MODERN DESIGN STUDIOS AS A «THIRD SPACE»
8 MINUTE READ. PUBLISHED 25 SEPT 2025. UPDATED 8 NOV 2025.
CREATIVE COMMONS CC BY ELECTRO STRATEGY STUDIO. WRITTEN BY ADRIAN JARVIS.
TL;DR Modern design studios should be built as Third Spaces. A commercial and creative model where people, projects, communities, and economics build virtuous value. To work, it needs to have the right mix of people, economics, accountability, networks, and infrastructure.
WHAT IS A THIRD SPACE?
The idea of the Third Space comes from sociology and cultural theory. Homi Bhabha, in Third Space theory, highlighted a zone where cultures meet, mix, and reshape identity. Ray Oldenburg, who coined the term, described spaces outside home and work where people gather as equals.
Both of these influential voices highlight some important truths:
Traditional concepts of home, work, and community are no longer distinct.
Membership comes through contribution, rather than hierarchy.
New ideas and forms emerge when we re-examine extremes.
The practice of Third Spaces is relevant to modern studios as they both look to navigate many extremes; art and commerce, code and culture, ideas both big and small, hybrid and remote, local and global, red and blue... boundaries have become blurred, rules are being renegotiated.
Often, clients look beyond fixed processes and templated expertise. They want creative partners to help them navigate category futures, cultural paradoxes... and, vitally, a world homogenised by globalisation and artificial intelligence.
CASE STUDY: Studio Rejane Dal Bello in London operates as a graphic design practice where commercial work, cultural projects and social impact overlap; treating design as a civic as well as a commercial imperative.
MARKET DEMAND FOR A DIFFERENT TYPE OF STUDIO.
Modern studios face challenges that cannot be solved by traditional models and thinking. Studios are neither design factories nor exemplars of design theory. They have had to become more of a participatory space, where where designers, strategists, clients and communities come together to build what comes next. Going beyond products and marketing, to influence the fabric of client organisations. This is driven by:
UNCERTAIN FUTURES. New ways of thinking and making; macro shifts in tech, climate and markets.
POLARISED DEMANDS. Bold creativity and strict efficiency; global reach and local sensitivity.
WORK WITH PURPOSE. Recognising the power of brands; contributing to bigger ideas and ideals.
BROKEN FRAMEWORKS. Rethinking how brands really grow; navigating an AI-driven digital world.
BLURRED BOUNDARIES. Design is not just output; design as co-creation, dialogue and partnership.
CASE STUDY: SPACE10, IKEA’s external research and design lab, explored solutions to macro trends from food systems to urban futures. At the right point in 2023, the experiment closed, so IKEA could move to a distributed, tech-driven model more suited to their next challenges.
HOW TO MOVE FROM METAPHOR TO PRACTICE.
The idea of the Third Space is a key shift for design studios. Rethinking the role of culture, creativity, and commerce has to inform the way the business runs. Many studio owners see new models, especially those with a less linear approach to revenue, as risky and theoretical.
However, we we need new behaviours if we are to create differentiators that both attracts better creative talent and more interesting, less commoditised work. To do this, the formula is additive, rather than a compromise between new and traditional organisational drivers:
COMMERCIAL MODELS FOR THIRD SPACE STUDIOS.
To be financially sustainable, studios have to maintain employees, pay rent, and ensure investor return. This requires a business model designed to align purpose, profit, and practice:
CLIENT PROJECTS. Commissioned strategy, design and cultural research remain the backbone of creative businesses. Effective planning ensures work is commercially and creatively viable.
PARTNERSHIP MODELS. Co-design, shared IP and joint ventures provide much needed ways to create additive value and advantage; especially in highly commoditised and competitive markets.
PROGRAMS AND TOOLKITS. Building repeatable, participatory methods can create value for clients’ businesses, and ideally fund creative (and technological) experimentation.
ADVISORY AND SPEAKING. From boardrooms to forums, strategic advisory contributes to commercial survival, while extending the reach of the studio’s thinking and values.
CASE STUDY: Accept & Proceed developed a new model in 2025 called New Patterns that focuses on building talent, clients and community. Everyone in the studio contributed to the vision, philosophy, methods, and process — and its continued evolution.
LESSONS FROM SUCCESSFUL THIRD SPACE STUDIOS.
Ideas and principles alone do not keep a studio alive. To sustainably function as a true Third Space, principles must be backed by commercial discipline:
ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP. Inspiration, direction and informed decision-making.
THE RIGHT PEOPLE. Curiosity and cultural fluency matter as much as models and concepts.
THEMES WITH TIMESCALES. Macro challenges and milestones provide a filter for new business.
CLEAR ECONOMICS. Projects, fees and partnerships fund commercial sustainability.
BALANCED ACCOUNTABILITY. Design freedom works with shared credit and responsibility.
EXPERT NETWORKS. Connecting with a range of expertise brings new perspectives.
DURABLE INFRASTRUCTURE. Contracts, payroll, tax, and insurance are scaffolding for creativity.
CASE STUDY: Dark Matter Labs frames their work through systems thinking, publishing Life Ennobling Economics as their ‘south star’ and founding principles; for both how they work and how to reimagine pathways to a better future.
A FEW CREDITS…
This thinking has been shaped by working with Accept & Proceed, BrandTech Consulting, Proxy Studio, R/GA, Studio Everywhere, and 20Something. Other influences include Jon Alexander, Dark Matter Labs, Extinction Rebellion, Crass, Freedom Press, DAO, and the continued resilience of employee-ownership models... and many collaborators over the years, from Helsinki to Tokyo.
GET IN TOUCH TO DISCUSS STUDIO MODELS…
This article was written by Adrian Jarvis, who founded Electro, an independent strategy studio based in East London. Adrian has over 30 years experience of working with agencies of all sizes. The principles discussed here are highly scalable from nano, small and boutique studios to multinational groups, across a range of cultures and media verticals. Find out more.