Author: Igor

Freytag Anderson

Founded by Daniel Freytag and Greig Anderson, Freytag Anderson is a design studio based in Glasgow and working with people all over the world. Our contributor Morgane Bigault visited their studio and chatted with Daniel and Greig about how they started their company, the influence of their workspace in their work and where they draw inspiration from.

www.freytaganderson.com

Photographs & interview by Morgane Bigault.

Could you tell us about your backgrounds?

Daniel Freytag: I’m a designer, photographer and serial idealist. I’m creative director and co-founder at Freytag Anderson, an award-winning branding and design studio. My work as a designer has taken me all over the world – allowing me to see some interesting things and meet some great people along the way.

When I’m not designing I work on other creative ventures such as curating Editions of 100 (an online print store by a global community of designers), setting up a children’s app business with my wife (junoberry.com) or most recently, working on a publishing concept, for customized children’s books.

I grew up in the small village of Bühlertal on the edge of the Schwarzwald in Germany. Since then, I’ve lived and worked in Dubai, New York, Sydney, Seoul and London. I recently moved back to Scotland where I now live with my family on the West Coast regularly dipping back into the big smoke!

Greig Anderson: I’m creative director and co-founder of Freytag Anderson, originally from Aberdeen, and educated in Glasgow. I’m a brand and design professional with over 11 years’ experience working locally and internationally with a wide variety of clients.

My main interest lies in brand creation and visual identity systems and my work has seen me gain experience across a variety of studio environments in both Glasgow and Sydney, from boutique brand studios to multi-disciplinary agencies and experiential environment practices. This variety has allowed me to work across a diverse range of projects from the launch materials of Virgin Mobile Australia, global digital campaigns for Dell EMEA/Latin America to branding and launching a variety of new-to-market whisky, vodka and beer products.

Alongside my commercial work I also write about design for leading industry blog FormFiftyFive and I am involved in the design debate through social media. I have an obsession with Instagram and anything with two wheels and pedals.

How did your career as a duo came up?

We both spent time living and working in Sydney (but not at the same time) and made some mutual friends. When we got back to Glasgow we met up and shared studio space. We found we had a common design aesthetic/process, so it made sense to start working together on a few projects. Out of this came Freytag Anderson – it was really pretty straightforward – the hardest thing was coming up with the studio name – that took months!

Was it hard to find clients at first?

Because we had both come from running our own independent studios (Berg/Effektive), we already had a good online profile and several clients. This made things a lot easier as we had a substantial body of work to promote the new studio, allowing us to hit the ground running. Overall the transition to Freytag Anderson was pretty quick – we found working with two heads much more productive and satisfying.

When did you move in to your studio and why did you choose this location?

Our first studio was tiny – literally a shoebox. We were therefore very keen to work in a larger space. This would also allow us to create a shared working environment where we could collaborate with other designers and friends. This was a crucial part of our business strategy – we didn’t want the stress of employing people full-time but equally understood the benefits from working with other like-minded individuals.

At the time the Southblock building was a new creative space in the city centre. Run by WASPS, the building caters for commercial creative businesses and art-based practices. It was perfect for our needs and aspirations as a studio. There are also many other studios in the building, which gives the place a real creative buzz, something we find inspiring and exciting.

Does the workspace influence your creativity?

Absolutely – creativity is all about doing new things, going out on a limb and experimenting. Having the right workspace is critical to this – but more importantly, you need to surround yourself with the right people. People that inspire you.

What does Glasgow mean to you? What are your favourite places in this city?

Glasgow is a vibrant, energetic city. It’s a hard, funny, honest place where folk aren’t afraid to speak their minds. When I think of Glasgow I think of the old adage “A hard life makes for quality”. It’s a great place to be a creative person; it keeps you on your toes and allows you the freedom to explore.

In terms of favourite places, although a relatively small city, Glasgow is very diverse – leafy West-End with its bohemian vibe, universities, cafés, galleries and bars – Ashton Lane is a definite favourite down there. The Merchant City to the east of the city centre (where our studio is based) is fast becoming a creative hub for all things art and design. Great coffee shops, bars, shops and galleries add to the creative vibe and encourage a lot of pop-up events and festivals in the area. It feels like there is something happening and it’s great to be part of it.

You do client work. Could you give us an insight into how you approach each particular client, as they are very different, going from a wine company to an art gallery?

Our design process is all about getting to know people and their businesses. People are at the heart of design. As designers we understand people, communicate with them, and create for them. It’s the best thing about being a designer.

