When did Persona Tile first come into being?
The company was originally Tile Creative and Persona Studio. Tom & I worked collaboratively as separate entities for 3 or so years before forming Persona Tile around 4 years ago
What was your drive to set up a creative design company and how did you come to be in your profession in the first place?
The drive comes from the ability to make a living doing what we love; creative problem solving. Both Tom & I trained in Graphic Design at university. I actually set up Tile Creative as a university project and after 9 years working for other agencies, I picked it back up and formed the studio.
Have you set up other businesses in the past?
Yes, we both have extra projects that became companies in their own right – I started ManchestersFinest.com and FinestMedia.co.uk while Tom formed Boomerang, a HR development software company. All are still trading and going from strength to strength.
Where is the company now? Do you have a vision for where the company is going?
We are actually in the process of a strategic brand refresh and positioning – something we usually do for clients. We’re also hiring more senior staff to help drive the studio forward. The company is in a good place, and we’ve recently won a few international client contracts which furthers our reach and field our ambition. That said we aren’t looking to expand as such, we’re looking to the future in the context of larger and longer client relationships.
What sort of brands and companies do you work with?
A wide variety from Tech Companies to Sports Brands, Arts Venues and Charitable Organisations.
What do you love most about your work?
Generally, it’s the moment the penny drops. By which I mean the creative and strategy comes to life. From a digital project perspective it’s the moment a site goes live and a client can proudly engage their audience.
Biggest achievement to date?
I’d say the reality of this question is that we survived the pandemic with all our staff still in play and that was huge for us. Second to that I’d say more generally that we’ve achieved a stable and long-term business with good values and a strong team. We can’t ask for more really!
Do you have any philanthropic causes that you support?
As a studio we offer circa £15k of work to a nominated charity each year, we also work with arts & charitable enterprises on a heavily reduced rate. It’s not huge, but we do what we can relative to our size.
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