“UKTI has been fantastic in helping us make contact with potential customers and offering advice.”
Matt Round, Creative Director of Tangerine
Matt Round believes there are three fundamental ways to make sure his company – Tangerine – stays ahead of the international competition in the fast-paced and rapidly evolving design sector.
A company needs to stay sharp, says Round, creative director of the London-based firm, ticking the points off his fingers. Its designers need to keep an open mind, he adds, and they must always believe that there is a way to make things better and have the experience and knowledge to find that better way.“These are the factors that add up to delivering truly compelling customer experiences and a competitive advantage for our clients”.
“Tangerine has solved some of the most complex puzzles in design by unlocking powerful innovations that have to operate within very demanding constraints, “Round said. “We have designed some of the most beautiful products that, in each and every case, optimise design to deliver a noticeable increase in the quality of the consumer experience,” he said. “This improves perceptions of efficiency and, by extension, reinforces consumers’ belief and trust in the brand.”
Tangerine has won more than 50 international design awards, including the coveted Design Business Association Grand Prix for design effectiveness. The award measures how design affects the commercial performance of a business, with Tangerine taking the honour for the design of the British Airways Club World business class seat.
British Airways was so impressed – and delighted at the dramatic increase in revenue – that it has described that sear as the “profit engine of the British [BA’s] business.”
Tangerine has been working in Japan since 2006 and counts Toyota and Nikon among its clients here.
“It is an alluring market to which we can bring knowledge and skills that help Japanese companies perform better in domestic and global markets,” Round said.
“We believe we can bring a fresh perspectives, global expertise and industry-specific knowledge.” It has helped to have the assistance of the UK Trade & Investment team in Tokyo, he added. “Making anything work takes time, commitment and energy; breaking into Japan was no different,” Round said. “UKTI has been fantastic in helping us make contact with potential customers and offering advice.”
“Our team at Tangerine is multi-cultural and includes Japanese nationals who facilitate communication and help to bridge cultural differences, as well as taking an active role in the design process,” he added. “In my opinion and experience, the cultural differences are actually rather small and we have more in common than initially springs to mind.”
“We share the same goal with our Japanese clients – we want to deliver outstanding design that makes their business profitable, and that interest unites our cultures.”
