Subject Studios

Wellington NZ based studio Subject Studios is headed up by two young guns, Roydon Misseldine & Zayyar Win Thein. Roydon & Zayyar tell us all about why they love collaborating, where they get their inspiration from and how they balance full-time study and running a studio. 

How did Subject Studios begin?

We always wanted to do more than our specified freelance fields, we didn’t want to feel stuck in a box and pigeon hole ourselves and I think we both knew there was a lot of experimenting and natural growth creatively for us. So from that Subject Studios formed from various conversations and group chats involving close friends about the creative industry and what we could do within it. Since those beginning ideas we managed to set up the creative platform we envisioned and now are delving into the mediums and areas we always have set out to do. As a studio we initiate projects to explore and push our creativity but also are able to offer a unique set of tools to clients.

Tell us about any collaborations you have been doing: past, present & future?

We have been collaborating with many creatives through multiple disciplines such as photographers on various publications and dj’s on Subject Mixes predominantly within the youth. A collaborative studio exhibition is in progress for the end of this month and for the future we’re looking to collaborate more on physical products such as books, clothing and art. We believe that collaboration is key to what we do and what we want to achieve, we want to be involved with good ideas and people who are passionate.

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Where do you gather your inspiration?

Our studio is in the heart of Wellington’s culture, right outside our doorstep are a lot of upcoming small businesses perfecting their craft be it baking, natural soda, chocolate, peanut butter or coffee it is inspiring to be around and to hear their stories. Online there are a lot of mediums we look at - blogs, websites, interviews and social media. What really resonates with us is clothing, furniture, architecture and books, one day we may get excited about a certain font and another day it could a sneaker, a chair or a new building going up in Sweden. We’re both constantly saving images and their sources which we document on our Subject Reference page to share. It’s important to tie inspiration together from a range of sources when working on a project as it allows you to not feel constrained or restricted in any way.

Where do you think design is heading in the next five years and how will you adapt?

It’s moving so quickly, it’s hard to envision what it would be like since the level of relevancy is changing constantly. We think design has developed a lot in the past three years regarding how accessible it is, with everyone in our generation wanting to be a creative; this is great for collaboration as a lot of young creatives want to make a difference within the industry, but can saturate the market. In terms for us staying relevant and adapting we have to keep pushing our expectations and our boundaries and not settle for anything less.

Design work by Subject Studios The Design Kids interviews Subject Studios work-4
Design work by Subject Studios The Design Kids interviews Subject Studios work-4

We always wanted to do more than our specified freelance fields, we didn’t want to feel stuck in a box and pigeon hole ourselves and I think we both knew there was a lot of experimenting and natural growth creatively for us. So from that Subject Studios formed from various conversations.

What does a typical working day include for you right now?

Currently we’re both juggling university with studio time, so no day is like the same. We always manage to find time to talk through current and upcoming projects over coffee between our schedules each day. Being where we are it means we could go from visiting our print maker on upcoming products to putting the finishing touches on a rebrand presentation - balance is important while running a business, studying and having other commitments makes us value our physical space and results in us working that extra bit harder.

What's your big goal in the next 5 years?

Keep collaborating with like-minded individuals and companies across multiple creative mediums while not limiting ourselves to areas such as food, culture, education. We want to work with people who strive to make a difference in any field and that for us is a big goal whether it be a local cafe or a global brand. We want to be pushing our studio projects and products while looking for new ideas, new theories and new aspects to make change and bring something innovative to the industry.

Design work by Subject Studios The Design Kids interviews Subject Studios work-6

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Photos by Dexter Murray

Design work by Subject Studios The Design Kids interviews Subject Studios work-11
Design work by Subject Studios The Design Kids interviews Subject Studios work-11

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