Paul Grogan is the Founder and MD of Bury-based Think, full service creative design agency. The Captain of the Ship, the master of the house, the boss of all bosses. Paul runs the business, alongside his wife Maz and a super talented team. The team consists of up and coming designers, thinkers and marketing gurus.
Paul’s a familiar face on the Manchester creative circuit – but what truly makes him tick?
Years in the game?
I’ve been in the creative design game for 27 years, 8 of which as the owner of a creative agency.
Best thing about your job?
Pin-pointing just one thing is hard when you have the best job in the world. Picking just one would be getting to work on show-stopping ideas and concepts round the clock.
You cannot beat the buzz when you come up with a brilliant design – and you know you’ve smashed it. You then get to experience that feeling afresh when you present it to your client and they feel the same.
Knowing that we’ve created something that will make a difference to the client’s business, in real terms, gives me a huge thrill!
I have been able to build my career by improving my understanding of my client’s business challenges. Having built my career understanding my clients’ business challenges, I have been able to gain a solid grasp on the commercial impact of solving them.
A highlight of the job is definitely producing effective creative design that drives ROI. This certainly keeps the clients coming back too!
Dream client?
What makes a dream client?
Client’s who have a genuine appreciation of the creative process, and what it can do for their business, will help the job run far more smoothly. Although some clients have a clear creative vision, many clients are unsure of what they want until they see it. Then again, getting inside their heads and wowing them is half the fun!
Trusting the agency they commission is key. Having full creative license, allows us to produce the best work. We aim to keep on track with out client’s with a brief, alongside regular collaboration. However, a client saying “we know you’ll do a great job whatever you come up with” is the ultimate dream.
A client providing a sufficient budget ensures everything on a project is completed to a high standard. This ensures photoshoots, copywriting and design can help to produce a fantastic design collateral. This includes brochures, exhibitions, social media and websites.
Your superpower?
I’d say my superpower is my ability to ID a typeface. It could also be recalling an image previously used on a job, or even a project detail from 15 years ago.
Paul lives in Bury, Manchester, with his wife Maz who also works at Think. Paul is a proud Dad to Lola, Sam and Max. In addition to his passion for creative design, he’s also a keen photographer, particularly of iconic Manchester landscapes.
