Computer Arts - UK (2019-11)

COMPUTERARTS.CREATIVEBLOQ.COM

After six years of the UK Studio Rankings,

it’s a very rare achievement for a new

entrant to shoot straight into the Top 10.

Eschewing most design awards, Paul Belford

Studio prefers to let the work speak for itself

• and in 2019, the industry has sat up and
  taken notice...

Welcome to the UK Studio Rankings. What

do you think has put the studio on the radar

of the industry this year?

I’d like to think it’s the quality of our work. We

tend not to enter creative awards. We make

an exception for D&AD, but usually just a

token two or three projects to keep the cost

down. We put work on Instagram, and we’re

occasionally featured on design blogs. As a

result of that, clients contact us from all

over the world: India, Scandinavia, Latin

America, Egypt and several from the US in

just the past few months.

What defines your approach?

All our work has to meet the following

criteria: does it have an idea, and is

it beautiful?

What have been Paul Belford Studio's

biggest challenges recently?

Finding enough new business with realistic

budgets can be tough. We don’t pitch for free.

And we don’t work with clients who insist

on 60 or 90 days payment terms. Controlling

FOUNDED 2013

LOCATION

ISLINGTON,

LONDON

STAFF 6 (3 ARE

PART-TIME)

NEW HIRES 1

After studying for a

Ph.D. in biochemistry,

Paul Belford changed

tack and found his

calling as a creative

director, winning

hundreds of awards

in the process.

06

project creep on branding projects is a

perennial issue. So is late payment. And the

constant tension between actually doing the

creative work and the rough and tumble of

business. All our full-time staff are designers,

so we all share the project management and

account management.

What’s particularly exciting on the horizon

for 2020?

We’re up to our eyeballs in non-disclosure

agreements, so we’re looking forward to

finally being allowed to talk about some of

our new projects.

SPECIAL REPORT

Paul Belford Studio

http://www.paulbelford.com

+NEW ENTRY

Paul Belford Studio’s

design work for

Hair Solutions,

New Chapter and

Revolt book.