NARI is a creative consultancy and branding studio, founded by the award winning Caterina Bianchini, established to bridge the gap between design and art. Our practice focuses on giving brands life, character and spirit, through artistic technique, conceptual thought and brand literature.
Our acronymised mantra, ‘Not Always Right Ideas’ is at the core of everything we do; drawing the focus away from the “do’s & dont’s” of textbook graphic design, practicing a humanistic and artistic approach.
Clients include:
Reebok
Diesel
Levi's
Nike
Yoko Ono
Lush
Adidas
Boiler Room
Red Bull Studios
Typeform
Sub Club
WeWork
CRACK
Sony
Selfridges
Champion
Apple
V&A
D&AD
Somerset House
Address: 1, Crown Works, Temple St, London E2 6QQ
Bianchini had to give up the above location at the start of the pandemic due to the uncertainty and herself and her team have been working at home since. Surprisingly - It's two doors down from APFEL!
Hours:
Monday: 8:30am - 6:30pm
Tuesday: 8:30am - 6:30pm
Wednesday: 8:30am - 6:30pm
Thursday: 8:30am - 6:30pm
Friday: 8:30am - 6:30pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
During the pandemic, London-based designer and artist Caterina Bianchini has had to make changes at Studio Nari, the branding consultancy and design studio she launched this year as an evolution from her eponymous studio. Over the last few years, Bianchini has worked with the likes of Apple Music, Somerset House, Levi’s, Crack Magazine, and Reebok on visual identities and typographic projects (“they’re more like artistic typefaces than foundry-esque typefaces: I call them my ‘artfaces’ because they’re always a bit playful and fun,” she explains). In recent months, the Studio Nari team has worked on lockdown-specific projects, including a typeface channelling togetherness for a Selfridges & Co campaign, and the book accompaniment to Charli XCX’s quarantine album How I’m Feeling Now.
One significant change was losing staff at the beginning of lockdown due to the uncertainty surrounding the business, particularly as her clients are mainly in hard hit areas of the economy such as music events, art and fashion. Since then, work has picked up again and Bianchini is busier than ever, yet she’s still had ample time to consider how her industry operates and what she’d be happy to see left in the past.
Here, Bianchini talks to us about how lockdown has brought a breath of fresh air to the way we work, why big agencies would benefit from being more human, and why she hopes the industry will preserve its resourcefulness moving forward.
A studio-less studio. We haven’t been in the studio since I’d say the beginning of March. Luckily we are still a very small team so it’s very easy to manage our situation. We did have a studio in Bethnal Green that just last week we’ve decided to give up, and this year we are just working from home for the rest of the year. Next year we’re going to reassess the situation when we’ll probably try and get a space again.
Caterina Bianchini is a name long-time readers of It’s Nice That will be very familiar with as we’ve covered the work of her eponymous studio Caterina Bianchini Studio many times over the years. Well, as of yesterday, that studio is no more as she has relaunched alongside her partner Joe Osborne as Nari.
The focus of the new studio will be on projects which exist at the forefront of culture, while embodying “artistic technique throughout the studio’s practice.” The name is derived from this focus, and directly borne out of Caterina’s experience in the industry. Of course, alongside relaunching their new name, the team has produced an equally exciting visual identity, as well as marking the launch through a series commissions reimagining the new logo by Joe Pertrych AKA Mason London and Connor Campbell who have both interpreted it through motion (below), and Margot Lévêque, Gregory Page, Atelier Brenda and Obby & Jappari who have interpreted it typographically.
“Starting a studio from the ground up has always been my intention, ever since I quit my last nine to five and went full-time freelance,” Caterina explains. “I began to realise pretty quickly that the work which caught people’s eye, both online and through my clients, was the work that existed outside the realms of ‘textbook’ graphic design. I really lent into this way of thinking and tried to adopt more ‘artistic’ and conceptual processes into the way I worked. This is what I want all of the studio’s work to embody and is something all of us here at Nari hold close to us throughout every project.”
In turn, the studio’s name is an anagram for “Not Always Right Ideas”, a mantra at the core of the team’s ethos, “drawing the focus away from the do's and don’ts of textbook graphic design, and embodying a more humanist, artistic approach.”
