In 2003, Heidi Lightfoot and Katja Thielen joined forces to co-found Together Design, an award-winning design and branding studio with an emphasis on collaboration and craft. Heidi and Katja realised early on that having a supportive workplace environment, which encourages a deeply collaborative creative process is key to creating outstanding work. The synergetic way the studio functions and overall ethos is aptly reflected in their name: Together. “Over the years, we’ve realised that creating a fulfilling and supportive workplace for ourselves and our collaborators, is often why clients come to us.”
Together Design have established themselves with a reputation for excellence, working primarily, but not exclusively, in the retail, culture, education and publishing sectors. They’re as comfortable helping existing brands to refine their visual identity as guiding start-ups on their initial journey. Their love of retail trends and seeing their finished products in store, has led them to work with an impressive range of well-known brands including, Fortnum & Mason, Boots, French Connection and Hello Kitty Liberty. Alongside design work for their clients, they also create products for online gift store: Perfectly Put Together.
Heidi and Katja note that representation of women in the design industry hasn’t significantly improved since they established their design studio eighteen years ago: “It continues to depress us when we see the numbers haven’t got much better than when we started… and we’ll continue to do everything in our power to help change that.” However, they have seen some positive shifts and remain hopeful that there is more focus on the gender gap than ever before. They both agree there needs to be changes for women at all stages in life; from installing confidence in young girls through to the hiring processes for senior design roles.
We talked with Heidi and Katja to hear more about their experiences as business founders, from setting up a design studio, to pivotal moments and advice for women thinking of founding their own studio.
Can you tell us a bit about your careers before founding Together Design and what led you both to set up your own design studio?
We had worked together for around five years at a previous studio, Trickett & Webb. We then went our separate ways: Katja to another agency, me (Heidi) to work as a freelance designer. After about a year, we had a casual conversation about starting an agency and the more we talked the more we thought it could work. We were excited about working together again and doing our own thing. We had the confidence and experience to give it a go.
How was the experience of initially setting up a design studio and what challenges did you face?
The first two years were a whirlwind. We worked very hard, running the business during the day and doing the design work in the evening. We did everything ourselves so had to be organised and multi-task a lot before we were brave enough to take on other designers. It was an exciting and rewarding time!
From the start we worked with a freelance strategist who kept us focused on business development. We called up lots of friends (and some kind people we hardly knew) who ran agencies and asked them how they made it work. We took wine and pizza and picked their brains. That was hugely important in helping us realise that there isn’t a magic formula, and that everyone feels like they’re winging it to begin with.
You founded Together Design in 2003… how have you evolved as a studio to where you are now and have there been any pivotal moments over the years that stick in your minds?
When we started, we were very focused on the work we produced. We wanted to prove that we were good designers, good partners for our clients and to establish ourselves in the areas of work that we were passionate about. Over the years, we’ve realised that creating a fulfilling and supportive workplace, for ourselves and our collaborators is of equal value, and in fact, is often why clients come to us. The outcome must be excellent, but the process should also be energising and enjoyable for all. That’s very important to us.
“Over the years, we’ve realised that creating a fulfilling and supportive workplace, for ourselves and our collaborators is of equal value, and in fact, is often why clients come to us. The outcome must be excellent, but the process should also be energising and enjoyable for all.”
There have been so many pivotal moments: the projects delivered, people we’ve met, awards won, anniversaries that pass. We’re amazed and grateful for it all.
One important milestone was starting our own shop perfectlyputtogether.co.uk and another was buying and renovating our studio space in Walthamstow that has given us a very special place to call home.
What is the ethos behind Together Design and how is this implemented when approaching a new project?
We’re called Together because that’s how we work, in close collaboration. We encourage collaboration through the things we do internally as a studio: group brainstorms, show and tells, our ‘Together Tuesdays’ (where we learn new crafts together). We also collaborate with our clients through a process of friendly interrogation; they’re with us for the journey. When a client says to us, ‘you feel like part of our team’ then we know we’ve done our job well.
Can you tell us about any favourite projects you’ve worked on and why they’re important to you?
