Tom May profiles creative director Gemma Phillips, whose work follows one test: does it meet people in the reality they already inhabit?

Brands have an instinct to sugarcoat. Maybe they think we can’t handle the truth. But we’re already living the truth; that’s the irony. The grit is where it’s at.

Bluntness delivers the message. Recognition gives it force.

I look at the work they’re already doing. Who’s taking risks? Who’s trying to do something differently? Who’s willing to say the thing that no one else is saying? Who wants to change things, rather than do more of the same but with nicer design?

Humour can be incredibly respectful because it acknowledges reality. It’s a sign that you genuinely understand the audience; you’re one of them, not a machine hovering above them, selling them something they know isn’t true.

Phillips’s work is provocative because it acknowledges the truth and doesn’t gloss over the uncomfortable.