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5 innovative ways creative agencies are coping with the lockdown

By Jim McCauley
published 21 April 2020

Top studios reveal how they're adapting to the coronavirus crisis.

Nobody could have guessed at the beginning of the year that within a few months our entire lives would have been turned upside-down by a global pandemic. Companies all around the world have had to quickly figure out how to operate on a remote working basis, and it hasn't always been easy.

While the mechanics of running a business during this lockdown are straightforward – ensuring everyone has the hardware and software they need, and nailing down video conferencing, chatrooms and systems to send large files, for example – keeping things running smoothly and ensuring staff are coping in isolation is a whole other matter.

For design agencies, often based around small, close-knit teams in regular communication, this can be especially challenging. It's a whole new working world, and often we're having to make the rules up as we go along, but the creative industries are rising to the challenge. We spoke to five studios to find out how they're coping with the lockdown; here's what they had to say.

  • 7 design exercises to keep your skills sharp

01. dn&co

5 innovative ways agencies are coping with the lockdown: dn&co

dn&co has been able to improve its workflow during the lockdown (Image credit: dn&co)

"This is hard," says Joy Nazzari, founder at dn&co, "and the first step is accepting we need to ease anxiety in order to make room for good thinking.

"At dn&co, we've been able to find small opportunities from the lockdown challenge. We've improved our workshop process and they have been surprisingly effective by way of repurposed interactive conference-polling apps. The necessary structure of video conferencing has resulted in ordered, thoughtful and democratic feedback from our clients that has propelled many projects.

"With new technology has come more presentation practice, making us feel and look sharper, coherent and professional. Yes we're doing Zoom workouts, quizzes and drinks like everyone is, but maybe it's actually the 1-1 calls without the noise of the studio that's giving us closeness with colleagues — and you hear the quieter voices more clearly.

"But the most striking difference has been at an industry level, where it's really heartening to see how many studios have banded together in private Slack channels to share strategies for survival. The way it has brought agencies together will be, I hope, a lasting legacy of this terrible pandemic."

02. Superunion

5 innovative ways agencies are coping with the lockdown: Superunion

For Superunion, fostering a studio feel for remote staff has been essential (Image credit: Superunion)

For a global agency the size of Superunion, adapting to the lockdown is a much bigger challenge than for smaller studios. Executive creative director Stuart Radford notes that isolation and collaboration are two opposing forces; however the agency has learned three useful lessons to help keep things moving.

Build a virtual studio

"We've started using Milanote, an online platform that enables us to share ideas/images and comment and add content in real-time, so we can review projects in one place, just as you would on a studio wall – let the collective chin-scratching continue!"

Keep up the 'What do you think of this?' chats

"Structured reviews are important but they're no substitute for ad-hoc studio chats. A random 'How about this?' starts a conversation that makes a massive difference to the work and is one of the most rewarding parts of the process. So, we're encouraging 'What do you think of this?' calls – randomly and regularly."

You can't isolate a strong culture

"Lockdown is a real test for agency culture. It's been heart-warming to see 'Superunioners' finding any excuse to hang out: quiz nights, birthdays, team and Friday night drinks. Unexpectedly, some great memories have been made in this weird and difficult time – full credit to our people!"

03. Noughts & Ones

5 innovative ways agencies are coping with the lockdown: Noughts & Ones

Noughts & Ones, which recently won awards for its site for Fevered Sleep, has found plenty of ways to keep staff and clients engaged (Image credit: Noughts & Ones/Fevered Sleep)

Like many agencies, Bristol-based Noughts & Ones is relying on Slack and Zoom to keep its team talking, but also making sure to inject a little levity into the process. So its Monday morning kick-off call includes a 'Show & Tell' segment where everyone shares a project they've been working on over the weekend. "The first couple of weeks have been very plant-focused," says founding director, Tom Locke. "Who knew we were such a green-fingered team!"

Optional beers for the end-of-day team call are a welcome way to close off the working day; Noughts and Ones also organises a game every Friday, and its sent a care package of coffee and snacks to every team member, something it plans to do regularly.

"Overall," says Locke, "I feel that the experience has been really quite positive for us as an agency, as it has got us focused on our own (and each other's) workload and communicating super clearly. We're also having to really thinking outside the box in terms of how we can 'add value' to our clients. 

"In terms of working with clients that are struggling, it's all about supporting them however we can in term of positioning – we're also exploring how we can facilitate collaboration and partnerships between some of our e-commerce clients that fall into the non-essential category with others that fall into the essential category. We're starting to see some really exciting and innovative conversations happen!"

