Vox pop

This week we are publishing our Top 100 Design Consultancy Survey, based on consultancy’s financial performance. Which group or groups, other than your own, would lead your Top 100, based on non-financial criteria, and why?

‘It would be Wolff Olins. I’ve known and admired it virtually from its start up. And it is still the consultancy I find us most commonly competing with and whose work I find myself most commonly quoting at pitches and seminars and to our own clients and staff.’

Peter Sampson, Creative director, Corporate Edge

‘Lippa Pearce because it is everything that the design business needs in terms of its ideas, dedication and love of its craft, along with fantastic award-winning results. Lippa Pearce is the “gold standard” for the future. Sadly, there are few like it in our business today.’

Michael Peters, Chairman and managing director, The Identica Partnership

‘After a healthy bit of hair-splitting and fence-sitting over the usual suspects the answer is really rather obvious. Apple Computer’s in-house design team is going to sit at the top of the tree today for changing our workplace and giving us not just computer envy, but the life-changing iPod. No more is the computer the domain of techie boy.’

Tim Perkins, Creative director, Design Bridge

‘I would place a blend of the following at the top of the table: Imagination, because it does a lot of things well; Sea, because it does one thing brilliantly; Qube, because it is digitally inspiring; Pentagram, because it is still Pentagram; and Paul Rand, because he laid the table for everyone to sit at in the first place.’

Paul Barlow, Creative director, FutureBrand

‘Pentagram for proving that there is more than one way to structure and run a successful company, Lewis Moberly for consistently beautiful work, Imagination for thinking “big” and delivering “big” and Future Systems for not compromising the dream.’

Peter Knapp, Executive creative director, Landor Associates

‘I consistently admire Imagination in terms of pushing briefs along with beautifully executed work. Ideo proves you don’t need a house style to answer clients’ needs. But top of my list would be Brinkworth, because it is young, energetic and has made me get excited about design again.’

Tim Greenhalgh, Creative head, Fitch London