PM—Thanks so much for chatting with me today. Nice to finally meet you.

SP—For sure, nice to also meet you Damien after social following each other for a while now.

PM—I’ve been a huge fan of your work for some time now and have always been intrigued to learn more about your studio. So how did Studio SPGD come about, and who’s in the team?

SP—The idea came about while still at uni. I decided I would go work for a couple of years out of uni and then try to start it on my own. I was lucky enough to win the AGDA student portfolio of the year award, which actually helped me get a couple of clients. From here, I never really looked back. I’m not saying it was financially viable, but mentally I was in a good place and still up for the challenge.

The team consists of myself, Mara Tonetti (graphic designer and client talker) Mick Kamarga (Web Developer) also have to mention Ned Shannon and Paul Sin (graphic designers). They have always been a massive part of our small studio.

PM—What was the background to setting up the studio?

SP—It came about really out of a long desire to have my own studio, my own ideas, my own process. This manifested while I was still in university (long time ago now). I think part of it stemmed from being quite reserved and having never been the most comfortable in a workplace environment. The whole idea of turning your brain on at 9am and turning it off at 5pm never really felt like how I’d like to work, so I thought that having my own space would help with this and allow me to work in my own rhythm.

PM—Yeah it’s pretty hard to switch on the creative switch at the same time every day. How did you feel at the time? Did you have any concerns?

SP—Yeh, for sure, will it work or will it fail, will I have to submit and go work for somebody, will I have to drive an Uber to top up my account, will we get a client soon. This never really goes away, and it’s been eight years now.

PM—I’ve noticed you like to share your visual identity development work on IG. I really dig this approach around being transparent and wish more designers would do it – but I was wondering how your clients feel about it.

SP—Yeh, I mean this approach has been like this from the start. It was really a way (especially in the earlier years) for me to share content consistently and also share ideas and a style of work I liked to explore. As with anything, everybody has different tastes and styles so this way we get to show a few different directions we try out and show some works that don’t get to come into the world.

I guess most clients would also see we have done this consistently for the lifetime of our account. Sometimes though, projects cannot be shown, and this is usually brought up at the beginning of the project.

PM—Do you have a design process, and what does it look like?

SP—Yes we do. We start by asking a few simple questions to the client, and what they want to achieve, whether this is from an aesthetic or conceptual point of view. From here, we gauge a mood board consisting of imagery and words. Then we put together a couple of directions that are far enough away from each other from a conceptual point of view for stage 1. This helps us paint a picture for the client to decide what direction to move forward with. Usually, we are then able to move forward with stage 2, refining the chosen concept and applying it to more requested deliverables.

Each client has different needs, outputs and structures on how they need the project rolled out. For these scenarios, we would adapt to the client's needs and change the process slightly.

PM—How do you define good culture in a studio environment? Anything you guys do that works well?

SP—We are all very close friends with similar interests, this goes a long way in working together. Everybody brings their strength to their particular role and each individual respects those strengths, so there is a trust amongst us that keeps things running, less discussions more doing.

PM—What interests do you have outside the design industry?

SP—My biggest interests are skateboarding, football (soccer) and a more recent is car mechanic.

PM—What music are you currently playing in the studio?

This at the moment.

PM—How do you find new clients? What have you found works for you?

SP—Hmm, I haven’t really tried looking for clients. We try to be fair and helpful to the clients and hope they are happy with the result. If they recommend us to others, we are more than grateful. We don’t usually ask where people have heard about us. Sometimes they mention social media or recommended from a friend or our website.

PM—You have some nice visuals showcasing beautiful printing techniques across various projects on your feed. Are they shot professionally, or are you just gurus in Photoshop?

SP—Haha, most of the work on black backdrops is photoshopped, and some others are photographed. We shoot some in the studio, some at home, and some are a mix of photography and photoshop work. Most of it depends on time constraints. This reminds me we need to shoot some more work; it’s been a while since the site has had an update.

PM—I might need to hire you to mockup some of my work. Any tips or advice you would give a designer keen to start their design studio in 2022?

SP—Just start. Even if it’s small and you’re part-time somewhere else, there will be a point where you say, hmm I don’t think I need to work part-time. Just know that there will always be a little voice saying, ‘have I made the right decision’, and if you love working for yourself, you will ride out the ups and downs.

PM—Would you ever take on a project that isn’t aligned with your proposition purely for the money?

SP—The 3 F’s. Fun, Fame, Fortune. Tick 2, and usually you will be happy working on the project. Usually, if it’s only money, you will create unnecessary stress. Maybe if it’s every now and then, it could be okay.

PM—Where do you see the design industry heading in the future? Less print, more digital?

SP—This question comes up a lot. Remember when all the hype was around print is dead. To be honest, I do feel there is a lot more digital, and it has opened it up to some really fresh motion graphics as there seems to be more application media for this now. But also we still are going to cafes, books are needed to fill our homes, shared workspaces, festivals all these places have some sort of print associated with it along with digital. So I’ll say for the future, both have a place.

PM—Yeah I agree. Nothing like picking up a beautifully printed book. Any inspiring trends or work you’ve seen recently?

SP—studioGdB, they do custom glazed ceramic tiles, so nice.

PM—hmm, cool idea. What is one lesson you've learnt running a design studio?

SP—I think the admin/communication side is equally as important as the work. This was a weak point for me and something that had to be improved over the years.

PM—If you had to challenge Michael Bierut in one game. Would you challenge him in Just Dance 2022 or Virtual Karaoke?

SP—haha, let’s do some virtual karaoke, both seem fun enough but I do like a good sing-along.

PM—haha. What would you change if you could go back in time and start over?

SP—I don't think I would change anything.

PM—It's been cool chatting with you man. Is there anything you would like to tell the world?

SP—Thanks for having us! 🫶🏼 Shout out to our friends and family. 🖤
@arriprrasetya @v.rosa.it @ollieschaich