"No fancy greeting area."

“No fancy greeting area.�

A guide for emerging practitioners in the field of creative endeavour.

Introduction

“No fancy greeting area” is a guide for the emerging practitioner, the graduate, the wet behind the ears, full of drive and desire to change the world designer.

Cash-strapped, between interships and freelancing, it’s time to go at it alone your thinking. well, this guide aims to inform and inspire you to do just that.

This is a guide to developing a creative space, that has both form and function, that can work for you and for the people that work with you. It covers everything from balancing informal and formal areas to top money saving tips and advice from some of the world’s key designers and influencers in our field of graphic design.

There is a strong social enterprise aspect to our guide as it has been developed with the intention of making the difficult process of starting up a new studio easier.

Good luck.

Publishing, Editing and Art direction James Pollock Siena Clarke Sophie Higgins Tom Hobbs

Follow us We created this publication with the sole aim and desire for it to act as a vital tool in setting up a creative space. We would love to see how this publication has helped and inspired you, so please feel free to get in contact. twitter.com/nofancygreeting facebook.com/nofancygreeting tumblr.com/nofancygreetingarea

Typography Klinic slab by Joe Prince Lost type co-op

Please ask us before reporducing any part of this book.

Views expressed are those of No fancy greeting and those of respective contributors

Contents Interviews

Layout Open plan design - an insight into why open plan has its benifits.

Community feeling- There is nothing better than studio banter.

Michael Bierut - Pentagram

Guy Field - Studio Moross

Formal spaces - Clients will have somewhere to talk business, you too.

Interviews section one Ambiance

Jason Smith - Fiasco Design

Richard Bailey - Dalton Maag

Lighting - Natural light? or Artificial light? that is the question.

Sound - We all love our itunes and spotify playlists, but are they right.

Heating - Is it me or is it super warm in here? yeah its just you mate.

Interviews section two Spencer Buck - Taxi studio

Helpful tips and advice Interviews section three A special Thank you.

Our space evolved organically,as needed, by its inhabitants.

Milton Glaser.

Contributors

Spencer Buck, Taxi studio -

Jason Smith, Fiasco design -

Founder and creative director of Taxi studio

Co-founder of Fiasco design in Bristol,

based in Bristol’s Clifton, specialising in

specialising in branding, web design,

brand identity and packaging design.

illustration, animation and print.

Michael Bierut, Pentagram NYC -

Richard Bailey, Dalton Maag -

Partner at Pentagram NYC he is one of the

Senior corporate service manager for Dalton

World’s most critically acclaimed designers,

Maag. A multi disciplined firm that focus

educators and influencers of today.

mainly on typeface design.

Anthony Hyam, Teapot Creative -

Guy field, Studio Moross -

A design agency based in Somerset, they

A junior designer at Studio Moross, the

offer a wide range of services including

creation of Kate Moross in the heart of

Brand and Graphic design, and Web design.

London.

Sidonie Warren & Kyle Clarke, Something Good Bristol - Kyle & Sid, set thier studio up together in the heart of bristol. They are fluent in branding, web, print.

Dan Grozonka, Brond Dan founded Brond in 2006 with his wife, Angela. Their studio is on the bottom of Whiteladies Road in Bristol.

Tom Maurice, SunHouse Creative -

Debbie Taylor, Hello Charlie -

Tom is the founder and creative director of

Marketing director of Hello Charlie, a Bristol

the growing branding company SunHouse,

based motion graphics studio.

based in Bath.

“Our creativity is often determined by how actively engaged and focused we are.

Sometimes our focus is dictated by the constraints, or rules, we apply to it. The more we focus, the more we create.�

Entering into the creative industry is not an

make a difference, as to what processes

easy thing to do in such a saturated market.

you can follow to try to generate new ideas.

But there are few things you can do to make

Once we have a lot of knowledge, we need to

the process a lot easier. Constructing the

spend time making connections between it

ideal environment to foster creativity should

all—this is where creativity comes in.

be an absolute basic.

So we must ask ourselves… What makes us creative? And how can we nurture this.