On why now seemed like a good time to relaunch, Caterina tells us: “I’d always envisaged forming and leading something that felt a bit bigger than just my own name and that’s exactly what Nari is – and hopefully, will be. As soon as Joe and I teamed up, it was always the plan to aim to recruit more talented people, work on larger-scale projects, and of course, finally let go of my narcissism by renaming it to something more neutral.” Joe and Caterina have been together for five years now, and he leads on the more strategic side of things having slogged it in the advertising world before that. “We resisted working together for quite a while as it’s quite a big jump to make, but we both just thought 'fuck it' a year back,” she continues, adding that today the team includes her and Joe, plus designers Nadja Von Zychlinsky and Ollie O’Callaghan.
The visual identity is characteristically typographic, and based on letterpress character blocks. Each is big and bold with “gooey sides” to embody the studio’s approach to design; a sort-of “right-wrongness” where imperfections are embraced and the rules of graphic design don’t need to be adhered to. “I think I’ve been lucky enough as a solo designer to have a fairly well defined aesthetic associated with myself, which I definitely want to carry forward into Nari, but that’s not to say that our style won’t evolve – as I think that’s really important,” Caterina adds. This new identity therefore represents the work the team feels defines them, but it’s also an open invitation to adapt, develop and embrace the new.
Finally, we ask Caterina about the decision to drop the old studio name which was an established and recognisable one, and if she has any advice for others worrying about taking the same decision. “Well, it really is down to the individual, their vision for their brand and the way they function as a business,” she begins. “For us, collaboration is at our core, having a name that indicates or highlights a singular person just didn’t feel fitting anymore. Even though I creatively direct the team, we are a team and without them I just wouldn’t be able to do it. I wanted the studio’s name to reflect that idea and allow people to understand that it’s more than just me in this small but growing machine.”
With recent commissions completed for Somerset House and Apple Music – some of Nari’s dream clients – it’s an exciting time to be following this new studio. “Going forward,” Caterina concludes, “we just want to produce amazing work, that isn’t defined by genre or trends.”
Caterina Bianchini Studio is one that’s made a name for itself with bold, dynamic typography and unfettered use of colour. Its recent clients include the V&A, Reebok and Nike, for whom its produced aptly contemporary campaigns. The studio’s most recent venture, however, sees it taking on the visual identity for, get ready, the world’s first-ever conveyer belt cheese restaurant. And, with a concept so out of the ordinary, the studio’s response is equally surprising.
The studio was already working with the restaurant’s founders, Tayler and Mathew Carver across a few of their new ventures which are still in progress when it was asked to take on Pick & Cheese. “We couldn’t resist when we heard about the restaurant’s concept, with the focus of bringing the conveyor belt into a completely new cuisine and the restaurant being the first of its kind in the world,” explains the studio’s founder Caterina.
Focussing around a central character, a dog called Bert, the identity is predominantly led by an illustration of him in various absurd situations. Stylistically, the drawings are janky to say the least, comprised of fine lines in conjunction with a serif typeface. This combination creates an aesthetic which turns the potential complexity of the restaurant into something accessible.
Caterina recalls the conception of Bert: “We wanted to create an identity that wasn’t too serious. We thought about the contrast of having a dog – who are commonly known to be lactose intolerant – as the main mascot of the restaurant. So we created Bert, the conveyor of cheese, well educated, witty and really into cheese who believes the common fact that dogs are lactose intolerant was created by humans so they had more cheese for themselves.” This idea also creates a refreshing contrast to the current design landscape in hospitality which can often take itself too seriously, leaving little room for playfulness or fun.
On the aesthetic of the identity, Caterina continues: “Honestly, we wanted the whole thing to feel a bit shit. Not perfect, pretty bad, napkin sketch, style illustrations. The animations also showcase this style, being super simple and animated to deliberately feel a bit rough around the edges – think animation on old windows style. We felt this aesthetic was key to bringing the whole identity to life – it isn’t supposed to be some illustrative marvel, it is supposed to feel stupid and fun but intellectual through its content.” These “rough around the edges” illustrations, when paired with the serif across the menu capture the fact that “Tayler and Mathew really know what they are doing. The wines are chosen very specifically by a wine merchant, they have a head cheesemonger on-site and the whole menu was pieced together with great care and a specialist vision.”
It’s not just on the pitch for Pick & Cheese that the studio opted for this kind of unexpected design; it’s actually something that forms a large part of its practice, allowing the team to have fun with every project. “We are all well versed in the graphic design rule book, typography and grid systems but my idea is that as long as you know the rules you can then break them,” Caterina says. “We push the boundaries of our client’s trust by showing them a wildcard each time we present and we also just want to make design a little less serious, make people smile and interact with brands on a more human and genuine level.”
