OFFSET Sheffield

OFFSET Sheffield

Studio Laucke Siebein

Studio Laucke Siebein specialise in identities, book and web design. Laucke and Siebein

see themselves as illustrators using typefaces rather than typographers.They do not consider their work as having a process instead it is a complicated zig zag.

About creating

- They believe that there are multiple layers of meaning in design and within their work.

- If you create things you are vulnerable as people may not like your work.

Practice

- Only look at work that is half a century in the past to prevent copying and to gain original ideas.

- Identities are dynamic and things you have to work hard for in order to realise.

- For the studio books are the most complicated to design as the idea has to translate to the relevant form. When designing a book the designer never has all of the content which means the designer has to make a series of complex compromises to create the book cover. Working with artists is sometimes hard because they are headstrong and their disciplines are very similar.

- The Studio only ever uses three typefaces within their work Futura, Gill Sans and Akzidenz Grotesk.

- For them Modernism is not beautiful until it is explained why it is beautiful.

Pitching

When pitching to a client the designers never talk about their discipline because the client will not understand this. Instead they talk about the story behind the work as the client will be able to engage with this. For them a good story = a good project.

In Germany when pitching an idea you are competing against other people so you may not get the job. This in their view keeps the market open and liberal.

Steve Simpson

Steve Simpson creates illustrations that use limited palettes, patterns, high detail and hand lettering which are seen on packaging and have a whimsical appearance. When speaking, it was clear that he had been on a journey in order to find his ‘style’ and his place within the industry. Initially he started working with lino which he would recreate digitally as well as collage with fabrics and textures. He was influenced by hand lettering from the 1950’s which for him had more character and looked like work had been put into it. He also believes that too many designs are purely functional rather than designed for form. For him his likes and dislikes are of equal importance as it helped him to work out what direction his work would go down. His cartoons were more appealing to a wider group whereas his new ‘style’ was too particular and niche. His story highlighted the importance of being experimental within your field in order to find what you like to create and to draw inspiration from things you enjoy and understand what you don’t like and how this can influence your work. The role of industry in deciding what work is ‘suitable’ was also interesting. In some instances, a piece can be acclaimed but as a style can be deemed too niche to be commercial.

Moving Brands

When listening to Moving Brands it was clear that there is a culture of experimentation within the company which allows them to learn new things and be creative in new ways. The company focuses on creating identities for businesses, products, brands and experiences. When pitching to company’s mood films are important in conveying what the agency thinks the brand stands for. Through this a story is conveyed about the company and helps the agency to decide how it behaves as a brand. The use of ‘sprints’ in this situation are helpful in creating, refining and deciding on the best outcome for the brief. The company focuses on finding specialists within their fields so that there is a wide range of reference points. This allows people to come up with different things when put into new situations as they will have different approaches to the brief.

Key quotes

- ‘design has become too ‘squeaky pants’’

(very refined practice loses quirkiness and doesn’t challenge boundaries)

- ‘design is a messy process that ends up beautiful’

(‘sprints’ are a dirty process where ideas are thrown out to allow the best thing to come through)

- ‘It needs to be equally right and wrong’

‘Be playful and seemingly pointless’

(try stuff, it might not go anywhere but there’s a possibility something great will come from it)

- ‘Make new brushes to paint with’

(make new tools, hack and create. Make tools the company can keep generating their identity from)

- ‘Be unapologetically experimental. Be beautiful’

- ‘Square peg in a round hole’

(try to move companies in ways they haven’t explored before)

- ‘Embrace collaboration, let clients get messy’

(when working with in-house teams it is a chance to challenge ideas, think creatively and bring objectiveness when looking at concepts)

The Creativity Hub

The Creativity Hub are interactive designers and explore how things connect. ‘We make games and play things that foster imagination, empathy and self-esteem’ in children. Much of their work centres around these concepts as these are often hard to teach to children within a school setting. By teaching design to children these ideas are built into the process of creating something e.g. who will it be for?, how can I make this better?.  Through their games they encourage children to learn new skills through play and interaction. Design skills used in products such as The Extraordinaires also encourages divergent thinking, problem solving and breaks down stereotypes.  Rory’s story cubes are used as a game for children to imagine stories and allow creatives to come up with ideas, showing how play can also be used to create new things.

Key quotes / ideas

- ‘use creative problem solving techniques to make better creative problem solving techniques’ – applies to their work as they help others come up with ideas

- ‘keep it human’

(people do business with people, its best to physically engage with your buyers, go out and work with your audience)

- ‘play with purpose’

(people learn through play it’s an engaging and fun way of understanding new things)

- ‘Money = Fuel’

(use what you earn to go back into new projects. Creativity Hub even donate 5% to charities with similar values to themselves)

Pentagram

Pentagram is made up of 21 partners with individual teams which allows everyone to still have a creative role within the company, Luke Powell and Jody Hudson – Powell have been partners for the last two years. Much of the inspiration for their work comes from their own interests and personal influences. Using found imagery in the world e.g. signs and junkshops can lead to the creation of new ideas from existing sources. For them Sci Fi movies were important as these often paint a picture of the future and much of what is portrayed often comes true. There was a particular focus on the importance of embracing technology as this makes designers better equipped to solve creative problems and keep current. This knowledge also helps provide inspiration to start projects or is useful when working. It is important not to limit your ideas just because you do not understand them, instead find other people that can help realise projects and try things out. ‘Ridiculous things might not be so ridiculous in 5 year’s time’