There’s so much going on in the brain when we are being creative that science is still trying to pin down exactly how it all works.

But what we think we do know, is which three parts of the brain work together to help

Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterised by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. - Linda Naiman

us create and come up with new ideas: Many articles have thrown around The Attentional Control Network helps us

suggestions about creativity and how to help

focus on a particular task. It’s the one that

you come up with new ideas. Things such

we activate when we need to concentrate on

as putting yourself in challenging situations,

complicated problems or pay attention to a

criticising your own ideas and being open to

task like reading or listening to a talk.

having lots of (bad) ideas in order to find just a few great ones.

The Imagination Network as you might have

But there are certain factors in your working

guessed, is used for things like imagining

environment which you can take control of to

future scenarios and remembering things that

foster these creative ideas and connections.

happened in the past. This network helps

Environmental factors like noise levels,

us to construct mental images when we’re

temperature, space and lighting can make a

engaged in these activities.

big difference to how creative we are. Here’s what the research says about setting up your

The Attentional Flexibility Network has the

studio for optimising levels for creativity.

important role of monitoring what’s going on

We also took advise from existing successful

around us, as well as inside our brains, and

design studios, to see how they function

switching between the Imagination Network

within their work environment.

and Attentional Control.

Understanding how important making connections are to aiding creativity should

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Layout.

Open plan design Community Formal spaces

12 Layout

Open Plan design From research, studio visits and our own experience as designers we have concluded that there is some real value in open plan studios/desk areas. Other than things like increased oxygen flow around a space, lack of walls offer the team a chance to interact with each other over small design issues, proofreading, idea generation in moments of difficulty etc. The studio work better as a whole, integrating ideas and elements from sharing their work with each other. Different studios have various ways of provoking this however, like the person choosing

the music for each day will change, again making a bit of variety within the space and creating conversation within the workforce.

Studios have various ways of creating a community within their workforce. Some places have a tea rota so that everyone is forced to speak to everyone else, some bring their own mugs or photographs of their family or friends in, or some have been known to allow cats, dogs, small pets into the office to bring a more homely and relaxed vibe. Another function of having a dog in the studio is that each lunchtime someone/a group would be forced to walk the dog and get fresh air, again stimulating more endorphins within the brain, and from that more creativity!

Community

14 Layout

Formal space The need, in some people’s minds, for a formal/meeting space within a studio is sometimes overrated. Studios are creative hubs and places where ideas are made, so the idea of installing a more ‘board room’ type area within this is in its self odd. Studios that we have visited have got around the idea of not having somewhere to meet clients by finding a smart, well designed bar to take clients to, having meetings at their headquarters/offices to make them feel more at home within the partnership, meeting in public spaces (depending on the project, obviously), restaurants etc. and that has seemed to work well for these more established studios. The only vital thing for a space of this nature is that everyone present should feel comfortable, it does not need to be held within your studio space.

A few questions : Michael Bierut Pentagram. our office in New York occupies a four-story

sizes. There are three conference rooms and

building facing a park. It is 100 years old

a lunchroom that can be reconfigured. All

and was built as a bank. Before we moved

the open space (as well as the tradition of

in it was a dress shop and then (briefly) a

communal lunches three days a week) all

nightclub.

are meant to help everyone both collaborate and, more importantly, enjoy each others’

It has a very idiosyncratic layout with

company.

multiple interlocking levels and that, more than anything else, determined how we use

There is no fancy greeting area for clients. We

the space.

feel strongly that anyone walking in the front door should immediately see that this is a

There are no private offices. The eight partners

place where work is getting done.

of the firm sit at adjacent desks between the first and second floors. Designers for four

None of the partners like having meetings that

of the teams sit on those two floors. The

involve a lot of Post-It Notes, so there are few

designers on the other four teams sit on the

spaces that encourage this kind of thing.

fourth floor.

All designers sit in an open plan arrangement

The biggest change since we moved in 20

at communal desks. We use the third floor as

years ago is size. We were 30 people then. We

our lunchroom and for meetings of various

are nearly 100 now.

