Part of our ethos at EO Creative is that it is possible to remain small through collaboration & technology. From day one we wanted to work in an agency that is apposed to the general thinking of the larger agencies, who have lost sight of the design principles and the craft that attracted designers to the industry. In our experience larger agencies are caught up in endless meetings, Powerpoint presentations, less client interaction, demanding work hours and are completely at odds with the work/life balance; which we all know is important for health and mental well being. From the outset at EO knew that there was a need for change within the industry, and we needed to be different to be apart of that required change.
At EO Creative we always wanted to be an agency that continued to be imaginative and passionate about design, but uses technology to reduce overheads, increase communication and explores a better work/home lifestyle, alongside delivering innovative thinking. So our company began with the idea of having a small company made up of a few partners and collaborating with other creatives on particular projects, with each person having their own role to play as their skills sets demand. This is not a new idea of design and creative clustering, but it is the first in Northern Ireland to actually work. It is not unlike how other industries work, bringing in a particular talent as and when required, rather than using people who claim to be a jack of all trades. However not having all staff in the same building originally did pose a a concern over communication and deliverables, but that is were technology has provided the solution and created an innovative way of working.
With an ethos highlighting the importantance of all involved have the freedom to be creative and maintain good healthy relationships with family and friends. We encourage mobility and getting outside the studio, basically being apart of the world we aim to assist in communicating better. Therefore we use tools like the iPhone, not only to receive phone calls, emails and use as a diary. The iPhone with its varied applications is much more, it permits instant communication with the main principles in the company. With ever developing array of new apps like Zenbe allow the creation of job lists that creative staff and managers can interact with in a real time bases, ticking off work when completed and adding new items the moment they occur. With the new Mobile.Me service from Apple all contacts and calendars are synced at the same time when any change is made on any computer or iPhone. This creates much better access to information for all involved and prevents data being out of date or not shared. Also the Mobile.Me service is useful for presenting work if we are working with a client who would like to see progress on their job immediately or is based quite a distance away.
Another technology that has revolutionised the way we communicate and has made working outside the UK much easier and economically viable, is applications like Tweetie, Birdhouse, Skype or iChat. Particularly these voice over protocol tools have been available for sometime, but rarely has a company embraced such technology with zest. We only need access to an broadband connection and can speak with each other or clients from anywhere in the world. Often meetings, or briefing of creatives are done using these tools, sending documents, remote control of desk tops or being able to see a friendly face from the other side of the world. Collaboration plays a large role in our company, usually we work with people we have worked with before. Look for individuals that embrace innovation, that have a unique voice, style and approach that makes you look forward to every new piece of work. Whether that be motion graphics, illustrations or design.
Very few Northern Ireland companies blog, and even less creative agencies use this modern method of communication. We love blogging and wanted our blog “Left Over Grey Matter’ not only to communicate regular news updates, but also provide useful content for those not familiar with the design industry. When away from the computer we can still update our blog from our iPhones using ShoZu and Wordpress, and with Facebook’s app we update our Facebook profile. Blogging and sites like VIRB, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube are excellent platforms for showcasing new pieces of work, and contributing to the online interaction between clients and creatives. We think it is important that clients are involved throughout the design process and that their location is not a restriction and Twitter has been a real asset in this area. It is safe to say that through the use of available technologies working with clients or with each other is like being in the same room. Staying small and keeping things in proportion has helped us to maintain an eclectic mix of clients from huge companies to one-man-bands, who challenge us in different ways.
