Companion
Companion is a digital product design studio that partners with start-ups, brands and companies to create new realities.
The studio’s core mission is to enhance the lives of people and their experience of the world around them by designing tools, services and products intended to inspire, entertain and create a better future for people and the planet.
Companion partners with people who share its values and motivations: openness, curiosity, togetherness and a desire to create digital experiences.
Based
London
Additional locations
Europe (remote)
Founded
2020
Company Size
8, plus a network of freelancers
Office Hours
Flexible
Specialism
Digital Design
Key Departments
Design, Development
Jobs and Opportunities
Digital Brand Identity for Limna, the AI-powered art assistant
Digital Brand Identity for The DO Lectures
iOS and Android app design for Alexander
Web design for Cellular Goods
A digital installation created for VanMoof
Inside the Company
Companion Studio was founded in late 2020 by Myles Palmer, and currently operates as a full-time team of eight based in London. It taps into its network of freelance designers and developers (across Europe) to expand to a team of ten or more at any one time.
The company is looking to grow organically and seeks to hire more broadly across strategy, digital production, design and development, to add to its permanent team. The studio is currently based in Shoreditch, operate with flexible hours and are open to working across locations and time zones.
Mission and Values
Companion was initially conceived as a way of helping to fulfil the creative and business potential of companies, collaborators and colleagues.
The studio’s aim is to go on adventures with people – not just to create something in the short-term and move on, but to work and grow collaboratively and to experience the ups and downs alongside its partners.
Above all, Companion aims to create digital experiences which enable people to grow, learn, discover and share moments of happiness with others, rather than mindlessly scrolling.
Culture and Benefits
Being a young and small company, Companion’s culture is still defining itself and is in constant evolution. The team’s wish is to create a culture in which everyone feels comfortable and works openly with one another.
The team’s wish is to create an environment in which everyone feels comfortable and works openly with one another. That's why Companion offers flexible hours and the opportunity to work from home 3 days a week (or abroad for up to 30 days/year). Employees have access to benefits such as the cycle to work scheme, access to Spill and Headspace subscriptions and a learning budget. Employees can also use up to 5 days per year to teach or volunteer and receive full pay.
The studio also aims to donate up to five percent of its annual revenue to causes that the team believes in, with one percent currently going to environmental organisations. The intention is to build a company that is sustainable for everyone involved, not just the stakeholders.
Entry-Level Opportunities
As such a small team, Companion acknowledges the challenges of finding the right projects and environments for a junior member of the team to grow in.
The team realises that there are unrealistic expectations placed on many junior creatives, and recognises the responsibility it has within the industry to put processes in place that enable people to thrive and not struggle - here's an article they wrote about their experience on that subject.
Companion offers the time for mentoring publicly through a platform of its own creation: Pair Up. The team often partake in other portfolio review sessions, as well as guest lecturing at universities and supporting junior creatives wherever they can.
Internships and junior roles are something Companion is trying to work on actively. It hopes to offer more opportunities later in the year.