A few questions : Guy Field Studio Moross Where did you get inspiration for your

Has the space evolved much since you

studio layout and aesthetic?

moved in?

I guess it’s just like anything else aesthetic,

Yes in the sense that we have more people

you have a certain taste as well as a

and more thing - so there’s lots more work

knowledge from your personal experience of

areas and we’ve been rearranging where

what makes a functional studio!

we sit. It’s good to have certain kind of

Also, all designers love a nice framed print!

designers together so they can work off each other more easily.

How is the studio arranged? Private rooms/communal desks?

Is there any differences about the things

We’re actually about to change our studio, as

that happen in your studio, as opposed to

we’ve totally outgrown it, but it’s arranged

what you’ve seen in others ?

communally - we all have our individual

I’m not sure, we’re all quite young so I guess

spaces but the room & table is shared.

maybe we’re a little more lively. We also

I think it’s important to be able to see each

have 4 dogs here some days!

others screens as well as discuss what’s going on with ease.

How would you arrange/stage a client meeting in your studio? - Or does it

What was your top priority when

depend on the client?

designing this space?

It depends on the type of meeting, we

Functional large desk spaces, with access

sometimes want to show something on our

to each other as well as what we need. We

screen or present something, then it makes

actually designed our current space as a 3D

sense to bring them to the studio, but our

mock-up before buying all the furniture to

space is quite small and chaotic so if there’s

fit the room.

a lot of people and it’s more formal then we

Then we want it to look nice!

will meet in the nice bar next door.

Ambiance.

Lighting Sound Heating

Light, sound, heating and décor are of

There are arguments for painting all the walls

utmost importance to a studio. When

white and being very minimalist, however

considering that people will be working

in the cold winters (but not inside, because

either on a range of disciplines from hand

you’ll be heating your studio!) the white bleak

drawn sketches, computers to 3D modelling

walls are not going to inspire, but depress.

it is crucial to find a matrix these that work

Adding splashes of colour around the

together at the same time as fostering as

walls cannot be overlooked. Go for the chic

much creativity as possible.

colourful beanbag look if you’re aiming for

Décor in general can be worked a number of

a more chilled, easy out vibe. But there are

ways, it is true. To decide on this you must

other ways of doing it.

chose/know if you will be a ‘messy desk’

Use your imagination if minimalist isn’t good

environment, or a ‘tidy desk’. Picking one

for you. A number of studios now are making

or the other may swing how you decorate/

‘fantasy rooms’ similar to Google’s famous

arrange the space. Various things have been

offices worldwide, with out of proportion

recommended to us if the mess and ideas are

furniture, golfing greens in the middle (see

going to be kept on the walls – static paper,

TAXI studio), or even themed rooms made to

on computers – Pinterest, on desks – in

feel like hunting lodges!

paper form, in meeting rooms – whiteboards

These are just a few thoughts to help you

or neatly tucked away in shelving units and

along, but ultimately how you decorate

sketchbooks.

depends on the people within your studio.

20 Ambiance

When it comes to lighting, keeping the

The research found that dim lighting helps

lights adjusted to a lower setting can be

us to feel less constrained and free to explore

beneficial for generating creative ideas,

and take risks. Two of the studies tested

though you might want to make it brighter

this feeling in particular, and found that

when you need to focus at a later stages of

“darkness elicits a feeling of being free from

your work. Research published in the Journal

constraints and triggers a risky, explorative

of Environmental Psychology looked at the

processing style.� So when you’re gearing

difference in creativity levels in brightly-lit

up for a brainstorming session, try turning

and dimly-lit environments over six studies.

down the lights before you get started.

Lighting

Ambiance

21

Natural lighting? or artificial lighting?

Brightness levels aren’t the only factor to take into consideration. Many studies have examined the effects of natural vs. artificial lighting;

“Compared to the afternoon, people who had DL (Daylight) were significantly more alert at the beginning of the evening, and subjects who were exposed to AL (Artificial light) were significantly sleepier at the end of the evening.”

