HAWRAF Studio Research

HAWRAF (Hard At Work, Rude As Fuck) is a design studio that ran from 2016-2019.

The studio flamed out earlier this year, not due to lack of clients, money or lack of growth, but because each of the designers in HAWRAF had different goals.

3 Most Interesting Documents:

1. Discovery Questionnaire: The discovery Questionnaire is a list of questions that HAWRAF send out to send to potential clients when there may be a possible project, prior to starting it. These questions are more important depending on how big the client/brand is.

A lot of these questions are really important to ask as it helps you as a designer to find out whether the client is going to be difficult to work for as client issues aren't apparent at the start, which is something I've noticed personally when doing client work, such as; poor communication skills, the client not taking into consideration that you may have other priorities in your life so you can't always be able to amend things at any given time etc.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GG9chfNI9f5yTUy8AcyMGrA1tvLB_bHQeHjc1QoGjXI/edit

2. HAWRAF INTL- Rules/Idealisms: I think creating rules and idealisms as a designer which reflect your work ethic and consider self-care/staying motivated are really important, when working in a studio with others or freelancing. The 3 rules out of the whole list that I found most inspiring and relevant towards myself are; rule 7: don't ever do something because that's the way it's been done before, 20. be enthusiastic about the work were doing or else were not doing it and 25. don't be an asshole.

3. Potential Internal Project: This is simply a deck of internal projects that HAWRAF Studio came up with for themselves. I feel that this is a good idea when working in a studio where most of the work is client work/working with brands. Obviously you can represent yourselves, your work ethics and aesthetic through the work you create for others, but I think doing more internal projects makes it more personal and your own little thing as a studio, it keeps it fun and exclusive.

Reflections on running a design studio:

1. Things will be a lot more expensive that you think, so managing your money well and splitting it evenly is very important, which means documents and contracts need to be set in place. Consider the extras that you may not even think of such as morning coffees...do you need to invest in a communal coffee machine to save money or even furniture items such as new rugs and plant pots, this all adds up.

2. There will be times where you will hate each other and not want to see each other, but it's important to communicate and compromise whatever the issue is, you need to support each other.

One system/approach you're not adopting:

Always be enthusiastic about the work you create or don't do it- I loved this rule created by HAWRAF as I often feel that when I create work based on my own personal interests and experiences, the work is a lot better and I enjoy myself a lot more- it fuels my passion for design.

HAWRAF Website