Fraktal’s Ben Cox talks Sakamoto Days, anime and design trends

Ben, thanks for making time. Fraktal recently worked on a project for Netflix for their new Sakamoto Days series. What was that like to work on?
I’m a big fan of animation and I grew up watching anime when I was younger. Akira is still one of my favourite films ever! I’m always happy to have an opportunity to work on anything anime-related and Netflix is a great partner. They have access to some great IP that I’d love to play with.

Are there any design trends around at the moment that you’ve found inspiring?
Considering that we just completed a project for Sakamoto Days, it has to be anime and manga. It continues to be one of the biggest trends we’re seeing and I can’t see it ending just yet. We’ve done several manga guides in the last couple of years and you only have to look at streaming platforms like Crunchyroll to see how huge it is. Even the BBC has gotten in on the act with the broadcasting rights to the entire original anime of One Piece. That’s over a thousand episodes!

I also think we’ll start to see more and more trends crop up from the early 2000s. Design trends tend to be cyclical and many of today’s consumers grew up during that time. In uncertain times, people look for the warm embrace of nostalgia – and I guess it’s the turn of late millennials and Gen-Z.

Let’s dig into agency/brand owner relationships! What makes for an effective brief?
A well-defined brief with clear objectives is worth its weight in gold. There’s nothing worse than an ambiguously worded brief that’s open to misinterpretation. Sometimes this can’t be helped, but this can cause a misalignment in expectations.

What makes for effective collaborations between you and your clients?
Communication is always key. I’m sure all design agencies say this, but it’s true! Design is a collaborative process and sometimes that process can be difficult for a myriad of reasons. Clients and designers are on the same team; both should feel comfortable discussing any concerns. If both parties adopt this mindset, then each will have a better understanding of the other’s expectations… This results in a better working relationship in the future.

Speaking of, how important is ‘relationship building’ in all of this?
It’s vital! Most of our customers come to us via word-of-mouth. We always aim to do our very best no matter the client or brief. Our goal is always to create high-quality designs that makes a client want to collaborate with us again.
Our work is also our calling card, so the last thing we’d want is a portfolio that we’re embarrassed to show. We want to be able to take pride in our work.

Do you think the licensing industry is in a good place creatively at present?
The industry is always innovating in surprising ways. It’s a little old, but a launch that really stood out to me was the Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum collaboration in 2023. Nobody expected that, but it goes to show how culturally significant Pokémon is – and how two totally different worlds can work together in such a creative way.

Good pick! Finally, what are some of your key aims for Fraktal for the rest of the year?
Ideally, continue expanding into new sectors and offering more services, but above all, working on interesting projects. That said, there’ve been a lot of economic shocks over the last five years… And right now, Trump’s tariffs are causing much global unrest. I suspect there’ll be much instability for the next four years which could throw plans into disarray.

Hopefully, 2025 won’t be too difficult – but we’ll prepare for the worst and hope for the best! Maybe we’ll get a chance to work on our brand refresh for Fraktal!