Material
(evolving our visual vocabulary)

Material is Found’s new research initiative, designed to explore and shape the aesthetics of the future. It channels our curiosity into an evolving visual language, guiding new work, attracting like-minded partners and giving our clients a powerful creative edge.

By investing studio time, we create space for innovative thinking and conceptual making that feels adaptive, generative and alive. Every experiment and prototype fuels creative breakthroughs and sharpens the visual identity that distinguishes our work.

Intelligent Beauty positions Found as both thinkers and makers. Material shows that the future of intelligent design depends not only on the ideas we develop, but also on the technology and aesthetics that bring them to life.

To introduce our new R&D initiative, Executive Creative Director Clayton and Head of Marketing Erika sat down to discuss what it means for the studio. Their conversation explores our motivations, approach and the impact this work will have on our studio and clients.

(EK) I love how this has come together. To kick things off, what first sparked the idea for Material?

(CW) We reflected on how successful, enjoyable and worthwhile our studio projects had been to date and asked ourselves how we could do things differently. We wanted to introduce more structure and intention, while also enabling greater creative freedom. By investing dedicated studio time, we’ve created a platform with genuine commitment that benefits the whole team, giving everyone access to new technical knowledge and progressive ways of working that are adaptive, generative and alive.

(EK) Giving the team dedicated time to step back is such a powerful investment, but how are you carving out that time for the team, and what does the project structure look like? 

(CW) We have committed to running a Material project every quarter. Each project is led by a Creative Lead working with two designers over a two-week period. Throughout the project, progress and direction are reviewed in open, crit-style meetings, where the team presents to the wider studio and discusses potential directions. This collaborative process helps refine each project to a focused outcome by the end of the two weeks. This structure ensures our team has the time and support to try new things, develop skills, and expand creative boundaries, fueling both individual growth and the future direction of our studio.

(EK) Clients are always looking for work that cuts through the noise. What are some of the big questions or challenges Material is tackling that will help our clients stay ahead of the curve? 

(CW) By having a space to explore what’s possible, we can confidently answer the questions clients and partners ask, satisfying an increasing market demand for uniquely crafted work with true integrity and value. It also fulfils our team’s desire to break the creative mould, giving us a space to continually question how we approach briefs: What can we do here? What’s possible? What excites us? Where could this lead?

(EK) The timing feels spot on. With so much AI fatigue and noise in the market right now —was there a particular project that inspired you, or a shift you were noticing in the wider industry? 

(CW) The industry is changing rapidly, driven by an accelerating cycle of AI-assisted output at increasing speed and scale. The current landscape is noisy with opinions, reports, and constant updates about these evolving tools. We’re in a fascinating period, with genuine client intrigue balanced by a noticeable sense of AI fatigue and anxiety. We believe dedicated, structured R&D is the most meaningful response to this acceleration. Now is the perfect time to reaffirm and celebrate our studio’s creativity. As creativity remains the soul of every project, in a time of rapid image and video generation, being able to speak to the depth, origins, and intent behind our work allows us to demonstrate our true value.

(EK) It feels like a real superpower for us. Why do you feel ramping up our R&D is so vital for the studio’s future? 

(CW) R&D is where genuine breakthroughs happen. Commercial projects tend to be high-stakes, with tight schedules and rigid expectations from day one. While we always test and experiment within client briefs, it’s not the same as exploring in a distraction-free environment. Studios that move the industry forward don’t wait for permission to innovate. Real innovation often comes from pushing up to, or even over, the line of failure. By creating a space where failure is an accepted and valued part of the process, we give ourselves the best chance of discovering something truly groundbreaking. As an example, when we set aside our controlled design methods, we’ve started to see aesthetics emerge organically, rather than as outcomes of rigid processes. These are genuine R&D moments, making and testing until something unexpected and unique emerges.

(EK) I’m really interested in how this feeds back into our day-to-day. What does a successful R&D project look like to you, and how do you see it elevating our client work? 

(CW) Every experiment we run and each prototype we build is designed to fuel creative breakthroughs. The discoveries we make, the new techniques we develop, and the aesthetics we uncover ultimately have a meaningful, positive impact on our commercial work, giving our clients a distinct creative advantage. For us, success means maintaining a genuine, independent R&D programme alongside client projects, allowing both worlds to continually inform and inspire one another.

(EK) Material is all about pushing boundaries, which is incredibly exciting. How do you keep this platform radical and brave so that we are constantly bringing fresh, untested perspectives to our clients’ briefs?

(CW) It starts with the briefing and how the R&D platform is introduced to the team. To avoid falling back on safe, familiar work, we set clear expectations that actively encourage radical experimentation. However, we have found that total freedom can actually be paralysing for a creative team. That’s why a distinct conceptual framework, coupled with studio support and permission to make mistakes, is vital. This ensures the team has the confidence to experiment boldly and to celebrate failures along the way.

(EK) It definitely feels like this could have a ripple effect. What kind of positive impact do you hope our focus on R&D will have on the creative industry as a whole? 

(CW) No new discoveries, be them geographical, scientific, or computational, are possible without the space for research, development and failure. By sharing our findings, tools, and visual methodologies with the wider community, the industry as a whole benefits. Whether it’s a technical breakthrough from a unique data setup, a dialogue between emerging tools, or simply fostering a forward-thinking mindset through festival talks and thought leadership, this drive to explore what’s next has an impact far beyond our studio walls.

(EK) Clients are naturally curious about the future of tech. Technology is moving so fast right now. Will diving into and experimenting with AI play a big part in how we use Material? 

(CW) Our AI-positive outlook means we actively embrace emerging technologies and use Material as a platform for creative experimentation. Rather than viewing AI as a tool for automated replication, we apply it to enhance our thinking and execution.

(EK) So AI is actually raising the bar for craft not lowering it, love that. To wrap things up, how do you think Material is ultimately going to shape the way we work moving forward? 

(CW) It will ensure our work stays sophisticated, elegant, and deeply human-led, even as technology evolves. By deliberately slowing down to focus, experiment and run quarterly projects, Material will evolve our studio’s visual vocabulary. It will transform our output from reactive design to predictive, intelligent visual solutions. This way, we’re not just responding to trends, we’re actively creating them.

See how it all comes together and
explore our Material projects:

No.1 [Digital Craft]
No.2 [Future Minerals]
No.3 [Meta States]
No.4 [Digital Perception]