How to hold an art exhibition
By Júlia Palazzo
I work in a studio with another artist and for the past month I’ve been helping him put together his first solo exhibition in Melbourne. I have to say I’m SO relieved that we had the opening last Friday and that all the work is nearly over! As much as having your own exhibition is an incredible experience, it can also be stressful and daunting.
If you are early in your visual art career, you will eventually want to showcase your work in your own show. And (at least at first) you will probably show your art in artist run galleries and more alternative venues, and will be responsible for a lot of the work related to making your show succeed or fail.
Here are 5 areas to keep in mind when creating an art exhibition:
Paint: Go on a journey with your art
When creating art for a show, pick a theme that you know you can explore for an entire body of work, that you are passionate and curious about. Write, think and study the concept behind it before you start creating the final art pieces. You should be able to describe the ideas behind your work concisely, and refer back to them when you feel lost.
Know how many pieces you’ll need to create for the show, and be realistic about how long you will need to paint them. Make sure you book the venue well in advance, and try to have all the art finalised a few weeks before the opening. You don’t want to be painting until the last day available and then have no one turn up because you didn’t do any promotion.
Choose materials that you are comfortable working with. Exploring and practicing with new mediums might be best left for when you are not under pressure to create work for a show.
Present: Use the space creatively
Measure the walls and choose how you’d like your art to be displayed in advance, making sure that you create enough art to achieve the result you want. Think about how people will walk around the room, and whether the order of the artwork can tell a story or take them on a journey.
Think beyond the art. How can you transform the venue’s space to create a remarkable experience for your viewers? Can you use the scent of flowers, music, or change the colours of the walls to help people immerse themselves in the art? Attend other exhibitions in your city to get inspired. If you are in Melbourne, Backwoods Gallery in Fitzroy always does an incredible job of presenting their exhibitions in an unexpected way.
Give people context. Did you go on a trip away or develop a new method to create this body of work? Think about how you can tell your story to people through the display, and prepare yourself to be able to talk about your art.
Promote: Spread the word through your network
Make sure that the design of the promotional materials and the photos of your art will do it justice. If the venue does not have a designer or photographer, consider getting one to help you.
While you are creating the art, post sneak peeks on your social media and remind people regularly about the upcoming event. Talk to the venue about creating a Facebook event and sending out press released to relevant publications.
If there are important people in your industry that you’d like to attend your show, do not be ashamed of inviting them directly through an e-mail or message. Ask you contacts to share the event with their peers.
Party: Make an event of it.
Plan an opening event to give people a chance to gather and meet you at your exhibition. Choose a date that won’t conflict with other similar events, and make the space pleasant through offering drinks and food. Many beer and wine businesses offer sponsorship and discounts for creative events.
Consider offering an artists talk on a separate date from the opening. This will give people a chance to hear about your work, and an opportunity to meet you if they missed the opening night.
Consider having accessible options for people besides the artwork. Not all you fans or visitors will be able to afford an original piece of art, but I guarantee a lot of them would be happy to support you and take home something from your exhibition. Maybe you can have an exhibition book, prints or postcards for sale.
Peace: Be in a good frame of mind
Look after yourself and your health during the process and make sure you SLEEP. Exhaustion will destroy your ability to make good art, and the last thing you want is to finally get to that opening event and be unable to enjoy it or talk to anyone because you are too sleep-deprived.
Be kind with yourself. It is perfectly normal when you are working on a big project to have moments when you feel that you are not a “real” artist or that your work won’t be good enough. Reach out to your friends or family for reassurance, and don’t feel guilty if you have to take a few days off to relax.
Keep the long term in mind. If you are a working artist, you will probably exhibit many times over the years, each one will be a step on your journey and a learning experience. Do not expect that one show will bring you overnight success, and do not be hard on yourself if at first you do not sell many pieces or get much of an audience. Stay positive, learn from your mistakes, and keep on creating.
Images by Michael Panozzo
Júlia Palazzo is a visual artist from Brazil. Since moving to Melbourne in 2013 she has been running a partnership, Mayfield Palace, creating mural art for businesses and organisations all over Australia. She shares her art daily on Instagram: @julia.palazzo
How to open a store
By Jes Egan
Opening up a retail store is really exciting. Selling your product and other supplier's product is a real opportunity and can be lots of fun. There are a number of business related elements to consider when looking to open up your own retail store - here a few just to start.
