Design Business Council: business advice and advocacy for designers.
We – Carol Mackay and Greg Branson co-founded a design studio in 1984. We closed the studio in 2015 to start the Design Business Council – a startup to use our experience, knowledge and current research to help other designers build robust, confident management skills.
We’ve built a management school for design leaders without the dated curriculum. Instead we share practical knowledge, resources and tools via a weekly newsletter, by curated workshops, packaged in toolkits and in face-to-face mentoring. All designed to help designers build business knowledge.
Our onlyness is our knowledge of the Australian design industry. We're not just mentors or coaches – we're practitioners – we've spent our career having skin in the game.
We know what it's like to balance creativity with productivity; client needs with profit, and flexibility with deadlines. We also know what it’s like to know there’s a better way to do something but just not have the time to research and test a hypothesis. That’s where we can help.
We can act as a management board – help steer your business, regardless of the size. We’re the sounding board for solo-operators and a second option for large, mature creative businesses.
We research and test hypothesis on your behalf. If you’re wanting to refocus, rebuild or remodel your business we’re the people to help.
And we share our industry experience as practical mentors and guides.
We’re both had a long a varied career in the Australian design industry and we’re not done yet.
