GDE730 W2 | Lecture Review

The Business of Design

This week’s lecture included a conversation with four different approaches to design business models: independent creative, work co-op, agency.

STUDIO MOROSS & USTWO … THE AGENCY APPROACH

The creative powerhouse behind Studio Moross is Kate Moross. A talented designer, illustrator, creative thinker, Moross has build a multidisciplinary agency in London built upon the approach of direct connections with clients and providing exceptional, memorable creative by surrounding themselves and working with as many like-minded people as possible. Collaborating with some of the creative world’s best young illustrators and designers to give brands a fresh, unexpected and totally unique lease of life. Moross also demands work-life balance and equity for her employees and partnerships. They are selective in how they work with clients — choosing to work with clients whose values align with those of Moross and her agency.

UStwo is a global agency that designs and builds digital products and services that make a tangible difference to people’s lives. Founded by two best friends, “Mills” & “Sinx” in London in 2004, they set out to create a “Fampany”, marrying the best of family and company.

They believe that by caring deeply for their people, clients, and partners, they can unleash our “collective genius”. By mastering the art of collaboration, crafting the optimal conditions for a team to perform at its absolute best, in an environment of diverse backgrounds, thoughts, views, opinions and life experiences they are able to realize their mission and find the work that aligns with that mission. 

LOVERS … THE CO-OP APPROACH

London-based creative agency, Lovers only takes on clients it’s head over heels about. Creative Director Alex Ostrowski says when assessing potential work, his policy is, “no bread and butter, only pudding. It’s not always possible in life, but at Lovers, it’s the law.”

The creative supergroup is actually a collective of designers that fluctuates from three to ten core studio members, to upwards of 90 collaborators. It’s only been operating for a few years, but in a short amount of time has produced rebrands and campaigns for the British Film Institute, Greenpeace, and the Royal Court Theatre to name a few. “We’re independent practitioners from different fields,” says Ostrowski of Lovers’ diverse portfolio and flexible studio team.  “This shows our multidisciplinary hands, often bringing together animation, code, writing, design, illustration, film, and other practices.”

THEO INGLIS … THE INDEPENDENT FREELANCER

Theo Inglis is a design writer and graphic designer who specializes in post-war design. Aside from writing for many magazines and websites, including Grafik, Eye and Creative Review. Inglis has found his niche and builds his business around that niche. He spent many years working in publishing designing book covers and layouts only to find that he doesn’t necessarily like working for other companies. He found a steady and reliable client base out of is dark days working in publishing and now they are some of his biggest, most “bread and butter” clients. This funds his passion for writing about and designing books that focus on mid-century design. Sometimes great opportunity is born out of the challenging of experiences.  

REFERENCE:

Falmouth University (2018). The Business of Design | Lecture. Studio and Entrepreneurship GDE730 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Andersen, M. (2017, May 28). Falling Hard for Lovers, London's Romantic Creative Agency. Retrieved July 04, 2020, from https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/falling-hard-for-lovers-londons-romantic-creative-agency/

Crawford, T. (ed) (2008) AIGA Professional Practices in Graphic Design, New York: Allworth Press.

Mallalieu, A. (2019, May 07). Theo Inglis takes us on a visual journey of Mid-Century Modern Graphic Design. Retrieved July 04, 2020, from https://www.creativeboom.com/features/theo-inglis-takes-us-on-a-visual-journey-of-mid-century-modern-graphic-design/

DBA Design Business Association – https://www.dba.org.uk/

CSD Chartered Society of Designers – https://www.csd.org.uk/ 

Institute for Experiments with Business – https://fo.am/activities/ibex/

GDE730 W1 | Lecture Review

We All Gotta Start Somewhere

This week’s lecture included a conversations with Simon Manchipp, Sarah Boris, Intro Design, Sam Winston, Regular Practice , and Gem Barton — all designers with differing approaches to their businesses — on the essentials to starting a design business or studio, the practicalities of maintaining and running your business, the inescapable importance of hard work, how to present yourself to your potential clients, and what advice they could offer to those just starting out.

