Moving Brands at 20: lessons on how to make a creative business last
As the studio celebrates reaching the big 2-0 this month, we speak to co-founder Ben Wolstenholme and CEO Mat Heinl about setting up a studio straight out of art school and how to keep the fires burning for two decades
Founded in 1998, Shoreditch-based studio Moving Brands has made a name for itself over the last two decades with its motion-heavy visual identities for the likes of Nokia and HP, and now boasts international offices in New York, San Francisco and Zurich. The company’s origins, however, were slightly humbler.
Its original founders included Chairman and former CEO Ben Wolstenholme, Chief Creative Officer Jim Bull and Joe Sharpe, along with Ben’s brother Guy Wolstenholme (now Creative Director) and their cousin Toby Younger. “Joe, James and I were all in the same year at Central Saint Martins,” says Wolstenholme. “We were studying graphic design and all specialised in film, but because there was no equipment at CSM we ended up working with each other and making films for our degree show.”