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Who we are
We are all about creating promotional ideas that help you attract customers and grow your business.
We seek to understand your business and then develop persuasive communication to meet your objectives. We work together with you to effectively sell your products or services.
What sets us apart is our ability to understand your organisation at a deeper level. For us to do an excellent job we need to understand your products and services, your customers and what you want to achieve. We need to understand the history and culture of your business and the world you operate in.
From this platform of understanding we inject creative thinking into your design and communication to present ideas that stand out and attract customers. We use the latest techniques in print and electronic media to help you reach your objectives.
Throughout the process our fully qualified creative team work with a friendly ‘can do’ attitude to make sure you get what you want.
We hold onto eight core values that are important to us in fulfilling our promise of being ‘The Art of Business’. We aim for excellence in all our activities and relationships by being:
Creative - focused on producing fresh ideas that work
Adaptable - with a ‘Can Do’ attitude for our clients
Strategic - all creativity needs to be 'on brief' and work in a commercial environment
Qualified - our people are tertiary educated with appropriate experience
Dependable - being reliable and meeting agreed deadlines
Friendly - we enjoy the journey of working with our clients and each other
Honest - having integrity in all we do, maintaining trust is vital
Proficient - current in technology, systems, software and thinking
The Downing Design team
Tony Downing
Tony gained a Diploma in Visual Communications from Wellington Polytechnic in the late 1980s. He went on to work as an in-house graphic designer in Wellington for Colonial Mutual Life and as an Art Director for Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, a multinational advertising agency. After leaving Ogilvy he worked in an inner city Church as a pastor for 3 years and then moved to Nelson with his family. In 1994 Tony set up Downing Design and continues to build the business today.
Karel van Helden-Stevens
Karel graduated from Victoria University, Welington with a BA in English Literature and Art History. He also has a Diploma of Teaching, working as a teacher before moving into Event and Artist Management. He also plays music semi-professionally, having recorded several CDs and toured throughout NZ and overseas. Karel has spent the last 10 years in Nelson with his family, initially working as a Church Music Director and part-time graphic designer. He's now full-time with Downing Design as a Project Manager liaising with clients and working closely with our designers.
Alice Robinson
Studied at the Wanganui School of Design, to gain her Bachelor of Design. She then worked for Saatchi Design, Sydney, before returning to Nelson to work with Downing Design.
Rebecca Mudgway
Has worked in various roles as a Graphic Designer and with Harvey Cameron Advertising in Christchurch before coming to work for Downing Design.
Vanessa Downing
Vanessa has a background in administration and sales with a side line of professional singing. She is currently the office manager, keeping the office systems in order.
Bronwyn Smith
Works as Office Administrator fulfulling many roles, keeping the business side of things running smoothly and helping with client support.
Our Story
Tony and Vanessa Downing set up Downing Design in Nelson in 1994. Armed with a packet of felt pens and a drawing board Tony started by designing logos and brands for local businesess and expanded the business to include advertising, web design and strategic services. From 1994 to 2004 the business operated from a home office in various locations in Nelson including Tahunanui, Brightwater and Monaco. In 2005 Downing Design moved to a building in the Richmond Mall car park. At that time it was renovated into a studio office. This was the home of Downing Design until August 09 when Downing Design moved into the Historic Fields Building in Hardy Street in the Nelson City CBD. The current office is a significant step forward and offers a bright open creative space.
Downing Design started with a staff of 2 which became 3 while in Brightwater, growing to 4 when it moved to Monaco and then 6 while in Richmond. We now maintain that number in the Nelson office.