Hello

I’m Ian Campodonic, though most people just call me Campo. I design brands and create advertising campaigns, usually with a camera in one hand and a tune in the back of my mind. I work with startups, organisations and people who want to scale up. Helping them use creativity to say what they need to say. I'm also a mentor, coach, and occasional agony uncle for people trying to get their ideas off the ground and to market.

Go Compare Campaign onset photography by me

Do Good, Feel Good

Alongside all that, I am a volunteer and have donated my creative skills for Noah’s Ark Children’s Charity, who helped save my daughter’s life when she was very small. They asked me to become an ambassador. I said yes. Some things matter more than a good kerning choice.

My dad rebuilt vintage British motorbikes. BSA, Norton, Triumph. All oily knuckles and obsessive detail. I watched him work and, like most sons, tried to win his attention by mimicking his curiosity. Those machines were strange, beautiful, stubborn things. That’s probably where I caught the bug, the joy of making something not just work, but sing.

Noah’s Ark, Digital Out of Home roadside advertising. Part of “Step Challenge'“ cross-channel campaign

A Curious Beginning

Me and Dad & his restored 1935 Ariel

So there I was fresh out of uni, portfolio (in this case a cd-rom, remember them?) full of optimism doing the rounds at the New Designers Exhibition in London. Which, incidentally, is where I landed my first “proper” job. It was at one of those early digital design and ad agencies you know the sort, lots of clever people, started by ex-Publicis types who knew their way around a pitch deck. It was a good place to start.

From there, it was on to a global digital, brand and creative agency, jet-setting, jargon, big brands, the works. But the early 2000s called me back to Wales, where I landed at Fernleighdesign, designing large-scale creative for events. Somewhere in the midst of that, I did a stint designing for a heavy metal magazine called Terrorizer. Yes, Terrorizer. Lots of skulls, lots of umlauts. A far cry from Helvetica.

Boardrooms to Brand Guidelines

Various campaigns created as Creative Director for Wordley and GoCompare. Also, see if you can spot Terrorizer Magazine

After that came freelance: S4C, event companies and various design agencies. Then I took the leap into the fintech world of GoCompare. Starting as a designer, ended up on the senior marketing team, and finally I became Creative Director. We even pulled off a full rebrand. Tidy.

Eventually the agency world lured me back, this time to Wordley, where I became Creative Design & Digital Director. Bit of everything there: traditional above-the-line TV ads, brand, digital, all jumbled up in one glorious, fully-caffeinated mix.

And that, as they say, is the abridged version.

Campo Creative is my little studio with big ideas. It exists to solve creative problems in ways that start with people. Every decision, from colour palettes to campaign slogans should have a reason. Green isn't green just because it’s nice. It's green because it means something.

I don’t believe in style for the sake of it. Design should solve a problem, meet a need, or make someone feel something, ideally all three. I work best with people who are curious, a bit brave, and who still believe creativity can be a force for good.

Why I Set Up Campo Creative

I'm a big believer in learning by doing. I’ve taught myself everything from sketching advertising scamps to film photography. There’s something about the hands-on, analogue process that helps keep the brain elastic. Screenprinting will be my latest. Let’s see where that leads…

Always Be Learning

Agile Partnerships
I work with incubators, learning providers, and teams trying to stretch their creativity. It’s collaborative. It’s adaptable. It works.

Tech Startup Support
Tech’s often complicated. I help teams explain what they do in a way that normal people, business and orgnisations might understand. And care about.

Getting the Message Right
Before we create anything, we talk. About the mission, the audience, the "why now?". That’s what makes good communication work.

Creativity on a Shoestring
Startups don’t always have big budgets. That’s fine. You don’t need a flashy exhibition stand if you’ve got a six-foot furry koala and a QR code that works. True story.

Upskilling for Content
Feeds are hungry. I run practical workshops on video, photo and content-making that give teams the tools and confidence to make stuff that stands out.