In this article:
We’ll share three must-have products to help grow your branding studio or creative business.
As a brand design studio we’re always on the hunt for new tech and innovations that can help us communicate better with – and deliver better results for – our clients. It also helps us to efficiently create content so that we can engage more effectively with our target audience.
Technology is evolving at a staggering pace, and that means that there’s a huge swathe of possibilities that can help us elevate our clients' brands to extraordinary levels. But with so much on offer, how do we know what to choose?
While we love quite a few gadgets here in our studio, there are a few that really top the list. So we’ve pulled together the top three that every brand design studio needs – and that have helped us to create impactful and unforgettable brand experiences for our own clients.
The BenQ ideaCam S1 Pro is a game-changing webcam innovation. It’s built to mount as well as be handheld and features an incredible macro lens. We’ve found it to be an excellent and flexible option for sharing creative ideas and collaborating with our clients.
One of the best features for collaboration, the "instant workspace", is enabled by an auto-flip sensor and the 3-camera mode.
In practice this means the webcam will automatically sense when you tilt the camera angle down and switch to workplace mode. The 3-camera mode then automatically switches between portrait, workspace and macro shootings when you need it.
We love this because it allows us to seamlessly transition between various shooting angles. We can showcase mock-ups, hand drawings, close up shots, macro shots and more all without losing clarity (or time!).
Because the BenQ can be completely handheld (and includes an on-camera fill light button) it’s easy to capture content on the go.
This has been a huge bonus for our own content creation, and for our clients as well. And this freedom allows us to really highlight the authentic, unique qualities that make the brands we work with shine.
The flexibility of the BenQ doesn’t mean that you’ll be sacrificing picture quality. The fixed 15x zoom lens enables quick and easy close-up shots, while the 8MP Sony CMOS sensor ensures high-quality imaging.
And the film quality is just as good – with resolution up to 3264x2448 @ 30 fps, the results are smooth and crisp, with more room for image edits and reframing without lost quality.
For us it’s been so easy to make sure that everything that we shoot – whether workshops or client collabs – comes out looking professional grade.
Working in a busy city environment, we sometimes struggle with background or ambient noises in our video conferences and while creating content. The BenQ has an answer for that. The built-in, AI-powered mic means that the BenQ can sense and respond to background noises, filtering them out for a clear and clean sounding audio.
Finally you don’t need to be ‘techy’ to use the BenQ. With the EnSpire Control Puck supporting both Chrome and Edge, controlling the camera is easy. And the EnSpire software, which requires no installation, facilitates easy recording and annotation directly in the browser.
This functionality extends to various video conference platforms, including Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom, which allows us to seamlessly share materials during presentations and collaborations. And the setup of the BenQ is straightforward, which meant we got a flexible recording system without the hassle of time-consuming configurations.
Finally, when we’re not using the camera, we can simply pop on the magnetic privacy lens cap which gives us full privacy and peace of mind. So, there’s no risk, but huge rewards with the BenQ.
Overall, we'd highly recommend the BenQ ideaCam S1 Pro and you can't argue with the price, coming in at only $329 AUD.
The Mac Studio is one the hardest working ‘gadgets’ in our studio overall – and, we believe, one of the best creative workstations you can buy today. Here’s what we love about it.
With an array of 12 performance ports (including USB-C ports, Thunderbolt 4, HMI and SCXC reader), we were able to configure the Mac Studio to suit our precise creative needs, and the needs of our clients. This makes it easier for us to transfer photos and videos for our client work and connect multiple displays when holding workshops.
At the end of the day, we get the effortless connectivity a modern design studio needs without any compatibility issues. And without worrying about extra devices for additional connectivity needs.
As designers, the M2 Ultra Chip has been a radical differentiator. With a 24-core CPU and 76-core GPU (and 20 billion additional transistors with 192GB of unified memory) we’re seeing a hugely enhanced graphic performance. And that means that our designs go from our creative minds onto the page without losing any shine or clarity.
Anything that makes our jobs easier and more efficient is good – not just for us, but our clients as well.
The Mac Studio has offered us unrivaled speed and efficiency. Our export times have been significantly reduced, so we’ve been able to focus more on designing and refining and less on waiting.
The cooling system, unobtrusively quiet, also keeps the Studio's temperatures in check even during intense creative sessions. It makes light work of even the most rigorous projects.
When it comes to being on top of your game in the creative field, we’ve found the more flow you have in your work, the better your designs and outcomes for clients.
The Mac Studio delivers that flow in a single incredible holistic experience. Its performance, design, and seamless integration with Apple's ecosystem has created a harmonious environment for creativity to thrive in our studio.
Overall, the Mac Studio is a game-changer for creative professionals. Available from $3,299 AUD.
The Blue Yeti USB microphone might seem like an odd choice because its initial launch was nearly 15 years ago. But we still love and recommend the Blue Yeti (in its current iteration). And that’s because we believe it remains the best USB mic available in its price range.
One of the best aspects of the Blue Yeti is its versatility. Whether we’re recording a podcast interview or voiceovers, delivering a workshop or just communicating with our clients, this microphone effortlessly handles every task with professional-grade results. We also love how it’s able to capture sound for content creation, including music.
There are other mics that are designed for more specific purposes, but for an all-rounder, the Blue Yet outshines them all – and at a reasonable cost.
The Yeti combines a sleek silver shell and a sturdy base and it’s very well weighted. Its robust build means it's highly durable – something we find really valuable in our busy studio. To extend its lifespan and maintain pristine audio quality, you can also invest in a quality micro-USB cable and a pop filter.
Because the Blue Yeti is a USB mic, it plugs directly into your computer. That means that there’s no fussing with an audio interface or digital recorder or some other piece of software in order to run it. This makes it super easy for everyday use and leaves us free to focus on our creative endeavours, rather than on our audio needs.
We’ve also found the 3.5mm headphone jack on the underside of the mic to be incredibly useful. It allows us to plug in headphones so we can monitor our recordings as we go. Hearing exactly what’s being recorded means that we’re able to get the best sound for our clients’ projects, as well as our own.
Overall, the Blue Yeti is an all-round incredible microphone, comes in at just $199.95 AUD.
We love our gadgets! Especially those that drive efficiencies and performance in our workflow.
These are some of the tools we use to develop branding solutions for our clients, whether that’s through logo design, graphic design or web design (or the content creation that backs it all up!)
Explore some of these tools for yourself and see how they can improve your business.
Article by:
Lee brings over 15 years of design and marketing experience to Red Kite, with 4 of those years spent running his own digital agency. He spends his time developing content, guides, tools and resources that educate our clients and help them grow their businesses through branding and marketing.
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