What a Lisbon Chef taught me about studio management One of the benefits of traveling is that it gives you a completely new perspective on everyday things. Everyday things such as sitting at the bar of an open kitchen and watching a chef work. We often do it at our favourite Melbourne restaurants like Tipo [...]

Working from Lisbon Ola from Lisbon where we are currently working/holidaying. This year we decided to travel light with technology. We both purchased iPad pro’s because they seem to be the closest thing to a laptop. There seem to be very few limitations. Here’s how we do it. External hard drive Normally we take away [...]

Photo by Jordon Opel on Unsplash Hunters and farmers I’ve always found it incongruous studios need to ramp-up new business activities when we are busiest. Seems bonkers, but research proves it time and again. Sustainable businesses need constant client renewal. One would think, with all that research, someone must have found some kind of formula [...]

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash Persuading others (to do what you want). In a world of co-creating and collaborating, the ability to persuade others to your view point is a really valuable skill. Would you be surprised if I told you that forcefully arguing your point of view is the least effective way of [...]

Photo by Adam Birkett on Unsplash Too black for Snapchat. It’s easy to think that bias is embedded in ‘others’ – people like Donald Trump, Pauline Hanson and Today Tonight producers. Truth is we all have unconscious bias and we all unknowingly embed our bias into design. Think you don’t? That could be worse – [...]

Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash Design is not a cure for cancer. They were the final words Ken Cato’s wife said as she slammed the door behind her and left the building.* Harsh but true. Design is not a cure for cancer. An early boss had a very similar message during my very first role [...]

Photo by Radovan on Unsplash Bored, disengaged designers. Sometimes managing a studio is a little like being the entertainment director of the P+O Cruise ship 'Designer'. It often falls on the studio manager to keep designers engaged, motivated and focussed. And that's no mean feat, especially (as a business owner) having a stable of loyal, [...]

The university that builds your business Very few universities or private providers teach studio owners business management. Business courses are too generic and don’t consider the unique needs of creative business owners. Design courses (undergraduate and postgraduate) don’t include the business knowledge a studio owner needs. Added to this every owner is seeking the holy [...]

Why does your design business exist? Is it to make money? To work with good clients who appreciate design? To deliver your desired lifestyle? To be seen as a leader in the industry? In working with many design business owners I hear all sorts of answers. The business owners who can answer this question quickly [...]

Photography by Image Workshop You can't charge for a plan, but you can charge for a strategy. Here I am, just twelve weeks into my ‘new career’ of design researcher (rather than design practitioner), and one topic of confusion seems to be following me: the difference between a strategy and a plan. It was a [...]

The design business leadership gap The Australian design scene has matured rapidly in the last five years. We are seeing design agencies become a central part of start ups, buy-outs by large corporates and amalgamations but we have a design business leadership gap. In our work we've come to realise professional development has not kept [...]

Staying relevant: designers need business skills Clients expect that you’ll deliver all the elements of the designer’s craft; brand consistency, slick on-brief design, coding, style guides, prototyping, testing  etc. If that’s all you offer you have about 12,000 competitors in Australia. Gaining business skills could reduce this to about 500 competitors. These skills can move [...]