Member Article

Black Country schools among post-Covid clients enlisting creative agency to brighten up interiors

A leading Black Country creative agency has seen a surge in demand for eye-catching interior space designs as buildings are brought back to life following the Covid pandemic.

Design and marketing agency Think Creative Studio, based in Stuart Works, Stourbridge, has received a rise in commissions from site owners and facilities managers to decorate corridors and communal spaces as part of the return to normality following successive lockdowns.

With interest in reviving workplaces and public buildings riding high, Think Creative Studio are rolling out their designs, which they call Creative Corridors, across West Midlands sites.

Established in 1994 by owner Simon Grigg, Think Creative Studio is billed as “a dynamic team of creatives and strategists with a genuine passion for great design and superb customer service”. The company’s services encompass all aspects of the marketing mix from brand identity, to point of sale, packaging, exhibitions, print and digital media.

Think Creative Studio have undertaken major place-making projects, fitting large-format graphics in factories, schools, colleges and offices across the UK which helped clients reorganise their environments in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Among the clients to place recent commissions has been the six-school Invictus Education Trust, based in Kinver. Martin Lopez, Director of Communications, Media and Marketing, said the agency had delivered “creative corridors” which exceeded the brief set.

“Think Creative Studio have provided us with designs which motivate and inspire, while providing educational content for our students,” he said. “At Crestwood School in Kingswinford there is content from them in every corridor, incorporating educational information and images of the successes of our own students.

“All six of our schools have had their reception areas and main corridors redecorated by Think Creative Studio to achieve our goals. Putting students in the spotlight with their images going alongside inspiring messages and motivational content is a strong statement we wanted to see delivered.

“I enjoy working with Think Creative Studio because once the theme has been agreed they are able to deliver work with a perfect eye, creating content which engages with our audiences. We trust their judgement and value our partnership, so I cannot imagine any other agency being able to realise our briefs so well.”

Another client to commission the corridor work from Think Creative Studio was Summerhill School, in Lodge Lane, Kingswinford. Assistant Headteacher Daniel Bull said: “In developing our knowledge-rich curriculum and ensuring that students have the best learning experience possible we wanted to transform our corridors and create exciting, vibrant and outstanding learning environments to support the incredible learning that happens in the classrooms.

“I contacted Think Creative Studios and simply asked: ‘Can you help transform our spaces from the boring breeze blocks that we currently have to an environment that inspires anyone who enters?’

“We have completed phase one which has transformed approximately 150 square metres of corridor space and are now rapidly moving into subsequent phases to transform every single subject area in the school with different ideas, themes, content and inspiration that is relevant to each.

“As a former pupil of Summerhill School, Simon Grigg had a deep passion and understanding for the local area and the school’s context. I cannot recommend them enough. The team are the most truly dedicated, passionate and friendly company that I have had the pleasure to work with as a school. They are ambitious and creative in their ideas and concepts and truly put the client at the centre of what they do.”

Other agency clients to have commissioned previous place-making projects have included leading bagel manufacturer New York Bakery Co, pharmaceutical giants Beiersdorf and Dudley-based steel rope and rigging specialist Denwire.

Think Creative Studio delivered the school projects while adapting to the pressures on business posed by COVID-19. The team changed their own working practices during the lockdowns and introduced social distancing measures.

Director of operations Fran Grigg said: “Now people are returning after social distancing, we are receiving high levels of interest from offices, schools and businesses who want to transform spaces which can sometimes seem dull into more engaging experiences.

“With facilities having stood empty or receiving low levels of usage, many operators and owners are looking at refreshing the appearance as we start to see life heading back to normal. The feedback from clients has been that place-making projects can be cost-effective and generate positive responses from people using the building.

“Clients want visitors and building users to feel welcome, so if there are opportunities to share positive messaging or content to improve mental health and well-being, we are pleased to help them make a positive impact.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Leggett .