OUGD502 / STUDY TASK 01 / BUSINESS MODELS

To begin, researching business types is essential in order to be knowledgable about the different directions we can take the task. We need to decide on what type of business our group will be creating and see the strengths and weaknesses of each to weigh up what will be the most appropriate and suitable.

limited company

noun

a private company whose owners are legally responsible for its debts only to the extent of the amount of capital they invested.

A limited company is an organisation that you can set up to run your business - it’s responsible in its own right for everything it does and its finances are separate to your personal finances. Any profit it makes is owned by the company, after it pays Corporation Tax. The company can then share it's profits. Every limited company has ‘members’ - the people or organisations who own shares in the company. Directors are responsible for running the company. Directors often own shares, but they don’t have to.

Types of company

Limited by shares

Most limited companies are ‘limited by shares’. This means that the shareholders’ responsibilities for the company’s financial liabilities are limited to the value of shares that they own but haven’t paid for. Company directors aren’t personally responsible for debts the business can’t pay if it goes wrong, as long as they haven’t broken the law.

Private company limited by guarantee

Directors or shareholders financially back the organisation up to a specific amount if things go wrong.

Public limited company

The company’s shares are traded publicly on a market, such as the London Stock Exchange.

OUGD502 / STUDY TASK 01 / CONTRACT

Signing a partnership agreement is an important part of this brief. We agreed that 25% each is a fair amount to own each as there are 4 of us and we are all equally doing shares of the work. 

Signing a contract makes the process seem realistic and legitimate, preparing us for the prospect of this taking place in later life in design industry. 

OUGD502 / STUDY TASK 01 / TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS / BRIEF

BRIEF

Working in groups of up to four you will construct a business plan or business proposal for a creative design studio and present it to your peers and tutors in a feedbacked oral presentation.

Your plan/proposal and presentation should be based on the analysis and content that you have been introduced to throughout the module.

Background / Considerations:

Two/three/four heads are better than one as long as they communicate. You will now have the luxury of four pairs of hands. How will you use them effectively? You will need to consider the following:

What skills and services do you have to offer?

Who is your target market?

Who is your competition and how will you compete?

What are your costs, charges and financial considerations?

How will you structure your studio?

Who will be responsible for what?

How will you promote your services? To who? Using what media?

Mandatory requirements:

It is essential that you refer to a range of marketing models and recognise business ‘start-up’ principles in order to succeed. You may make reference to the course materials, books and websites in order to demonstrate your understanding.

Deliverables:

The presentation will be 10 mins long.

You should use appropriate visual material to support your presentation.

Evidence of the research and development of your presentation and visual material should be posted to your PPP blog and labelled with the module code. You should also post pdf versons of your presentation alongside any notes and handouts to your PPP blog.

ANALYSIS

For this brief it is crucial that the group works fairly and efficiently together; and be more or less on the same page design wise, otherwise this will prove difficult to make group decisions and progress, and may cause disruption and hinder the overall response to the task. Throughout, business should always be taken into account, and it will be a challenge to ensure that all aspects of creating a business are covered and explored. It would also be great to agree on a proposed schedule that fits everyone. I personally feel although I am a hard worker, I could benefit a lot from this task as I am not experienced with business and marketing models. With a good group, solid research and a creative outlook, I feel this task can be completed to a great standard. 

I will be part of a group with Jack, Charlotte and Rhys. This set up will work well as not only are these members of the class well rounded designers, we appreciate what each other produces and most importantly we are all very good friends, meaning we should hopefully gel well and be able to produce something we are all proud of. The great thing about this task is that it is realistic, this could lead to something that can be developed later on in life, for example, the Hungry Sandwich Club was born through the process of this brief previously, proving that it is possible.