Location, location, location
Location is key. Consider being in an area where you feel that your key customer segments are but don’t neglect to think about foot traffic as well. You want to be in a position where you may catch people walking past to come in and experience your store and all you have to offer.
Store size
When reviewing a new space for your store, think about the layout, where and how you’re going to set it up. Think about what stock you are planning to have and where you may put it. You need to ensure you have enough space for all of your stock but not too much at the same time. Also, keep in mind that your rent on the space tends to be measured by the square metre so if you don’t over stretch yourself getting space that you don’t need or that you can’t use.
Stock
How much stock do you need? Do you have a storage space that you can use for excess stock that doesn’t fit on the floor? If you have run your business from an online space in the past you may have an idea of the popular items that you need to have more of. If you are selling other business' stock, consider taking items on consignment or only ordering the bare minimum to begin with to see how they go.
Online
Don’t neglect your online store - many people see items in store and go home and order them online, plus it opens up your potential audience base outside of the area where your store is located. It is vital that you keep your store up-to-date with as much stock and information as possible, it can help build your brand awareness as well as reach.
If you don’t already have an online store, you can have a site custom built for you (which can be fairly pricey) or you can use on of the many eCommerce platforms that are already available to use, with templates, shopping cart functionality and check out facilities already built in. There are many out there, I found Shopify really easy to use.
Negotiate your lease
Leasing a commercial shop space will probably be one of your biggest outgoings, so take the time to think it through because if you find yourself unable to pay the rent it can put your business at risk. Review the average rents in the desired area and work out what is an achievable and reasonable amount to pay. Consider the length of your lease - if you are a startup, a shorter lease could be an option to consider. If the unfortunate thing happens and your business doesn’t go well then you’re not left with a long lease to pay or negotiate your way out of. It also will give you some flexibility if your business needs change and you need to consider a different space. A shorter term lease can cost more (monthly) than a longer one but something that should be considered.
Insurance
There are many different types of insurance that is needed such as employees liability insurance, public liability, WorkCover etc. Not all insurance companies offer it, a good place to start looking is GIO, AAMI, Allianz or Shop Insurance, Smart Business Insurance just to name a few! Speak to one of their consultants about what you are planning to do and what you will need. They can advise on the correct packages or if a tailored option is more suited to your needs.
Finance
Opening a shop is a costly thing to do! It isn’t cheap - you’ll need a certain amount of capital upfront to get it started. Consider things like rent, signage, point of sale systems, fit out, stock, staff, insurance, branding etc. Unless you have access to funds, you’ll need either an investor or a small business loan from a bank and you will most likely need some of your own capital to get started. Generally to get a bank’s financial support, you will need a solid business plan to secure the funding. Some banks' small business departments will help you with this plan. Make sure you don’t forget to account for paying back this loan as part of your plan. Also don’t borrow more than you need as you don’t want to be down the track with a big loan that you can’t pay back. Go and see a financial adviser or small business banker to give you the right advice for your business.
Promote
Promote your store! Advertise and market it in the best way that you see fit. Remember social channels are a great way to get your message out there, just remember you don’t need to be on all of them, chose a select few that your customers will relate to and do those ones well. Posters, door drops and offers for the local community are a great way to get your store out there alongside traditional and paid advertising.
There are many fun and exciting aspects to opening a store, the above are just some of the more boring but necessary things to consider on your path to opening something brilliant.
Jes is a ‘practical creative’ and a very busy lady, doing the business in a digital agency, being an artist and an university lecturer. Follow Jes on Instagram.
How to succeed as a multi-passionate creative
By Bec Mackey
Do you find yourself pulled in different directions by your work and your creative projects? Are you easily distracted by a new idea or flash of inspiration, only to abandon it again shortly afterwards? Or maybe you’re trying to juggle working and paying the bills with a creative side project, and finding it hard to manage both at the same time. You may beat yourself up for being fickle, unable to commit, or to make a clear decision. But despite what we’re told by society, not everyone is built to have just one linear career path, and being easily distracted isn’t necessarily a bad sign. If any of the above resonates with you, it may just be that you are multi-passionate.
