Sydney, July 31th, 2024

Nightjar is a digital product company that delivers transformative results for ambitious brands at velocity. They are based in Sydney and work with partners internationally to solve complex business problems, unifying brand, experience and technology. They define and shape brands, refine UX pathways and craft thoughtful experience design system.

Ahmed Meer is the Co-founder & Innovation Director at Nightjar. In an interview with TIA, Meer described his career path from the UK to founding his own agency in Australia and explained how Nightjar blends brand, experience, and technology in a single approach. He also gave examples of recent projects and gave his views on the future of creative agencies.

Can you share a bit about your journey from the UK to founding Nightjar in Australia?

At the time of my move, I was involved in shaping the Creative Technology department at McCann London under the infamous co-presidents, Rob Doubal and Laurence (Lolly) Thomson. My time there was nothing short of exciting working at the intersection of creative, strategy and production, however I decided to make a major change to expand my horizons and take a risk that I knew would never eventuate if I left it much longer. So, I went all in. After a few years moving between agencies in Sydney, I found the digital aspect of the Australian market lagging behind the pace of the UK. I had two choices; move back to London or take on the gap. As luck would have it, at that juncture I met my two co-founders, Bonnie and Christine, who would complement my creative and technical background with their strategic and production expertise. It is these three disciplines that combined to create Nightjar and keep my feet in Sydney.

As a resident of Sydney, are there any hidden gems or favourite spots you would recommend to foreign visitors seeking an authentic experience?

We live in Potts Point, so there are lots of great cafes and restaurants. The Apollo is a favourite for a modern Greek meal in a sleek industrial fitout. The Nightjar studio is in Surry Hills, so Artificer is a go-to for my long black en route to work. In Summer, you’ll find me at various beaches dotted around Sydney (it is why I moved here after all), usually North Bondi where the water is crystal clear.

Can you walk us through a typical day in your life?

Our three-year-old wakes us up at a lovely 4.30am start. I’m pulled out of bed to play “trains” with him for as long as humanly possible. I do the daycare drop off in the mornings, after some getting-ready mayhem and teeth-brushing wrestling we’re on our way.
Once in the studio, we get the day started with project stand-ups. Every day is extremely varied, with projects at different stages of our process, so I find it best to hot-desk and place myself in the midst of the chaos. Collaboration is key to stimulate ideas, so we usually have a few big workshop sessions, as well as design and engineering reviews each week with the team. We keep all our client and new business meetings to Tuesdays and Thursdays, so the rest of the week is free for thinking, dreaming, and actual work on the tools. With the mornings on focus time for work, I’ll either be writing technical documentation, or problem-solving strategic blueprints for our clients. We try hard to make sure there’s no late nights, even towards deadlines, so the team is all out the door at 6pm. But sometimes I like to stay back in the studio solo, when it’s really quiet is when I do some of my best thinking and creating.
We’re just about to have our second child, so there will not be much personal time for a while! I do find it hard to switch off from work – it’s my passion so I’m constantly learning and finding inspiration and ideas I want to share with the team. Outside of that, family time is what I cherish the most, so top of my list is spending time and playing with my little one.

Early riser or night owl?

I’m definitely a night owl (Nightjar!) – that’s actually where the name comes from. I’m the one who stays up late, while Chris and Bon, Nightjar’s other founders, are early risers. Nightjars are active in the early morning and late at night, so we liked this bird as a representative of the idea of circadian rhythms and rise and fall – it speaks to what we do every day in terms of continuously iterating on our digital products, making them the best they can be.

Nightjar has a unique approach that blends brand, experience, and technology. Can you elaborate on how this unification sets you apart from traditional agencies?

Bridging these three disciplines is no mean-feat, and we are constantly evolving to push the boundaries on all these fronts. What really sets us apart is how we craft excellence in each field and then unify it. Technology is never an afterthought, and experience design is considered in the early stages of branding given that the digital product is the first touchpoint for the majority of our clients. There are not many studios that can bring together good experience design combined with scalable and robust technical foundations that drive business efficiencies. It’s our belief that transformation should be fast not slow. Momentum is a competitive advantage that we instil in our clients’ businesses.

What are your main focuses at the moment?

We’ve recently shifted to focus further on digital products, this type of work has been foundational to our business and we’re in the midst of strengthening this position in the market. A key focus which never ends is constantly moving the needle forward on the benchmark for standards of craft, quality and experience, while also making sure the creativity is still in the mix. We’re focusing on how AI can improve efficiency for our team, and how we can bring in use cases for our client’s businesses that drive their growth.

As Innovation Director & Co-founder at Nightjar, how do you balance the high-level strategic vision with the day-to-day implementation?

