Five Israeli Branding Firms That Are Great to Work At

Finished your visual communications studies and don’t know where you’d like to work? We’ve selected five great design studios that are great to work at, and ask each one of them what makes working there so great.

When you finish 4 intense years of visual communications studies, you reach the big “now what?” crossroad. Suddenly the crazy daily schedule of exercises, presentations, deadlines, lectures and tests is replaced by dealing with the “life after”. It’s true, you may delay the shock by a quick trip to London or a post-school trip to India, but eventually you must iron your t-shirt, polish your laptop, go out there and get a job. Unless you choose to go your own independent way (which is a subject for a whole nother post), you’ll have to try your luck and get into one of hundreds of design studios scattered across the country. But wait – where should you work? Oh! So good you should ask. We’ve selected five awesome studios to work at and asked them a few questions.

 


Re-Levant

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Re-Levant was founded by Amnon Illuz when he graduated from Bezalel Academy in 2003. What began as a small studio in Jerusalem moved to Tel Aviv in 2008 and became the studio we know today.

Amnon, what sets Re-Levant apart from other studios?

“Our clients, who look for different, original solutions, the fact we are their right and left arms, meaning we do EVERYTHING for them – a one-stop-shop for branding, advertising, digital and print – while simultaneously paying careful attention to big creative and precise typography. We truly believe that design can make the environment out there better rather than just sell and sell. And of course, the Mizrahi soundtrack by Rotem (mama criessss!).”

What kind of people work for you?

“Boys and girls. People who aren’t afraid to think, who love shape, form and content, and can talk about it for hours but also work on Illustrator for hours on end. People who know that you need to work hard in order to get that ‘wow’ from a client, and who wake up happily to that work every morning.”

What’s your favorite kind of project to work on?

“The clever thing about every one of our projects is to find a point of interest and stretch it as far as possible – whether it’s a wide, multi-platform branding project for municipal entities that many people are exposed to on a daily basis, or small, premium design work for a target audience of designers where the limits are stretched.”

What do you do for fun at the studio?

“We’re a studio in constant activity, we love to initiate independent projects, which is the best – whether it’s our annual calendar project, design exhibitions we’ve curated or exchanges with similar studios around the globe.”

What makes working for you great?

“Because you’re on top, you learn a lot, and you get to do something different every day – big projects alongside small projects – because it’s as close as it can get to what you did in school, because you can have Arak for breakfast, because our favorite color is gold, and most importantly: because it’s the only way you will see happiness every morning.”


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Awesome TLV

Studio Awesome

This studio was founded by Maayan Froind and Yoav Gati in 2011, both McCann Erickson alumni who wanted to wake up every morning and work at a place that treats design with respect – where design is the main thing.

Maayan, what are your core values?

“First of all, you have got to be awesome – this is a real core value. Besides, we have to be very down to earth when speaking and designing, we don’t like to treat axioms as though they were written in stone, we hate molds and automatic thinking. We love to redefine the playing fields we work in.”

What kind of people work for you?

“No designers who are overly full of themselves, that’s for sure. People with a decent sense of humor who know how to work in a team and never give up until they feel they’ve made a difference.”

What’s your favorite kind of project to work on?

“We LOVE branding, and when we say branding we do mean the wider interpretation of the word. Branding is more than just logo and visual language. It’s also the website, mobile and physical space design. Branding has to move in video, be articulated in messages, be smart and even amusing at times.”

What do you do for fun at the studio?

“What d’ya mean? Design IS our fun! But yeah, we also have a Happy Hour every Thursday and go to workshops or the beach every now and then.”

What makes working for you great?

“Because we make salad for everyone and it keeps you fit. As for the less important things: we cover all platforms, and if you work for us you also have to understand digital environment, which is a major plus for the future. Besides, we pay loads of rent so that our employees can say they work on Rothschild. Have we mentioned that we’re on Rothschild?”

What sets Awesome apart from other studios?

“We’re incredibly good-looking.”


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Firma

Firma. Photo by Eyal Tueg

This studio was founded in 2005 by Doron Goldenberg and Elad Mishan, both Bezalel Academy visual communication alumni, in a Jaffa loft with two Mac laptops and a lot of passion for design and branding.

Elad, what sets Firma apart from other studios?

“We believe in making a positive change. A change in people’s lives with the brands we build, a change in our employees’ lives with the processes we make, and a change in the world with our great faith in the power of design.”

What are your core values?

“Bold thinking, creative energy and human warmth.”

