Jon Hutson is the Co-founder of BrandCulture, an agency that integrates branding and organizational development as the flip sides of the same coin.
Jon Hutson is the Co-founder of BrandCulture, an agency that integrates branding and organizational development as the flip sides of the same coin. On Serenbe Stories podcast, Jon talks about becoming an advocate for biophilia after being gifted a book by E.O. Wilson. Once he moved to Serenbe he got in deeper and created the Biophilia Poster Competition, which brought in more than 3,500 poster submissions from around the world and was displayed in the woods of Serenbe Fall 2020. Jon incorporates biophilic principles into his client work on brand development and culture building.
BrandCulture is a brand performance and organizational growth consultancy, dating back to about 15 years ago beginning in Los Angeles, then expanding to Spain, and now Atlanta. When Jon was deciding to move to Serenbe, part of the draw was being able to work from home, converting from a 2 hour commute in L.A. to a 10 minute walking commute in Serenbe, and also the ability to take walks in the woods while taking conference calls. Jon is working towards a more flexible work environment for his team, allowing remote work and also having teams working in all of their locations. Maybe that’s one silver lining to COVID, is being able to create work-life balance.
So how does biophilia tie into Jon’s work? Well, he explains in his interview that he first discovered biophilia while reading a book written by E.O. Wilson titled, Consilience. This book primarily discusses the idea of biophilia, but also expresses the interdisciplinary collaboration between botanists, biologists, psychologists, engineers or other different disciplines. The thesis of this book is that by collaborating an interdisciplinary collaboration, you achieve a better outcome. But how does this tie into Jon’s work with BrandCulture? Jon explains, “our basic thesis is that strong cultures are the foundation of great brands. And so we work with organizations to help them more effectively articulate their value proposition, how they position their brand in the marketplace, and then ultimately we work with them to help them more effectively align the organizational culture around their go-to market and business strategy.” By helping organizations create a healthy culture that’s aligned with their brand, they will ultimately be able to outperform the competition and be able to engage and inspire their employees in a more effective way. So within that construct, Jon and his team believes that biophilia plays a vital role in creating a healthy organizational culture. This concept is becoming increasingly important and will continue to be important in the future.
So while biophilia plays a huge role in Jon’s professional life, it’s also incredibly important to him on a personal level. He tells us how he and his wife both enjoy being outdoors in nature as much as possible, and living in Serenbe has created a joyful experience in being able to directly connect to nature at any moment.
Jon showcased his professional and personal connection to biophilia last year when he created the Biophilia Poster Competition, where over 3,500 poster designs were submitted from around the world, showcasing biophilia and biophilic design from all points of view. This exhibition came at the perfect time, as the COVID-19 pandemic was becoming increasingly intense, where people were constantly locked in their homes, slowly losing connection with nature and each other. So, the posters were hung in the woods among the trees of Serenbe, allowing guests to walk freely, while social distancing outside, absorbing all of the beautiful biophilic poster designs. The most wonderful part was the ability to purchase posters online and in one of Serenbe’s retailers, Hamlin, so guests of the exhibit could take a piece of biophilia home with them.
After a month long exhibition in the trees of Serenbe, the poster exhibition then moved to Ponce City Market in Atlanta, and will soon be at the Helms Design Center in Los Angeles with plans to take it to Barcelona after that. And Jon is crossing his fingers to recreate the exhibition in 2022, so stay tuned for another chance to gaze at incredible artwork from around the world.
You can listen to Jon’s full episode of Serenbe Stories anywhere you listen to podcasts.