Being multi-passionate is a gift, so embrace it! There are many people out there who would kill to have your energy, curiosity and ability to see inspiration everywhere. Multi-passionate people can draw connections where others see nothing, and this is a highly valuable skill, particularly if you work in a creative industry – or would like to.
However, having so many interests and ideas can feel like a burden at times, and indecision about which path to take and what to focus on can contribute to a lack of confidence. It may seem like all external messages are telling you to commit and let go of all of your competing ideas – to settle down and choose your niche. If you don’t have just one job, title or simple elevator pitch to sum up what you do, its easy to feel isolated.
Multi-passionate people are almost always highly sensitive and very creative. This sensitivity, although an incredibly valuable trait for artists, communicators and business owners, means you probably pick up on a lot things, both negative and positive, that others don’t. If others have judged you for being changeable, or all your friends and family have solid careers and can’t understand your various interests, you may have taken this to heart and let it stop you from embracing your multi-passionate nature. This can lead to confusion, lack of motivation, and sometimes paralysis about which path to take next.
Here are some tips to help you move forward and thrive as a multi-passionate creative:
- Let go of the need to define yourself by one job title or career path. It may seem that this is a cultural expectation, and that many people you know define themselves by their job title. But if you’re multi-passionate, it won’t help to try and fit yourself into just one defined category. Be true to yourself – own your diverse skill set and know that there is a place for you too.
- Find a tribe of like-minded multi-passionates. Look out for other people who value curiosity and exploration in their career, and are interested in many different areas. It can stimulate your energy levels to be surrounded by others who get excited about new ideas and have a range of projects on the go. And when things get challenging, you’ll have friends and colleagues around that understand where you’re coming from and can support you without judging your hybrid career. You might even discover someone wonderful to partner up with – multi-passionates are great collaborators!
- Read about the profound things multi-passionate people (sometimes referred to as polymaths) have done through the ages. Having a defined, specific ‘thing’ to do for work is a relatively modern phenomenon. Even in more recent times, the revolutionary multi-passionates are there if you look for them. Maya Angelou is a fantastic example of a polymath who defied categorisation in her work. She may be most famous for her poetry, but she was also an accomplished dancer, journalist, editor, teacher and activist (who worked for Martin Luther King, no less!).
- Define your overall ‘why’ and then you will have a long term vision that will help with direction and focus. Watch Simon Sinek’s famous TED Talk ‘Start With Why’ and complete a simple ‘why’ exercise for yourself. Focus on what motivates you in life generally, rather than worrying about defining your why for multiple projects or business ideas. Discovering what motivates you and what is important to you will provide you with a compass of sorts, and help you understand yourself better.
- Resist the urge to do everything at once. Get good at time management or find help from a coach or course to enhance your skills in that area. You’ll feel better once you are taking small steps, even if its simultaneously in a couple of directions.
- Don’t give in to the paralysis that can come with having too many ideas. Choose one of your most dominant ideas– one that hasn’t gone away for a long time, or one of the most viable, and run with it. The upside to this is once you start to see progress, your confidence will increase and you can get out there and impact the world as only a vibrant, multi-passionate person can!
Bec Mackey is a writer, teacher and producer of screen-related things. She uses a decade of experience in the business sides of media and arts to help creative people fund and promote their work in ways that work for them. Bec writes about funding, promotion, creative careers and life on her website, Brightside Creatives.
Branding basics: Rebrand your brand
By Mirella Marie
Rebranding is changing the image of a business. It focuses on how the business is perceived and how it has developed beyond its original goals and values. Some businesses will rebrand in their early lifecycle once they’ve discovered who they are, what they’re doing and where they’re going, while others will rebrand after having grown (or outgrown) their existing brand.
Your goal when rebranding should be to build upon your existing brand in order to maintain its audience, awareness, recognition and loyalty. If you steer your brand in a completely different direction, you may need to build it up again from scratch.
Reasons to rebrand
- A change in the type of products or services that would attract new customers (or disengage current ones). For example: you changed your product from chemicals in plastic packaging to plant based ingredients in biodegradable packaging.
- Changes to business ownership or structure. For example: hiring staff, bringing on a new management team, sole trader registering as a company.
