Lizzie Wa Design

What do you think are the essential logistical and practical requirements to setting up a studio?

The first important themes that the established studios mention when starting a studio are clients and money. Simon Manchip believes that until you have clients you don’t have a business. 

For a new small design studio, you don’t need much to set it up, just a laptop. But Simon Manchip personally recommends getting an accountant as soon as possible to ensure you stay on top of your finances from that start. The more you can employ others to do roles like this, the more you can focus purely on the design. He also brings up the importance of ensure you don’t over-promise. If you deliver well, you will get repeat business and your studio will grow. 

Sarah Boris agrees that keeping track of money is important. She makes the point that as your job relies heaving on your laptop, you need to ensure you have enough money to replace it if anything happens. 

Juilan and Adrian from Intro design believe that being a ‘people person’ and cultivating good relationships with clients is also very important. You need to listen to what the client wants and ensure you are designing for them, not you. 

Sam Winston and Regular Practise both admit that for them, getting some studio space, while an extra expense, helped them to think about their design practise more seriously. It created a psychological change in how they viewed it.  Sam Winston does also admit however, that he felt as if he was faking it for quite a long time. I think this is a common problem, but important for him to admit. While starting out I am sure many designers doubt their skill and it takes time for them to truly believe what they are selling to clients. 

The idea of a group of creative supporters and peers also seems to be important. Sam Winston tells us that he used a lot of skill swaps early on in his career, and working with people in other creative disciplines helped him realise the path he wanted to take. He also thinks being sincere and transparent with clients, especially when it comes to money as he believes trust is incredibly important. 

Regular Practise make the interesting point that having a website is no longer completely necessary, and a well curated instagram feed can do the job just as well. This is a great way to start out as a studio without having to invest time and money in website design. 

It seems that when setting up and running a studio a large chunk of the work you have to do is not design but keeping the business running. I can see this creating some issues if you are a sole trader, and how outsourcing some support could be useful. Simon Manchip also makes the point that you can use your design thinking to redesign the way businesses are run to make things better. 

All the designers interviewed mention the importance of knowing yourself and what work you want to do. If you create that work, even if it just as a side project, you are much more likely to have clients approaching you for similar work. So make the kind of work you want to be making! 

Gem Barton talks about how she believes you need to be honest with yourself about your goals and ethos to make sure your dreams are really yours and not placed on you by society. It can be hard to see the difference as we are inevitably influenced by our background, experiences and social circles, but I think she is imploring us to sit back and think carefully about what really does motivate us. 

She believes in the importance of failure and using it to work out how to do better next time. She also thinks that collaborations is key. Through collaboration you can learn new skills and work in partnership to create a richer outcome. If you play to your strengths and goals you can create your own personal brand, which is how people will think about you when you are not in the room. 

Reading and watching the resources material, one thing that jumped out to me was John Maeda comment about inclusivity within a studio. He believes that if you work with people who are different to you, it helps you to increase you market and reach. I think this is a really interesting point, that the more different viewpoints and backgrounds you incorporate into your practise the easier you will be able to empathise with and understand different cultures and groups within society, making your designs more universally relevant. 

How do you translate your perceived design ethos and positioning to your defined audience?

To start off thinking about how I would want my potential future studio or business to look I explored some other design studios. As my background is in marketing and communications, I don’t have any experience working in a design studio, so this is a really good opportunity to gain some insight and work out what kind of studio I would like to work for in the future. 

I know I am interested in design for good and sustainable futures, so I am interested to see how other design studios with this ethos sell themselves to clients. 

& Walsh are a great example of this.

“One of our core missions is using our skills as creatives to start dialogues and create change. Our studio spends a significant amount of our time on self-initiated projects for social causes that are important to us. We’ve created events, books, exhibitions, and entire organizations for these social initiatives.”

They are also founded by women, and this is an important part of their ethos “70% of students in many top design schools are women, yet only .1% of creative agencies are woman-founded. 5% of CEOs are women & 11% of creative directors are women. Why are so few women in leadership roles?” I found this statistic pretty shocking. Throughout the course so far I have found myself drawn to shining a light on the inequalities related to women in society. So this is clearly something I would like to take forwards into my practise in the future. Helping to empower and support female creatives to reach their potential. 

Aardman now give 75% stake in business over to their employees. “Staff will have an input into the running Aardman via a workers council, while the senior team will sit on a new board of directors which will lead the business and decide on the staff bonus, reporting to the trust’s board”

Their ethos is to create British films. Peter Lord said: “Our desire is to produce British animated films. The world audience have got American films coming out of their ears. We believe in a different voice, a different culture with different references and sense of humour, aimed at a global market but British.”

I looked back at some studios I had come across earlier in the module. 

