Visiting Professional - Only Studio

Matt & Greg from Only Studio talk about their practice, design process and the misconceptions surrounding design for screen. 

Only is an award-winning strategy and design consultancy helping brands and organisations to innovate and grow via design. By forming close partnership with brands, the studio identify new ways  for their clients to connect with people. Their approach to design takes inspiration from real people and the way in which they interact with design, with an ultimate goal of the clarification of purpose and meaning.

'By better understanding who we are designing for, we create experiences of real value.' - Only.

The studio have clients in a range of sectors, including education, entertainment, luxury and also non-profit.

What is designing for screen?

The misconceptions:

• 'You need to be able to code.'
• 'Its not proper design.'
• 'It's boring.' 

Despite the common misconceptions regarding design for screen, as a practice designing for screen provides the first point of contact for the primary way of consuming brands and visual identity most typically. Designing for this platform allows for experiential and interactive resolutions to be provided to problems which require such a practice.

The need for such design is here to stay due to the ever-developing sector of technology and the demands that will be created as a result. Due to the nature of the sector, the environment is fast paced, exciting and provides endless opportunity.


The Design Process 

As a studio, Only see it that a thorough design process is essential to creating successful work. The process they undertake consists of the following:

• Phase 01: Research.
• Phase 02: Wire-framing.
• Phase 03: Design.
• Phase 04: Front End.

In addition to the above phases, the studio also describe the creation of an 'archetypal person' - an imagined identity or muse who embodies and represents the target they are trying to capture/reach. They believe target research is key to creating the best resolutions.

When designing for screen, Only consider and realise their design intensions across 4 screen sizes as to provide and ensure the target are not met with an inferior experience; The designs are produced to be at their optimum for each device. By considering how designs will work at both small and large scales, using devices as reference points, the assets can be tested for performance and accessibility.

Finally, Only detail that awareness of space is of vital importance when designing as to provide distinguished content in which elements can be identified as singular or grouped. This includes typography, for which legible line length is a key consideration - as well as communicating clearly in general. 

Clients of Only include Goldsmiths University, University of Suffolk, Lost Village festival, Bring me the Horizon (band), Bima (British Interactive Media Association) and Helbers - the new menswear label set up by previous head menswear designer at Louis Vuitton, Paul Helbers. 

The information and knowledge shared by Only will undoubtedly inform my developing practice through progression of my knowledge within the overarching field of design and therefore allowing me to start forming a more rounded view of the industry as a whole. While design for screen is not the sector in which I wish to specialise, the advice they have given regarding the importance of target audience research as just a part of a whole thorough design process can be applied to designing for any medium/format. The work the studio have carried out for Paul Helbers' brand sticks out to me, and therefore I plan to look in to this case study further.