Third Floor Design
Third Floor Design are coming up to their third year of trading and already have a list of national companies on board from household names such as Alpine Stereos and the cookware retail company ProCook. GMG’s Anna Krenkova caught up with Third Floor’s Creative Director, James Cowdale.
James, tell us what Third Floor is all about?
We’re a small, responsive team of creatives working in all aspects of graphic design. Our core business is working with small to medium size companies who require the complete creative package. We work alongside start up businesses looking to create a brand through to establish companies who require a new look or fresh approach to their marketing.
From branding and communications to packaging and digital, what unites what we do, is a desire to get it right. Whether that’s breathing new life into a tired brand, launching a new product or creating an exciting new identity the team here are truly passionate about what they do.
Where did it all begin?
We started in 2006 from the Third Floor of a client’s salon with a handful of loyal customers from my previous company. I wanted to create an agency that offered cutting edge design along with great customer service without the “London” price tag. To do this I have built a small team of creatives that can work on every level of design from logo creation, brochures and marketing material through to website development. This way, every member of the team can work on any project at any one time. This allows me to keep costs to a minimum and allows the team to bounce ideas off each other and most importantly the client.
We moved out of the salon within a year of launching the company and headed out of town to a business centre based in Higham. The picturesque surroundings and on site facilities have given the team and clients a relaxed and motivational atmosphere to work in. 
In year 2, due to the growth of the company we moved to a larger studio on the same site. This has allowed me to employ a larger volume of designers and has given us space to offer more facilities such as large format poster printing and a small photography studio. For me it’s about adding value to the services we offer our customers. The studio has been a great investment and many of our customers now use us for all of their photography requirements.
So, it’s nearly 3 years on, you’re now an established agency, has it all been worth it?
Yes, of course, I can genuinely say I enjoy coming to work every morning! Like many small businesses, we’ve seen our fare share of ups and downs… especially in the current climate but it’s been worth it. At the tale end of last year, I really wasn’t sure what 2009 held for Third Floor. With reports of over 50 small businesses going out of business every week you begin to wonder if you’ll be next. However, for us, it’s moved in completely the other direction.! 
We have seen a huge growth in new clients due to many of them looking to save costs on their creative work. Other clients decided it was time to launch their own company and have come to us for the complete corporate identity package. At the early part of this year we competed against 5 other agencies from around the area to win the Stroud College contract for 2009/10. We were approached by the marketing team at the college and asked to produce a new design for an upcoming open evening. This piece of work was presented to the college along with the other agencies designs and we won the contract. Since then we have worked alongside the marketing department and students to re-brand the college. This has been a fantastic project to work on and we are a few weeks away from the launch, which is really exciting.
Ben Allen, marketing manager from the college has been great to work with, he made following comments:
“Third Floor has provided first class support to Stroud College through a wide range of activities from producing printed prospectuses against tough deadlines, redesigning our website through to rebranding our organisation. The quality of the output compares very favorably with full service London based agencies but the costs do not – they are very sensible and competitive. I would not hesitate to recommend Third Floor to any organisation that wishes to transform their Marketing activity, except perhaps any of my direct competition!”
What does the future hold for you and the team at Third Floor?
I would like to see Third Floor continue on the path it’s on. Everyone here cares about how the company grows, the reputation we build and the work we produce. Over the last 12 months I’ve realised you can’t rely on one client to grow your business. If you lose that contract, you’re left high and dry. The business model of Third Floor is to produce innovative designs for a large client base and therefore spreading the risk. I hope to build our reputation as being a strong creative agency and working with companies who share the same drive and passion as we do. I would like to venture into new areas of design including more online work as well discovering more eco friendly ways to print.
