The Subtext x Pentagram: Humans in Process

​The Subtext x Pentagram

​We’re gathering writers at one of the most storied addresses in design.

​Join us at Pentagram’s London studio for an evening of talks with two of the industry’s sharpest verbal minds: Ashley Johnson, Associate Partner and Head of Brand Narrative at Pentagram, and Zuki Sedgley, freelance Creative Director and Writer. Their work treats language with the same creative rigor and care that defines the Pentagram approach. They will explore how personal identity informs creative decisions—how the stories we carry show up in the stories we tell and how language becomes more powerful when rooted in human truth.

​Show Your Work: A Writer with Anxiety Gives a Talk by Ashley Johnson

​Ashley Johnson traces her path to writing and considers what it really takes to commit to a life in language. She will offer a look inside her process, her team’s creative principles, and even a conversation with her teenage self by way of a bespoke chatbot. It will explore and reflect on uncertainty, not as a weakness, but as central to the work – fighting against the rigid surety of intelligent machines and toward the gentle chaos of the human condition. 

​Brand Writer Seeking by Zuki Sedgley

​Inspired by classifieds in the cult lesbian magazine On Our Backs, Zuki Sedgley reflects on a career shaped by language through a series of personal ads – tracing the human desire for connection that quietly motivates our work as brand writers. A little sexy, a little silly, Zuki will ask what it means to write for others while carrying our personal truths and identities. 

​It’ll be equal parts inspiration and conversation. Come for the words. Stay for the drinks.

​Doors open at 6 pm. Talks start around 6:30 pm.