- Leading the business into a new area. For example: expanding into international markets or other industries.
- Negative publicity. For example: a social media campaign, ad campaign, or brand spokesperson that offended the public; your audience discovering your products and services are not sourced, produced or advertised ethically.
- Staying relevant. For example: incorporating a responsive online store and a complementary app so your customers can place orders straight from their phone.
- Changes in customer needs. For example: offering more eco-friendly and sustainable products and services to a growing socially aware audience.
Reasons not to rebrand
In most cases, the following challenges may be resolved with the redesign of an existing brand identity and design materials without requiring a complete overhaul of the brand itself:
- Professional image. Your logo, branding and marketing materials are DIY, but now your business is up against competitors who have quality, strategic brand identities designed by professionals.
- Lack of consistency. Communication and marketing materials are not consistent in their design and implementation, which can affect brand trust and recognition.
- Outdated logo. It was designed 10 years ago based on what was trending at the time.
Launching a rebrand
- Don’t launch your rebrand until your brand identity and design have been updated and implemented across all touch points (where possible). For example, having a new logo on your website and an old logo on your business card will not only make you look unorganised and unprofessional, it will confuse your customers. If your customers are confused, they will turn to your competitors.
- Launch your rebrand internally first to your employees and educate them on what it means and why it matters. Your employees need to feel excited and emotionally connected to the brand and most importantly, they need to believe in it. If you don’t have employees, ask your friends and family.
- Gradually lead up to launching your rebrand to your audience in order to build anticipation. Engaging your audience and giving subtle hints that something new is coming will excite them and make them feel involved.
Things to consider
- Why do you want to rebrand?
- What do you want to achieve from a rebrand?
- How are you going to achieve it?
- Who do you want to target?
- How will the needs of your new audience meet the needs of your current one?
- Will your customers still identify with your brand?
- Have you conducted any research into your competitors, market, audience and industry to determine if a rebrand is the best decision for the direction you want to take your business?
Rebranding needs to be driven by strategy, vision and research. Before you consider rebranding your business ask yourself if you really need to, because if ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Mirella Marie is the owner and creative director of Vertigo, a Melbourne based graphic design studio specialising in brand identity and design. She is also a contributor for Women of Graphic Design, a project examining the work of female designers around the world. Join her on Instagram @studiovertigo.
Industry insights: independent fashion
By Annette Wagner
Most of us are acutely aware that the mainstream ‘fast fashion’ industry generates mass-produced garments directly to the retail floor in only a few weeks, and consumption comes with a hidden price tag. The ‘slow fashion’ movement has personally made me more conscious of the pieces I seek out and the designers that have a unique approach. Additionally, when Australian fashion is still relatively young compared with UK, European and US markets (despite our recent milestone highlighted in the brilliant exhibition ‘200 years of Australian Fashion’ held at National Gallery of Victoria, Australia) how does a label start, compete and compare in fashion landscape?
Behind the racks, I really don’t know much about the fashion industry at all, so I asked Melbourne-based Australian label Chorus' Cassandra Wheat and Louise Pannell about their experience.
How exactly did two high school textile friends transition into business together? What was the exact point that you both committed and started planning to launch Chorus?
In 2012 Cassandra had just returned from five years of living overseas to take up a position at RMIT, knowing she didn’t want to go back to designing for another brand. I was working at Mimco as their Visual Merchandising Manager and found out I was expecting my first child. We’d discussed starting some kind of label or business on and off for years and when I was on maternity leave it seemed like the right time to take the leap and start something. It really happened quite fast in the end.
What are your roles within Chorus?
Cassandra – Design, toiling, sampling making, fabric sourcing and selection, production management, Marketing and social media.
Lou – Day to day operations and finance. Running the website, email design, customer orders/ relations, PR - managing the relationship with press and stylists. In saying that we each step in and out of many of the above roles, and both do what needs to be done on any given day. Cas can invoice and I can cut out production if need be!
Cassandra, after graduating from RMIT with a BA in Fashion with Honours, then completing a masters in design at Domus Academy before working for Viktor & Rolf, you are now now currently undertaking a PhD in fashion. Have you always been so focused on fashion and pursuing your passion and career?