When it comes to the design of a conveyer belt cheese restaurant, this kind of imperfection means that no one, in terms of an audience, is disregarded. For those who know nothing about typography, or even cheese and wine, the restaurant has a welcoming atmosphere. It lets you know that this place isn’t going to take itself too seriously, or look down on you for a lack of knowledge about what it’s serving. It is a restaurant which serves cheese on a conveyer belt after all.
In today’s digital age, hand drawn type is less visible amidst the convenience of digital type that certifies uniformity. However, for the London-based designer Caterina Bianchini, hand drawn type is a key aspect of adding a touch of personality to her bold design aesthetic. Running an independent design studio of the founding designer’s name, Caterina has just released a visual catalogue titled See You at the Dance which compiles posters and EP covers that she has designed throughout 2018.
Speaking to It’s Nice That, Caterina discusses her signature use of hand drawn type: “I have always liked my designs to feel personal, and a way of creating that connection with the viewer is through hand drawn typography.” Through handcrafting individual letterforms, Caterina has found a way of creating new typography “that might not exist yet”. Additionally, hand drawn elements inject a sense of life and movement into the typography which can sometimes seem static, bordering on sterile. The designer says, “Ultimately, [hand drawn type] gives me more control as a designer to create something that is closer to my vision” – a highly personal vision that incorporates the DIY punk culture aesthetic with minimal, grid-based graphic design.
With high-calibre clients from the likes of Crack magazine, Red Bull and Boiler Room, Caterina’s personal highlights of See You at the Dance, includes work for the famous Glaswegian club, Sub Club. A personal client for the Scottish designer, Caterina describes the venue as “the Scottish Haçienda” which “defined the music scene in Scotland and continues to do so.” For this “dream client”, Caterina centred the posters on typography, playfully subverting the rules of typography by condensing certain letters with zero kerning in between each letter.
To further enhance the “hand made element” in the work, the designer creates her own textures. These textures “can be anything from scanning in a piece of paper and using the tactile flecks seen in the textural overlap; to using a Xerox scan texture over the letters.” Intrigued by the relationship between physical and digital work, she sometimes uses scanned prints of a digital printout as the final artwork as another way to incorporate texture into the design.
Her type design starts by sourcing “interesting concepts from art, art history and even essays”. After drawing up mood boards and collecting various ideas, she then sketches out the type to be scanned and digitalised. Alternatively, she finds an existing font that is admired and works into it to feel “unique and considered”. Despite the fact that See You at the Dance documents only a year’s worth of work, the publication is impressively large. The catalogue truly celebrates the design process, showcasing “the used and unused concepts” for artwork, evoking a “real scrapbook feel.” Released at a limited edition the book is currently available and has already been archived in the Scottish heritage collections.
With countless record sleeve designs under her belt, we knew graphic designer Caterina Bianchini would provide a brilliant mixtape and she hasn’t disappointed!
This week Caterina provides a mix of all sorts to get you up from your desk ahead of the weekend. Picking 11 songs (her taste is so varied she sneaked in an extra one on top of the usual ten), below she gives insight into her genre-spanning musical picks and the tracks she listens to while working.
It’s Nice That: Why have you picked these songs?
Caterina Bianchini: Some of these are pretty old and some of them are fresh releases, but they all make me feel good and I believe music should make you feel good. Music is my biggest interest after graphic design, so making a playlist of only ten tunes was really hard for me. My music taste is so eclectic as well, I pretty much have favourite artists in every genre (minus heavy metal – although I did use to listen to Metallica and Slipknot as a “nobody understands me” teen). For this playlist, I focused more on house music.
They remind me of why I love music so much, I love listening to the tunes and listening out for all the tiny little instrumental motifs or the really low-frequency bass lines the producer has created that can only be heard on proper speakers.
INT: When or where should this mixtape be listened to?
CB: In your pants! On the bus! Walking! Running! But maybe more on a Friday, to gear you up for the weekend!
INT: Are there certain albums you listen to during the different parts of your creative process?
