Author and speaker on branding, design, and corporate culture

Bio

James Archer is the founder and Managing Director of Forty, a nationally-respected agency that for nearly a decade has helped companies get their crap together and present a unified and powerful message to their customers and staff.

He has shared his passion and expertise with clients like Microsoft, Motorola, Walmart, and Yahoo, and projects he's worked on have appeared in U.S. News & World Report, Fast Company, Business Week, Entrepreneur, The New York Times, AdAge, TechCrunch, and NPR.

James regularly speaks at conferences and workshops, and writes frequently about design, marketing, branding, and business. He's an active member of the community, sometimes serving on as many as half a dozen organizations' boards at once. He's also a frequent community initiator, having been involved with the founding of conferences, organizations, and several industry meetups.

He's best known as a relentless, future-focused optimist with a willingness to have a conversation with anyone, about anything, at any time—and a bad habit of working late catching up on everything else.

About the Book

Rooted: Unleashing the Power of the Purpose-Driven Organization

Companies start with a clear purpose in mind, but too often, they find themselves drifting away from it. They hire, fire, and acquire without any real direction. They struggle to follow trends instead of creating new ones, eventually becoming mediocre clones of their competitors. Like a tree with weak roots, they fall over when the wind blows.

However, a few organizations have discovered their roots—their purpose, core values, and style—and focused specifically on strengthening them. They think faster and produce more than their competitors. They capture the market’s imagination, steer the conversation, and drive innovation, while others are still lost in spreadsheets and strategy presentations. These strong roots have given them power, resilience, and accelerated growth.

Rooted reveals exercises and insights that have helped businesses transform how they think about themselves and how the rest of the world perceives them. It’s a practical, real-world guide to identifying your company’s authentic roots (by answering The Six Hard Questions) and creating an experience around them that fascinates customers, fires up your staff, and strikes fear into your competitors.

(This book is currently in progress)

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Testimonials

Comments from others about James:

"James is the guy you want as your company's fearless leader. He has a firm grasp on business, marketing, design, communities, and, well, everything that matters. He stands out in the industry as someone who just ‘gets it' without having to say it."

Brian Shaler

"Quite plainly, James is a presence that inevitably brings out higher standards. I am certain that he has a personal time machine that allows him to accomplish as much as he does. Mr. Archer is a solid man that I hold in the highest respects."

Jeremie Lederman

"James can easily switch from business mode, to design, to client, to friend, back to business all with ease. His professional attitude and work ethic are amazing to work with"

Aaron Post

"James is a very talented designer with a great head for business, branding and marketing. He's a tireless worker with a head full of great ideas"

D. Keith Robinson

"James has been a key mentor in my role. He will be quite firm when he is truly passionate...and gives due process to each situation he finds himself in, making him a great mentor and business owner."

Katie Charland

"James has an extremely steady head on his shoulders, and can easily switch from business mode, to design, to client, to friend, back to business all eith equal aplumb. His professional attitude and work ethic were amazing to work with"

Mike Rundle

"James is a multifaceted individual, plain and simple. He has mastered the art of multitasking and is still driving to make all of his ideas a reality. On top of that, all of his projects get the same amount of attention they need, and it shows. I admire his intelligence and drive."

Bryan Veloso

Speaking

James speaks regularly at conferences and workshops:

  • "Building an Unforgettable Brand" (3/14/2012)
  • "Accelerate your Life: the Power of Purpose" (2/22/2012)
  • "Design 101: Visual Design, Experience Design, and Design Thinking" (1/31/2012)
  • "How to Build Your Brand without Being a Social Media Douchebag" (11/12/2011)
  • "How Forty Does Branding" (11/11/2011)
  • "The Secrets of Cinematography" (11/2/2011)
  • "Spec Work vs. Pragmatic Business" (5/25/2011)
  • "The Mechanics of Photography" (5/3/2011)
  • "How Search Engine Optimization Really Works" (4/7/2011)
  • "Visual Design, Experience Design, and Design Thinking" (2/1/2011)
  • "The Future of Web Design" (12/16/2010)
  • "Content Management Systems Explained" (11/18/2010)
  • "The Travelers Guide to Social Media" (10/21/2010)
  • "Introduction to Information Architecture" (8/26/2010)
  • "New Trends in Web Typography" (7/22/2010)
  • "User-Friendly Web Design" (5/27/2010)
  • "Web Design Patterns" (4/22/2010)
  • "What Makes Web Design Different than Print Design?" (2/25/2010)
  • "Where the Web Came From" (1/28/2010)
  • "Decision Modes: How People Buy" (11/20/2009)
  • "Making Ideas Explode Online: Exploring What Makes Something Viral" (10/13/2009)
  • "Teaching Clients to Embrace Their Humanity" (10/13/2009)
  • "The Joy of Irrational and Impractical Design" (6/16/2009)
  • "Inside the Designers Studio" (6/11/2009)
  • "Out of the Bedroom and Into the Boardroom" (3/17/2009)

Contact

To reach James about speaking, writing, or consulting (or to learn more about Forty), email him at james.archer@fortyagency.com. You can also reach him on Twitter or Facebook.