What kind of people work for you?

“No one type of person. People of all sorts of types who challenge us in new playing fields. People who take us all the way to the edge.”

What do you do for fun at the studio?

“We finish every week with a Happy Hour on the balcony with beers and sunlight. Thursday at 5PM, you should come.”

What makes working for you great?

“We’re not just a home for brands. We’re a home for people.”


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Open

Open This studio was founded in 2000 by Saar Friedman and Eyal Katz.

Eyal, what sets Open apart from other studios?

“Since I haven’t had the chance to work anywhere else, I don’t feel I can really answer that question. Anyway, everyone has their own unique quality, and what fits one person doesn’t necessarily fits the other.”

What are your core values?

“First and foremost, our name – OPEN – start with an open mind. Open for challenges, technologies, work processes and life in general. We try to remember that what we deal with is colors and shapes. It’s fun, happy, and we will always strive to go outside of our comfort zone.”

What kind of people work for you?

“Good, happy people, with a desire to learn, to give their hearts. People who can truly see other people.”

What’s your favorite kind of project to work on?

“Our projects are really diverse, but what really matters is our attitude, we try to experience everything in a way that challenges us and allows us to stretch our own boundaries.”

What do you do for fun at the studio?

“We have some beer, watch a live performance by Tziporela right here in our studio, expand our horizons, eat popsicles, take an overnight visit to the Israel Museum, and when we really go crazy – we speed-date each other.”

What makes working for you great?

“I believe that’s a question for our employees.”


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Studio Dov Abramson

Studio Dov Abramson This studio was founded in by Dov Abramson in 2002, six months after graduating from Bezalel Academy. Before that, Dov worked for a studio in Jerusalem. When he realized that this studio would bring him no creative or financial salvation, he decided to go on his own independent way. Today the studio employs 10 designers, 7 of which work full-time.

Dov, what sets your studio apart from other studios?

“First of all, it’s in Jerusalem, which is fertile ground for dealing with what I call the culture-society-education axis. There are still some things of which Jerusalem is the center in Israeli society, and the materials we deal with are some of those. Jerusalem has great designers, but it’s still not as crowded as in Tel Aviv. For us this provides a chance to stand out, to sink our teeth into creative work. Oh, and have a lot of fun, too.”

What are your core values?

“Our studio tries to have a unique voice in the world of Israeli culture in general, the world of Jerusalem culture specifically, and the world of Jewish-Israeli-Jerusalem culture in particular. The studio is founded on my personal obsession: testing the limits and tensions between the sublime and the mundane, the ancient and the contemporary, and the possibilities that lie in new Jewish visualia. This is the place to ask hipster design school graduates not to be put off by the word ‘Jewish’ in this context. It’s not what you think, so to speak. Take a look at the studio’s portfolio to see what I mean.”

What kind of people work for you?

“We’re very proud of the studio employees’ diversity: Mizrahim, Ashkenazim, left wing, right wing, secular, traditional, religious, single, married, gay, straight, Bezalel, Hadassah and Emuna alumni (this list is actually true). And, yeah, we’re totally waiting for the Ministry of Commerce to give us some sort of an award for that.”

What’s your favorite kind of project to work on?

“As I’ve previously mentioned, we do have a pretty specific niche, but that niche has flexible boundaries that always challenge us to get out of our comfort zone. If someone is looking for hardcore commercial branding work, this is probably not the place for them. We love to do big cultural events. Over the past few months we’ve designed two very Jerusalem-esque festivals: “Made in Jerusalem” by Beit Avi Hai and “This is Jerusalem!” at the first station complex. We also love Jerusalem’s social projects such as “Hashgacha Pratit”, an alternative Kashrut organization (100% Rabbanut-free) that’s also gained headlines as of late. For this project we developed a visual language, designed a website, did mobile work, print work – all of it.”

What do you do for fun at the studio?

“Experimental typography, what else? Well, not really. The truth is we don’t have enough fun, but my team is currently developing a lobby on this matter, and we’re totally ready to start going out and having some fun every now and then. Right now we have a tradition of having home-cooked lunches together (there’s a great kitchen at the studio!) once a week, and putting together surprising YouTube playlists while we work.”

What makes working for you great?

“Well, insert cliches here, but I can totally get behind those cliches: 1. It’s all about the people, and we have tremendous people. 2. If you love profound, content-driven projects rather than aesthetics-driven projects (not that there’s anything wrong with that, etc.), you will find your home here. 3. We get great view from the balcony.”


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