Behind the Scenes: Meet the AHK Design Studio Team
Welcome to our exclusive interview series where we dive into the world of designing custom promotional items at AHK Productions. Meet our talented designers to learn more about their craft, the challenges they face every day, and how they bring creativity and expertise to every project.
Our designers play a vital role in creating our tailor-made products. Through these interviews, you’ll discover how they turn ideas into reality, push the boundaries of design, and create memorable experiences for our clients. Each designer brings a unique perspective to our team, and together, they form a dynamic group that makes AHK Productions a leading company in the field of customization and bespoke creation. Let’s now take you behind the scenes into their creative world.
How is the team structured? What tools and skills do you use?
Team leader Patrick explains the design profession and answers your questions:
Today, we are six people in the team. We have different profiles with complementary skills. Everyone in the team has a talent for drawing, but some are more comfortable with one technique or another. The important thing is that we all share the same creative spirit. We work on promotional items in bulk, which have mass, fragility depending on the design, so we need to rely on each person’s experience to create something perfect.
We are therefore forced to anticipate, depending on the material of the promotional item that will be chosen: metal injection, stamping, or injected PVC. Our role is to study the feasibility of the client’s request to create an effective promotional gift from a communication perspective, meaning not only elegant but also durable. To do this, we need to be sensitive to various issues: the material, whether it can withstand or not, but also the shape; it could have edges, as in the case of a triangular keychain, for example.
Therefore, we must adapt things, change the shape so that it works technically and visually. The promotional item has an emotional dimension; it represents a company, and we want it to look as beautiful as possible and align with the values it represents.
Object design is a skill that consolidates day by day. The profession of producing and designing media objects is a field-based learning process, done in teams, and it is this skill that we want to highlight with the name Studio Design: creating beautiful, trendy, and functional promotional items.
What is the project manager's role within the Studio?
We take note of the client’s request, whether precise or not. Clients expect us to be proactive with proposals. We must guide them on which promotional product to choose. Our job is to understand the needs in terms of aesthetics, cost, and the purpose of the item. Will it be distributed at a concert? In a store? Each product, depending on its destination, will have a different shape. For the Tour de France, for example, we will make items for the general public but not in packaging.
There are several steps before launching the project into production: we need to understand the request and give it substance, show it to the client, and then follow the production until implementation. Beyond graphic design, we have a protocol to anticipate deliveries so that the order arrives on time. There is a rhythm, a production chain for making tailor-made items. We handle all phases of processing a file, from design to production of custom promotional items.
What is the typical process for a project-order?
The client contacts us, the sales team examines their needs, and then the order reaches the Design Studio. It’s up to us to propose different products. The most fundamental question is the budget. Before discussing quality or technique, it’s the budget that will determine the project. We adapt based on this information, and it’s the key. We then take into account the client’s requirements and wishes. It’s a true expertise work. The promotional item has an emotional dimension; it represents a company, and we want it to look as beautiful as possible and align with the values it carries.
What makes a project successful?
A good graphic execution is, above all, a work that satisfies the client. A graphic designer is also an artist, and we put ourselves into our creations, even when adapting an existing visual. It’s an emotional, intellectual, and technical participation. There is real involvement. I believe it’s important that the person working in our studio is happy, fulfilled in the work they do. And of course, there is the client’s satisfaction, that’s our vocation: to satisfy them and provide them the best service possible.
Being a graphic designer-project manager at AHK: what are the particularly interesting aspects of the job at AHK and why?
Our work is very varied. Some orders can be very simple, such as a standard promo product, but there are also more complex needs. In the military field, for example, badges, custom medals, the items are more technical because they are made of several parts, with different metal colors, different enamel techniques, and this requires mastering the technical constraints to successfully complete the project.
Knowing what is compatible in materials for the custom item to create durable products.
Often, clients have beautiful designs, but technically, they are not always feasible. It’s up to us to adapt their designs as best as we can so that they are technically feasible and as close as possible to what they originally wanted! That’s a very interesting aspect of the graphic designer's job in creating promotional items. There’s also a bit of psychology; we need to assess what our client really wants. It’s a little challenge.
Jean, as a graphic designer at AHK, how do you take into account the needs related to designing eco-responsible and Made in France promotional products in your creative work?
Of course, we pay special attention to our clients' needs regarding eco-responsibility and French manufacturing. When I work on projects involving eco-responsible promotional items, I make sure to choose environmentally friendly materials and minimize our carbon footprint throughout the design process. This often means opting for recycled or biodegradable materials, reducing production waste, and choosing environmentally friendly printing methods.
Regarding French manufacturing, we are proud to promote Made in France. Working with local suppliers allows us to reduce our environmental impact by limiting the transportation of goods over long distances. Moreover, it helps support the local economy and ensures the quality of our products. As a design team, we work closely with our French partners to ensure that each promotional item we create meets the highest quality standards and reflects our commitment to sustainable development.
Can you give us concrete examples of how a well-designed promotional product can positively influence a company's image and engage customers?
The item must influence, touch, move, and provoke thought. It has a strong power of transmission: it’s very small, with little material to communicate, a small surface, only a few square centimeters, and yet it is everywhere, all the time; it is really an effective communication vehicle.
The promotional item can strongly impact the image of the brands issuing it. The acquired targets can become ambassadors.
How do you collaborate with clients to ensure the technical feasibility and marketing compliance of their ideas?
Of course, creation is the most inspiring part, we take the time to reflect on concepts and the message the client wants to convey through the promotional item. Beyond creation, the way the item is made is also interesting in itself, how we will manage the creation of molds, how we will treat the prints. I think design is as important as creation; in our profession, the two are closely linked.
We communicate at each stage of the design, which allows us to understand the projects and constraints. The client might expect to easily receive their product; however, sometimes the file sent with the design is not suitable for the production of the custom item, so it’s up to us to discuss and argue about this point. Sometimes the idea needs to be reworked.
We will need to guide the client towards another design and find the best solution from a marketing and technical point of view.
What are the main considerations you face when designing these items?
We work on an object, a 3D object, it is not just a piece of paper, it’s something that has volume, that has dimensions.
Therefore, the work of a graphic designer in the creation of promotional products is very particular because we work on volume, on 3D, so we must be able to imagine the object as it should be even before it is produced. The image must influence, touch, move, and provoke thought. As for the promotional item, it has a strong power of transmission.
The designers at AHK Productions are the artisans of creativity and innovation within our company. Their passion for custom design and commitment to excellence is reflected in every product we create.
Through these interviews, we have gained insight into how creativity is at the heart of our corporate culture. AHK’s designers bring not only their technical expertise but also their personal artistic touch to every project. By working hand in hand with our clients, our designers help turn their ideas into tangible reality. They push the boundaries of design to offer unique and memorable products.
At AHK Productions, we are proud of our team of talented designers. Their limitless creativity and dedication to excellence are the pillars of our success. We look forward to sharing more inspiring stories from our design team and taking you on a continuous journey of creativity and innovation. Stay tuned for more exclusive interviews and exciting creative projects to come. Contact your promotional product manufacturing expert team for any pricing or technical inquiries
