Q and Q LTD – probably the smallest agency network in the world.
Q’s association with our US-based namesake Q LTD began in 2003, when we saw some of their work in a design magazine which also featured work by our firm. Our email inquiry led both Qs to an important discovery: we have far more in common than only the letter Q!
Both Qs are small, highly skilled firms with very similar clients and the same mix of branding, web, and print work. And we share a dedication to working with our clients to solve difficult problems and produce excellent, effective results.
Both Qs are small, highly skilled firms with very similar clients and the same mix of branding, web, and print work. And we share a dedication to working with our clients to solve difficult problems and produce excellent, effective results.
Q-Q cooperation began informally: exchanging interns, swapping mp3 files, in-person visits, proof-reading translations, and language adaptations of InDesign files. Our first major shared project began in early 2005. For several years, Q LTD has created graphic identities, printed materials, web sites, and advertising for the international SIGGRAPH conference on computer graphics and interactive techniques. For SIGGRAPH 2006, the Q team in Wiesbaden was asked to contribute logo concepts and branding themes. Next, the two Qs shared conceptual work for NuStep Inc., an Ann Arbor-based company that markets its fitness equipment worldwide.
In September 2005, the two firms were selected to create a new international corporate identity for Flint Group, the world’s second-largest provider of inks, plates, pigments, and other material to the printing, converting, and colorants industries. This corporation had manufacturing operations, subsidiaries, suppliers, and customers throughout the world. And it faced a significant challenge: to unify a diverse set of corporate cultures and communicate the new company’s stronger position in all of its markets. Working with corporate marketing teams in Germany and Michigan, the two Qs designed the company’s new corporate identity, specified how the brand should be used in corporate materials, and produced advertising in 12 languages to introduce the brand to Flint Group’s international markets.
Whenever there is a need for international, intercultural solutions, both Q-teams are ready to provide our trans-Atlantic expertise. Of course, this international perspective is offered by big agency networks. But in Wiesbaden and Ann Arbor, global thinking and creativity are applied every day in Q’s efficient, non-bureaucratic, cost-effective approach to branding, positioning, and communication.
