Value of Design Award

Syrp 8 Syrp

Credits
  • Pou Auaha / Creative Director
    Ben Ryan
  • Ringatoi Matua / Design Director
    Chris Thomson
  • Ngā Kaimahi / Team Member
    Everyone at Syrp
  • Kaitautoko / Contributor
    Everyone that has interacted with our brand
Judge's comments:

Syrp is a maker of user-friendly filmmaking equipment and software that exists for a very simple reason - creating better films. They are a young company who have put design at the heart of their business since day one and the results are compelling. Their collaboration between the ‘creators of tools’ and the ‘creators of films’ is a hands on approach that has achieved stunning product results and double digit, year on year growth. Syrp's designs have been consistently awarded locally and internationally and generated raving fans amongst their users. A business and cultural success story that over seven short years saw it grow a 130 dealer network across the globe, employ 25 local staff and ultimately be acquired by the Vitec Group - one of the worlds leading film and photography companies. Syrp has now become SyrpLab - the design, innovation, and content creation centre of excellence inside the Vitec Group - keeping the NZ team local while their Syrp IP drives value right across a global group of businesses - a true testament to the value they have created from Aotearoa and its impact on the world of film and photography.

Summary
A powerful example of how a user centric approach, incredible design culture and a passion for creativity can create enormous value. Syrp is a filmmaking hardware and software story that over seven short years saw it grow in double digits by design, building a local team of 25 creators and innovators and ultimately being acquired by one of the worlds leading photographic companies - the Vitec Group – a simply stunning performance.

Description:

// Opportunity

Use design to humanise the filmmaking accessory market by connecting with filmmakers through our brand and products at a personal level.


// Approach

Design is at the heart of everything we do.

We develop mechanical products, portable robotics solutions, high volume consumer electronics, and mobile apps. We also create all our marketing and communication in house. Design strategy sets the direction for our business, it helps us understand who our customers are and gain empathy for their needs. We take a holistic approach to management decisions and allow our teams to be self-directed, collaborative, and aligned with our users.

Using UX design principles and practice, we focus our design efforts across 3 core areas:

+ Look and feel - Aiming for world-class, beautiful design across industrial, graphic, interaction, brand, & moving image.
+ Interaction with our products and services - simple, effective behavioural experience that adds real value.
+ Experience of being part of our brand - commitment to our customer's journey, educating and empowering them to create better films.

Our brand messaging and purpose is internally and externally aligned. We inspire, connect, and empower both our users and team through a design-led approach.

We use design to fill the gaps where we are missing expertise. We build strong relationships with our manufacturers and imbedded our design principles into our interactions with them. Inspiring their teams with our purpose, connecting with them on a human level so they can intimately understand our vision, allowing them to make decisions that align with our design direction.

How we foster a design lead environment:

+ Hire for passion (easily inspired), fit with our team (easy to connect), and experience (self-empowered)
+ Create space for design, creativity, and innovation. Originality is celebrated, but also criticised and validated to avoid design for design's sake. Iconography, typography, product, and audio elements are developed from the ground up
+ Follow a transparent and open design process that demands continuous review with our users, feasibility assessment with our developer, and balances our business
+ Continuous mutation, evolution, and failure at speed with constant re-alignment to the bigger picture
+ Our staff regularly film on location so they can live the experience of our users and feed this back into what they do
+ Dedicated in-house content creation team that is a constant sounding board to validate ideas and test prototypes


// Outcomes

+ For our users
Create new ways to tell stories through moving images. Higher production value at a lower cost. Simple adaptable products, inspiration, education, and more creative freedom.
Better films.

+ For our team
A culture of innovation and creativity. Continuous improvement, with the freedom to explore and fail. We solve real problems, bringing real value for users.

+For our shareholders
By trusting in a good design process, we are able to take risks others weren’t, and in 7 years built the business from a self-funded start-up to a successful acquisition deal.