Yes, since I was very young in fact - there are sketch books of imaginary labels from my primary school years. That does not however mean that I have not doubted this path many, many times. Studying my undergraduate was hard, as was my masters and even more so my time at Viktor and Rolf, and I must say the work just gets harder, but I can’t imagine what else I would do. I have also, as made obvious by your question, been interested in pushing my education, taking that into the research space gives me a perspective not many practicing fashion designers have.
Louise, after studying Visual Merchandising at RMIT, working in the industry here and abroad for over 13 years and consulting at many big name brands, how has your journey directed you into creating a fashion label here in Melbourne?
What I loved about VM was the fact that its very operational and sales focused as well as creative. (I initially I wanted to do fashion design at uni, but when I met Cas in year 11 and saw how passionate she was about becoming a fashion designer and how dedicated a student she was I knew I wasn’t that person! A career advisor at school suggested the VM course at RMIT and the combination of creativity and retail felt right to me). I come from a family who has run businesses so I think wanting to work in sales and for myself is in my blood. Especially after the arrival of my first daughter I knew I wanted to work and work hard, but I wanted to channel my skills, time and energy into building something over the long term that was ours. I knew Cassandra and I would be able to run a business together, having been such close friends for so long, and knew our combined skills would work well. Cassandra has the design and making skills and I have the practical organisational skills that are required to run the business. And I still get to be creative with our shoots and image making, and in the past (and I’m sure again in the future) at our events and retail space.
In such a competitive industry, what sustains both of your interests in building Chorus and continuing in fashion?
We are working in rhythm now that just keeps things moving, having a resolved creative output every month gives us the opportunity to feel like we have achieved something good really often. So celebrating the small things helps. Also working with others in the way we do – collaborating with another creative for every second outfit - is very stimulating creatively, sharing ideas and making the work of others come to life is very sustaining.
Chorus has a unique approach to launching new designs. What inspires your monthly capsule concept?
It was really a response to feeling like the traditional fashion calendar of bi-annual collections was not working for us – on many levels. It was involving continued large investment, leaving us with stock we had to clear, and only providing us with two sets of images per year to promote our work with, so we had to shift. This way we can offer the newness people want from fashion in a manageable way.
Knowing the right people is critical in most industries. How important is networking in your industry?
It is important for sure, but for us it’s more about building relationships with like minded people that encourage us.
What has been harder, getting started or being able to keep going?
Keeping going with out a doubt. Starting was a lot of man hours, but keeping going demands innovation and flexibility.
I think its safe to say that the fashion industry is predominately women. How supportive are women in the industry?
There are actually a lot of men in the industry, particularly at the top, and in the past we have both worked alongside many talented men and women. It depends in what part of the fashion industry you are in, for sure in our sector of independent labels in Melbourne there is a swing towards women. I think there is a perception that the fashion industry is very closed and that brands keep their secrets and don’t support each other, however I feel like the network of Melbourne designers is very supportive of each other.
How important was working OS for you both? And, why?
Cassandra - For me it was pivotal, I think being from Australia we feel we are somehow inferior to countries that have larger industries and longer histories of the discipline. It was important to prove to myself that I could gain employment in a fashion house that showed in Paris. That being said my job there was so similar to those I had had in Australia, it really highlighted that skills are transferable and that my RMIT education was a good one. Travel also gives a great perspective on your own culture, I think its important to keep travelling, and wish I could afford to do it more.
Lou – I agree with Cassandra, it was vital time of learning and discovery for me. Being tested in all the ways a new city and country can test you – not being able to find work, not having your support network around you and literally have no money, to finally getting my ‘dream job’ which was the VM for Mimco when they launched in the UK. Working for an Australian brand trying to establish itself in the UK was a challenge as the UK and Ireland is such a broad, established and saturated retail environment. At the same time it was lovely to work with familiar people (Australian HQ and lots of Aussies in the UK stores) and brand. It was a hard slog, but again I learnt so much about people and communication and working in different cultures and across very distant time zones! The retail environment in the UK, particularly London is so inspirational. I loved nothing more than heading into central London on the weekend and checking out Liberty, Selfridges or Harvey Nichols latest windows and collections.
What is the Australian fashion industry like compared to UK/European industry?
