Taking Care of Business - Study Task 01 - OUGD502

Drew Boulton, Gaby Renavent and I have taken it upon ourselves to create our very own business, the following post will provide a brief outline of what it is we will do, and how we will go about setting our business from the rest.

• What skills and services do you have to offer?

With good knowledge of digital design whilst maintaining the versatility of experimental work through a vast range of media. By having a unique approach to conjuring up simplistic yet effective ideas and applying them in many different ways. Nothing isn't doable.

Drew:

Out of box thinking

Maintained creative flow

Experimental using mixed media

Lettering

Publication design

Advertising

Gaby:

Typographer

Layout artist (Print/Digital)

Minimalist

Mock up specialist

Illustrator

Colour theorist

Myself:

Digital based

Web / App

Animation

Vector

Practical application

Logo

• Who is your target market?

Our client base will be diverse. We will not restrict our market based on the importance of our clients: Big company dreams with small company values.

• Who is your competition and how will you compete?

As much as we will try to separate ourselves from the rest, there will always be a healthy amount of competitors that will be breathing down our necks, the competition will vary greatly based on the scale of our studio and client base. Positive reputation is what will deter us apart from the rest. 

• What are your costs, charges and financial considerations?

Studio workspace:

1. Possible rent costs
2. Furniture (Chairs, desks, tables - Create a presentable environment where we could potentially meet clients but also keep an ikea state of mind, don't spend a lot on furniture.)
3. Production materials (Initially, but when profit is made, this won't come out of our own pockets)
4. Equipment such as iMac's, however this could be eradicated by using our own computers (MacBooks), but screen size may need to be larger so monitors would have to be bought to accommodate for this consideration.
5. Drafting boards
6. Wacom tablets
7. Software subscriptions (Adobe CC, Fontographer, etc...)
8. Travel costs
9. Outsourcing costs (Printing, development)
10. Swatches (RAL, Pantone, etc...)
11. Beverage making equipment (Kettle, coffee maker, fridge, microwave and other appliances)
12. Backup server (FreeNAS based to eradicate software cost, this can also be used as a cloud to store work on for 24/7 access from anywhere, useful for when you pitch to a client and they may ask you for something you didn't bring a long with you.)

Client Charges:

Between £30-60 per hour split 3 ways depending on the difficulty of the work they are asking for.

• How will you structure your studio?

A calm social environment with work scattered around the walls/shelves for inspiration purposes or simple to exhibit to the clients what kind of work we produce. Quiet area for when music/talking is too distracting in the main studio. Plenty of natural light and the ability to take breaks whenever it is necessary if the workload allows it.

• Who will be responsible for what?

The company will be created in the form of a Limited Liability Partnership. This will allow us to figure out our own financial situations such as vat/taxing but utilise each others individual skills to gain more clients. We will individually bring in briefs, and the person that is handling the client will carry out the research as it is key to know all about who you are working for, then the responsibilities of actually executing the work and generating ideas will be a collective effort.

• How will you promote your services? To who? Using what media?

By using a strong brand, we will apply out identity to various social media and other promotional services like classified ads. Our mainframe (being the website) will supply all links to social media and creative hosting sites.

USP:

We are a versatile and diverse creative thinkers, by priding ourselves on communication skills we can execute any form of work the client may need.