We create brands and experiences that cut through the noise, advocate style and above all, endure.
Studio South
South is an independently owned brand consultancy in Auckland New Zealand, working in Strategy, Design, Digital, Communications and Business Ventures. We’re guided by our overall purpose and vision. To create brands and experiences that cut through the noise, advocate style, accelerate growth and above all, endure. We help solve complex business problems using our strategic expertise underpinned by the value of design ethos, stripping away the unnecessary and drawing out the essential.
We are brave in our pursuit to shift organisations into the future, and stay relevant with their audiences, origin and culture. We work with start-ups, SME’s and large enterprise.
Among our clients are some of New Zealand’s most reputable private businesses, in a vast array of markets. We got into design because our principals and ideas can support any venture. Our strategic finger is on the pulse of where the economy and commerce is flourishing, and we unlock potential by identifying key insights into our clients’ needs.
We do this using our unique proposition, an end to end full digital service so we can control the brands equity, and not let it break. Great ideas can be broken by poor execution, our mindset is to have complete control of the product or service brand, so it is best delivered by our design philosophy of instilling design as a core value of the way businesses communicate, to unlock the true potential.
Our values are centred around optimism, detail, passion, healthy culture, energy. The magic happens when relationships are trusted, when imagination can run, and everyone is enjoying themselves. This creates extraordinary and well-crafted outcomes, better by design.
2005
17
Auckland, NZ
Services
Design
Brand Identity Systems
Logos, wordmarks, icons
Graphic Language Systems
Kinetic Identity Systems
Illustration
Iconography
Packaging Design
Packaging Production
Editorial Design
Print Production
Design-led Campaigns
Advertising
Object Crafting & Manufacturing
Environmental & Exhibition design
Digital
Digital Experience Strategy
UX & UI Design
Websites
App Interfaces
Full Stack Development
CMS Systems
Hosting & Maintenance
Social Media Advertising
Paid Ads
Social Media Expression
Web & Digital Design Management
Execute Marketing Campaigns
Digital Billboard Campaigns
SEO
Online Media Liaison
Influencer Management
Google Ad-words
Strategy
Market Intelligence
Consumer Insight
Brand Analysis
Research & Benchmarking
Data Visualisation
Brand Positioning
Brand & Product Architecture
Brand Narrative and Story
Visual Narratives
Naming
Baseline & Taglines
Tone Of Voice
Brand Key Messaging
Brand Activation Strategy
Content Direction & Planning
Social Brand Expression
Artistic Curation for Brands
Brand Hub & Guardianship
Change Management
Content
Art Direction
Photography
Videography
Video Editing
Set Design & Production
Animation
Copywriting
Process
1. Discovery
Purpose and beautiful story telling informs brands. Extraordinary ideas don’t emerge from thin air, seeking to find the unique and weirdly wonderful is what makes them brave and daring. It’s what makes brands and experiences stand out in a crowded world. Creativity follows deep research, analysis, planning, positioning and this leads to a considered strategy. Our theory and tested framework looks to discover the human connection in any brand's product or service. The unique point of view or secret sauce. This allows us to draw out the magic, the essential, the value to its consumers and above all communicate the purpose in a compelling and beautiful way.
2. Brand Strategy
Established businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs have goals and objectives in their business plans. Our senior creatives and strategists work with stakeholders, CEOs, CMOs, CTOs, CFOs and brand managers to craft their brand narrative and crystallise their stories. This enables their brand to create efficiencies, guidance, definition and navigation to the service or product experiences and performance for consumers. Once the strategy is in place, this informs the identity and requirements for the brief.
3. Design Concept
Informed by the brief we engage in a cycle of ideation, iteration, research, testing and refinement to present our clients with smart, tasteful and exceptionally crafted design solutions. Our design concepts explore systems, aesthetics, tonality and materiality, movement and motion. We consider digital and physical environments with the consumers experience at the centre of our thinking. We address all feedback to make any adjustments before progressing to roll out.
4. Implementation
At the completion of all strategic and design development work, we act as a complete production partner in the design and roll-out of content, products, collateral, signage, and any digital and physical executions required to fully realise the project. We also extend our solutions into our digital marketing and communications department who seamlessly care for the brand through guided guardianship.