Yoke studio

“A creative studio driven by purpose”

“Yoke was founded on the idea that earning a living shouldn’t cost the earth. We exist to help organisations connect with people, inspire positive change and achieve their goals. We achieve this through expert insight, creative problem solving, beautiful execution and solid delivery.” 

Yoke studio have very sustainable goals which I very much associate with. I like that they mention how ‘Earning a living shouldn’t cost the earth’. I think this transparent statement that sticking to their ethos is more important than financial gain is brilliant.  

Matter

“Design category defining products and experiences 

Ambitious thinkers and makers, committed to making a difference. Want to help achieve a positive future. 

Work in an open and collaborative space so they can be inspired by each other.”

Fiasco Design

“We are Fiasco Design. An award-winning creative agency in Bristol. We specialise in creating forward-thinking brand identities, websites, illustration and animation for clients of all kinds. And we do it by taking our clients with us through every step of the design process.”

“Core Principles : Creativity takes courage – To make impact you have to take risks. This is why all of our work is born from a deep understanding of the personality, purpose and principles unique to each brand. It’s this foundation that gives brands their power and this is why we expect to take creative risks in every project.

Together is better -Solid partnerships produce the best results for everyone. We value strong relationships and working together every step of the way. Getting under the skin of businesses, brands and people helps us to understand their world, informs our work and brings the best results.

Simple is good – Enough fluff. We believe there is beauty in simplicity, so we focus on communicating the essential aspects of the product or service, with no excess. Good design is simple and well refined. As Jim Henson once said: ‘simple is good’.” 

Studio Above and Below – https://www.studioaboveandbelow.com/about

“Believing in research based art, Studio Above&Below works with scientists, technologists and communities to push the boundaries of digital media for future living.”

I think design studios that are openly collaborating with people in other industries are very interesting. When dealing with complex issues I think working with other industries is integral to creating great design, as there are so many other things that need to be taken into account. 

Pearlfisher https://www.pearlfisher.com/about/ 

3 things we won’t do section is very interesting, everyone seems to focus on what they do but where you draw the line is also very important. 

Also shows how different areas of the company all work together to create the desired outcome 

Dearness Only

Funny and chatty about page that shows personality, this makes the client feel like they already have a relationship with the studio and gives the studio a real person feel to it. I think this style only works well with smaller studios, as when used with large agencies it may be seen to be insincere. 

Designers Anonymous – https://www.designers-anonymous.com/about/

Getting to the heart. Wearing your heart on your sleeve. Staying bottom of hearts, top of minds. These are all very personal and emotionally vulnerable words, which are an interesting choice.

https://thomasmatthews.com/tm-is/ We share space and knowledge with engineers, architects, sustainability experts and design educators. This breadth of experience gives our practice design ambition and environmental rigour.

Heather Knight

“Design, branding and creative communications for disruptive start-ups, brands and movements who are positively changing our world”

“We can no longer continue with business-as-usual during a climate and ecological emergency. I work with B Corps and purpose-driven brands who are using business as a force for good to help drive a regenerative economy, and NGOs who are campaigning for a socially just and greener world.” 

“I believe in the power of creativity to make an idea irresistible, and the ability of communications to inspire real change.” 

A freelance designer in Bristol that I follow has this very interesting about page. She puts her feelings about sustainability and the environment  at the very forefront of what she says about herself. Although limiting in what work she will be able to do, I think this bold certainty in what she believes in is very important. 

Futerra
https://www.wearefuterra.com/about/

“Futerra isn’t just a logical sustainability consultancy, or a magical creative agency; we are both. We are a change agency.”

The bringing together of designers and sustainability advisors is a brilliant way to ensure you are not simply ‘greenwashing’ products or brands and actually working with them to ensure they are creating a positive impact. I think this is something I would like to do, I am passionate about sustainability, but as a designer I don’t have the in-depth knowledge that is needed, so collaborating with sustainability advisors would be a great solution to this. 

“What if we looked at the world like a design project – how might we begin to make it better?”

Bruce Mau

Since reading this quote in the last module, I have felt very inspired by it, and motivated that I really could use design to make the world better, even if just in a very small way. 

I started off quite unsure where to go with the challenge this week as I’ve not worked as full on designer before, and still feel as if I am finding my feet and working out what I like to do/am good at! I got into design because I want to use creativity as a tool to try and make a positive impact in the world. 

As this is a speculative challenge I thought I might choose a small design studio that works solely with sustainable businesses, charities and change making campaigns. I know this may seem idealistic but I guess setting standards for the kind of work you want to make and companies you want to work with is important?

I started to look at what motivates me, what I like and what I don’t. I made this into a mind map to organise my thinking and work out what was really important to me. 

What I want to do/ why design?