It’s tough! We’ve always been very focused on our values, which drive the high-level vision for where we’re going as a business. This then needs to come through in every project, to make sure we’re living up to them in every facet, and that we have a consistent standard in all our work. We’re a small team, so I’m still very across every piece that goes out the door. It’s my job to make sure we’re always pushing, that every project is underpinned by a strong idea and strategic viewpoint, and that we’re always solving the problem we set out to at the beginning of the engagement.

Nightjar recently worked on the VNTNR project for Pernod Ricard Winemaker. How did you approach the brand identity and eCommerce platform for this initiative?

VNTNR was a really epic project. From the very beginning, we were aligned with the client on the ambition for the brand and the platform. It was also a ‘no-pitch pitch’ where we were not able to prepare any decks. It was simply a discussion around our approach to solving Pernod Ricard’s creative and technical problems and how we might engage a new generation of fine wine drinkers. The brand is bold but does not overpower the hero wineries on the platform, VNTNR has an opinion and the tone and visuals needed to reflect this and reassure drinkers they know their stuff. As for the ecommerce platform, it’s made to scale across regions with loyalty at its core, with no limits.

The National Dental Care project involved large-scale digital transformation. What were the key challenges and successes in this undertaking?

NDC is a national brand of dentistry practices all around Australia. Their challenge was that every time they acquired a new practice, they would inherit that practice’s website. This made it really difficult for HQ to run things efficiently, and for NDC to create a cohesive brand. Our task was to create a master site for the 100+ sites, bringing all practices on the journey to understand why the new system would work better for them. The master site allows for multi-tenancy to allow multiple practice domains to sit on the same infrastructure and instance allowing for infinite scalability, efficiencies and design language consistency.

How did you approach the design of the new site for ZETR to ensure it functioned both as an art gallery and a technical resource?

ZETR was one of those dream projects, when the client comes to you with an incredible product and wants you to help them tackle new markets and unlock their growth potential. We always strive to create digital products that engage our distinct audiences but cater to the most functional aspects of their needs. Our products are built on the principles of incredibly solid UX. Usability always comes first. And we try to make our tech invisible. We believe that a good digital product really can make your day

Nightjar has always had a MACH approach. Can you explain what this entails and why it’s significant for your projects?

From our inception, we’ve believed that composable and future-proof architecture that are microservices-based, API-first, cloud-native SaaS, and headless drive business growth. This strong technical foundation alleviates companies from technical debt and business in-efficiencies and allows brands to take back the power to focus on shipping features and pivoting quickly during market changes. For many of our clients this can be a journey of transformation and whilst we do move fast, we’re there to support our partners through this phase.

What criteria does Nightjar consider when selecting clients to work with, and what types of organisations benefit most from its services?

We have always been principles-led, choosing our clients based on their ethics but also their attitude towards leaning into new ideas. We want to make sure we get along with the team who we’re going to be spending a lot of time with and may have to also have difficult conversations with. We’re industry agnostic and relish the opportunity to learn something about a new category – it keeps things interesting.

When it comes to creating digital ecosystems that connect with audiences, what elements do you believe are the most important for brands to prioritise?

In order to understand what is going to engage your audience you need to understand them, what motivates them, their pain-points and their hopes for the future. If brands are not properly immersed in this research or actively undertaking it, then any ecosystem will fall short. At Nightjar this is a core piece of our process.

Where do you see the future of creative agencies heading, especially in the context of rapidly evolving technologies and data-driven approaches?

At this moment in time, I see smaller independents that are experts in their field working collaboratively together in order to deliver better outcomes for clients. We don’t believe one agency has all the answers, and the power of collaboration between independents and in-house teams, is where the work only gets better. Traditional agency models and pitch mentality simply don’t work in today’s climate, and it’s not how the people who do the work in these agencies want to operate anymore. Bold steps are required to move the industry forward. As for rapidly evolving technologies such as AI, these will no doubt give us extraordinary tools to craft the work, but the sheer joy of human creation will inevitably reign supreme. As for defining data-driven foundations – this should remain crucial for any organisation. We truly believe that businesses should get this core right before looking to other technologies or strategies.

Who or what has been your biggest source of inspiration in your personal life and how has it influenced your creative work?

Music has always inspired me. When the creative energy is low I turn to music to get back into the flow.

When you have free time, what hobbies or leisure activities do you find most enjoyable and rejuvenating?

Walking in nature and being by the ocean completely resets my brain, and I’m lucky I’m surrounded by plenty of it.

From your personal standpoint, what global issues are you most passionate about and why?

I’m deeply concerned about far-right political agendas and the establishments that completely destabilise progress and divide us in a world that needs unity and demands change.

Thanks Ahmed!

Learn more about: Nightjar

Follow Ahmed Meer on social media:  Linkedin

Follow Nightjar on social media:  LinkedIn

Brand strategyCreativityDigital ProductsInnovationUser Experience Design