Keeping abreast of design best practice is helping a long-standing Dunedin firm to keep growing after 105 years.
From humble beginnings as a signwriting studio, Miller Creative Group is growing strong, taking on nine new people in recent months and bringing staff numbers to 48.
Miller Creative Group managing director Keith Cooper said at a time when other well-known Dunedin companies were shrinking, Miller’s had gone from strength to strength.
‘‘Our offices in Auckland and Christchurch allow us to be up to speed with what our clients in those cities need,’’ Mr Cooper said.
The firm had also sent staff overseas this year to see the latest trends in equipment.
‘‘While in Dunedin and Otago locals like dealing with locals, we have also developed our online business as a complement to our physical presence,’’ he said.
Mr Cooper invested in the company in early 2016, buying half of the business with his brother John, and set about rebranding and relaunching it as Miller Creative Group.
‘‘We have gone through significant reinvention, with the latest addition to the stable being digital signage,’’ Mr Cooper said.
Interior commercial designer Annie Simpson-King joined Miller Creative Group a year ago, enabling the company to take on projects from the design stage to completion.
Ms Simpson-King, who has been a designer for most of her working career, is relishing the chance to tackle a wide range of projects.
‘‘It is exciting for me that we are now moving into the refurbishment of accommodation providers, such as hotels and motels,’’ she said.
She is particularly proud of the work she has done in refurbishing the staff room for the 350 staff at Centre City New World and in redesigning hotel rooms.
The company has several major projects on the go, including involvement in the new gastro research facility at the University of Otago, the redevelopment of Discovery World at Otago Museum, and the fit-out of the Dental School.