We like our clients, often becoming friends beyond the project. Getting to know them well is crucial as ultimately our design thinking and executions need to speak for them, whether it’s a logo, product or website.

We work with people all over the world doing all sorts of things. I can’t think of another industry where you’re learning about craft beer one week and the next you’re into server systems and data management. For us it’s this variety that keeps things fresh and interesting. It’s learning about new things that gets us out of bed in the morning.

You have been awarded Scottish Design Agency of The Year. What is the project you are the most proud of?

That’s hard to say. We’re proud of all of our projects in different ways. I’d say the work we did with Fyne Ales Craft Brewery stands out. It was a collaborative project with our studio mate Matt Burns where we were asked to design a beer label for their limited editions beer, 48 Miles Later. What made it a great project is that we saw the brewing process from start to finish: meeting the brewers, brewing the beer and ultimately seeing the bottles in the pub. The project was also recognized by the industry and awarded both Best Packaging as well as the prestigious Chairman’s Award at the Scottish Design Awards.

You describe your work process as listening, questioning, exploring and researching. Where do you draw your inspiration from?

Our inspiration and ideas come from experiences, from the world around us, from the things we see and people we meet. As designers we watch, listen and observe – we’re compulsive hoarders of interesting things. The more we experience, the more we accumulate, thereby creating a rich visual vocabulary. The better the vocabulary the better the ideas.

What would you say is the Freytag Anderson signature?

I guess we try to keep things simple. Whether that’s running the project or creating the work. We believe in reducing any design work to the essential elements, stripping out the superfluous. As Dieter Rams says: “Good design is as little design as possible.” We think simple is good.

What is your next big goal?

We don’t really have one. We want to continue to develop our studio and the work that we produce. We are excited by new challenges and experiences and every day can be different. We feel lucky to be able to run our own studio and work directly with our clients. Ultimately, we want to continue to do good work and get paid (well) for it.

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September 27, 2016
Leipzig Instants

Last week we travelled to Leipzig to work on a new City Guide. Leipzig Region invited us to stay in this Eastern Germany city for three days and we had an amazing time discovering its many creativity hubs and great cultural offer. Here’s a selection of images we shared on our Instagram profile during our trip – just a little preview of some of the places you will find in our city guide, which we will publish really soon!

City views from Panorama Tower

Museum der bildenden Künste

Design and stationery shop Das rote Paket

Spinnerei, a former cotton mill now home to many galleries and studios

Plagwitz, the most creative neighbourhood in the city

The interiors of Asian fusion restaurant Ping Ping

Café Fleischerei, an old butcher shop turned into a café and bistro

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September 23, 2016
How to Move Your Business to London?

When it comes to doing business, there’s no denying London is one of the best places you can do it. Known to have the fastest internet speeds in the UK, the city is perfect for modern businesses looking to get ahead.

However, if you want to move your business to London, there’s a lot of factors you’ll need to consider. Here, you’ll discover some of the basic things you’ll want to look into before considering a move to the capital.

Image via Unsplash

Choose your destination carefully

London is a large city, and different areas provide different opportunities for businesses. This means before you make the move, you’re going to need to make sure you’re choosing the best location.

Canary Wharfe for example, is a leading choice for financial related businesses. These once busy docks were redeveloped during Margaret Thatcher’s reign, and today many major businesses are based here. Media businesses on the other hand, would do well in the West End.

So, think about the type of business you run and where it will be best placed in the capital. Once you’ve found your ideal location, you can use a company such as GVA to find the right premises.

Consider the costs

It’s crucial you consider the cost of the relocation before deciding whether or not it’s doable. London may be the business hub of the UK, but it’s also the most expensive city. It’s not uncommon for the costs of doing business to be double, if not triple what you’d pay elsewhere in the UK. Can your business afford the additional costs?

One of the main reason’s companies moving to London fail, is because they didn’t calculate the true costs of doing business in the capital. If you don’t have any savings in place, you may need to secure a loan to fund the move.

Employing staff

To ensure your business becomes successful, you’re going to need to ensure you’re hiring the right staff. Will any of your current employees be able to move to London? If not, you have two main options. You can either let staff work remotely if possible, or you can look for additional staff who are already based in London.

If you do need to find new employees, it’s worth considering freelancers. Not only do freelancers offer great value for money, but it also gives you employment flexibility. If your needs change, you can stop using the freelancer’s services at any time.

These are some of the main things you’ll need to consider before moving a business to London. It’s going to be a costly and potentially challenging move so it’s crucial you prepare well ahead of time. The more you prepare, the more likely it is your business move will be a success.

