Written by Nick Dean, Creative Team Leader for Aquent in Sydney

Working as a creative in the biggest Australian city has never been better, or more difficult. There are so many options for one’s career path that sometimes it must feel easier to just sit down and have a rest! And as the market changes and client demands shift, it is clear that the role of the designer is changing.

In the model that replicates itself across the globe, there tends to be a fairly clear delineation between advertising and design creatives. The agency folk stick to ideas generation and leave the implementation (read “dirty work”!) to others. Be it a DM piece, a TVC or a bus shelter campaign, they will take the product or brand they are selling and take it to market. On the design side, the parameters are far more detailed. These guys are often dealing with mature or established brands who have a clear idea of what they want, what message they are trying to portray and so the role of the designer is to work within this framework of branding and client expectation in order to produce creative that can stand the test of time, support and indeed strengthen the brand, and furthermore sell products. And what is the flow-on effect of this? It means that if the designers get it wrong, the negative consequences are potentially much greater. After all, brands can survive with a poor performing product, but not vice versa. Luigi Pagnozzi, Creative Services Director at Blue Flame Design’s description is: “Branding is like the personality of the product, whilst the packaging [or advertising] is like the outfit it chooses to wear. You can change the outfit…but in the short term, the brand personality is still the same. However, a brand’s personality can change, but this is a slow and steady process undertaken by careful marketing strategy.” (Professional Marketing, Aug 06)

Making the situation even more complex is the rapidly changing communications scene. In the old days, ad agencies made ads, design studios produced logos, brochures and reports, and sales promotion agencies combined elements of both to generate something new. However, now clients are far more interested in broadening their spend across these and other areas. The 30 second TVC is longer the solution. Now we have online advertising and micro-sites partnered with event marketing and strategic product placement. Clients are more than ready to shift the thousands they spent on traditional media into new, more targeted areas. But the one key element across all these old and new areas is the Brand. Clients will always need to maintain consistency in message and tone. And it will be the role of the Designer to help manage this, be it at the beginning or end of the process.

As for the Sydney market, it tends to be a contradiction in many ways. We pride ourselves on being the biggest and busiest Australian city, but as much as we don’t like to admit it, we often see better quality work generated out of other cities, particularly Melbourne and Adelaide. And I think the design industry often falls into this category. Sydney is home to almost all the major multi-national ad agencies and several of the largest design studios. And there is a multitude of small design studios of 5 to 10 people. Yet based on the number of designers in each city, I believe that the smaller cities certainly punch above their weight when it comes to awards and recognition. And when you look at the small group of Sydney design studios who continually produce the best work and win awards, the situation appears even more pronounced.

So why is Sydney a victim of its own success? Traditionally, design has always been seen as part of the marketing process, but it has rarely been given the importance it deserves. Furthermore it has been difficult to isolate the return on investment that design-related activities generate for a brand, and hence establish that it is a key part of a company’s strategy.

Delving further into the impact of client behaviour can provide useful insights. From major financial institutions and FMCG giants through to boutique architecture firms and juice outlets, the demands for design are immense, but are rarely exploited to full potential. Marketers now realise that the traditional ad is not the only solution, and that smarter means of connecting with consumers are required. As Richard Field, Virgin Mobile’s brand general manager explains: “This requires a constant process of evaluation, innovation and execution, not just at a product level, but in advertising, communications and all the way through to customer service.” (Australian Creative, Aug-Sept 06).

Perhaps some of the most well known examples of Sydney studios who have been able to broaden their focus and engage with clients across all levels would be Moon Design, Frost Design and Eskimo Design. All have retained their legacy as a graphic design business but have been able to partner with clients to help drive their brands, and not just offer the usual solutions to a branding problem. As Vince Frost, Managing Director of Frost Design says: “I believe you can make something great, good and better out of anything. Something out of nothing even…I don’t want to be limited to graphic design.” (Australian Creative, Feb-Mar 06). Again, the importance of a client working with their design studios in partnership is critical, as all three studios have several key long-term clients who know that they can deliver and leave the creative process in the hands of the experts.

So what is the challenge for today’s designer? They need to be aware and adaptable. As the industry changes at an increasing rate, clients will look to creatives to better understand their business and provide strategic insights to help provide growth. No longer do clients see a TVC or press campaign as the main marketing solution. Advertising will often be a key part to any activity, but now it is more likely to be partnered with a number of different channels, from collateral and events to online content.

When we speak with our design-based clients, they tend to be far more flexible in terms of their ideal candidate. Their demands are such that they need creative thinkers who can work through design processes and challenge what the clients think they need. Whether it be packaging, identity or collateral work, the solution is rarely set in stone, and can often be reinforced through the combination of several different touch points that truly impact on an audience. As Energi Design CD Ray Laws says: “major brands must now focus on having a dialogue with the individual consumer, gearing their communications to the personal and giving consumers the opportunity to interact with it.” (Professional Marketing, Aug 06)

So as the market diversifies, and clients become more willing to work strategically with design studios for brand-based solutions, designers are in an ideal position to become more involved in their business, and be perfectly placed to come up with the ‘great idea’ that every client is looking for, be it a logo and packaging range for a new product, or a series of collateral pieces that support the latest sponsorship agreement deal. Invariably, it will be those who have an open mind, the creative inspiration and the willingness to look at the big picture who will be able to sell the most effective solution to a client. Particularly as the traditional means of communications are losing their appeal.

Designers now have more means and channels of communication for their ideas than ever before, and clients have become far more receptive to exploring these options. The future for design in Sydney looks very bright!
                                                    

About Aquent
Nick Dean (ndean@aquent.com) is the Sydney Creative Team Leader for Aquent (aquent.com), a global firm specialising in staffing solutions for the Marketing, Communications and Creative industries. Through a network of nearly 70 offices in 18 countries, Aquent services in the areas of print and Web design and Production; Advertising and Media, Marketing, Public Relations and Business Support. In its nineteen-year history, Aquent has made nearly 400,000 matches of independent professionals with client companies worldwide. The company’s Asia-Pacific headquarters are in Sydney. In Australia, the company has offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.