CB: Not really, I always have music on, but usually, I don’t have specific albums I listen to. I usually always have a radio station on in the background so either NTS or Worldwide. I sometimes listen to my Soundcloud but I end up getting distracted discovering new tunes. I work a lot with music posters or EP covers, and I find that the music you listen to while you design for music really influences what the outcome of the work is. So usually, if I am listening to something quite minimal or background music, I get really into what I am designing and I almost find myself in this weird intense headspace, whereas if I am listening to something more fun and chilled out I’m more playful with the way I design.
INT: What records did you listen to when you were a teenager?
CB: I grew up on RnB and hip-hop, so Nelly, Ja Rule, Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Left Eyed Lopez, J5, Outkast, The Pharcyde, Eve, Cypress Hill, Nas, Biggy, Kanye — I could go on for some time. But I also had such an interest in music when I was a kid so again I tried to learn more about music and discover new artists. For a bit, I loved “Alternative” so artists like Wolfmother, Tv on the Radio, The Smiths, Joy Division, LCD, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, Nirvana, Interpol — again could go on for some time!
INT: If a feature film of your life was to be made what song would play on the trailer?
CB: It would be between Nina Simone’s Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter or New Spring by Karin Krog & John Surman. Both incredible pieces of music!
Founded by Isis O’Regan in February 2017, Room for Rebellion is a campaign group for abortion rights that hosts events across Dublin, Belfast and London. In its first year it’s fostered a large community across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, raising funds for the Abortion Support Network and awareness for women’s rights, protesting “archaic laws and prejudice”. For a series of club nights held by the group, graphic designer Caterina Bianchini has created posters that aim to embody the group’s feeling of solidarity and hope.
Abstract, illustrative depictions are framed by a contrastingly Brutalist hand-drawn type border, together conveying femininity and strength. “The message had to be loud and clear, as the main aim is to create awareness, so the type is the main focal point but I still wanted to keep a level of beauty and art within the compositions,” Caterina describes.
The images at the centre are therefore designed to feel natural, delicate and beautiful, Caterina says, fusing pale and vivid colours. They were made using a combination of hand-cut shapes, for a tactile aesthetic, before being developed in Illustrator. The text draws on the designer’s penchant for idiosyncratic type. “I like creating type that goes against the usual graphic design rules,” she says. “This relates to tracking mainly, by squishing or extending type to create a warped and unique character set. I basically like it to look a bit bad/wrong. I like to play with the contours of the characters as well, so some sides are sharp and others have a more rounded/humanist feel to them.”
The posters include information about all three coinciding events, with the intention to show unity across the cities within Room for Rebellion’s “sisterhood”. Isis and co-founder Hollie Boston plan to grow the events, and launch their next party when the date for Ireland’s abortion law referendum in May is announced. “Regardless of the outcome, these girls will continue to fight for women’s reproductive rights,” Caterina concludes. “As for the designs, I’ll always try to create artwork people want to put on their walls, so it can be a talking point and even more people can learn about the cause.”
How important is it to distinguish between your personal and professional life online?
We have previously had creatives apply for positions in the studio and their application portfolio is sometimes just their Instagram handle. This obviously presents some of their design work but there also tends to be a sprinkling of personal shots in there too. For me, I don’t really want to see your personal life documented on a tool you are using to present your work – it's really distracting and in turn removes a lot of the thoughtfulness from what you are showing. Ideas are lovely little imaginary things that happen in your head and they should be protected and showcased in an environment that elevates them. Just like pieces in a gallery, the noise around them should be removed so you can concentrate and appreciate them. Seeing your beans on toast #foodporn alongside a beautiful concrete poetry layout really ruins things… Keep ‘em separate!
What benefits are there to having a strong online presence?
There are huge benefits. Social media is a way of communicating with people and it should feel like that’s what you’re doing with your audience. Giving them an insight into your process, your ideas or your inspiration, especially if you are working in the creative industry. I don’t want to be served constant content that looks highly curated or like a shop window; I much prefer posts that pose a question or spark an idea. It should feel like you’re having a chat, not performing a well-rehearsed presentation. I think that is actually where a lot of people get it wrong and find their engagement goes down, because the content becomes expected or predictable.
We use our Instagram as a way of showing things we are working on, or processes – I like to think of it as a digital scrapbook and try not to be too precious about what we show. I think if your Instagram is just an extension of your portfolio or website, it isn’t interesting – it’s not communicating, it’s just another way of advertising.
If someone reaches out to you, what catches your eye? And how should they reach out?
