StudioC Design Ltd

What StudioC Design Ltd does

StudioC Design Ltd is a privately held, founder-owned New Zealand design studio founded in 2018 by Celeste and Glen Skachill and headquartered in the Blue Mountains, Upper Hutt (Wellington region), with a second studio in Christchurch serving the South Island. The company operates as a one-stop creative shop centered on a co-design methodology, offering co-design workshops, community engagement programs, graphic design, eLearning development, animation and illustration, and videography and photography. It serves primarily New Zealand government agencies (local and regional councils, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry for Women, the National Library) and environmental and social-impact nonprofits (Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, Ngā Manu, Forest & Bird, NZ Red Cross), with secondary work in healthcare training, education, and enterprise clients such as CreativeHQ.

The studio's core technology combines a facilitation-first co-design methodology with conventional visual storytelling tools, supported by proprietary Mobile Engagement Kits (portable, reusable display units for community feedback) and nature-focused production capabilities including drone and underwater filming. It delivers through a nine-person team covering facilitation, design, illustration, animation, eLearning, photography, and creative strategy, augmented by embedded partner specialists in videography (Zhū Creative) and copywriting/strategy (mister). All delivery is domestic, with no public platform or software product.

StudioC's revenue is generated through three streams: (1) project-based professional services for government and nonprofit clients; (2) tiered monthly Design Subscriptions (Starter at NZD $900/month for 8 hours, Essential at NZD $1,500/month for 15 hours) that bundle access to the full creative team at reduced hourly rates; and (3) fee-based training courses (Meetings to Workshops, Kia ora co-design, Beyond the Graphs) delivered in-person and as webinars. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on direct website inquiries, discovery chats, and inbound referrals, with content marketing (blog, case studies, social media) and earned media (Stuff, The Spinoff, Idealog) supporting top-of-funnel awareness. The company is bootstrapped with no external funding, no parent or subsidiary entities, and operates exclusively in New Zealand.

Name

StudioC Design Ltd

Legal name

StudioC Design Ltd

Website

https://studiocdesign.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

StudioC Design Ltd is a New Zealand design studio (founded 2018, 9 staff) offering co-design workshops, community engagement, graphic design, eLearning, animation, illustration, and videography to government, environmental, and nonprofit clients across both main islands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Studio & Creative Resourcing (In-house/Embedded Teams) (BPAFAIAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Content Production (Video, Design, Copy, Studio) (BPAFAAAF)

Keywords

• Co-design services
• Community engagement
• Graphic design
• ELearning development
• Design subscription

Headquarters

HQ city

Lower Hutt

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Design Subscription Services: Monthly subscription model providing access to full design team services at reduced rates. Two tiers available: Starter (8 hours/month) and Essential (15 hours/month). Includes graphic design, animation, branding, website design, infographics, report design, illustration, and strategy.
2. Project-Based Design Services: Custom project engagements including co-design workshops, community engagement programs, graphic design campaigns, eLearning development, animation and illustration projects, videography and photography services
3. Training Courses: Face-to-face and webinar courses on co-design methodology including 'Meetings to Workshops', 'Kia ora co-design', and 'Beyond the Graphs' courses for professional development

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

StudioC Design is a New Zealand-based creative studio that delivers co-design workshops, community engagement programs, graphic design, eLearning development, animation, illustration, videography and photography services. The studio operates a subscription model (Design Subscription) that gives clients ongoing access to its full creative team across graphic design, animation, branding, website design and infographics, alongside project-based engagements for bespoke co-design, engagement campaigns, training content and nature-focused visual storytelling.

