Ali McShane and Monika Branagan are the dynamic co-founders of emerging design firm, The Bold Collective. The pair met whilst working as interior designers at the same practice and it didn’t take long before they recognised a common vision and shared design aesthetic. When they simultaneously found themselves at career crossroads, the duo took the collective leap, establishing their own practice.

Scarcely a year has passed and the pair are becoming increasingly well known for their innovative retail and corporate interiors, as well as their distinctive design approach. “We personally oversee every stage of every project,” they explain. “We are also very hands on, to the extent that we’ll often physically build or demonstrate design details.”

It’s this interactive approach, a wealth of combined skill sets (including strategic consultancy, change management and graphic design) and their infectious personalities that have already landed them a raft of prestigious projects.

“We genuinely get to know our clients and take the time to accurately interpret their needs,” adds Branagan. “It’s not the same tap dance routine every time. It’s a stringent process of tweaking and massaging the brief and the process to suit the client’s individual needs.” In many cases, the pair include the arranging and running of in-house client workshops, particularly when projects involve significant change management.

Their most significant project to date is the new office interior for Maxus, a global communications consultancy in North Sydney where they transformed a “daggy, lifeless office interior” into a fun and unconventional workplace designed to reflect the agency’s refreshing business approach. The pair are also working on a number of other agency interiors within the same building for umbrella client WPP.

Whilst McShane and Branagan drive the creative direction for their projects, they also believe in a collaborative style of working. “We’ve worked with various designers, interns and artists,” Branagan explains. “Along with the client, engineers, contractors and other consultants, it makes for a very interactive, exciting and artistic process.”

The Bold Collective

theboldcollective.com.au