WHEN young graphic designers Beth Wilson and James Gilchrist looked around for an event that showcased their industry in Scotland, they discovered there wasn’t one – so they set it up themselves.
Now in its fourth year, Graphic Design Festival Scotland attracts thousands of designers from all over the world to learn from the experts, share ideas and discover what’s hot in a constantly changing sector.
At the same time, the Glasgow-based partners are running a successful graphic design business, Warriors Studio, with a diverse and growing portfolio of international clients that includes Urban Outfitters, the V&A museum, Scottish guitar band Biffy Clyro and East Ayrshire Advocacy Service.
So, was self-employment and rapid growth always part of the plan?
“We met while studying graphic design at Edinburgh College of Art and never had specific plans to run our own business as such,” smiles Mr Gilchrist, 24. “But we both had lots of ideas and rather than hanging around, we just went out and put them into practice, even though we were still students at the time.”
Ms Wilson adds that both of their businesses have grown organically from the pair’s commitment to collaboration – and a desire to offer something new to the Scottish design scene.
“We were already acting and thinking like a design agency while still at university - our studio unofficially started before we even graduated,” she says. “Then we spotted the niche for the event, worked on the idea and did a business plan, won a substantial award through our university. The next thing we knew the festival was a reality and we were being invited to speak at events in Europe. It was the right idea at the right time.”
The pair both studied at Cardonald College, now Glasgow Clyde College, preparing the portfolios that would gain them access to one of Scotland’s most competitive and highly regarded courses.
“Our course at ECA had 580 applicants for 12 spots,” explains Mr Gilchrist. “The tutors at Cardonald were on a mission to get us into the best art schools and they knew the best ways to help us do that. Another designer who works for us also studied there and went on to get a place at ECA – that’s proof of how successful it is.”
The young entrepreneurs are now relishing the opportunities that come with being in control of their own destiny.
“Both our parents run businesses, so maybe it was in the blood,” says Mr Gilchrist. “But for me it’s all about the people. I love meeting, working and collaborating on different projects with a diverse range of folk. We’ve acquired so many new skills over the last couple of years, such as event planning. We’ve not been phased by anything yet, but maybe that’s because we approach everything like it’s a graphic design project – it’s all about problem-solving.”
Ms Wilson says one down side of running your own business is that it can be tough to step away and take a break, but she is full of encouragement for others considering striking out on their own.
“Get yourself a good brand identity, a good website, good social media and you can start anything,” she says. “From day one we’ve never been afraid to ask for help and advice from a variety of sources – parents, friends who were freelance, other studios with more experience - and it has served us really well.
“Think carefully about how you set up your business, the form it takes, and make sure it has the flexibility you will need to take it forward and maximise funding opportunities. Also, you’ve got to love what you do and really care about it.”
As for the future, both Warriors Studio and the Graphic Design Festival Scotland - which takes place in October - are going from strength to strength.
“Over the coming years we’d like to expand the team to include a wide range of skills in design, copywriting and animation. Perhaps around 10 people. And hopefully we'll have long-term clients who trust us to collaborate on exciting design projects. There are exciting times ahead for us."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here