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT

Nearly all of the subjects interviewed touched on feelings of imposter syndrome or nervousness with starting out as a graphic designer. Whether going right into business for themselves, or beginning their careers working for others — they all had to start somewhere. The trick is to not get too caught up in the fact that you might be a newly minted graphic designer. Just get going on finding clients and setting up a regular work routine that supports you early on. Believe in yourself and be willing to work hard. Be sure to outline the type of designer you want to be as well as the type of work you want to do. It is important to over deliver with your clients. Manchipp states, “repeat business is the easiest and best business to get.”

SHOW ME THE MONEY

In the beginning you may need to take on projects that are not as exciting or interesting as you’d prefer, but they pay the bills. These projects will enable to produce side projects that could garner you the attention of the clients you prefer to be working with. Further, it’s critically important to properly manage the money of your business. If managing the balance sheet is not in your wheelhouse, find a good accountant to help navigate, protect, and ensure that your hard work is not going to waste.

ESSENTIALS ARE JUST THAT: ESSENTIAL

You don’t need to have anything fancy in the beginning: a laptop, design software, an internet connection, and a mobile phone is plenty to get you going. Once you’ve built up a bank of clients and steady business, you may want to expand, add freelancers, and maybe even employees at some point. Building up a solid foundation of your design reputation will afford you expansion when the time comes.

JUST. DO. THE. WORK.

Working hard is the not-so-secret ingredient to any success. Be prepared to put in long hours in the beginning and to wear many hats. You are your brand, your business. Find creative ways to network and grow your business. Be honest, complete work on time — or even better, ahead of schedule, be willing to learn from your failures (and there will be failures), be open to learning from others, and work hard.

REFERENCE:

Falmouth University (2018). Planning, Strategy, and Management | Lecture. Studio and Entrepreneurship GDE730 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Butler, Sarah (2018) ‘Wallace & Gromit producers hand stake to staff  The Guardian 

USI Events (2017) Redesigning Leadership John Maeda, at USI 

DesignInDaBa (2016) John Maeda on Design Thinking and Creative Leadership 

 Computer Arts (2016) How to Launch and Run a Design Studio 

millsustwo (2017) Inside ustwo 

The Futur (2017) How To Run A Creative Business: In-depth breakdown w/ Melinda Livsey (

Sagmeister, Stefan (2013) ‘Medalist Stefan Sagmeister ’, AIGA

&walsh – https://andwalsh.com

Sagmeister inc – https://sagmeister.com 

Maeda Studio – https://maedastudio.com/

GDE730 W6 | Workshop Challenge

INTERDISCLIPINARY PROVOCATION

What are the advantages of interdisciplinary provocation and how could you utiliZe this approach in your practice?

Put theory into practice and spend an hour brainstorming ideas based on the following challenge and who you would choose to work with.

1. Identify a discipline and specialist who could help you to reflect from a dynamically opposing position on a specific problem.

2. Pick one of the issues below and discuss with your chosen individual how you may solve the challenge. This should ideally be recorded as an audio podcast. Our interest in this also relates to the way in which different disciplines discuss an issue and their manner and approach in communicating differently, as well as how you would capture this.

3. As a guide, please evolve your own strategy for bridging the questions. Equally, you may wish to also consider the core issues: how would your specialism solve this and how different is this to the expected design thinker?

4. Do not forget to consider the communication style you would use to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue.

5. Finally, how do you summariZe these findings in a way that is acceptable to both collaborators?

Provocation considerations:

• Improving mental health in young adults.

• Reducing pollution in inner cities.

• Encouraging greater engagement with galleries and museums.

• Reducing isolation and loneliness.

• Promoting greater community cohesion.

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HOW CAN DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE PROMOTE GREATER COMMUNITY COHESION?

I chose to interview an architect and urban planner, James Knight, AIA, NCARB, about the opportunities for architecture to inform, improve, and impact community cohesion as well as the intersection of graphic design, architecture, and community.

