A tale of two cities

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After 6 years in Melbourne (5 of which I’ve spent on Greville St, with the good people at Self-titled), my Sydney-born wife and I decided to move back to Copenhagen, Denmark, where I’m originally from. Turns out you CAN have your cake and eat it too, as I also got to keep a position in the studio, heading up new opportunities for Self-titled in Europe.

I’ll greatly miss the faces of my colleagues every day, the ideas being thrown around the room, the handy Figma tip I see over somebody’s shoulder, and the everyday banter. I’ll miss people-watching out our studio window, straight down Macquarie St, where a fashion shoot is taking place one moment and a dancing Lorax the next. Not least I’ll miss the immaculately poured flat whites at Pardon.

But after a few months, settling into the Copenhagen office, here are the key benefits I’ve noticed being a studio in two cities — some expected, some rather unexpected.

Always on

We’re a relatively small studio, which means everyone is to some degree across all the work that comes in and out. An urgent task has come in from the client? No need to stay up all night when a fresh mind and pair of eyes is waking up shortly on the other side of the world, you can pass the baton to and have something ready by the next morning.

Beyond urgent briefs; the ability to pass a task on for review, give your brain a break and wake up to fresh feedback is in general extremely useful.

Incubation time

One of the most challenging aspects about creative work is trying to conjure up fresh ideas on command, within a set eight-hour time block. The subconscious mind needs time to process and incubate, to find novel solutions to complex challenges, and it’s famously difficult to pick when these breakthroughs might occur. Having the studio based on opposite sides of the world adds to a constant cross pollination of ideas.

Informed by two cultures

A massive benefit is the broadening of our collective thinking regarding branding and communications, by simply having two sets of visual stimuli. Following a range of industries closely in both countries, means we can spot what each culture has figured out and just as importantly where the gaps are. This can be design specific or something more niche related to a certain industry. This can often manifest as a direct benefit to our clients, where we might be able to see something across the globe that’s relevant in their field.

Dedicated hours for focused work vs collaboration

The forced constraint of time zones has been an unexpected benefit in defining clear times for collaboration and focused work. Monitoring your inbox and Slack, to make sure you didn’t miss an important message can be an unwelcome distraction. Having dedicated time every day where my team knows I am available and vice versa, means handovers are clear and concise and meetings are concentrated to a relatively brief period of time. Once the Melbournians clock off for the day; I can turn my attention to tasks that need my full attention, without needing to be available for anyone.

What’s next

With a foot in two markets and availability across time zones, we’re excited for what’s next. We’ve built distinctive brands for some of Australia’s most loved attractions and entertainment offers. We’ve navigated Australia’s mature property brand market, and created enduring campaigns that speak to changing audiences. We’ve helped companies with niche and specialist services sell their offer and SaaS companies establish themselves in competitive spaces.

In Norway, we partnered with Sharecat—who were successfully acquired by Star Information Systems last year—and we’re continuing that work for the broader company as they grow. Now we’re very eager to learn where else we can bring value in Europe. If you’re bridging Denmark and Australia, or curious what an Australian perspective might bring to your industry’s challenges, we’d love to talk and understand what you’re facing.