Glasgow centre offers space and freelances

Freelance designers and small consultancies in the Glasgow region are to be targeted by a new venture, Glasgow Design Studios, which is offering workspace and equipment for hire and a freelance database.

Aimed particularly at interior and graphic designers and architects, the facility opened this week. It is equipped with Macintosh and PC workstations, and has private rooms available for confidential work.

There is space for up to 16 workstations at the centre. The space will be offered to students and consultancies needing overspill space as well as to full-time freelances.

A database of 15 freelance designers has been established. This will be used to operate a placement service, which will allow consultancies to locate and hire suitable freelance staff for short term or specialist work. Work by designers on the list will be vetted to ensure satisfactory standards, and they will be paid through Glasgow Design Centre. Those on the database will receive discounts at the studios.

“Bringing freelance designers and architects together will create greater force,” says managing director Dominic Shanahan. He plans to recruit a further five designers to the database.

Brighton Media Centre, which houses a broad range of design consultancies and technical facilities, is to expand its operation into a second building. This is scheduled to open towards the end of March and will include three design groups.