Press Release from Transistor Studios

After exploring advertising's possibilities for its last productive decade, the industry misfits of Brooklyn-based Transistor Studios are opening an office Down Under and diving back into their deep-design roots.

"Opening an office in Australia is a very logical step for us," explained executive creative director and partner James Price. "Our success as a business is built upon doing things on our own terms, and a big part of that is being in places that excite and inspire us. It's why we moved our studio to Brooklyn, and now it's why we are expanding to Melbourne."

This confident self belief and the desire to go where they can be at their most productive should stand the company in good stead as it focuses on a new region's opportunities. Transistor started out in California with a Los Angeles studio, before settling in New York. But by opening an office in Melbourne later this year, manned by the Australian-born Price, Transistor has smartly placed itself in an opportunity crossfire that will continue to prove more popular as the industry evolves.

"We've done more work from the other side of the Pacific in the last couple of years, as that's certainly a market that is expanding quite a bit," said Price. But it's about more than just being in a new market, "While it's exciting to think about new clients and relationships in that territory, what I'm equally excited about is being able to offer our client base in North America and Europe a truly global perspective. Working with, and in, other cultures is so invigorating for the culture of a creative business. It's exhilarating to think about the influence of this international outlook on a boutique design firm like us, and how that influences our output."

"We've always prided ourselves on having a global accent to our work, which has translated really well to our clients in the UK and Europe, so I think we'll be embraced in Australia, and beyond," added co-founder, executive producer and partner Damon Meena. "Once we left the West Coast to focus on our New York office, James and I knew at some point we would return to having two offices. We are Transistor Studios with an 's', after all."

With Price holding down the fort in Australia, Meena will manage a North American operation recently blessed with the in-house promotion of two of Transistors most talented. Aaron Baumle, who has been with Transistor for 9 years, was named creative director earlier this year. Baumle's background as a visual display artist, combined with his bachelor of fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago allows him to solve problems from a very practical, hands on perspective. He shares this sense of pragmatism with recently promoted associate creative director Jamie Rockaway. Rockaway, who started at the company in 2005, recently oversaw the BBC's dazzling "Get Into Books" and "Medieval Minds" commercials, which seamlessly merged Transistor's gift for versatile animation, head-trip design and pop-culture sensibility.

"These guys have been creative directing their own projects but haven't really had as much notoriety as they deserve," explained Meena. "So now is the time for it."

It's not just the notoriety that excites Baumle about his new role: "Jamie, James and I have a history of collaborating together to make sure a project reaches its potential. It feels intuitive for us to work alongside each other in a capacity that allows us to take advantage of our unique skills." And it's an approach that will offer Transistor's global client base the best creative fit for each individual project. "In the last 2 years we've been to South Africa, Shanghai, London, Los Angeles, Singapore and Amsterdam, as some iteration of the three of us," adds Baumle. "As creative leads we are inspired by each other and the places we work in. The evolution of the Melbourne studio just offers us even greater opportunities to collaborate."