We love retail trends, gifting and shopping. The delight of seeing our designs in store will never fade.
And we enjoy extending the reach of literary brands into retail, like The Gruffalo, Roald Dahl and Agatha Christie. Our passion for products has also led us to create our own gift shop and licensed range.
We’re equally proud of the projects that stretched us such as, the global rebrands of Pearson and Epicor. They were hefty projects where we influenced the entire brand experience, from the product organisation to the narrative and visual identity. And lastly (it’s impossible to have a favourite!) we always enjoy the one offs, such as a book for Philip Pullman or a Royal Mail stamp, where we get to craft every tiny detail.
What type of client projects do you usually work with/specialise in?
We tend to work with cultural organisations, retail brands and in education and publishing. But there’s always exceptions to that, for example, we’ve recently created the branding for a quantum software company! We love the variety of working on stamps for the Royal Mail, to packaging for Charbonnel et Walker or a global rebrand for Pearson, the world’s largest education company. We pride ourselves on our flexibility, but our approach is always the same: thoughtful, rigorous, collaborative and highly creative.
“We pride ourselves on our flexibility, but our approach is always the same: thoughtful, rigorous, collaborative and highly creative.”
Have you faced any specific challenges being women business owners, creative directors, and studio founders?
We’ve experienced some moments of people being surprised and the occasional patronising comment. But any prejudice is quickly dispensed with, so there have been no specific obstacles. If anything, we may have benefitted from being somewhat unusual in the industry. It continues to depress us when we see the numbers haven’t got much better than when we started 18 years ago, and we’ll continue to do everything in our power to help change that.
There has been lots of discussion in the design industry around how few women progress into senior positions—as creative business owners and studio founders—do you have any thoughts on how we can counteract this imbalance?
We have so many thoughts on this! When you look at the stats it’s clear that there’s a gradual drop in women progressing into senior roles, not a cliff edge at senior level. There needs to be a shift at so many points in a woman’s life. Starting with the expectations society sets for young girls to instilling confidence and encouragement in young women to lead, in all manner of different situations. Then in the recruitment process when you get to the hiring stage. By checking in on bias. By offering family-friendly working hours. By increased representation of women who are in senior positions (through brilliant platforms like this one!). Through mentoring and advocacy.
We do see things changing though, and the gender gap has a lot more attention than ever before, which must be good.
“When you look at the stats it’s clear that there’s a gradual drop in women progressing into senior roles, not a cliff edge at senior level. There needs to be a shift at so many points in a woman’s life.”
How do you think we can encourage greater diversity and inclusion across the creative industries?
With many of the same shifts mentioned above and through showing that the creative industries are an exciting and welcoming place for all and that you can have a ‘proper career’ in design. We need to push for change to happen rapidly as the industry is missing out through its lack of diversity.
How have you adapted as a studio during the Covid-19 pandemic?
Our team has worked together for a long time now, which helped keep the lines of communication open when we were all working at home. We adapted quickly to remote working which has been fine, if not ideal as we missed the collective energy of being together. We instigated new meeting points during the week to keep camaraderie up and, like everyone, developed a love hate relationship with Zoom. Now we’re back in the studio we’re doing a mixture of working from home and working from the studio space. We like being together, but the quiet time working from home on a Monday and a Friday gives us a healthy balance.
What are you working on right now?
We’re creating a style guide for a French animation brand and developing product naming principles for a software firm. We’re also working on branding projects for Penguin books, new packaging for Fortnum & Mason and the design of a photography book. Oh, and redesigning our own website (watch this space). Plus, this week we have the entire Together crew in the studio for the first time in ages, so we’re looking forward to a pub lunch!
Finally, do you have any words of advice for women creatives thinking about founding their own design studio?
Do it! We’ve loved every hard slog minute of it. Being your own boss is fantastic, you can create your own culture to ensure that every day you love what you do. We feel very privileged to work with our amazing team and wonderful clients. Don’t think you need to have all the answers before you start. Ask for advice and then keep asking. There’s lots of help and good-will out there waiting for you.
“Being your own boss is fantastic, you can create your own culture to ensure that every day you love what you do.”