Growth and size are considered dirty-words when talking about design. One often assumes size kills creative organization and that nothing good ever comes out of a large organization. I think this is more a myth of practitioners' own making than the truth.

I've been part of the amazing growth spurt of two design organizations— Apple’s Creative Service and Studio Archetype. Both companies grew from 40 to 140 people and they both were vibrant energetic design environments. One can experience great personal satisfaction in a large design firm just as one can easily be miserable in a small firm doing lousy work. I've learned that size is not the enemy; it's the lack of vision that drains the life blood out of a design organization. The difference between a great or a lousy organization has to do with the rigor the core values of design are reinforced and the opportunity one has to do impactful and challenging work. More importantly, it's about having trust in the leadership to do the right thing.

The explosive growth Studio Archetype experienced in the three short year of its existence was just such a place. Great people, great clients, great projects and long, long, long hours. It was not without its flaws and challenges but it was a place where one was asked to stretch and take on responsibilities.

1 9 9 6
March
• Clement Mok designs was renamed to Studio Archetype
October
• Studio Archetype named agency on record for ibm.com
December
• Studio Archetype opened office in NYC
• 100th employee was hired

1 9 9 7
January
• Awarded the 1998 Nagano Olympics account by IBM and Internation Olympic Committee
September
• Studio Archetype opened office in Atlanta
December
• Closed the year with $20M in revenue

1 9 9 8
February
• Opened sales office in Sydney, Australia and Sao Paolo, Brazil
April
• Company celebrated its 10th year anniversary
August
• Studio Archetype was acquired by Sapient Corporation (Nasdaq: SAPE)

1 9 9 9
June
• Company name ceased to exist as Studio Archetype. It operates as Sapient