Billabong branding house

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"Gnarly dude, hang ten," the suits would call out to me over the water cooler, in my previous life working in an advertising agency.

Being the only surfer in an agency situated in a landlocked city, (generally appropriated with all things high brow and culturally conscious), it was fair to say I stood out amongst my fellow colleagues. Where the majority of the guys in the office laboured with their hairdressers to find that perfect equilibrium of tinted blond locks, my two days a week near the ocean ensured a healthy glow.

My addiction to surf industry publications resulted in many subscriptions finding their way to my office and slowly, but surely, the creatives I were briefing became fixated on many of the design elements and aesthetic freedoms witnessed in the pages of print ads.

"How do they get away with this stuff?" they would ask me. "Look how much freedom they have: the concepts, the aesthetic, the finished product. It's amazing! Which agencies did these?"

And that's when they would get a little perturbed. Giving an advertising agency a surf brand account, I would explain, is like getting his holiness The Pope to endorse pokies; it wouldn't make sense.

These brands have marketing budgets that would make an account director in a high-positioned international agency blush and media that has the ability to tap into not only a core surfing audience, but more so, those aspiring to be that audience.

For a sport that once sustained and based itself on escapism and an apathetical view of all things mainstream, the gigantic surf-brand industry by-product sure does have a reverence for currency and shareholder bliss.

The first decade of the 21st Century has been a splendour epoch for the surf industry. Irrelevant of share market down turns and credit crises hysteria, the industry has experienced mainstream polarisation like never before.

The ledger of the industry is healthy, increasing from US$5 billion in sales in 2000 to US$11 billion in 2008.

Eminent surf journalist Nick Carroll recently wrote in US-based surf industry magazine Surfing on the industry's impressive 2000 to 2009 time frame stating: "Marketing budgets of surf brand companies inflated until they were big enough to support entire third world health programs and entourage-style lives for the blessed few at the top of the tree. Money exploded over surfing like a tsunami...and as some wise old bastard once said, money's effect is never more apparent than in its absence."

Some hard core surfers and industry pioneers would argue that surfing sold its soul by selling out to the mainstream, but inevitability this was always the only process at play. What was once a subversive underground pursuit became a real-deal mainstream commerce, real quick.

Thankfully, the conventional surf industry never lost its core creative aspirations; in fact the surf industry has nurtured and produced world-class creatives of its very own.

Billabong's Gold Coast-based creative concepts director Claudio Kirac is something of a larger than life character. An industry veteran, his rise is much like that of any young and aspiring graphic designer working in an agency environment.

"I started with the company (Billabong) about10-years-ago and have always had a close connection with the board-sports industry myself," says Kirac.
"I did some work experience within the art room and a year later was interviewed for a position as a graphic designer."

Kirac soon progressed into marketing and advertising, before taking his passion for photography to another level; getting published in a lot of the early Vonzipper brand ad campaigns. He soon cemented his role as an all-round creative powerhouse, consistently hitting the nail on the head with print, garment graphics and photography, to create a style of his very own.

Today he is much more streamlined in his approach as creative concepts director, taking on the role of assisting the menswear creative director in achieving an overall look and feel for the Billabong brand. Kirac's workload involves research and early graphics, concept creation and photography, catalogue, point of sale, and web presence.

For a visual reference, Kirac is the hirsute half-naked man donning electric pink hot pants in band Sneaky Sound System's 'UFO' video clip. He gets around, you see. An extremely talented graphic designer and artist, dabbling in mixed media concepts to skateboard graphics, plus an annual speaker at the Semi-Permanent design conference, Kirac is one of those hard working few who comfortably finds that balance between creativity and commercial success.

"Our aim is to inspire youth," he says, of Billabong's ethos. "I love nurturing new talent and seeing what college graduates come up with these days, as opposed to 10-years-ago."

He says that the increased exposure to so many different social networking avenues, as well as blogs, websites and magazines, really shapes the design being created by the kids of today.  
However, such unlimited access to so much information can have a negative influence, with designers losing their personal identity amongst the clutter.

I put it to Kirac straight up: why do big surf brands keep away from out sourcing their advertising and design campaigns to mainstream agencies, which have all the awards in the world and are brimming with creativity?
"It's very difficult within the surf industry and especially in Australia as we don't like having the wool pulled over our eyes and tend to get quite cynical if things just aren't 'real'," he says. "I think it helps to be closely connected to the board-sports culture -- either you have surfed, skateboarded or snowboarded all your life, or if you do it now."

You can try and interpret a client's brief to the best of your ability but a direct connection to your market always helps, he adds. "There are many reasons why Billabong is where it is and staying true to itself and surf culture is definitely one of them."

Billabong is the big boy of the industry. Australian born and raised, packaged and distributed to the world in large iconic doses. Billabong's logo is synonymous with 'industry leader' status, the best surfers ride for its teams, it puts on the biggest and best events world wide, and maintains a youthful portfolio of brands that fit under the umbrella of youth/surf/skate/snow culture. Brands such as Nixon, Vonzipper and Element fit perfectly into its Gold Coast-based international headquarters. And, Kirac admits that he is fortunate to wear different hats with diverse creative directions for unique brands.

"It's amazing as you can admire that we are all within the same industry and appealing to similar demographics, but all the brands have their own unique creative visions and paths. I am now much more focused on my art direction and where the end results go, not spreading myself too thin, just getting a good brief and executing it towards an end result quicker. Although, it is great to work with companies such as Vonzipper as you have the freedom to be just that little more creative within your graphics, prints and photography. I have really learnt so much on 'the job' and explored the different creative boundaries that come with working with experienced people."

And just like in an agency or mainstream design studio, creativity and design within Billabong is trial and error, pushing the boundaries and reigning in the extremities to find the balance of commercial success and distinctive aesthetics.

"Personally, I always like to pursue various artistic fringes within every range - what has been, what is happening now and what will happen in the future. You always have to keep a commercial head on because going too 'far out' may mean that your designs won't wash with the majority."

In 2008, Billabong initiated its international charitable division Design for Humanity. A 'win-win' situation for young aspiring designers to profile their pieces to an international audience with revenue from the sales of selected designs on garments put back in to global environmental and humanitarian causes.

"Art, design and aesthetics have always played a major role within Billabong," says Kirac of the company's creative outlook. "And this has been evident ever since it's inception over 30-years-ago. It's really important to interpret influences in your own perception. You can follow and copy if you wish or you can get a grasp on some original ideas and turn them into magic."

As for keeping up with the fashion element of his job, Kirac says he has to keep an eye on social circles and sub-cultures while keeping 'surf fashion' always in the back of his mind.
"As within most different social circles you have early adopters and followers and all the grey areas in-between," he says.

"As far as surf fashion goes, there are so many styles and products that cater for so many different people and I really think 'surf fashion' has always had its very own character and style that you just can't emulate."

Kirac is proof that Australian creatives don't necessarily have to be based in Sydney or Melbourne, a lot can be done from 'back water' Gold Coast City. His words of advice for up and coming designers, looking for a stint in the board-sport industry, is to be true to yourself and be flexible with what's around you. "Move and change with the times but always retain that core focus on where the brand came from and its roots within Australian surf culture whilst advancing toward the future."

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