Below a London hotel and a road bridge you'll find a very unconventional creative space. We take a look inside.
AnalogFolk's London studio is in occasionally trendy Clerkenwell, surrounded by more than its fair share of great coffee shops. It's nestled underneath a hotel and a road bridge, so people are always surprised when they enter the large and unusually shaped space and find it full of natural light.
The most important thing about our space is its flexibility. We work on a broad range of marketing projects, from online platforms to film. The office has three mezzanine levels, which may seem a little greedy.
We use design to make the analog world better
However, it means there are plenty of distinct areas for us to arrange ourselves in, without ever being in danger of becoming cut off. Regardless of role, we're all trying to make great work together.
Maxims on posters
Lots of workplaces have this famous Anthony Burrill poster, but we really do believe in its simply stated maxim. Also, we've realised the ‘be nice to people' part actually brings a competitive advantage, as it's another reason why talented people want to work here. So, ironically, this actually makes us quite evil.
Our guiding principles are dotted around the space and this is one of them: 'We use digital to make the analog world better'. It's fundamentally about not using technology for technology's sake, and always thinking about people and value first.
Office culture
Having said that, we really do like playing with new toys. There's always something remarkable to interact with in the studio. We're using this drone in an upcoming hack day.
The 'phone booths' are cool little cubicles which you can escape to at those times when you need pure focus, whether that's for writing a particularly tricky piece of code or penning a few words about your agency for a popular digital creativity magazine. You can also use them to make phonecalls.
Office canine Frankie is an important fixture. He is super-attentive and very well-behaved. Especially if you're concealing a biscuit in your right hand.
Words: Simon Richings
Simon Richings is executive creative director at the London office of independent global creative agency AnalogFolk. Follow them on Twitter at @AnalogFolk. This article first appeared in net magazine issue 260.
