ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!
*

Cutting through the bullshit with STB Graphic Design | #Company Spotlight

Published by

Formed over 30 years ago, STB (Stocks Taylor Benson) Graphic Design is an agency with a defiant “no bullshit approach” to the process. In their own words, there’s “no pseudo-science, waffle or jargon” when it comes to STB,  just brilliant, commercial graphic design, pure and simple. In a world of so much buzzwordy wafflery, it’s a pretty refreshing approach.

We caught up with CEO and co-founder (his name’s right there on the door) Glenn W. Taylor and ECD Lois Blackhurst to shine the Company Spotlight on STB. The duo go into detail about  how their agency works and why keeping it as simple is often the best approach. 

*

How was your company born and where are you based?

GWT: Back in 1988 I teamed up with two of my colleagues, Dean Stocks and John Benson, to form Stocks Taylor Benson. The three of us had previously worked at WPP subsidiary OYA. 

We’re now STB Graphic Designers, and proud to simply call ourselves ‘graphic designers’ in an industry sadly riddled with bullshit job titles. Our headquarters have always been in Leicester, but we’ve never considered ourselves a ‘Leicester’ agency. We also have studios in Leeds and London, and an international roster of big-name clients. 

What was the biggest challenge to the growth of your company?

GWT: It’s always been a challenge to find talented, likeminded people who want to be different, but still have a strong commercial edge. 

Which was the first huge success that you can remember?

*

GWT: Before we even opened our doors, we were paid upfront for a very large project. It was a client we’d previously worked with at OYA. Four more large national accounts came in based purely on our reputation, again before we launched.

What’s the biggest opportunity for your company in the next year?

LB: We’re proud and excited to announce that we’ve just become an Employee Ownership Trust, or EOT. According to the stats, employee-owned businesses are more productive, more innovative, and more resilient, and their teams are more engaged, more fulfilled and less stressed. We believe this is a great way to secure STB’s values and culture for future generations, whilst creating a sense of shared responsibility for our whole team.

GWT: Until recently, I was the sole owner of STB. Becoming an EOT placed the business in the hands of the people who have helped it grow over the last 33 years, so they can share in its success. It’ll help us hire and retain top talent, with better incentives and rewards for strong performance. But above all, it secures the future of STB for our clients. For complete continuity, I’m remaining as CEO, alongside the current Executive Director team.

Can you explain your team’s creative process?

*

LB: As graphic designers our job is to help our clients make more money by selling more stuff, simple as that. It’s not rocket science. We don’t overcomplicate things or waste our client’s budget. We come up with great ideas that have solid research behind them, are beautifully executed, and commercially sound. 

How does your team remain inspired and motivated?

LB: We no longer enter design awards. Instead, we use the money and spare design time that the awards process took up for our Good Deeds initiative, supporting charities and giving back to the community. It’s very rewarding work.

We also support local universities – including The University of Northampton and Nottingham Trent University – by undertaking live briefs, lectures, and portfolio reviews. It’s great for the team to work with new and emerging talent. And I think we learn as much from them as they learn from us.

How has COVID-19 affected your company?

*

LB: We stayed busy, fortunately, but we really missed presenting creative ideas in person. Our first-stage creative usually takes the form of hand-drawn marker visuals, and there’s nothing better than all getting around the table to review the initial stages of a project. 

Lockdown was tough, but it did give us the chance to do a long-overdue remodel of our studio to suit a more hybrid-working future. Instead of larger meeting rooms, we’ve now introduced individual pods. It works better for our creative team, and it also gave us the space to install a second photo studio.

Which agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes?

LB: A few years ago, I was lucky enough to catch a talk from Margaret Calvert at the AGI Open in London. Calvert’s career spans six decades, and it’s hard not to be in awe of her work. Her wayfinding and signage systems shaped the visual look of the whole country, and there aren’t many projects you can say that about. Problem solving at its very best.

What is one tip that you would give to other agencies looking to grow?

*

GWT: Don’t take your eye off the money. Don’t borrow. Grasp every opportunity. And plan, plan, plan.

How do you go about finding new clients/business?

LB: Most of STB’s new clients come from word-of-mouth and recommendations. Our service is incredibly important to us, and we always strive to exceed expectations. New business conversations shouldn’t be about us as an agency. It’s about our clients.

We don’t want to do all the talking; we want to listen. Listen to the challenges they face, and understand what they want from an agency – at a project level, and from the whole process. 

What’s your one big hope for the future of the industry?

*

LB: I want our industry to get the respect it deserves. We’re not in the business of beautifying things: we’re problem solvers. Graphic design can bring huge value to any business or industry, but we need to nurture its roots to protect the next generation of talent.

Proposed budget cuts within creative arts education – and its increasingly diminished role within the curriculum – risk relegating design, and seriously undervalue its importance. 

Do you have any websites, books or resources that you recommend?

LB: One of the best things I’ve listened to was Natasha Jen’s ‘Design Thinking is Bullshi*t’ talk from the Adobe’s 99U conference. You can find it on YouTube. It really resonates with our values and ways of working here at STB. It’s refreshing to hear such a frank, no-bullshit discussion about so-called ‘design thinking’.

There’s far too much jargon and made-up processes in the design industry. People hide behind strange processes and methodologies, when we should be confident in our experience and knowledge within the field of design.

Comments

More Industry

*

Industry

How-To: Choose the Perfect SMM Manager for Your Business

In today's digital world, where market competition intensifies every minute, social media marketing is a mandatory tool for attracting and retaining customers. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises with limited resources, effective use of...

Posted by: Taker | Maker
*

Industry

How to hire a Game Designer

With the gaming industry among the biggest in the world right now, game designers have never been more highly sought after. Whether you are a major gaming studio creating AAA games or a startup with a revolutionary idea for an indie game, the...

Posted by: Creativepool Editorial
ad: Annual 2024 Now Open For Entries!