Office Outlooks: Your view

Our view doesn’t really lend itself to providing inspiration. We use it more as a resting point to take a few minutes away from the monitor, letting your mind relax for a moment is the best way to solve those tricky problems like - why does that bird have no face?

Brahm, Leeds

When we’re not sipping the finest Rioja, we love watching the local animals going about their daily business. In particular the acrobatic squirrels who leap from tree to tree. We heart squirrels.

Paul Beauchamp, Art Director,

Freestyle Interactive, Warwick

Beyond the car park, rolling Warwickshire countryside undulates into the distance, criss-crossed with ancient hedge rows, tree lines and open fields – all home to gently grazing cows and sheep and a rich tapestry of British wildlife. It’s the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of urban city life. Thinking space. Fresh air. Nature’s Yin to the our digital Yang, balancing out the fast paced, highly driven, hard coded buzz of everyday Freestyle life.

Being close to nature and exposed to the elements certainly provides creative inspiration giving us a real sense of the seasonal changes all of which has definitely influenced the Freestyle brand.

Jamie Buckingham, creative director,

Rave, Coleshil

Rave’s creative department backs onto a leafy street predominantly taken up by quaint almshouse cottages and retirement housing.

The intermittent drone of mobility scooters and faint smell of wee is a constant reminder that the clock is ticking. I still have a bottom drawer full of ads to flog, an idea for a book that just needs a publisher and a range of fecal greeting cards to get to market. That’s just for starters. The list is growing longer and time is getting shorter.

Not really a view that inspires, but definitely a reminder to get my finger out.

Stuart Gilmour, creative director,

Stand, Glasgow

The creative outlook at Stand is a big positive one. I sit looking up Buchanan Street from our studio on St Vincent Place, on corner of Buchanan Street and St Vincent Street, five stories up from the Orange shop, just beside the public toilets. Right now I can see a big bluish sky with cumulus clouds, busy street with people in t-shirts going for lunch. Right after this I’m heading down to do a wee bit of ‘research’ in Borders and Fopp, go and get some lunch in Starbucks (chicken and red pesto salad) and then back up to finish an annual report presention. It’s all good.

Simon Douglas, MD,

Blue River, Newcastle

We have many windows at the Blue River office but probably the one that is most prominent, is the one with the view of the city’s central train line, with a variety of passenger trains, service trains and coal carriers greeting us throughout the day. Not to mention the the occasional steam engine! To me the train line represents the pathway to Newcastle and reminds me of the life going on around us and the energy and communication that the city network provides.

E3, Bristol

E3’s studio is based in the Paintworks Creative Quarter and the view overlooks a fairly urban landscape which the River Avon runs through. 
The river helps embody our sense of space and the old paintworks buildings have character. It helps to go outside for five minutes, stand by the river and ponder for a while. It can be inspiring and uplifting on sunny days, especially as our courtyard can be a glorious sun trap.

Previously, when we were based at the Tobacco Factory, we were lucky to enjoy fabulous views of hot air balloons floating across Bristol around the time of the balloon fiesta.

Neil Griffiths, director,

Driven, Wimslow

Facing driven is a gleaming Aston Martin dealership full of expensive toys.

What does the “Aston-ometer” tell us this week?

Monday, Labour stumbles in the local elections, show room traffic picks up as Cameron’s approval rating rises and lower taxes hove in to view.

Tuesday, the season is over, lots of bored footy players and WAGS kick tyres whist mobiling their agents for more cash.

Wednesday, house prices stabilise, plenty of drop tops appear on the forecourt.

Thursday, Ronaldo tries to trade a 599, Madrid here we come?

Friday, the sun comes out, not a soul in sight; does Aston have a garage in Abersoch?

Reports on the economy come in lots of shapes and sizes, the “Aston-ometer” is a much more interesting and probably more accurate measure of confidence?

Campbell Laird,

MD, Threebrand, Edinburgh

Our office is a boat, in fact it’s a converted oil barge, in the heart of Edinburgh’s creative community on the Water of Leith – we felt that by working in this environment, would help inspire and stimulate creative thinking, which it does. No two days are ever the same, the water can be turbulent, the water can be tranquil – and sometimes like a reflection, mirrors the complex daily life in which we live.

The water is an ever changing natural habitat, bringing life and with life, the beginning of something special. The image was taken by Karen Franklin looking out one of our portholes.

Matt Ramsay,

managing director, InboxDMG, Swindon

You leave London agencies so you can have a better quality of life in the countryside. And at InboxDMG HQ in Swindon, we’re lucky to look out onto a lovely little park, with big-trunked trees and wall-to-wall greenery. The colourful playground full of happy kids playing around in the summer sun gives us a sense of joie de vivre as we go about our work producing great digital communications campaigns for the fab brands we’re happy to work for!

Holly Budgen, copywriter,

Mando Group, Liverpool

Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral provides the striking vista from our offices here at Mando Group.

Roman Catholics, avid fans of modern architecture and pretty much anyone else on the staff will tell you that it’s a pretty inspirational place.

But we reckon we know some folks with a view to beats ours - the cathedral staff, who get to look out at the world through some of the country’s most striking stained glass windows every day.

Gemma McGreal,

information architect,

Mando Group, Liverpool

Having a window seat, I would probably say I spend a large amount of time watching the traffic wardens, give parking tickets to students. Hopefully this will teach them... skills for the future, you know the importance of always being on time! Our industry is fast paced and we have a tendency to run late, sooooo never park on Mount Pleasant unless you want a ticket!”

Carl Dickinson,

head of development,

Mando Group, Liverpool

The only windows I see are Vista windows. Would you be happy with a shot of my to-do list?

Access Advertising, Manchester

Here at Access we look out over the architectural masterpiece that is the Old Trafford Football Stadium.

SASS, Mere Hall Park, Cheshire

Our premises are located in the middle of Cheshire Greenland – we even have Colin and Margery the pheasants who we class as part of the clan, not to mention the rabbits, cows, birds and squirrels – it’s like a Disney film!