The studio definitely tends to work with people who want to create something adventurous or who are open to seeing what that could look like. So with that in mind, if a graduate was to reach out to the studio, we would always be looking for a thinker rather than a doer. Creativity for me is thoughts, it’s the way someone thinks, how their imagination works. That’s number one. Then number two is how they apply those thoughts, how they capture that essence of conceptuality in something that could work in the ‘real world’. A good creative should have an understanding of conceptuality and an understanding of craft.
The things that catch my eye are those ideas that feel strange and new or include a deliberate wrongness. Because for me, strangeness and imperfection are the most beautiful. I think it’s very easy for someone to learn how to use a design programme or design according to textbook traditions but it’s impossible to teach someone how to think.
If they were to reach out, I’d say do something unusual, or extra. When we receive printed goods in the post or little objects, that really catches my attention. I always try to make a point of contacting that person to say thank you. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, just a simple thing that will stick in someone’s head.
“I love looking through books: the old ones that you get for 20p from a charity shop,” says Caterina Bianchini, ex-senior designer at Boiler Room now turned freelance. With a strong eye for texture and conceptual storytelling based upon her daily findings, Caterina’s portfolio presents an abundance of technically skilled, tongue-in-cheek designs roused out of everyday influences. From posters, branding and editorials, her work identifies with an interest in materialising found objects that have been informed by her mixed cultural background.
“My family are Italian, so twice a year as a kid I travelled to my house there. I think growing up with two different cultures (Italian and Scottish) definitely made me more creative,” Caterina tells It’s Nice That. “My dad collects antiques so I have always been surrounded by interesting objects, which probably gave me an eye for design. I used to keep scrapbooks and collect stamps when I was really young, and this is the first memory I have of being drawn to print and graphic design.”
Having recently taken a leap into the freelance sphere of design, her previous ventures at Boiler Room certainly helped define and grow her style. We recently touched base with Caterina about her work for Boiler Room last December, and it was from these experiences that she managed to fully develop her understanding of type and design application. “Boiler Room was amazing for experimenting with design — I developed my typography a lot there,” she explains. “It was just me and Joe Prytherch that worked in the design department at the time, so it was really full-on and busy. This allowed me to work well under pressure with short turnarounds, which has helped with my freelance work.”
Caterina’s main source of inspiration is the work of John Baldessari and Wassily Kandinsky, mostly for their ability to allow her to “think and approach projects differently.” Other motivations stem from everyday scenarios where something unexpected will grab her attention. “Sometimes I will be in a shop and see a colour combination on packaging that I love, so I take a picture of it. I love typography, so I always notice signage,” she says. “I take a lot of pictures on my phone, so if I pass something that catches my eye — or if there’s a cool font on a sign — I just take loads of photographs!”
Her process for branded work is informed by a simple course of development, where a well-informed sketch will then evolve into a “broad” digital creation. “I always try to create something from an inspirational concept rather than a basic concept. So this usually means I try to understand the brand and the forms or graphics that sit within it,” says Caterina. “I think more about textural territories and conceptual stories that can then be used across the brand world and built into the marketing…I try to keep it quite broad.”
In terms of poster work and illustration, she tends to steer towards a more “playful and charismatic” passage that fully allows the viewer to evoke a sense of fun and enjoyment from the imagery. “I love working on this style of work as I feel like it’s a true creative expression of my ideas in that moment. I draw out my typography and try and include little design motifs that give the posters an extra layer of interest…but the most important thing is to just keep creating work I really care about.”
Filmed on the 18th of December 2018.
Caterina is not talking about what she does work wise day to day, she's discussing her art/ her hobby.
Her studio in Hackney Downs (?) consists of around 4-5 people and deals with big clients like Nike Diesel, etc. This is the day to day work that she gets up to. Its fun, exciting, concept driven.
Her poster/ EP/ music work is something that she really cares about, even though the clients aren't as huge as her regular ones. It's more expresses and allows her to show case her genuine 'style'. She like to experiment a lot with typography. This work is showcased in her book See You at the Dance published in 2018. It's 324 pages long, it has 19 sections and it celebrates the design process by showcasing both the used and unused designs that she has sent out to clients.