Questions:

• What is community cohesion?

• What are some of the benefits of community cohesion and pitfalls of having an absence of cohesion in the community?

• How does architecture inform or impact community cohesion?

• What socioeconomic considerations must be made to positively impact community cohesion?

• How will any of this change post COVID-19?

• What about the future? How will architecture change to address the needs of future communities?

• How can architecture and graphic design collaborate on this issue?

Check out the podcast below.

REFERENCE

Falmouth University (2018).  Interdisciplinary Insights – New Approaches and Creative Partnerships | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

TYPE Talk, Andy Altmann (2012) Dinner for One?. 

LYNfabrikken Aarhus Denmark, (2012) Lecture with Troika.

Open Cell https://opencell.webflow.io/ 

OffShore Studio Migrant Journal http://www.offshorestudio.ch/ 

TED, Anab Jain(2017) Why we need to imagine different futures 

GDE730 W5 | Workshop Challenge

WORKSHOP CHALLENGE: COLLABORATION

What are the essential components of the collaborative mix?

Find one example of collaboration past or present that has led to an exemplary and historically significant piece of work.

• Analyse the relationship of the collaborators and the roles they played;

• Research any documented history of the challenges they faced and the outcome they produced;

• Explore and analyse any specific approaches they took to their creative process or recording of their ideas that facilitated a successful outcome.

Design as an editorial piece (300 words), along with accompanying imagery.

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A COLLABORATION 60 YEARS IN THE MAKING

I chose to focus on Christo and Jeanne-Claude for the subjects of my Workshop Challenge editorial design. Their partnership spanning from 1963 to after both of there passing (Jeanne-Claude in 2007, and Christo in May of this year) brought to life some of the most prolific art installations and exhibitions from all over the world.

Their unique approach to artistic expression was immersive, unexpected, at times resented, and often embraced by the communities in which their art resided. They never took a penny for their work, always choosing to self-fund their art. Christo would make detailed sketches documenting not only their approach to the artwork but also to reconcile any regional, geographic, architectural considerations and to serve as the proposal content to garner the necessary approvals to proceed.

I chose to leverage the bountiful sketches and images that well-documented their 2005 installation called The Gates which inhabited the entirety of New York’s Central Park for two weeks for my editorial design for this week’s Workshop Challenge. The color palette was chosen to emulate the saffron color pop this installation created against the dulled greyscale background of a New York in winter.

Further, I chose three typefaces: Garamond to nod to the history of New York and the legacy of these prolific collaborators; Roboto to acknowledge the progressive and contemporary approach of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and finally Eddam and Louren, a hand-tooled face that mimics the handwriting of Christo. I found it charming that the typeface name was also a partnership.

The layout starts as their art does, with sketches and notes. The reader is teased with a photograph of the installation as well. Moving into the second spread, the sketches are used to further illustrate the amount of thought and consideration went into the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Finally, the last spread showcases the photography of the installation including a panoramic shot, an aerial as well as a portrait of the artists tucked in the center of the photographic grid.

The layout is completed by a bespoke icon of a saffron gate to indicate the end of the article.

“Our works are temporary in order to endow the works of art with a feeling of urgency to be seen, and the love and tenderness brought by the fact that they will not last.”

REFERENCE:

Carter, M., Mandani, S. (2016) ‘Tune out, dive deep, read on’, [online] Eye Magazine, Summer. Available at: http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/tune-out-dive-deep-read-on (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 29 March 2019]

It's Nice That, Danielle Pender (2019) Nicer Tuesdays: Riposte magazine, [online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOWyVOy7JwMM (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 4 June 2019]

Penny Stamps Lecture Series, MoragMyerscough(2018) Belonging, [online video]. Available at: Morag Myerscough: Belonging (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 11 June 2019]

It's Nice That, AnnaLomax and Jess Bonham (2016). Nicer Tuesdays,[online video]. Available at: Nicer Tuesdays: Anna Lomax and Jess Bonham (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 11 June 2019]

It's Nice That, Liv Siddall(2016) Nicer Tuesdays: Rough Trade magazine, [online video]. Available at: Nicer Tuesdays: Liv Siddall (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 11 June 2019]

BBC News (2019), ‘Photographer Trevor Keys album sleeves go on show’[online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-41331715 (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 11 June 2019]

Hari Peccinotti, https://showstudio.com/contributors/harri_peccinotti (Links to an external site.)

