Member Article

Umlaut sees 53% growth in revenue in 2019

Umlaut, the Manchester-based graphic design and marketing agency, has announced a 53% revenue growth from 2018, making 2019 the agency’s biggest financial year to date since launching in 2014. Umlaut believes that this growth in revenue is down to the businesses values and focus on research-driven design decisions.

Following this success and increased business demands, the agency has recruited Josh Lyon following a partnership with the University of Salford. The agency wanted to recruit graduates directly from the next generation of designers to ensure that young people, like Josh, have a voice in the industry. Umlaut’s first employee, Ellis Hobson, was also a graduate of the University of Salford, showing the agency’s commitment to supporting and nurturing young talent.

Ryan Taylor, Creative Director and Founder of Umlaut said: “2019 was our biggest year to date. Our agency business model of making design decisions based on research, analytics, evidence and proof, has allowed us to attract a roster of clients that trust our findings and recommendations and therefore understand where design can help solve their problems.”

Commenting on Umlaut’s partnership with the University of Salford, Ryan added: “The aim of the partnership is to provide meaningful opportunities to design students, graduates and alumni, in order to prepare them for the transition into work. We believe that these students form an intrinsic part in the future of design. The partnership has provided a huge benefit to our clients as our team is designing with today and the upcoming decades in mind, generating fresh and exciting ideas for our clients.”

In 2019, the agency also continued to support a number of charitable causes including Purple Heart Wishes, which grants wishes to young adults facing terminal illnesses and It’s Our Day, which supports young people with their mental wellbeing. The agency provided branding and marketing to help support both organisations’ aspirations of becoming recognised national charities.

Sue Roughton, founder at Purple Heart Wishes, said: “The team at Umlaut helped us to realise our future self by questioning what our aims, goals and vision of Purple Heart Wishes were. By enabling us to question our vision, this gave them a platform to rebrand the charity and revamp our website, giving us a new, vibrant, more approachable site appealing to more of our target market.”

Theresa Kirk at It’s Our Day, added: “We have been blown away by the service we have received from Ryan and his design team, from the very first workshop, with advice and guidance on branding, to delivery of the product. Umlaut have taken into consideration the input of 15 very vocal people, with differing views, and come up with a product that every single one of us love, and we are confident it will be instrumental in driving our organisational growth.’

In 2020, Umlaut plans to provide increased value for clients through the development of strategic partnerships with key service providers, and to continue to grow and build credentials in the charity sector, by continuing to provide creative, carefully considered solutions to complex needs and requirements.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rebecca Lax .