04. Rose

Join us as we take a trip to the theatre to see highlights from David Grindley’s, Six Degrees of Separation – an adrenalin-fuelled, Olivier Award-winning story – a captivating study of two worlds colliding. Inspired by the real-life story of a flamboyant con artist who convinced wealthy residents in Manhattan that he was the son of actor Sidney Poitier. The witty play scratches beneath the surface of a world obsessed with money and fame, and how society's pretensions are exposed by one man's self-confidence and imagination. How can anyone be sure that people are who they say they are? Like all our wonderful arts venues, The Old Vic has temporarily closed. As an independent charity, they rely entirely on fundraising and ticket sales, so please (if you can) head over to their website and show your support with a donation. . . . . #Theatre #TheOldVic #OldVic #SixDegreesofSeparation #LondonTheatre #Culture #DesignStudio #DesignAgency #GraphicDesign #SupportTheArts #ObiAbili #AnthonyHead #LesleyManville #CultureisnotCancelled #PosterDesign #ArtDirection #Photography Rose

A photo posted by @rosedesignuk on Apr 20, 2020 at 2:59am PDT

Like so many agencies, the team at Rose has found the adjustment to lockdown life to be disorienting and dislocating. Studio partner Simon Elliott tells us that the team have been brilliant in how they're coping and responding, and explains that one way they've found to cope with their newfound circumstances has been to create a daily 'Cultural Coffee Break'.

"Many of our clients (past and present) are in the cultural and visitor attraction sector (including English National Opera, Bletchley Park, National Portrait Gallery, V&A, Tate, The Photographers' Gallery, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, The Old Vic etc)," says Elliott.  "And in light of them all having had to close their doors indefinitely, we thought it would be nice to create a series of mini virtual tours on Instagram to share some of the many shows, exhibitions and events for theatres, galleries and museums we've been involved in over the past two decades, for our followers to enjoy during the lockdown. 

"We also hoped it might ensure the many amazing arts organisations and cultural institutions out there remain in people's thoughts throughout this difficult time, and can still be supported somehow, if not in person.

"For our team, it's provided some welcome respite from the crisis, to keep them mentally active and agile, and given them an excuse to delve into our archive and discover some of the many projects we worked on before their time at Rose."

Rose's Cultural Coffee Break happens every weekday morning on its Instagram account.

05. Magpie Studio

A few weeks in and we’re finding plenty of ways to keep the creativity flowing and making sure we stay together as a team. 💪 #stayhome #remoteworking #WFH #design #branding #milknosugar Magpie Studio

A photo posted by @magpiestudio_ on Apr 3, 2020 at 9:43am PDT

Another agency turning to Instagram to keep team spirits up is Magpie Studio. "A strong studio culture has always been a priority for us," says creative partner Ben Christie, "so it was certainly a challenge to adapt to an entirely new way of working overnight.

"Once we'd found our feet, we wanted to put a message out on our Instagram and LinkedIn to say that we're still here, still strong and still working together successfully as team.

"For us, happiness fuels creativity – it's great for general wellbeing and contributes to a positive team spirit which, in turn, produces better work. So, amongst the hard graft, we also have a lot of fun in the studio.

"It made sense that our post reflected this by being upbeat and making people smile. We also wanted it to have a family-like feel, so the Brady Bunch reference seemed to hit the spot.

"It was great fun to make and a perfect excuse to get the whole team involved. We're already thinking about the next one!"

Related articles:

  • 3 ways freelancers can survive the crisis
  • 8 simple pleasures we're looking forward to in safer times
  • 6 of the hottest gadgets for designers

Creative Bloq created this content as part of a paid partnership with iStock by Getty Images. The contents of this article are entirely independent and solely reflect the editorial opinion of Creative Bloq.

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Jim McCauley
Jim McCauley
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Jim McCauley is a writer, performer and cat-wrangler who started writing professionally way back in 1995 on PC Format magazine, and has been covering technology-related subjects ever since, whether it's hardware, software or videogames. A chance call in 2005 led to Jim taking charge of Computer Arts' website and developing an interest in the world of graphic design, and eventually led to a move over to the freshly-launched Creative Bloq in 2012. Jim now works as a freelance writer for sites including Creative Bloq, T3 and PetsRadar, specialising in design, technology, wellness and cats, while doing the occasional pantomime and street performance in Bath and designing posters for a local drama group on the side.

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