Creative State – Web Design and Graphic Design Edinburgh Leeds UK

After five years working in branding, marketing and website design for Scottish Life and the Royal London group, Sarah Robertson realised that her plan of going to Uni was obsolete. Sufficiently versed in design, marketing and e-business, last June she decided instead to fulfil her entrepreneurial ambitions and started her own company – Creative State. Now she’s providing new business start-ups with full brand, design and online makeovers. Malcolm Jack finds out how Sarah got an eye for the new guy.

It’s a family affair

“It made sense to start my own business, something I had planned to do from a young age,” says Sarah. As much as she was enjoying her job, with further full time education ruled out, it already seemed time enough to strike out on her own. It was in her blood after all:

“Business is in my family,” she says. “Not creative services – my brother runs a finance company, and my dad was a hotelier – so different lines of work, but similar in terms of ambition. With my experience, and the help that’s available to young people in business, it seemed like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Design crimes

It was while hunting around for a little inspiration from other fledgling businesses that Sarah stumbled across what would be her main target market. “I’d had a look around at various businesses that had started up – at how they were marketing themselves,” she says. “It occurred to me that there was a lack of good design out there. After speaking to some people who had spent hundreds and thousands of pounds on things that they didn’t really need at such an early stage I thought, ‘this is a really good market to get into.”

Start me up

Sarah saw the perfect way to capitalise on this gap she had spotted by offering a complete starter package: “I not only do graphic design, developing a logo or brand identity, but I do web design as well. The design is then carried across a variety of different mediums, ensuring consistency. That’s what young businesses need, and there’s a lack of out there. They’re going to various different people for a range of different services, whereas here you can come toCreative State and benefit from the full range.

“I think having a professional looking website is a huge thing for a business in this day and age. More and more people are using the internet, and generally speaking, if a company has got a professional looking website then it’s perceived to be professional. If their image is consistent across everything else – their print design and their stationary – it’s seen that they care about their image.”

Go with what you know

Sarah initially set about establishing her first business relationships by falling back on the things she new best. “I started off with three clients,” she says. “I had an interest in property and I’d worked in financial services, so the people I initially targeted – from a revenue perspective – were using me for my other areas of expertise. From there, the confidence and kudos she gained allowed her to try new approaches. “Since then things have really snowballed,” she says. “From referrals and networking, my client base is now around 30 people. I regularly go to networking events, which has been good for meeting people. It doesn’t always generate direct business, but certainly going out and doing the whole face-to-face thing has got me more established.

It’s not the size that matters

With her own brand, site and identity getting a makeover for a new launch on its first birthday in June, does Sarah have any plans of trying to net bigger clients anytime soon? “I do want to,” she replies, “but it’s certainly not in my plan for the foreseeable, because – for one thing – I enjoy working with the smaller businesses. I get so much satisfaction out of creating something for someone like me, and seeing them be happy with their new brand identity or website. It’s almost like starting lots of businesses over and over again. That’s enough satisfaction for the moment.”

® 2006 Channel 4 Television Corporation

Tags: Channel 4 Ideas Factory, Creative State, Sarah Jane Robertson

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