O'Brien, K. (2019) ‘Director Tony Kaye happy to be working and out of “Hollywood jail”’, [online] The Drum, 17 April.Available at: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2018/04/17/director-tony-kaye-happy-be-working-and-out-hollywood-jail (Links to an external site.). [Accessed 4 June 2019]

DesignBoom (2019) Interview with graphic designer Vaughan Oliver,[online]. Available at: https://www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-vaughan-oliver-12-19-2014/ (Links to an external site.).[Accessed 4 June 2019]

Falmouth University (2020). The Collaborative Mix | Reflecting on Classic Models for Graphic Design Working | Lecture. Studio and Entrepreneurship GDE730 20/21 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Gupta, A. (2013, October 22). Artist Collaboration Fuels Creative Exploration. Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/artistic-collaboration-_b_3763586

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Gates (article). (n.d.). Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/global-contemporary-apah/20th-century-apah/a/christo-and-jeanne-claude-the-gates

Lemisch, J. (2019, January 15). Art for the People? Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates". Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://newpol.org/issue_post/art-people-christo-and-jeanne-claudes-gates/

Christo and Jeanne-Claude. (n.d.). Projects: The Gates. Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://www.christojeanneclaude.net/projects/the-gates

Dalela, S. (2019, May 15). Why Collaboration Is The Way to Grow As An Artist. Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://blog.dextra.art/why-collaboration-is-the-way-to-grow-as-an-artist-58f17bc4e918

Podder, A. (2018, October 19). Performa Reveals Program to Honor Groundbreaking Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude at Performa 2018 Gala on November 1 at New York City. Retrieved August 01, 2020, from https://mysocialgoodnews.com/performa-reveals-program-to-honor-groundbreaking-artists-christo-and-jeanne-claude-at-performa-2018-gala-november-1-new-york-city/

GDE730 W4 | Workshop Challenge

WORKSHOP CHALLANGE

Create a format and structure for a new business plan. You have considered company philosophy, leadership, budgeting, IP, and now we want you to create a 3,000-word business plan that presents your proposal to your client. This plan will be used to write a client facing project, or as an outline for a potential studio launch or entrepreneurial idea or artIfact. This is very much a speculative exercise that will grow and evolve as you move through the rest of the course.

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LET’S MAKE A PLAN

The structure of the business plan document reflects the logical sequence of issues that need to be considered. It starts with a very broad-brush description of the company, gradually becomes more specific, and ends with detailed projections of financial activity.

The business planning process is an opportunity to evaluate your situation, think through every aspect of your operations in a thorough and systematic way, and bring everything into alignment. 

For my business plan, I built upon the previous challenge proposal document and elaborated to include the appropriate aspects of a proper business plan. Items included were:

• Executive summary

• Vision statement

• Mission statement

• Description of services

• Business environment and market trends

• Client case study

• Evaluation of your competition

• Sustainable advantage

• Marketing plan

• Operations plan

• Financial plan for the next three years

FINAL PIECE

The completed business plan for AttaGirl Design can be found here. You can see mockups of the final designed layout below:

REFERENCE:

Falmouth University (2018). Business / Project Plans and Communication | Lecture. History and Futures GDE720 19/20 Part-Time Study Block S2 (Falmouth, UK: Falmouth University)

Kourdi, J. (2009), Business Strategy: A Guide to Taking Your Business Forward. London: John Wiley & Sons

The Futur, Chris Do (2015), The Client Is Not Your Enemy: Redefining Your Client Relationship (Links to an external site.), [online video]. [Accessed 28 March 2019