Paul Leadbetter – Corporate Culture

Paul Leadbetter (NSW Sales Manager) has been with Corporate Culture for five years, spending twelve months managing their Melbourne branch. Prior to this, Paul was with Contemporary Leathers who specialise in Danish products. This was a slight departure from his London based education in music, though he always knew his future lay in a creative environment.

While Corporate Culture focus heavily on classic Scandinavian designs from the likes of Fritz Hansen, the Australian designer Ross Didier is also represented.

Corporate Culture actively encourage emerging designers with initiatives such as their Design Journey in collaboration with Scandinavian Airlines System. Paul made it clear that there are opportunities for new designers, but a worthwhile design alone could not assure success. To demystify the process, he ran through it from his perspective.

Once a design has been developed, a prototype is usually the best way to communicate the form to a prospective promoter. Design houses will not necessarily expect a flawless prototype – the time may be better spent at the design stage. There’s still more to do before presentation should be considered.

The designer should have all the manufacturing details in hand as design houses rarely have a construction facility. This should encompass materials, costs, lead times, alternative manufacturers etc. It’s worth considering at this stage if your design can be manufactured efficiently but is still ‘different’ enough to discourage unauthorised imitations.

The last key factor is a question of presenting the design to the right people. Paul recalled that they have occasionally been shown designs which, while worthy in their own right, were not appropriate for the Corporate Culture clientele. If you were applying for a job, you’d research the prospective employer; looking for a ‘position’ for your design, it’s essential to do the same thing.

You’ve got the right design, you have production under control and have located the most suitable design house. Getting this far is an achievement and you can make your approach but be aware that this design may not be ‘the one’. It may take years of work, countless concepts and tens or hundreds of declined proposals before you get to the stage where a design house see enough potential to help you the rest of the way.

It may sound hopelessly off-putting, but bear in mind the calibre of the company you hope to keep.