document are the color palette and, of course, the alcohol warnings. 

“I made sure to give Jono a personal presentation of the guidelines before I shared them on my final email to everyone at the agency,” Gregson says. “He said it’s ‘the best work I’ve ever done!’ Haha.” 

And it will surely serve its purpose.

Says Gregson: “Hopefully everyone is now fully up to speed on how to keep Jono in line now that I’m not around to look after him in New York.”