The Australian industry is small and it doesn’t have the hundreds of years of history, which is great in one way as we get to be more innovative as we don’t have the established rules of working. However, because we are not so established and also a relatively small population compared to the other big fashion centers of the world there is not the investment or support for Australian fashion brands as there is in UK, Europe or the US. In saying that the advent of the Australian Fashion Chamber recently has been a positive step for the support and strengthening of the industry both here and overseas.
Where do you often find the most inspiration?
In working with other creative women. Working with our various creative collaborators’ provides us with endless inspiration.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
To always follow your gut and that cash flow is king!
Do you have any recommendations for others wanting to pursue a career in fashion?
Don’t do it unless you mean it and although it’s a cliché, you have to be prepared to give it your all.
How to chuck a sickie when you're self employed
By Jes Egan
Taking a sickie when you are running your own small business can be a very hard thing to do, with too much to do and no-one other than yourself or a few employees to pick up the slack. Sometimes it’s harder to accept illness and take a day to recover than it is to just keep on going and to put your health on the back burner.
When you are running a small creative business you are often doing a bit of everything, if not everything and having a day off sick can mean that things don’t get done on time or get done at all and this can lead to a loss of income, unhappy clients, delays etc. But sometimes an illness or bug will just stop you in your tracks.
Don’t feel guilty about taking a day to look after yourself, to be able to continue your business running you need to be fighting fit. And to do this sometimes it means you have to spend a day or two in bed, doing nothing, other than resting and recovering.
Here are a few of my tips on how to manage such days when they come around:
Write a list
Write down all the things you were planning on getting done that day, the little things plus the big things. Put it all down on paper or online so that it is out of your head.
Prioritise
Look at that list and prioritise it: is there anything that absolutely has to be done this day? If so, is it something that can be done from your bed or couch? Move all other non-vital tasks to the next day or later that week.
Delegate
If you have the option to delegate anything from that list then do so. Getting help where you can is really important to reduce your workload on these sick days. If you need to deliver, pick up, place an order etc then ask a friend or relative if they could help you out with that task.
Do it early
If you have to do something that can’t wait and that no-one can help you with, then do it early in the day so you can rest and not worry for the rest of the day. Get it over and done with so it isn’t weighing on your mind.
Manage expectations
If there is a knock-on delay for delivery from you taking a day or so, send a few emails and let people know that this is coming. Manage their expectations so when you are back you have less work to tidy up. It will also stop people chasing you up and hopefully stop any anxiety you may have about the delay. If you are a heavy email user, put your out of office message on, if it is an option. Once you have done what you need, turn your emails or phone off and try to rest fully without distraction.
Don’t feel guilty
Taking time out to look after yourself can be easier said than done - try not to feel guilty or worry about it. Stress doesn’t encourage recovery!
Taking time out and not continuing on is sometimes not an option, but either is looking after yourself. So where you can reduce the workload when you’re sick and take a day to focus on you, because without you there is no creative business.
Jes is a ‘practical creative’ and a very busy lady, doing the business in a digital agency, being an artist and an university lecturer. Follow Jes on Instagram.
Regional creative: Amanda Cole, designer
By Mirella Marie
Amanda Cole is a graphic designer from Newcastle, Australia. Alongside her husband Scott, she runs Shorthand, a creative studio that specialises in branding. I wanted to get Amanda’s insights into running a business in a regional area after moving from a capital city, and her thoughts on starting up a design studio.
After living and working in Melbourne for many years, how have you found the transition to Newcastle, both personally and professionally?
The transition to Newcastle was actually a move home. I completed my degree in Newcastle, living here before heading to Melbourne. Personally it wasn’t too stressful as I was returning to old networks and my husband and business partner Scott has been there every step of the way (including that dreaded 10 1/2 hr drive!) Professionally it was a bit daunting at first. There isn’t the sheer volume of potential clients in Newcastle like there is in Melbourne. Getting your name out there is tricky, as businesses in smaller places put a lot of weight on word of mouth referrals. You need to be patient as it takes time to build up your reputation. We were lucky in that previous Melbourne clients were nothing but supportive of the move and many have stuck with us even now, two years down the track.
How would you describe your work?
