All Things Optic: Pt.2
March 2020: COVID19
It’s one week on from the first of the newly introduced government recommendations and what a week it has been – one that will no doubt live long in the memory for us all.
I think it’s fair to say that none of us could have predicted the sheer scale of the impact that Coronavirus is having across the UK and the world right now, both for our businesses and our everyday lives. In such a short amount of time, it is everywhere we look and is potentially the biggest collective challenge that our generation will face. With all the news, publicity and social media noise, we are now all too aware of the consequences it poses. However, with every challenge comes an opportunity to do something good and this post is intended to focus on the positive actions that can be made to benefit our community through this period.
Since the government announced its advisory measures, we have moved all necessary equipment to work from home. As a studio that is already well practised at remote-based working, the nature of our work has been largely unaffected and for that reason, it has very much been business as usual on all brand, design and editing projects. We are currently mid-way through a range of exciting projects and hope that the launch of these will remain unaffected by the situation.
In addition to our existing projects, we’re keen to offer our time / services / help in any way we can to any local businesses in our network that have been impacted by the recent measures. We appreciate that in moments like this, our line of work pales into significance in comparison to those who may be working beyond capacity in key sectors. But we hope to continue to provide support and solutions to anyone affected through circumstances such as forced closures, event cancellations or reduced custom. With some of our clients already having to adjust their usual methods, we’re proving that at a time where digital is at the heart of almost everything we do, there are so many ways in which we can evolve traditional business processes to adapt to an ever-changing situation.
We count ourselves very grateful to be able to continue producing the same standard of work from home during this period and to be able to remain in largely uninterrupted communication with our clients on the same remote-basis we are used to working with. Since our formation in 2016 (working remotely from a spare bedroom, of course!) we have gone on to work with clients from all corners of the UK and have seen the benefits and opportunities that remote working allows.
Having built long-lasting relationships with a wide variety of brands and businesses, we’re lucky to now be able to call many of our clients good friends. We speak to them on an almost daily basis, learning more and more about each other as we communicate through various digital platforms. Despite talking so regularly, with some of our clients based so far away, we may only meet in person a handful of times each year. This way of working has proved to be mutually beneficial, saving both sides valuable time, resource, travel costs and as a result, carbon emissions and pollution.
Perhaps the biggest positive of this situation could end up being the environment and the realisation of the positive impact we can have on it. Unsurprisingly, carbon emissions and pollution have drastically decreased as the commuter world comes to a halt. With planes grounded and cars parked on driveways, only essential journeys are likely to be made. Of course, this way of life is likely to be temporary and a big concern will be the snap return of ‘normality’, bringing with it a binge mentality and a spike in increased pollution. However, perhaps certain businesses and industries that have been so against the idea of remote working in the past may now be forced to see the benefits of this way of working can far outweigh the negatives.