Category Design Thinking Client The Info Group Agency / Designer The Info Group
Becoming a Creative Collective
Brief
The Info Group is an established graphic design studio specialising in the design and production of a wide range of informative and promotional material. The company has been operating successfully for over 20 years with a relatively low profile but has a group of loyal, reliable clients who appreciate the company’s flexibility and commitment to delivering the service.
The need to build the business has become more apparent as the squeeze on small businesses continues in the wake of the severe economic downturn that has been experienced worldwide over the last few years. This has made investing in equipment, staff, infrastructure or any other kind of expense very difficult and if the business is to develop, another way of growing rather than standing still needs to be considered
A way of moving forward would be to maximise the current business assets, namely the building and the employees. The Info Group owns The Village Studio, which it currently operates out of, but no more than 30% of the available space is utilised. It is intended to use the space in a more creative way that would have an impact on how The Info Group operates.
Result
The scheme has been promoted in the local and design press and a number of interested individuals requested more information. Those applicants who seemed to have most to offer and were clearly committed to and excited by the idea of a creative collective were offered space. Three high quality individuals have accepted space and will be moving in at the end of July. These individuals will bring the additional skills of web design, film making, digital storytelling, marketing, public relations and media services to an already established graphic consultancy.
For the individuals the creative collective gives them the interaction that they would not otherwise have if they continued to work alone. For The Info Group it brings additional expertise in unfamiliar areas that would normally be overlooked. For all concerned, the collective allows a much wider range of services to be promoted and offered at little additional cost.
Solution
A plan was developed that involved the offer of free office space to associated professionals in the design and media industry whose services would be complementary to those already offered by The Info Group.
The intention is to provide a multi discipline communication service that offers a relatively complete range of expertise under one roof. It is understood that ‘under one roof’ is not necessarily important, but the advantage from a creative point of view is to have other experienced individuals easily at hand for discussion, opinion and also to generate a creative atmosphere in which to work. The advantage to individual practitioners is to have a dedicated work space that is more conducive to a productive outcome than possibly working from home. The clear and unapologetic benefit to The Info Group would be to feed off this additional expertise and, therefore, collectively bring in work for all concerned.
