Interview: Not Now Design Studio

I recently had the opportunity to interview Sam Hall of Not Now design studio. Here you can find out more about the 5-peice studio and their inspirations and projects. 

Can you give a brief insight into what Not Now is and what you guys do?

Not Now is a five-strong, deliberately small creative studio based in Manchester. We solve creative problems for clients in a number of areas; spanning film, fashion, editorial or anywhere else we’re needed.

Where did the initial idea/inspiration for the Not Now collective come from, and how did it evolve into a full time design studio?

All five of us met at Manchester School of Art, we started Not Now off our own backs whilst completing a BA in Graphic Design. It was initially started as a release, a chance to work on some more self indulgent projects and this lead to us exhibiting and releasing various pieces of work. As the end of the course drew nearer, we wanted to retain the creative freedom Now Now gave us, so we decided to give it a go and haven’t really looked back. Since graduating the business side has had to develop a lot, harnessing our creative energy and funnelling this into work which pays the bills, whilst retaining creative control.

What are a few of your favourite projects that Not Now has worked on and why?

Your first project always has to be up there, ours was ‘we let you down’, we each went off for twenty-four hours with a disposable camera to document our time. The findings were then exhibited alongside experimental design work at Cord, Manchester. We also compiled the photography in a 36 page A5 publication, which featured Dan donning a balaclava on the cover. The launch was cracking, with a great turn out and copious amounts of free Spanish beer. I suppose another of our favourite projects was ‘Means to an End’ which was completed for our final degree show, and won us the Peter Saville Prize. This involved us burning and resurrecting sketchbooks.

http://not-now.co.uk/we-let-you-down

http://not-now.co.uk/Means-to-an-End-exhibition

Do you have any advice for any aspiring artists and/or designers who may be looking to head down a similar route to Not Now?

Don’t. Take your own route. We’re not too big on offering advice, but if you like what we do and want to engage then just get in touch, come in for a tea or something!

What’s next for Not Now?

Whilst we’re working on client-based work quite a bit more these days, it’s still really important for us to keep our self-imposed projects moving. We’ve going to be exhibiting in Manchester mid March and are planning something big for later in the year. Our ultimate ambition is to create a body of truly interesting and engaging work; we feel every project, no matter how big or small, has a duty to contribute to this.


Head over to www.not-now.co.uk to take a look at more of the incredible projects they've worked on. 
And for updates follow them on Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram