[a] design agency
[a] trading name for Stewart Ainslie + Associates.
Art direction • Branding • Consulting • Design
[a] consultant
[a] company of one
[a] creative agent
[a] facilitator
[a] mobile studio
[a] flexible team
[a] default name
[a] director
[a] communicator
[a] self facilitating media-node (IYKYK)
[a] teams
[a] to [z] and back again
[a] brand agent
[a] creative partner
[a] real human
[a] consultant [a] company of one [a] creative agent [a] facilitator [a] mobile studio [a] flexible team [a] default name [a] director [a] communicator [a] self facilitating media-node (IYKYK) [a] teams [a] to [z] and back again [a] brand agent [a] creative partner [a] real human
Brand facilitators.
[a] provides: planning, creative consultancy and delivery for design led projects.
Creative consultants who deliver.
We’re flexible, scalable and are masters of every* trade. A bold claim, we know.
*every brand-design trade
[a] bold claim?
Every project deserves an [a] team.
We collaborate with the best independent talent out there. Including individuals, agencies and hand picked freelance teams.
We build teams of associates around your requirements as opposed to selling you outputs based on the strength of a core staff.
-
[a] "business that represents one group of people when dealing with another group:
an advertising/employment/estate/travel agency"
[src: dictionary.cambridge.org] -
Unlike an agent, we don't just connect you with a freelancer. Unlike an agency, you'll always work with Stew on every stage of your brief through to delivery.
[a] is one agent, Stewart Ainslie, and the creative folks he works with. We'll talk about 'I vs we' elsewhere.
As a company of one, ‘an agent and affiliates’ might be more accurate than an ‘agency’. Neither term quite sits right.
Note: a-design-agent-and-affiliates.com
wasn’t an available web extension in 2015.
Stew likes to think…
Though he publishes blog posts at a glacial pace. Proceed at your peril.
+ creative types
+ design thinkers
+ consultants
+ facilitators
+ cliché lovers
+ branding
+ artworkers
+ creative types + design thinkers + consultants + facilitators + cliché lovers + branding + artworkers
Keeping good company
We work with best-in-class creatives who are selected specifically for their individual expertise. They tend to be independent or freelance collaborators.
We call them associates because:
[a] it starts with an a
[b] the word partners isn’t accurate
[c] they are not employees!
Just like everyone else, we work with clients.
And this wouldn’t be an agency website without a handful of their logos—right?
They’re not ‘our’ clients or ‘partners’. We believe in collaboration not exclusivity. Obviously, we’re proud of the work we’ve delivered for them!
Don’t see what you’re looking for?
We couldn’t list everything we do and we are forever trying new things in different ways.
Ask us here—
How we operate
The process we take you on is easy to remember. It’s as simple as
[a] [b] [c]… [d] and [z].
-
It is often easier to identify an opportunity than it is to leverage it. We almost always begin work with a consultancy phase.
-
Challenge understood, we’ll write a brief and assign budget. This is a work in process. Things (almost) always change before they are output.
-
We build a team tailored to your creative brief.
-
Our design process doesn’t stop at consultancy and recommendations. We project manage and creatively direct from start to finish.
-
Take a break, then loop back to [a].
Our Why
[a] exists because creativity is good for people and good for business.
We believe that the best relationships value independence and freedom.
Marketing and design is often seen as a necessary evil by organisations. Individuals within the creative industries all have their horror stories.
We believe that the creative process requires both passion and patience.
This thought is shared by a roster of independent creative and strategic folks.
The work we create benefits from the results of freedom of thought and freedom of choice.
What we do
[a] provide: planning, creative consultancy and delivery for branding projects.
Ask us
about that—
Alphabetically ordered list of keywords*:
animation/ annual report/ audit/ brand development/ campaign/ catalogue/ design brief/ exhibition/ graphic style/ identity guide/ identity system/ interpretation/ lookbook/ logo/ marketing strategy/ photo shoot/ pitch deck/ presentation/ signage/ social graphic/ stationery set/ video/ verbal brand/ visual brand/ web guide/ website
*sorry, ‘competencies’. It can be difficult to write for humans, search bots and algorithms…
Introducing—
STEWART AINSLIE
Stew is [a] brand consultant.
Stew’s career started in 2007 working in print design. He earned his stripes in a Scottish design studio.
Since 2015 he has traded as [a] design agency.