Getting Creative

DEANNA HAYSOM SEARCHED FOR A SPACE TO GATHER HER GROWING TEAM AND SAW AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A WORKSPACE FOR MEDICINE HAT’S CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS.

She scoured Medicine Hat’s real estate market and rented a 900 square foot space on 2nd Street SE.

“I liked the idea of being downtown,” says Haysom, owner of marketing firm tag concepts and the co-workspace. “It’s central, which is nice for our clients to find us and I just love the sunshine that comes through the windows.”

Haysom replaced the floors, removed a wall to open the space, added a sliding barn door, installed wood accents and painted white board on one wall for brainstorming to create a calm space. Renovations were completed from December 2018 to January 2019 and the co-workspace launched in April.

Established in 2014, tag concepts is a boutique marketing firm in Medicine Hat. In the last three years the firm has grown from one to seven freelancers specializing in graphic design, web design and digital communications. Their portfolio ranges from local home builders Brost Developments to mechanical and solar installation company Terralta Inc.

“As our client base grew, I recognized I had to bring us together and I truly believe in the co-workspaces,” says Haysom. “I’ve been to them in Vancouver and Victoria, and many other areas, so I’ve seen how they work and I felt like there was room for one in Medicine Hat.”

Tag’s co-workspace serves local freelancers, including new graduates from Medicine Hat College’s visual communications program. The program offers a Bachelor of Applied Arts and two one-year certificates with a paid work term, with graduates establishing themselves among Medicine Hat’s creative professionals.

Medicine Hat’s graphic designers and photographers are among Alberta’s most sought-after creatives. Firms here are applying their sophisticated visual language to everything from brewery branding to corporate communications across North America.

The city is home to boutique firms, like tag and Flag 5, as well as multimedia production companies like Luke Fandrich, whose photography graces billboards and postcards across North America.

“The way we are working is changing,” says Haysom of the future of co-workspaces. “I predict that in five to 10 years you will see a lot less bricks and mortar for organizations and there will be a lot of people from different industries working within the same space. It’s exciting.”