Geneva calling for Optima
Lincoln-based Optima Graphic Design Consultants is planning to expand into the overseas market, Insider can reveal. Simon Shaw, managing director of the company, said he hoped to tie up a deal to have a permanent base in Geneva.
Speaking at an Insider round table event, Shaw said: "Trading abroad has got easier - there are lots of opportunities out there for us.
"We're very interested in Geneva. There is a demand there for English-speaking agencies, and there are definite opportunities for us to do more there. We're looking to tie up a deal with a company that builds websites that we can then design."
He added that low-cost travel had opened up new opportunities for his business.
"When you have an airline like Easyjet, I can fly to Geneva and back to do business in the same day very cheaply, and I can plan meetings to see more and more people," he said.
Shaw set up Optima 16 years ago, and has a national and international client base including Corus, British Gypsum, Branston, WWF and the International School of Geneva.
Optima was the only East Midlands design consultancy to gain a place on DesignWeek's list of top 100 UK agencies this year. The company came in at number 85 on the list, jumping 22 places since the last poll in 2010.
Alongside his plans to expand the business, Shaw said Optima works closely with the University of Lincoln get the best graphics graduates to stay in Lincoln and nurture the local economy.
He said: "We work hard to keep our home-grown talent – rather than letting talented students leave the county. We have also brought back to the city fantastic designers who studied or spent time working in other cities. Optima has given them a place to work on creative projects with great clients in the city they want to live in a thriving community of like-minded designers."