Not only does poor lighting affect how alert we can be, but it can really disturb our mood. Our cortisol levels drop significantly under artificial or poor lighting conditions.

That means that we’ll be more stressed, and have less ability to stabilise our energy levels

22 Ambiance

Sound

Studies have shown that a small amount of sound infiltrating through a space, drowning out the background silence, can make our minds more efficient. Around 70-90 decibels is the recommended amount, however some prefer more and some less. So get a sound system, place speakers tactically around your studio and play some music. Whether it’s wordless, rap or jazzy lounge music it will do some good.

“We play music all day every day, and rotate who is the DJ, so we get a fairly eclectic range of music. Sometimes we can see a physical difference in the work produced depending on the music style played which is quite interesting!�

24 Ambiance

Temperature

Although you are a new studio, with not all the funding in the world, consider the importance of heating and what it does to the body and mind. Nobody, without exception, will be as productive or inspired when they’re cold as when the air around them is of a normal temperature. Plan for heating costs within your first budget and get everybody ‘warmed up’!

“The temperature in the office is generally set between 20-22 degrees Celsius. This makes for a comfortable working temperature meaning no distraction is made from feeling cold or warm.”

A few questions : Jason Smith Fiasco design Where did you get inspiration for your

Has the space evolved much since you

studio layout and aesthetic?

moved in?

We had to work out what was best for us

Well we knocked through into another

in terms of our working needs and then

studio to gain the 2nd room. That was a

layout/look/feel came afterwards.

pretty big move. We also have more of us

Group discussions on our working

here at Fiasco, so we have more computers

environment helped, we also got inspiration

and desks.

from Pinterest and some other blogs. But most of the inspiration came from our own

Is there any differences about the things

design preferences really.

that happen in your studio, as opposed to what you’ve seen in others ?

How is the studio arranged? Private

We probably work later than other studios.

rooms/communal desks?

We have 2 rooms that are joined, the large

How would you arrange/stage a client

open plan room has all of our desks and

meeting in your studio? - Or does it

work areas in. And the other has a big

depend on the client?

meeting table in it which we also use when

If it’s an initial meeting, we would use the

we need to break away from our desk. We

board rooms in our basement, if it was a

also have an awesome roof terrace and

client we had already had an initial meeting

a communal lounge and kitchen in the

with, we would have the meeting in our

basement.

studio meeting room. ( Which is a lot more of a relaxed space. )

What was your top priority when designing this space?

To produce a creative working environment that everybody could be happy in.

A few questions : Richard Bailey Dalton Maag Where did you get inspiration for your

are given adequate space and light

studio look/layout/feel?

to perform their roles optimally and

It was very much a case of form following

comfortably.

function. The priority was giving the designers enough individual desk space

Has the space evolved much since you

and circulation space in quite simple

moved in?

surroundings, while still maintaining

Very much. We were 14 FTE’s when we

a ‘team’ feel to their desk areas/zones.

took occupation - we’re now 46, so we

Accordingly, the workspace is quite basic

have considerably more furniture, storage,

and open, whereas our communal areas

seating etc. The kitchen area has also had a

(kitchen/diner/meeting suite) are somewhat

revamp - where it was once little more than

more interesting.

a tea-point, it is now a large refectory style kitchen-diner with prep areas and reheating

How is the studio arranged? Private

facilities etc.

rooms/communal desks?

All desking is open-plan, including senior

Is there any differences about the things

management and the Directors. Each FTE

that happen in your studio, as opposed to

has a dedicated personal desk. Departments

others ?

are bunched together in clusters. We then

I’m not really sure to be honest. I don’t really

have a large kitchen-diner with seating for

have a great deal of insight into the facility

around 30, separated from the workspace

management at other font studios.

via glass security doors. We have 3 dedicated meeting rooms (seating 8, 12, 40+),

How would you arrange/stage a client

and a breakout room for informal meetings.

meeting in your studio? - Or does it depend on the client?

What was your top priority when

We have a dedicated meeting suite on the

designing this space?

floor below ours where a majority of our

As per question 1 - ensuring the employees

client interactions occur.

