IT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE
Tim’s first tip is to consider whether this
is the right move for you. “Setting up your
own practice is not for the faint-hearted,”
he says. “If you’re the sort of person who
loves the stability of a steady income,
or being able to clock out when you leave
the studio, then it’s probably not for you.
That said, if you’re prepared to live and
breathe work, and you feel the lifestyle
will work for you, go for it.”CHOOSE THE RIGHT PARTNER
Amanda adds that you need to ask
yourself: are you ready to spend all your
working time with one person day in, day
out, for years on end? “Deciding to partner
with someone is a huge decision,” she
says. “Make sure you know them well,
and at a minimum have trialled working
together on a couple of projects.”GATHER INSIGHTS
Forewarned is forearmed, so before you
make the leap, gather as much advice
and information as you can, says Tim.
“Talk to as many business owners as
you can, and gleam as many insights
as possible,” he advises.BE HONEST
When there’s just two of you, being honest
and open is vital, believes Amanda. “In
our case, we don’t mince our words,” she
says. “If Tim designs something that I think
looks shit, I can literally just say that to
him and vice versa. We’re honest and don’t
worry about hurting each other’s feelings.
We get to cut through all the pleasantries
and bullshit, and spend our time pushing
the work to be as good as we can make it.”VALUE THE BENEFITS
If all this sounds challenging, then
remember that there are many benefits
to having a partnership, and the
alternatives come with their own
challenges, too. “I truly think being a solo
designer is really hard,” says Amanda.
“It’s way more fun to have someone
to bounce ideas off, back you up in
presentations and share the workload.”HOW TO LAUNCH A
DESIGN PARTNERSHIPSEACHANGEwe developed everything in-house, and it was
applied to touchpoints such as bins, bin bags,
signage, website, printed material, T-shirts,
coffee cups and posters. The main brand
creation and implementation stage for both
of these projects took about six months, and
we now do all of the We Compost rollout.
What else have you been working on lately?
TD: We’ve been branding a new chain of
sushi restaurants, which is going to be
rad and hopefully quite different for the
sector. We’ve also been working with a new
start-up on a range of plant-based food
products, which we’re excited to see roll out
throughout 2020. There’s also a new art
gallery identity in the mix, and some fun
theatre company work.
Is there a particular visual style you’re
known for?
TD: I hope not. We aim for our work to
feel contemporary and fresh, but leaning
towards one style has never really appealed
to us. Styles date, and we want to give our
clients more longevity. All our clients are
different, so they deserve a visual response
that feels right for them, not just something
that’s on-trend. That said, we do have certain
sensibilities that carry through our work,
such as strong conceptual thinking, bold use
of colour, typography and image-making,
and we definitely like to be playful and have
fun when we can.
What’s most surprised the two of you about
working together?
AG: Probably how well our strengths
complement each other’s weaknesses. Tim
is a real immersion designer: he likes to get
his head completely into a job and figure out
exactly what the problem is before he starts
trying to visually solve it. I’m more impulsive,
and design in a more intuitive way. I think
these two approaches work well together and
create a nice sort of balance.
What’s your biggest dream for the studio?
AG: Our dream is to live the endless
summer; six months in New Zealand and
six months in London. We have no idea how
that would ever work with kids and school
and staff and running a business, but hey...
it’s nice to dream.On that note, what’s the design scene like
in Auckland right now?
TD: It’s really strong in Auckland – all over
New Zealand actually. There’s definitely
been a rise of the small design studio,
and a shift in client appetite to work with
these smaller agencies. I think our small
population and our geography of being at
the bottom of the world gives us a sort of
weird unique advantage in that we have to
be so much more resourceful, which forces
you to find more creative solutions and
unconventional solutions.Being a day ahead of a lot of countries must
be a challenge, too. What are your tips for
designers working across international
time zones and date lines?
AG: Get off email. So much gets lost in
translation over email, especially between
different cultures. And I honestly don’t think
anyone actually reads any more. Emails get
skimmed and people get confused, so when
presenting work or talking through anything
detailed, face-to-face - over the Macs - is
the only way. I think you also have to make
a real effort to be responsive and proactive,
to offset the geographical distance and
awkward time zones.What’s the most important thing people
don’t know about Seachange?
AG: People probably don’t realise we’re a
tiny team of three and that we also have a
five-year-old and a two-year-old, who keep
us incredibly busy. Everything we’ve achieved
over the past three years has been while
raising our two children. We’ve changed
nappies in new business meetings, breastfed
through presentations, rocked the pram
while art-directing photoshoots. We’ve
literally worked hundreds of late nights to
get through all the work once the kids go to
bed. We love it though – our children are a
huge part of why we do what we do.