In August 2017, English writer Nick Asbury was sitting alone in a pub (“standard for poets”) and decided to vent his feelings about the news by composing a poem which he posted on Instagram. And he did it again the next day.
“All wit is viral,” Nick Asbury, co-author of design book A Smile in the Mind, says. “It’s an idea that you want to share and pass on.”
Nick Asbury claims he is not a pessimist but “more of a frustrated idealist at heart.”
Nick Asbury has a way with words; whether they’re written for a studio brief, or a personal project. He is the designer’s writer.
From limericks about armed coups to haiku about football transfers, Nick Asbury reflects on his long project to write fast poetry on his phone
Nick talks to us on... differentiating between writing for design versus writing for ads... using wit (properly)... and his plans to dismantle brand purpose.
I’ve worked in and around branding and design for 25 years. Since writing about purpose for Creative Review in 2017, I’ve been a frequent commentator on the ethics and politics of advertising, resulting in the 2024 book The Road to Hell (Choir Press). I enjoy public speaking about purpose, creativity and writing.
As a commentator, creative writer and poet, I’ve written for Creative Review, Design Week and The Guardian and been profiled in the New York Times, Irish Times and Sydney Morning Herald. I’m featured in The Copy Book: How Some of the World’s Best Advertising Writers Write Their Advertising (Taschen) and I co-authored the latest edition of A Smile in the Mind: Witty Thinking in Graphic Design (Phaidon).
Other works include humorous journal Perpetual Disappointments Diary (Pan Macmillan), three-year poetry project Realtime Notes, described by critic John Self as ‘the best chronicle of the 21st century’, and ongoing adventures in Tin Pan Alley-style songwriting at songwritings.substack.com.
I’m one half of UK creative partnership Asbury & Asbury with artist and former graphic designer Sue Asbury.