In 2002, when Coolgrey first opened its doorways, the objective was to construct a design studio with its personal in-house print manufacturing, delivering the whole lot from identification to rollout below one roof. The studio was based by pals Justin Cronin and Anthony Cotter, who spent almost twenty years working with native SMEs and watching a lot of these companies develop into nationwide and even world successes.
Whereas they noticed nice success with this strategy, the pandemic prompted a shift. Throughout these years, Coolgrey introduced in artistic director Kieran Rigby and doubled down on model design as the center of its observe.
“Coolgrey was born out of necessity in 2002,” Kieran says. “The tenet stays the identical: at all times ship greater than is predicted.”
An ethos of ambition and positivity
Ambition, drive, and positivity are core values that Coolgrey was constructed on, that Kieran says are nonetheless woven into the day by day lifetime of everybody who works there.
“We as a crew are at all times trying to push our shoppers and ourselves to do one thing new and thrilling, but in addition targeted on growing the corporate as a complete,” he explains. “I would like folks to return to us with the information and understanding that what we produce for them we’ll stand over, assured that we’re placing our greatest foot ahead.”
Because of this all shoppers obtain the identical vitality, making certain that candid, artistic conversations are the spotlight of somebody’s working day, moderately than one other assembly to get by way of. “A sensible man as soon as mentioned, ‘Do not be an arsehole,’ and we stand by that,” says Kieran.
It is a easy however efficient mantra that is a lot welcome in an business that typically takes itself too significantly.
Branding areas, not simply screens
Considered one of Coolgrey’s extra distinctive affords is workspace branding, which does not simply imply placing your emblem on the partitions and at reception. The service includes serving to shoppers form environments that embody their values with out overwhelming the individuals who use them.
“We use the phrase ‘under-branding’ fairly a bit right here,” Kieran says. “Nobody needs to be offered to on a day-to-day foundation, particularly in an organization the place they work.”
For Nordan, a Norwegian doorways and home windows firm, that philosophy meant forsaking the apparent. Kieran explains: “Their main model colors are a robust yellow and purple, however you will see their inside areas use zero yellow or purple, and this was a purposeful choice.
“The tone they wish to set is certainly one of high-end high quality and richness. But it nonetheless must align with the overarching model and identification.”
Native roots with world attain
Coolgrey’s consumer checklist spans Cork establishments comparable to The Everyman Theatre by way of to world giants like Johnson & Johnson. For Kieran, the size issues lower than the connection.
“We take each challenge on a case-by-case foundation and have discovered that persons are folks. All of them have one thing they need assistance with,” he says. “Granted, budgets can dictate what’s lifelike, however there may be at all times a option to work at totally different scales and converse to firms at each stage.”
The truth that the studio has thrived in each native and worldwide contexts is right down to this human-first philosophy. It is clear that Coolgrey is much less targeted on chasing status and extra on displaying up when wanted with the appropriate crew for the job.
Behind the scenes, the studio operates with a cross-disciplinary crew spanning designers, print producers, challenge managers, illustrators, and movement specialists.
“It implies that we don’t worry a problem, and since the outputs are crafted and finessed, it permits us to assume creatively whereas understanding we are able to bodily make it occur,” says Kieran. “Creativity achieved in anxiousness reveals. Similar to cooking a meal in a panic, folks discover.”
This nimble and various crew construction actually reveals within the studio’s portfolio, which incorporates tasks like wrapping a whole constructing in vinyl for The Brasserie, designing showroom interiors, and creating long-term model identities.
Cork Rocks for Rory
When requested about standout tasks, Kieran factors to Cork Rocks for Rory, a celebration of legendary guitarist Rory Gallagher.
“In Cork, Rory Gallagher represents not simply music however a whole technology of individuals, and to be trusted with shaping the identification of a worldwide icon was an actual honour,” he recollects.
The visible identification unfold throughout occasion graphics, posters, video and animation, exhibitions, and even a city-wide strolling tour known as Stompin’ Floor. The affect was seen immediately, with followers travelling from all over the world to participate and locals embracing it as a bit of cultural historical past.
“The challenge not solely celebrated Rory Gallagher’s legacy but in addition established a model that may proceed to develop 12 months after 12 months, honouring Cork’s heritage on a worldwide scale,” Kieran says.
Polish and print
An intentional mixture of high-end refinement and approachable tone is clear all through Coolgrey’s portfolio, which Kieran says is a enterprise tactic as a lot as a artistic showcase.
“You wish to do your finest work and present the perfect of the whole lot you do, however which means you possibly can scare off potential shoppers who really feel you might be out of their price range,” Kieran says. “We actually wish to work on a spread of various areas and scales, primarily as a result of it retains us sharp and in tune with design.”
The studio actively resists the temptation to chase solely big-ticket tasks. “No artistic I’ve met needs to get caught in a monotonous challenge for ever and ever,” Kieran provides.
For a studio with roots in print, Coolgrey continues to champion the worth of bodily collateral.
Kieran explains: “We keep it by displaying it. We discuss to folks about its worth, that whereas digital entry and experiences have their place and are important for a lot of at this time’s world, you can not expertise a bodily artefact in the identical method.”
He believes that this advantages the employees as a lot because the shoppers, because it means the outcomes of their work are at all times on a display screen.
Lengthy-term partnerships
A lot of Coolgrey’s shoppers have stayed with the studio for years, even a long time. Kieran thinks that this comes right down to a mixture of belief, openness, and mutual curiosity.
“We’ve got constructed enterprise companions, collaborators, friendships, and shoppers by way of how we converse, act, and ship,” he says. “What retains issues creatively thrilling is understanding that they’ll allow us to throw something on the wall and problem the way in which all of us assume.”
When shoppers convey their very own ardour to the desk, it makes it attainable to experiment and construct a greater artistic partnership.
Wanting forward
Requested concerning the future, Kieran laughs: “An enormous query, however I will give it a go!”
He factors to the studio’s evolution over the previous 5 years, from redefining its persona to shifting the stability of its work. “I see Coolgrey rising not essentially in scale, however in high quality and demand. Preserving small permits us to pivot and adapt to an ever-changing design panorama.”
Whereas rising applied sciences are at all times on the radar, Coolgrey is not in a rush to leap into the most recent shiny factor. “The tech panorama is so broad in the mean time that it’s troublesome to justify investing considerably in a single particular space, however working with specialists in these fields is probably going how we’ll strategy it,” Kieran says.
For all its world attain, Coolgrey stays proudly rooted in Cork. Its story is as a lot concerning the metropolis’s cultural life as it’s about model technique or print craft. What’s clear is that the studio has turn out to be a part of the native artistic cloth, shaping occasions, areas, and identities that ripple far past the county line.