Striving for positive change.

Find a way to fight against injustices in world and climate issues etc

Supporting the brave and bold individuals. 

Empowering women and female owned companies 

Special interest in positive women’s brands and charities 

Likes

• helping people
• Empowering women
• Sustainable brands
• Charities
• Bold ideas
• Open conversations
• Nature 
• Transparent companies 

Dislikes

• Consumerism
• Polluting companies
• Profit over purpose 
• Unfair companies 

My favourite areas of design so far are illustration, branding and communications, and I would like to delve deeper into animation. 

I started to write some ideas down as a draft pitch: 

Designing for a better future. 

We support the brave, the bold and the big-hearted. 

Made up of thinkers, makers, storytellers and future changers our team of expert designers and sustainability advisors come together to help move your brand into a better future. 

We know a brilliant design probably won’t stop climate change, but it will boost a small sustainable business that is trying to be heard, give a charity the brand recognition and impact they need to make a difference or help an established company to move towards a more sustainable future. 

Using playful illustration, bold branding and targeted communications, we can help your business to be heard, understood and remembered. Through partnerships with sustainability advisors, we can ensure your company, charity or campaign has the right kind of impact and continues to do so. 

We only work with companies that are fair, transparent and kind – just like us! 

From my research, I think the best about us pages I read were clear, concise and passionate. I think my first draft is a bit unclear and not really saying enough. I decided to re-write it, keeping my aims clear in my mind but also trying to inject some of my personality into the text. 

Final Outcome

Lizzie Wa Design

Using playful illustration, bold branding and targeted communications, we can help your business to be heard, understood and remembered. Our small studio is motivated to support sustainably-minded or people-centred companies. We can work closely with you to craft a powerful and unique brand, reach new audiences and drive change within your industry.  

We believe in purpose over profit. We will only work for companies who are inclusive, who pay their staff and overseas workers fair wages, who strive to reduce their impact on the planet and who are trying to make the world a better place, not just increase the number in their bank account. We love passionate start-ups, pioneering charities and companies who are trying to push into a better future.  

We really care. We only work with clients who’s values sit well alongside our own. That means we really do care about your mission, and are passionate about helping you to achieve it. Your work is never just a ‘job’ for us. 

We are small but bold. The studio is small and friendly but also brave and bold when we need to be. We take risks, challenge the established order and fight hard alongside our clients; your passion is our passion. 

We are friendly. If you like the sound of what we do, then we would love to hear from you! 

Lizzie Wa Design is a one woman studio run by Lizzie Walker-Arnott, in collaboration with a range of talented local artists, photographers, videographers and copywriters. Lizzie is nature obsessed, passionate about empowering other women and at her happiest on her bike or exploring in the woods. 

Lizzie has a MA in Graphic Design from Falmouth University. 

I would like to give my studio a more interesting name, but as I have not settled on one yet I am leaving it simple. I am hoping to revisit the name at some point during this module once I have had time to think more about it. However I did create a quick logo design option for this name that I think is bright, bold and friendly.

Reflection

Thinking about what is it that really motivates you is a really insightful exercise and one that I think I will continue to do in the future to ensure my work is always lining up with my goals and values. I can see how when searching for work, it is tempting to take anything you can find. However, if you are clear in what you will and won’t do, you can ensure that from the beginning you only take on projects that fit with your ethos and will progress your career in the right direction. 

As I am relatively new to design, I do anticipate that my design goals and ethos may change and evolve over time, but as long as I take the time to check in with my values in this way I think that will only be a good thing. 

I wanted my ‘about page’ this week to show my personality, my strong values about working for companies that are striving to do some good and also a clear message of what my little studio creates. I am interested to see how this initial idea will change, expand and evolve as I delve deeper into creating a business plan for it. 

Reference list

BUTLER, Sarah. 2018. “Wallace & Gromit Producers Hand Stake in Business to Staff.” the Guardian [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/10/wallace-gromit-producers-hand-stake-in-business-to-staff.

COMPUTER ARTS. 2016. “How to Launch and Run a Design Studio.” http://www.youtube.com [online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4USCXMS7BY [accessed 30 May 2021].

DESIGN INDABA. 2016. “John Maeda on Design Thinking and Creative Leadership.” http://www.youtube.com [online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjSOjwixR4k [accessed 7 Jun 2021].

THE FUTUR. 2017. “How to Run a Creative Business: In-Depth Breakdown W/ Melinda Livsey – YouTube.” http://www.youtube.com [online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8BN2YSyYkg [accessed 5 Jan 2021].

USI EVENTS. 2017. “Redesigning Leadership – John Maeda, at USI.” http://www.youtube.com [online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR5_G9nxKow [accessed 4 Jun 2021].