Building an unconventionally professional creative studio outside the big cities - Pennybridge 🇦🇺

Mindful Creative with Radim Malinic

"We want to try and live by our values, but run as a fledgling studio at the same time. It's that balance between ensuring revenue comes in and taking on clients aligned with those values." - Pennybridge
PennyBridge is an unconventionally professional creative studio based in Palm Beach, Gold Coast, Australia. Founded by Paul Balfe and Kyle Tillman, who merged their individual freelance practices, the studio specializes in branding, packaging, illustration, and various design services. They discuss their journey as generalists in the design industry, the challenges of balancing creativity with business demands, and their approach to maintaining a unique brand identity while delivering high-quality work to clients.
Key Takeaways:

• Embracing a unique identity: PennyBridge emphasizes the importance of leaning into who they are as a studio, which has become their "superpower" in attracting the right clients.
• Process is crucial: They've developed a refined process that helps them navigate client relationships and creative challenges, often leading to first-round approvals.
• Balancing generalism and specialization: As generalists, they face the challenge of keeping up with industry trends while maintaining their core strengths.
• Work-life balance struggles: The team acknowledges the difficulty in separating work from personal life, especially as passionate creatives and business owners.
• Client selection: They've learned to be more selective with clients, focusing on those who align with their values and work style.
• Location challenges and opportunities: Being based outside major cities presents both challenges in perception and opportunities to carve a unique path.
• Continuous evolution: PennyBridge emphasizes the importance of adapting their processes and strategies as they grow and face new challenges.
• Team dynamics: The founders complement each other's skills, with Paul focusing more on business strategy and Kyle on creative direction.
• Brand presentation: They've found success in creating engaging brand presentations, including videos, to effectively communicate their ideas to clients.
• Future planning: The studio is working on developing long-term strategies and relationships with clients to ensure sustainable growth.

Mindful Creative: How to understand and deal with the highs and lows of creative life, career and business

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