Overcome the six biggest hurdles your studio faces with 36 essential tips.
As any design company founder will tell you, running a successful studio takes a lot more than design prowess. You need plenty of guts, determination, and the kind of business savvy that may not always come naturally to creative people.
With all of this in mind, the cover story in Computer Arts issue 270 sets out six of the biggest hurdles that are likely to stand in the way of your creative business’ growth, and gives you 36 gems of essential advice to help you leave them in your wake – so you don’t just survive, but thrive.
CA 270's cover story reveals how to build a thriving studio, and features 36 pro tips
For a hit of design inspiration, regular CA contributor Adrian Shaughnessy explores the eclectic world of book cover design, a field in which even the most iconic works of fiction regularly get a creative facelift – an interesting contrast, he points out, with correspondingly seminal works in music or even household-name FMCG brands.
Adrian Shaughnessy discusses the art and craft of book cover design
Many such brands feature in the shortlist for CA's fourth-annual Brand Impact Awards, and the hotly-anticipated winners will be announced next issue.
To whet your appetite, the team took six of the stellar BIA judging panel aside during their deliberations to discuss three hot topics in branding: the need for brands to demonstrate wit and empathy, the importance of taking creative risks, and the most exciting aesthetic and technological trends on the horizon, and how to get the most from them.
Six Brand Impact Awards judges share their branding insights in an exclusive video interview
Issue 270 of Computer Arts also kicks off a brand-new series dedicated to the practical skills that junior designers need on a daily basis. First up is colour correction, with the dark art of image manipulation coming in part two.
Part one of CA's new junior designer manual series covers colour correction
Also in Computer Arts issue 270
Inspiring work from around the world in Showcase, including DixonBaxi's rebrand of Storey
World Illustration Award winner Aart-Jan Venema shares his tips for illustrating for an event
Hansje van Halem discusses her knack for blending type with abstract patterns
Nick has worked with world-class agencies including Wolff Olins, Taxi Studio and Vault49 on brand storytelling, tone of voice and verbal strategy for global brands such as Virgin, TikTok, and Bite Back 2030. Nick launched the Brand Impact Awards in 2013 while editor of Computer Arts, and remains chair of judges. He's written for Creative Bloq on design and branding matters since the site's launch.