We are first and foremost a branding studio and that is at the core of everything we do. Generally our projects begin with a client requiring a new brand, or a rebrand in the case where a business is evolving. We like to work closely with our clients, spending time getting to know their business first before jumping into creative. Once an identity is finalised we roll-out to any number of touchpoints, be it business cards, stationery, web or environmental design. Visually we are big believers in less is more and find that a minimal approach allows for the clearest communication.
Who is your typical client?
Our studio doesn’t have a typical client and we tend to attract from a variety of sectors, which I have always enjoyed. In saying this, quite often their problems are similar e.g. businesses evolving internally with new technology having a bigger influence on processes. In recent years the studio has attracted a lot of not-for-profit organisations which has been really rewarding.
Which part of the creative process do you enjoy the most?
Presenting the concept to the client is always stressful – but when they love the work and have a big smile it always makes my day. We have an initial collaborative approach with clients and like to involve them in the strategic process. I find working this way really beneficial, as relationship-wise we form a team. This also means when we unveil the concept, the client already has a general idea of what the identity is going to look like so there is no ‘presentation shock’. By getting clients more involved, they take more ownership over the brand as truly theirs which is great!
What advice would you give to someone starting a design studio?
While some manage to pull it off, I would advise against attempting to start a studio straight off the back of study or abruptly leaving a full-time position. The way I got to where I am now was in small transitional steps. I began freelancing after hours until I could no longer manage both it and my day job. After this I began a part-time position and eventually moved on to doing my own thing full-time. Even then I still occasionally took contract jobs or a bit of freelance before I was in a really secure place to start the studio. This was great for me as it’s low stress, low risk, and gives you opportunities to keep earning some steady cash whilst setting yourself up and gaining regular clients.
Once you’re set up, keep your overheads low by setting up a home office – although if you don’t trust yourself to get things done at home, co-working spaces are a great alternative.
Plan ahead. You need to be constantly thinking about the future and looking for new clients to keep the work flowing. Aim to transition your regular clients to retainers to give your business stability. Make sure your website and social media are regularly updated – leaving these jobs until the work starts to dry up will only give you a headache.
Lastly, don’t neglect the admin. Xero is great if you’re looking for some easy to use accounting software and helps you keep an eye on those monthly budgets. Also, figure out what those budgets are! There are lots of easy to find calculators out there to help determine how much and how many hours you need to be charging. If you prefer the printed word, the Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines is a great resource.
What is the creative community like in Newcastle?
Really blossoming which is fantastic! There a lot of talented people here doing amazing things. Newcastle has one of the highest retention rates of any place in Australia. This is of great benefit to the area because while people often leave to experience other (bigger) cities, they then bring that experience back home with them when they return.
What does a typical day involve for you?
I jump on my phone with my morning coffee to check any overnight emails, social media and read the news before heading to the office by nine. As Scott and I have evolved our roles within the business, I now spend the first full half of the day on meetings, scheduling, accounts, proposals and emails. After lunch is when I’ll aim to get into any creative work – this can be helping the guys with any overflow or actioning our latest brand roll-out.
Each day ends consistently at five. After working in bigger agencies where it seemed competitive as to who could stay the latest, I'm very aware of leaving on time. Occasionally if there are deadlines looming we will work after hours, but I like to avoid that as much as possible.
I enjoy cooking so most nights revolve around making dinner. Being winter, it gets dark earlier so nights are spent in hibernation, but in summer it’s hard to resist a walk along the beach to the Anzac Memorial Walk (if you’re ever visiting Newcastle I recommend it!).
What are your plans for the future?
Currently the biggest priority is moving into a new studio space by the end of the year. When we established the studio in Newcastle, we started in a smaller space while we got ourselves settled but have quickly outgrown it. Currently we have three team members, with the studio networking with quite a few external creatives on a project-by-project basis. We intend to keep this model moving forward as it allows for the greatest flexibility on projects and personally it makes for my ideal studio balance.
To view Amanda’s work visit http://shorthandstudio.com. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Mirella Marie is the owner and creative director of Vertigo, a Melbourne based graphic design studio specialising in brand identity and design. She is also a contributor for Women of Graphic Design, a project examining the work of female designers around the world. Join her on Instagram @studiovertigo.