Creative Spaces - Material Brand & Design Agency.

Creative Spaces – Material Brand & Design Agency.

Creative Spaces is a new series exploring New Zealand creative and design workplaces, giving you a sneak peak into the space and behind-the-scenes.
This series is proudly brought to you by Atomic Coffee – Fuelling creativity.

In the first of this series we went into the Material studio and had a chat with Nick Riley. Nick is Creative Director and co-founder of Material.
Material is an Auckland-based strategic branding and design agency. They pride themselves on using clear, practical thinking to craft intelligent design ideas that grow brands.
Do you have daily rituals?
My day always starts with a really strong coffee. After that we usually catch up as a team and chat about what’s on for the day and review any work in progress. We aim to keep communication as open as possible each morning.
What’s your favorite thing about your space?
The location. We love being in the CBD – it’s central for all our clients and we also have a bar downstairs (The Glass Goose) which doubles as our second meeting room!
Do you have an artifact you keep in the studio that has special meaning to you?
My print of American Dream #2. It’s a great piece by one of my favourite graphic artists Daniel Freytag. Simple, modernist, typographic.
Walk us through your creative or design process.
Our creative process is very much a team effort that’s always grounded in a sound strategy. Our first step is to seek to understand as much as possible about our client and the project. This helps us frame up the key question or problem which is the starting point for everything. We then collaborate closely with our clients to find a creative strategy that answers this need and solves the problem.
What do you do or where do you go when you get stuck?
I’ve got two key things I do when I feel like I’m getting stuck:
1. Get outside of the studio environment. It might be just going for a walk down the road or some solid exercise. A simple change of surrounding snaps you out of your current situation and mindset.
2. Talking. I’ll talk with my team, my wife, my friends. Anyone who can give you a different perspective which might spark a new idea or direction. Communicating is everything!