Insiders Guide to Web Design

Business Retreats recently had the pleasure of speaking to Richie Meldrum, the Creative Director at Yoke to get some insider info on Yoke and why they are leading the events industry. Located in Melbourne, Yoke is the leader when it comes to web and graphic design, branding and all things creative. Read the full article to find out how they can enhance your conference or event and why branding is the key to any business's success.

 1.     What is Yoke?
Yoke is a creative agency based in Collingwood, Melbourne. We work across brand, design, digital and media.


 2.     How long have you been in the design business?
Yoke was founded eight years ago. It started as a traditional design studio, but today, with a team of over 20, it operates much more as a creative agency having brought new digital, branding and marketing services into the service offering.


 3.     How important is branding when it comes to a business?
Very important. Your brand isn’t just a logo or a tagline; it’s the sum of the perceptions that are held about a business, product or service. Being able to influence and guide these perceptions through the branding that you do is incredibly powerful. Whether for a business, a sports star, an organisation or a country – the perception that is held about you is intrinsic to you achieving your goals.


 4.     What inspires you to come up with ideas/concepts?
A whole range of things. Obviously the work of others in the creative industries is a big influence – film, TV, art, architecture, music, literature, plays, performance. However, often you can find an idea in something completely different, such as history, nature, science or technology.


 5.     How do you usually get started with a client? And how closely do you work with them?
Usually it starts with a meeting to introduce the studio and to take a brief on what the client is looking to have done. How closely we work with them really depends on what the project is, but the best results come about when both the agency and the client work together.


 6.     Are you able to do designs for events such as conferencing?
Yes, we’ve done work for events and conferences in the past. Usually these projects include some branding, printed collateral including conference programs and event signage as well as digital work.


 7.     If so, have you ever made an app for a conference or event?
We’ve not developed an app yet, but we have done event and conference websites. All the sites we build are fully responsive so that they can be used on mobile devices by delegates and attendees to find out program timetables, speaker profiles and event information.


 8.     How long does it usually take to design/create a brand for a client?
It really depends on the size and requirements of the job. Some jobs will have a large strategy component involving research, stakeholder interviews, workshopping, etc., so this can last anywhere between a couple of weeks to a few months. The creation of the brand concept itself doesn’t take that long in practice – two to four weeks on average. The rollout of the brand, when it’s actually applied to the various pieces of communications and marketing material can again, depend a lot on what’s required. Some brands we have completed in four weeks, others have lasted, from start to finish, more than a year.


 9.     Once a design has been created, is it the property of the client to use as they wish following the initial event etc.?
The final design we produce is the property of the client, yes. However, certain working elements usually remain the property of the agency.


 10.  Do you work with any clients on a continuous basis?
Yes, we work with lots of clients on an ongoing basis. Some of them we’ve worked with since Yoke began. It’s always best to build up ongoing relationships as you can get used to the way each other work and help someone grow their business over the years.