2/12/2024 0 Comments Graphic design studio management![]() Large-scale studios can afford to support designers who are more specialized-both in their skill sets and their roles. In terms of personnel, the difference between large and small studios is that smaller, more horizontal organizations need individuals who are capable of, and enjoy, taking on different roles and tasks, and have a fairly wide skill set. Scale is the critical factor in determining staffing in a design studio. These require, in effect, wholly dedicated teams with their own organizational structure and people with skills to match the project requirements. ![]() Of course, all bets are off in the case of huge, free-standing multi-million dollar accounts. A detailed assessment of the number and kinds of assignments that pass through the studio will help to determine the specific skill sets needed. ![]() ![]() Analysis of annual revenues will reveal staffing capacity-how much and what kinds of staff the firm needs and can support. Staffing depends on the nature of the assignments in the studio-whether a continuous stream of one-off designs or large-scale, long-term, multi-disciplinary projects-or somewhere in between. We find employers often don’t hire appropriately and the result is low morale, frustration and loss of good people.” It makes more sense to hire appropriately, that is, not to have senior level people assigned to low revenue tasks or have them do work that can be accomplished by those better suited to those tasks. She comments, “It’s better not to use key people for work that can be accomplished by those at a lower cost base. Roz Goldfarb, president and founder of Roz Goldfarb Associates, has been a major force in recruitment and career management in the design industry for over twenty years. Too few leaders overseeing too many line staff find themselves spread thin, leading to lapses in design leadership, overall communication and quality control. A top-heavy studio, one that has more leaders than doers, is in trouble on two fronts-financially, because there’s too many expensive salaries being carried by fewer lower-salaried people and in terms of morale, it’s a scenario that has high-level leaders competing for assignments and scarce staff. The ideal studio has enough managers to lead assignments along with enough mid- and junior-level designers and production artists to actually produce the work. The key to staffing a studio is finding people with the right level and range of experience and expertise, so that there is a reasonable ratio of senior to junior personnel, as well as the requisite skill sets needed to produce the kinds of work demanded of the studio. Talented, motivated designers and production artists are the lifeblood of every successful design firm. Some might argue that efficient systems actually contribute more to profitability, but without the requisite equipment and space, in addition to being a discomfort and irritation for the staff, it would become necessary to outsource prints, production of comps and other important elements, resulting in loss of time, control of quality and potentially profitable mark-ups on such items.Ī surgically-clean, perfectly-equipped studio with outstanding organizational processes does not produce brilliant work. In order of importance, first is talent-of high-creative caliber, and with the right combination of skills and levels of experience second is professional-quality equipment in a clearly organized space and third is the consistent use of efficient design and production processes, project schedules and systems for information sharing and data tracking. A well-organized, smoothly functioning studio that is profitable and turns out beautifully-executed design work rests on three primary factors: talent, set-up and systems.
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