Insider tips.

What to and what not to do. (if possible)

Costs.

If you have a choice of the time of year to begin renting studio space or an office of some kind try to aim for around Easter time or after that, as starting up in the summer months means avoiding heating bills as one of your first costs!

Changes.

Try to separate areas of the studio with temporary or portable divides, so that if the workforce numbers grow or the needs of the studio change you can manoeuvre and evolve the space more than if the walls were solid.

Utalise.

Don’t be ashamed to use any contacts in the industry or previous clients you might have worked with as help or a basis for your studio, they know you and will be the ones most willing to help with your new venture.

Website.

Start the website and actual business (not studio) while you’re still employed, if you were previously employed and not fresh out of university. You will not be able to live without money for long (at all) and it may be a while before you make decent profits. This is a good way to keep some money in your pocket.

Slow.

If business is slow or starting up still do some self initiated work about something you’re concerned with or passionate about. This is underestimated in the business world, and can bring in big clients who may work in the same field as your project.

Numbers.

Maths may not have been your strong point at school, but knowing your numbers is crucial for start-ups. Make sure you know where the money is coming in and what the costs are of your studio, so that you can be prepared for any shortcomings in advance and have a back up plan or more business waiting on the side.

Know your weaknesses.

Know your weaknesses. Do what you do best within your team/studio and outsource the rest; whether its printing, binding or even accounting, do not waste your time on creating something that is not the best. Outsourcing is very common and not something so be sniffed at when you’re buried under mountains or new work.

They wont come to you. (often) Companies will not always come to you. Find a company/charity/product that tickles your fancy and write to them or send them samples of your work saying ‘hi, we’re StudioA and we feel strongly about your product. We’d love to do some design for you in the future.’ You never know what may happen!

Believe in yourself and your studio!

That is the last tip, as without this you’ll go nowhere.

A few questions : Spencer Buck Taxi studio Where did you get inspiration for your

Has the space evolved much since you

studio look/layout/feel?

moved in?

Inspiration came from what was available,

The space has evolved lots, things have been

the space is by no means ideal, it was what

moved, re structured, to make sure there

we stumbled upon about 10 years ago and

was enough room to work in, and equaly as

we purchased it around 5 years ago.

important, be able to conduct business.

How is the studio arranged? Private

How would you arrange/stage a client

rooms/communal desks?

meeting in your studio? - Or does it

The studio is all open plan, we strongly

depend on the client?

believe in a creative community style of

We often go to clients, they often come to us,

working. The space is not the biggest but

Nadia our p.a books the clients to come and

with an ever growing team of designers, a

visit. We are working hard to try and update

prospective new premises is being looked

our website, to give both the client and

for, so we can aid our abilty to grow. The

prospective employees a taste of what it is

space is currently a little resticting due to it’s

like to work with Taxi, through videos etc.

smaller size, but the location is great, Clifton is great, but Clifton is small, so the space is

What tone did you want to create in your

the compromise.

studio and why?

It was 100% about creating the mojo - the

What was your top priority when

mentality of keeping everyone happy and

designing this space?

involved in everything, (very much like a

Making sure everyone fits without

family). We recognise that sometimes it can

compromising the vibe. We didn’t want to

become labourous, but we want people to

make it feel like a sweat shop.

continue to love what they are doing, and at the end of the day, desigining is fun. We work hard, we play hard. It is critical to keep everyone happy.

With Thanks to..

Anthony Hyam at Teapot Creative Dan Grzonka at Brond Debbie Taylor at Hello Charlie Guy Field at Studio Moross Jason Smith at Fiasco Design Kyle Clarke and Sidonie Warren at Something Good Studio Michael Bierut at Pentagram Milton Glaser at Studio Glaser Nadia Dunn at Taxi Studio Richard Bailey at Dalton Maag Studio Spencer Buck at Taxi Studio Tom Maurice at SunHouse Creative

Without the valuable input that these people took time out of their day to provide to us, we would not have been able to make our mission a success.