She uses a particular process with everything that she does, it even funnels into her more commercial work. She has coined it - 'THE ART OF SEEING' based on two titles: Ways of Seeing by John Beger and Art as Design by Bruno Munari. She gives these two books to all her interns to read. They made her think about her design a lot more, and think more conceptually. The process is split into three:
Step One: Pause
"For me an object is alive; this cigarette, this matchbox, contain a secret life much more intense than that of of most humans. I see a tree, I get a shock, as if it were something breathing, talking. A tree, too, is something human." - Jean Miro
Be mindful of the day to day things that we see and appreciate them, like the tree. Caterina takes this approach when coming up with concepts. A nice example of this is to think about a leaf and how you would describe it to someone who's never seen one:
Green
Curved and sharp
Big and small
Vibrant
Connected lines running through it
Textured
Grows off a diagonal long thing
Bendy
Light in weight
Step Two: Reflect
This allows you to really see the potential that something has. If you were to create a piece of work, how can you really think about it to create something new or a bit silly. For example, Bruno Munari's forks:
Munari would characterise everything and give it a personality. He created little characters. That's something that Caterina tries to do with everything she does, her typography and illustration. She always tries to make it feel charismatic or enforce a personality. Her example, using a flower and turning it into as many different objects as she can:
Step Three: Appreciate
After used those first two steps, take a look back and re-evaluate how it feels and how it looks, does it work?
"A thing is not beautiful because it is beautiful, as the he-frog said to the she-frog, it is beautiful because one likes it." - Bruno Munari
It doesn't necessarily need to be 'what's happening in graphic design right now', it doesn't need to 'abide by the rules'. If you like it and you truly believe in what you've created, then it is amazing. The core essence of creating something amazing is looking back on it and thinking - do I like it or have I made this for someone else?
How she goes about creating her posters:
Idea 1: Personification of type, thinking about type as though it was living and breathing.
In this poster for SUB CLUB, just by slanting the text a little bit and creating a juxtaposition between the two type forms, it creates this idea of fast movement and feels like the rhythm of the music. it creates a build up.
Having the letterforms within Powder Up Sammy in lots of different positions to create a bouncing, interactive feel.
Giving the letterforms little personalities and characteristics, making them look like they're dancing.
Idea 2: Layers, how you can use type to build up and create layers.
Idea 3: Charisma
This is one of the main things that Caterina tries to use and showcase in her posters. She tries to speak to the person that's seeing it, so will often do silly things like putting all the information quite small so that they have to interact more and be drawn in by the bold type. pattern, or illustration. They have to focus.
One of her longest running poster jobs has been with Axe on Wax, an underground nightclub event in London. She uses a lot of illustration for these, as the owner loves cartoons. She showcases how that charisma comes through these posters - combining cartoons, bold type, illustration, texture, colour, pattern, hand-written type. She's a massive fan of using multiple typefaces on a poster and using a lot of hand-written type.
She's never too scared to use colour. She enjoys drawing up her own type and applying it into a digital realm.
"Using build up of colour and how that can be produced to create something that feels like it's showcasing this diversity, showcasing music and all the different people who go to music and feel different ways when they're in the night club. And just b doing something as simple as using colour and diversifying that across the poster, how it creates this sort of dynamic between the viewer and the poster, and actually the night that they end up going to."
7/ 3/ 2020 ep1: Caterina Bianchini
Hello and welcome to What A Way To Make A Living, the podcast where we talk to people working creatively about what they do for a living, and why. We’re Amelia Leuzzi and Dervla O’Shea.
This is a conversation with Caterina Bianchini – founder of London-based creative studio Nari. We talked to Cat about starting a business, working for yourself, and women in senior creative roles.
Caterina Bianchini studio is our current name - we like to call ourselves an art and and design studio because we base a lot of concepts and everything we do on art. We work primarily in fashion, music and the arts. They are our three primary sectors. We've worked with Nike, Reebok, V&A. But we like to work with smaller clients too because they allow us to have more fun. We enjoy that creative freedom and expression.
At them moment we are a team of three. I'm the creative director, we have a strategist and a designer. Sometimes we grow to five or even seven depending on the project. At the moment we're still building things up. Sometimes when we have a bigger project we'll get in one of our trusted freelancers and work with them on the project. We're quite specific with the people that we work with. People that have a really good graphic background, or maybe have worked with art institutions or music institutions, more culturally focused than design focused. We do a lot of branding, but I don't necessarily look for that.
