Five Minutes with…. Greg Branson
Members of Design Assembly make up a network of creatives working together to build a thriving design scene in Aotearoa New Zealand. Our ‘Five Minutes’ series profiles the breadth and depth of design practice in our network.
Today we speak with Greg Branson from Design Business Council whoes career has spanned over more than four decades across design practice, business leadership, education and mentoring.
Tell us about your career background:
My career has spanned more than four decades across design practice, business leadership, education and mentoring. I began as a designer and co-founded Mackay Branson Design in 1984, building it into a successful strategic design agency over 24 years.
Throughout my agency career I became increasingly interested in a question that many studio owners struggle with: why are brilliant designers often not rewarded with successful businesses?
That led me to establish the Design Business Council in 2008. Since then, I have worked with hundreds of design agency owners across Australia and internationally, helping them improve profitability, develop stronger business systems and build more sustainable creative practices.
I have also served as President of AGDA Victoria and on the national board of AGDA, and continue to lecture, write and develop resources for the design industry.
Tell us about the studio you work in:
The Design Business Council is less a traditional design studio and more a specialist business advisory for designers.
We provide business mentoring, benchmarking research, financial tools, workshops and strategic advice specifically developed for creative agencies.
Our work focuses on the areas that many designers never formally learn: pricing, profitability, positioning, leadership, business development and creating efficient systems.
What I enjoy most is helping talented creative people recognise their value. Designers have enormous potential to influence business and society, but too often they undervalue themselves. Seeing a studio transform from surviving to thriving is incredibly rewarding.
What does your design process and philosophy look like?
I believe great design sits at the intersection of creativity, strategy and commercial impact.
Whether we are helping a studio refine its positioning or a designer understand pricing, we always begin with a fundamental question: what problem are we solving and what value are we creating?
Good design should never be judged only by aesthetics. The strongest creative work creates clarity, changes behaviour, builds emotional connection and delivers measurable outcomes.
My philosophy is that designers must become as confident discussing business outcomes as they are discussing typography, colour and craft.
What does a typical day in your studio look like?
No two days are the same. A typical day might involve mentoring a design agency owner in the morning, analysing financial benchmarks, developing new tools or courses, writing articles for the industry or presenting workshops.
I spend a lot of time researching the future of design businesses — how AI, changing client expectations and new business models are reshaping our industry.
There is also a significant amount of listening. The best insights often come from conversations with studio owners about the challenges they face every day.
What’s one thing that you would like all of your clients to know?
Being a great designer is only half of the challenge. Building a sustainable creative business requires the same level of thinking, discipline and strategy that we bring to our client work.
Too many agencies price according to time and effort rather than the value they create.
The agencies that thrive understand their difference, communicate their impact and have the confidence to charge appropriately.
What are your favourite tools in the studio?
The most important tools I use are not software, but frameworks.
Financial benchmarks, pricing models, strategic planning tools and agency health diagnostics allow creative businesses to make better decisions.
I also use AI extensively for research, analysis and idea generation. AI will not replace strategic and creative thinking, but it is becoming a powerful partner that allows designers to work faster and explore ideas more deeply.
What are your favourite types of projects to work on?
I enjoy projects where a design business is at a turning point.
This may be a founder who has built a talented team but struggles with profitability, an agency trying to reposition itself, or a studio navigating growth.
Those moments are exciting because small changes in strategy, pricing or systems can completely transform the future of the business.
What project are you most proud of?
The development of the Design Costing Pricing Profit Toolkit has been one of my most significant achievements.
It distils decades of experience working with design agencies into practical tools that help studios understand their true costs, price with confidence and build sustainable profitability.
More broadly, I am proud of helping shift the conversation within the design industry from simply creating great work to building great design businesses.
Do you have any advice about our industry for emerging designers or career changers?
Master your craft, but do not stop there. The designers who will have the greatest influence in the future will understand strategy, psychology, technology and business. Learn how your clients make money. Learn how to communicate value. Learn how to ask better questions.
The ability to think beyond the brief will always separate great designers from those who simply execute.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
My inspiration comes from the intersection of design, business, psychology and culture.
I am fascinated by why people make decisions, how organisations change and how creativity can create both cultural and commercial value.
I also draw inspiration from photography, which has been a lifelong practice and a reminder that observation and curiosity are at the heart of all creative work.
What hobbies or interested do you have outside of work?
Photography has been a lifelong passion. I work primarily with analogue film and traditional silver gelatin printing, and my recent exhibition Manifesto: A photographic exploration of Melbourne explored the city through the philosophies of major photographers from the twentieth century.
Photography provides a balance to my business work. It is a slower process that values patience, observation and craftsmanship.
Where can people connect with you?
Website: www.designbusinesscouncil.com
Photography: www.gregbranson.net.au
LinkedIn: Greg Branson
Curious about Greg’s approach to building a stronger design business?
Join us for Join The Dots: Trans Tasman Edition on 30 June, 12 – 1pm NZT, where Greg will be part of a live conversation, along side Carol Mackay and Liz Archer-Fisher, exploring design, business, leadership, and what we can learn from our creative neighbours across the Tasman.
Free for Design Club members.
Need your member access code? Email info@designassembly.org.nz
Save your spot:
https://events.humanitix.com/design-assembly-join-the-dots-june-2026