Product overview

StudioC Design Ltd is a New Zealand-based design studio offering a portfolio of creative services centered around co-design methodology. The company provides seven core service lines: Co-design Workshops (facilitated collaborative design sessions), Community Engagement (authentic consultation with tools like empathy conversations and pop-up activations), Graphic Design (visual storytelling including branding, signage, and marketing materials), eLearning (interactive online course development), Animation & Illustration (from social media GIFs to full-length explainer animations), and Videography & Photography (specializing in nature and environmental subjects with drone and underwater capabilities). The Design Subscription provides ongoing access to the full creative team at reduced hourly rates. Educational offerings include courses such as Meetings to Workshops, Kia ora co-design, and Beyond the Graphs. The company operates as a one-stop-shop from strategy to creative delivery, working primarily with clients focused on environmental impact, social impact, and innovative education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Co-design Workshops Interactive workshop facilitation that brings together stakeholders with different perspectives to solve complex challenges through collaborative design activities and games. Targeted at government, nonprofit and environmental organisations in New Zealand.
• Community Engagement Authentic community consultation service using empathy conversations, interactive displays, pop-up activations and customer journey mapping to help organisations understand and connect with their communities. Used by local councils, regional councils and nonprofits.
• Graphic Design Visual storytelling design services including signage, billboards, infographics, icons, brochures, website design, branding, packaging and report design for mission-driven organisations.
• Design Subscription Monthly subscription giving clients access to the full creative team and range of services including infographics, signage, social media graphics, design strategy, brochures, website support, branding, animations and illustration at reduced hourly rates. Offered as Starter (8 hours/month, $900 + GST) and Essential (15 hours/month, $1,500 + GST) tiers, with a 3-month trial option available.
• eLearning Customised interactive online course development service using videos, animations and games to create engaging digital learning experiences delivered via Learning Management Systems or websites. Used by government and education sector clients such as Ministry of Health and National Library of New Zealand.
• Animation & Illustration Animated content creation ranging from social media GIFs to medium-length animations for newsletters and presentations, through to full-length animations explaining complex topics. Also includes custom illustration from marketing campaigns to detailed signage and interpretation work.
• Videography & Photography Visual storytelling service specialising in nature and environmental subjects, offering drone photography, underwater filming, wildlife photography, headshots, architectural photography, event documentation, and campaign photography and videography.
• Meetings to Workshops Course Two half-day in-person professional development course designed to build confidence in planning, designing and facilitating immersive, interactive co-design workshops.
• Kia ora co-design Course 1.5 hour introductory webinar for those new to co-design, providing foundational knowledge and understanding of collaborative design approaches.
• Beyond the Graphs Course Course teaching storytelling techniques for sharing scientific information, leveraging the brain's preference for remembering stories over facts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 600+ face-to-face conversations and 133,000 video views in Selwyn District Council engagement project
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Engagement InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudioC is listed as a member of the Engagement Institute, an organization focused on community engagement best practices and professional development in the field.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Colenso BBDO: One of New Zealand's largest and most awarded advertising agencies. A broader incumbent that overlaps on creative production, campaign design, and content for major NZ brands — typically winning the largest national accounts StudioC cannot serve at scale.
• Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand: Global network agency with NZ operations covering advertising, content, and brand. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the same NZ creative-services market with much larger production capacity.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy. Comparable as a benchmark for human-centered / co-design methodology applied to community, government, and social-impact work at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Alt Group: Award-winning NZ design studio covering brand, exhibition, graphic design, and content. Comparable as a mid-sized multi-disciplinary NZ creative house serving cultural, government, and commercial clients with a similar full-service, in-house model.
• The Church: Auckland creative agency with capabilities spanning brand, design, film, and content. Comparable as a NZ multi-discipline creative competitor that overlaps on graphic design, illustration, and video production services.
• Resn: New Zealand creative technology studio known for design and interactive storytelling. Comparable as another high-craft NZ creative house, though more digital/interactive-leaning, providing a benchmark for premium NZ design pricing.
• Double Denim: Auckland-based creative agency covering brand, design, and content production. Comparable as a NZ mid-sized creative shop competing for similar brand, campaign, and content briefs across government and consumer clients.
• Method: Global design and technology consultancy with NZ/AU presence delivering brand, product, and experience design. Comparable as a larger multi-disciplinary design firm competing for similar enterprise and government engagement work.
• The Workshop: NZ-based community engagement and consultation consultancy with offices in NZ and Australia. Closest peer by methodology — both firms run co-design-style engagement programs for government and public-interest clients, often competing for the same council RFPs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studioc-design-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about StudioC Design Ltd