subject: Graphic Design Blackburn - City Centre Or Out Of Town? [print this page] The question frequently asked is "can you expect the same levels of expertise from a Graphic Design Company that does not have City Centre Offices?" The question itself verges on the ridiculous but I'm still convinced that many of the top companies are heavily influenced by such factors. A better set of questions would be "do they employ better graphic designers?"; "do they deliver better results?"; "do you give you greater value for money?" Like most of these questions there is no one answer that fits all.
In my experience the City Centre Graphic Design Agencies, most of whom also seem to have "so called" expertise in marketing, are more business like, than a lot of the out of town Graphic Design Companies. 'More business like' though should not be interpreted as more professional. The plush waiting rooms, the smoked glass separating walls, the modern open plan offices, the desks lightly scattered with trendy magazines would not be out of place in any successful business, but creativity is not like all other business's. It relies solely on the creative ideas of one or more people who may have no business acumen whatsoever, and creativity can be found anywhere, if you know where to look. So whilst the City Centre experience may seem more familiar to the business person shopping around for a new brochure, it is no guarantee that the finished product will be any better than if they had tasked an out of town Graphic Design Agency. Now don't misunderstand me, we all aspire to have modern well appointed offices, but "do clothes maketh the man"; I think not! What we should be selling is the sizzle not the sausage. The right company may indeed have less impressive surroundings but so long as they have the right creative skill set within, they have exactly the same credentials as any well respected City Centre agency. So if the City Centre Design Companies are no more likely to deliver creativity why do they win the bigger contracts.
I believe it is all down to managing expectations. The City Centre Agency will probably have a dedicated account manager appointed to deal with the client, with far greater time to discuss, brain storm, decide and agree the artwork brief. This is what big business wants. They want to be courted, to be made to feel that they are getting a superior service, and who can blame them? It's a natural thing to be seduced by the company who put on an impressive show. The Graphic Design Company out in the sticks however, is likely to be a far leaner organisation who will want to drill down to the aims and objectives of the project far quicker. They will not have the same corporate familiarity and the discussions and brainstorming will more likely be conducted with the actual person responsible for creating the artwork as opposed to a business development manager or creative director. This is though seemingly what the bigger companies want, or wanted before the recession hit. All of a sudden the tide appears to have turned. Business's are looking to cut costs, creating opportunities for the smaller companies along the way. Now the time is ripe for the smaller graphic design companies with lower overheads to compete for the bigger contracts. Now its about obtaining value for money as opposed to results no matter the cost. So if you want fantastic creative ideas but don't want to pay top dollar and are happy to slum it in some provincial studio then shop around, ignore the swanky offices and instead focus on the creativity of the company, value for money will probably be a given.
