It All Began ...
THE GLOBE v1.0
The Globe spun for the first time in February 1993 in the back of a house somewhere in Mount Pleasant when Simon Elliott threw his $12 into the ring and started tapping on his Mac Classic. It was the product of passion, desire and reality—a passion for building brands, a desire to design, write and create, and the reality of a mortgage.
THE 90s
Through the 90s The Globe grew steadily working on a combination of large clients such as Shell Australia, Western Power, WACA and Wesfarmers and a host of small-medium enterprises. For a moment there it seemed as if The Globe was keen on clients beginning with ‘W’, but we moved on preferring not to pigeon-hole ourselves within the market. The Globe began to carve out a niche as a business with strong brand development skills, quirky creative and solid design foundations. While it continued to provide a mix of advertising and design services, the overall mix began skewing increasingly towards the design as the team grew to four.
With a family history in real estate and a nominal real estate qualification under Simon’s belt, The Globe had a particular penchant and understanding for property that resulted in work for numerous real estate businesses (Clive Elliott Jennings, Acton, Chatsworth Estates, Nik Jones Realty, Property Gallery), land developments (One Bunbury, Saint Quentins, Byford Central) and property development companies (Creating Communities, Marchmont, Webberton Holdings).
WORK ON YOUR PASSIONS
In the late 90s the business moved to West Leederville while a purpose-built premises was constructed back in Mount Pleasant. By 2000, The Globe was back in Mount Pleasant with its team of four—a team laden with fine design talent, including the often-pink Bronwyn Rogers. Around the turn of the millennium, The Globe uncovered an uncanny knack of combining business with passion working with cricket (WACA), coffee (5 Senses Coffee and a plethora of cafés), food and wine (Tasting Australia and Lamonts), an array of faith-based organisations, and the arts (Wesfarmers Arts, Art on the Move and Craftwest).
The Globe’s strong design foundation was recognised in 2003 when it was a finalist in the AGDA Awards (Australian Graphic Design Awards). The award was a rarity as The Globe has generally eschewed entrance in design award competition preferring to work hard and produce compelling design for its clients.
PARTNERSHIPS
Partnerships have always been a foundations of The Globe’s success—a significant, crucial part of the way it has gone about its business. The Globe continues to develop powerful alliances with other businesses; alliances that grow us, enlarge our services and stimulate and prosper both parties. The business has always sought to enter into relationships with those who hold similar values, goals and aspirations. While this ethos has been a firm foundations in growing the clients it works with, it has also been a hallmark of the supplier relationships it has enjoyed. The Globe’s work with Spin Technologies & Clever Starfish (web development), QDI and Picton (print) is a demonstration of these long-term alliances.
THE GLOBE v2.0
In 2004 The Globe moved its operation to Leederville and got even more excited about coffee. We also became more excited about retail as Westfield began engaging us for a suite of retail design projects. Perhaps it was the allure of fine coffee, but it was around this time that Nik Gall (who had worked for The Globe for 5 years in a previous stint) re-joined The Globe as Design Director acquiring one-third of the operation as he came through the front door. The Globe v2.0 was born.
Through this period the team grew to six with addition of a business manager and an additional writer. We also became increasingly occupied with finding a new premises as our Leederville lease ran into overtime. Our dreams of establishing a creative hub for a bunch of like-minded businesses was realised when we uncovered a dilapidated warehouse/office in Burswood. After much blood, sweat and design, 105 Burswood Road became the home of The Globe and an eclectic array of 12 other businesses in July 2007. One of those businesses, Magazine Espresso, was a joint-venture between Simon and his wife, Fiona, paying further homage to unhealthy fixation with caffeinated beverages.
July 2008 also brought an estrogen-explosion as four ladies joined The Globe within weeks. We’ve been seeking to re-dress the balance ever since.
THE GLOBE v3.0
In April 2008, Simon answered a phone call from Rudy Labordus (Managing Director of Breakthrough Corporation) that rapidly turned into a transition of all of Breakthrough’s work into The Globe. Rudy came along for the ride too, bringing to The Globe strength in direct mail, added advertising acumen and an aversion for alliteration. We’re still trying to figure out how it all happened but there are lot of red files lying around the place that need to be stored to protect our yellow-dominated brand integrity.
With a large body of advertising work within 15-year old Breakthrough’s business, the result of Globe v3.0 is a team of eight with equal strengths in advertising and design work.
There’s plenty more to be written about The Globe yet. Just give us a moment.