September 20, 2016
Moving to a New Rental Home – Essential Tips for Saving Money

When you’re moving to a new rental property, there’s a lot of expenses involved. As well as paying the initial deposit, you’ll also need to pay at least one month’s rent in advance. Then there’s the moving fees involved, as well as estate agent fees if you’re going through an agency. Put simply, it can be a surprisingly expensive move.

The good news is, there are ways to save on the costs of moving to a new rental property. Below, you’ll discover some of the best money saving tips you can follow. And before changing home, make sure to have a look at this moving house check list to ensure everything goes smooth.

Image via Unsplash

Throw out anything you don’t need

A great simple way to cut the costs of moving, is to ensure you eliminate any clutter. This means throwing away anything you don’t use or need. Most people have a surprising amount of clutter they’ve built up over the years. So how does eliminating it save you money?

Throwing out anything you don’t need will reduce the amount of packaging supplies you’ll use. It can also mean you’ll need a smaller van to move with. Of course, there’s also the added benefit that you won’t be taking your clutter to your new home, saving valuable storage space.

Don’t pay for removal services

While removal services can be extremely useful when you’re moving, they can also be notoriously expensive. If you are on a budget, consider ditching the professionals and doing it yourself. You can easily hire a van and enlist the help of friends and family. This could save you hundreds of pounds compared to hiring a professional removals company.

If you don’t want the hassle of doing it all yourself, you can always compare different companies to find the cheapest prices.

Make sure you take out insurance

One thing many tenants don’t take into account, is insurance. Would you be able to cope financially if something were to go wrong? For example, taking out tenants liability insurance from a company such as Homelet, can help protect you against deposit losses.

Any damage caused by you to the property will be taken out of your deposit at the end of the tenancy. This can prove problematic if you need that deposit for another property. Tenants liability insurance will ensure you don’t go out of pocket if you do lose some of your deposit.

Be sure to redirect your mail

Finally, don’t forget to redirect your mail. If you forget, you could up missing important payments. This would result in numerous fees and potentially even a high debt amount that you can’t afford to pay back.

As you can see, there’s lots of ways you can save money when moving to a rental property. The above are some of the simplest and most effective ways to cut the costs.

September 20, 2016
Creating A Work Environment To Boost Creativity

For many of us, working in a more creative work environment would be both enriching and conducive to us getting more work done. We would be at our best and therefore likely to be more productive and efficient each day. This is gradually becoming a consideration for some businesses, you only need to look at Google’s headquarters, Googleplex, to see that large corporations are now taking this seriously. Whether you work alone, in a small office or a large company, there are things that you can either enact or suggest to create a work environment to boost creativity.

Many of us would love to work in a creative field, but where this is not possible for our 9-5, let’s at least bring some creativity into our workplaces.

Image Pixabay – Pixabay License

Ensure that it is visually appealing

This is the first priority, to make the workspace visually appealing.

Where possible, allow for plenty of natural light to flood in, and if not, then look to create the illusion with cleverly positioned lighting and light and airy colours.

Add splashes of colour with either decor like office pods, pictures or flowers and plants. Studies have shown that working near plants can actually improve productivity and employees happiness levels, so add some in and see what difference it makes in your office.

Throw in boards that people can scribble, doodle and draw on around the walls to channel that creativity.

Make it comfortable

All workstations need to be ergonomically designed and assessed to ensure that people are comfortable working at them. In addition to them being comfortable, you will need to create an environment where people are encouraged to move around regularly.

Look to add comfortable breakout areas and ensure that the temperature is at the right level.

Click why you need a good office chair for more information.

Focus on the aroma

Now we don’t all like the same smells, it is true, but there are probably many that we all dislike.

Whilst we all want a clean environment, chemical smells can be off putting so seek to mask these with gentler scents such as flowers or plugin fresheners. Breakfast brought into the office is bound to lend a wonderful aroma to the room or simply throw open the windows for a blast of fresh air.

If you work from home, you can burn your favourite candle as you work or brew up some coffee if that’s your thing.

Think about the noise

This is something that is often overlooked. Many people work hard on the visual and then completely forget to address the noise.

Think about your own mood when you work. Do you work better in a silent room, a room with lots of shouting and noise or perhaps a room with music playing? For many of us, it will be the latter. Music can put us in a better mood and provide a great background soundtrack to your working day.

For your work environment, look into DAB radio deals and get yourself set up with a radio. If you work alone, choosing the station that you listen to will be a breeze. If you are in a bigger group, then there might have to be a vote for this one, or you might choose to keep it calm with a classical station.

September 20, 2016