I started the business just over one year ago, I've been working behind the scenes for nearly six or seven years. I worked in big branding studios then went into freelancing. From freelancing, I have slowly built up my studio. I didn't think about it much, I never really had a plan. Working in big studios, I always felt like I didn't agree with the work that was getting put out. I didn't want to align myself with this, so didn't want to use up all of my ideas working for these studios as they got watered down. During freelancing I tested out a lot of studios and other things. I still just felt like I had this need/ passion to have things my way. The studios weren't taking enough risks which is what our studio does, we're always the wild card. I think it's because people want to see what people can push if they want to.
I'm better working for myself than I am for others. I always want to do more, push more, and prove that I could. When you're working in companies you're working alongside so many people with so many above you, I've got too much of my own want and need. The decision to open my own studio was not a conscious decision, it was a general hunger for it.
Working with boiler room allowed me to put my work online. I could showcase my work and saw that people we're actually interested in.
I have taken the conscious decision to stop making poster, just because it takes up so much creative energy and I feel like I need to focus a bit more on the studio. I still feel that need to produce that much work, so we always max ourselves out in the studio. I see the need for that. I have a general love for it, I see something that inspires me and I immediately want to try it out in the next project that we do in the studio. Even if it's art, or a plant. I avoid looking at design blogs a lot. We do not take any reference from things like that in the studio. If we take reference from anything it's more photography, fashion, art, it's never graphic design. You will never see a mood-board in the studio with any graphic design on it, the only thing would be typography. This is to not get lost in it, and do what we want to do. The whole ambition of the studio is our vision, not somebody else's that we want to copy because they're doing well on Instagram. We just always want to do our own thing. IG itself, we follow more fashion focused things and fashion brands to take inspiration from. Even the small amount of studios that I do follow are smaller ones that do a similar kind of thing, or are students that are doing interesting stuff that isn't trending.
Because I didn't think about anything before I started my business, it's been stressful. I'm literally still learning every single day whether it be about tax, usage rights. I believe every studio starts like that - there's no way that anyone knows everything when they start. Even trademarking, copyrighting your work, how you run as a studio. One thing you don't have is that feeling of your time not being your own. You work so hard because it's all on you. I don't really have weekends, I'm always thinking about work. You can't switch off for time off while you're a small agency. It takes a toll. It's also an age thing, people with more life experience it may be easier to set up your own business because you understand it better. With me, I went straight into it with one mentor - a bit of support. Even employing people is a huge thing on me because it's a person's life.
We have no rigid system, we say we work 9:30 to 5:30, but if we're really not feeling something creatively one day - that's fine. As long as the work gets done, we do not care. I found that hard in studios, when you're paying someone money you want the best out of them - it doesn't work. I always say, if someone stays late one night, come in late in the morning. I'd rather they have sleep, catch up and feel like they can do it. It's better than sitting at a computer for three hours not doing anything. I understand because I've been through that and experienced it. I'm at the studio from 9:30 to 5:30, often later, as long as those working with me get what they need to do done, I don't care when they come in.
Everyone is totally different, if you had 30 people they will always all work differently so standard working hours just do not work.
I don't ever want to get massive. I don't want the studio to be an enormous thing. First and foremost, I want it to feel like people who are good friends, secondly I want them to really care about what they're doing. I never want to get to a stage where you don't know someone's name in the kitchen.
I avoid talking about work unless someone asks me about it. It's impossible to understand what it's like to run a business until you've done it. It can be condescending to hear, and everyone loves to talk about how bus they are. That's just how it is in London. I try not to bombard friends and family with how intense it is. You have to come up with ideas every day, manage people, look into business expenses. I still do loads of design because we're small, but hope to go more into managing and setting directions.
There's one thing that annoys me: I always feel like in the creative industry there's a real lack of women in design authoritive positions 100%. I have worked in studios in the past where I have gone up to the project manager to ask them about themselves, and they we're always a designer that just ended up in that role. I've never worked in a studio that is run by women - they exist but it's a thing that people don't talk about. Looking at the design industry, women get pushed into more admin based roles. I do think it would be nice to see women high up on design boards and in authorative positions. Not just a managing director. It's progressing, it's getting talked about, but I've had men tell me I'm a good designer for a girl, I've had men look over shoulder and judge my work. Maybe that's just because the studios I were working in we're male dominated. I think it's time for women to get a bit more confidence. Women are so powerful, I genuinely believe that. Who cares? I've had things go out under the studio's name where people have been like "the kerning on this is awful", you know what, get out of my face. It'll be a tiny little project where we just have fun. Come on, a tiny thing like that. Jut go away and allow us to show people that they can do what they want to do and be fearless about it.
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