Study Task Six - What do 'They' do?

Based on the principles that have been introduced inthe PPP2 sessions sofar and your responses to the previous tasks, evaluate the Strengths and Weaknesses of three practitioners or design agencies as objectively as you can. You should aim to identify a large, medium and small company from a sector or service that reflects your interests within the creative industries.

What opportunities for your own practice have revealed themselves to you as a result of this research, analysis and evaluation?

Do not use subjective language or make unfounded comments about other people’s businesses.It is essential that you make references to SWOT and PEST analysis and evaluate their usefulness as an analysis or evaluation tool. In responding to this task you will need to consider the following questions:

• Who am I competing against?
• What do they offer?
• What makes me better?
• What makes me different?

Anagrama

http://www.anagrama.com/

What are their strengths?

I think a strength Anagrama have is the consistency of design across each of their projects but each individual project has an individual look which makes their portfolio interesting to look through. I think having a constant look through one brief is important as it ties the brand they are working with together and creates an appearance that the retail consumer will become familiar with.

What are their weaknesses?

I think a weakness this company has it their personal branding. All the work they have done for other people is really creative and engaging, whereas the logo and website they have created for themselves isn't very unique and looks a lot similar to a lot of other agencies. I think they could give their own company more of a twist.


Higher

http://www.higher.sk/

What are their strengths?

The strength of this studio definitely lies in web design. The look of their work in this area is very strong and the web elements they are creating are very aesthetically attractive and look easy to navigate. They also cover a selection of web platforms, like iPads and iPhones, so the level they go into this is quite in depth. I also think that they understand the audience they are selling to a great deal and each of the projects they have undertaken are very much tailored to a specific type of person and this is obvious through their work.

What are their weaknesses?

Even though this studio are obviously very specialised in this area I think they could definitely expand on what they are providing. What we having been developing very much this year is product, range and distribution and I think that they could do more of the same.

Foreign Policy

http://foreignpolicydesign.com/

What are their strengths?

I think that this studio is very good at continuing a design across a whole product range and it is very clear to tell and easy for the audience to recognise. I like how not only has the packaging been considered but also all of the other supporting items. The styles they are producing is also varied which demonstrates their versatility.

What are their weaknesses?

A weakness that I think is this studio has come up against is that they are only targeting the food and drink sector. I think with the level of work they are producing they could be successful across a wider range of product themes. Their website is also hard to navigate and it is hard to get a glimpse at the great work they are producing.