The Pencil Box
The Pencil Box is a Cape Town based creative design studio, established in 2011 that works nationally and internationally with brands of all sizes, offering print and digital solutions constantly sharpening their pencils to make sure clients get the freshest ideas and solutions for their needs.
Offering a fresh perspective on content strategy, The Pencil Box draws on their collective talents and experiences to provide creative solutions for brands of all sizes combined with the latest research and industry insights to sketch out inspiring creative solutions, sharpen brands, and develop on point messaging for their clients.
Their creative collective is made up of designers, art directors, copywriters and project managers, each with over 17 years of experience in the publishing and advertising industries.
Services include:
Brand and content creation, print and digital design, copywriting, social media, packaging and web design.
The Pencil Box’s Journey With LevelUp
The Pencil Box had worked with RCS for almost 9 years before it was introduced to the LevelUp programme. Despite not being a start up, co-founder and creative director of The Pencil Box, Layla Hassiem, says, LevelUp changed the way I view the management of our business and our team. As creatives, we tend to fall short on the
business and financial experience, which was where I needed the most help.”
As a result of the programme , Layla says that management has been focusing on systems and procedures and managing the financial health of their business. They have also learned the value of outsourcing specific skillsets that cannot be met in house. Layla credits the LevelUp workshops for broadening her knowledge to expand her leadership skills. Layla also derived significant value from networking with like minded entrepreneurs.
The Future For The Pencil Box
Covid-19 took its toll on The Pencil Box both financially and mentally. Initially, the company committed to navigating their clients through unknown territory. However, as lockdown persisted and businesses started closing their doors, the budget cuts impacted The Pencil Box’s bottom line. Nevertheless, the teams adapted to working from home relatively easily and have worked on developing healthy mindsets.
As a successful business, The Pencil Box envisions a bright future. Not only are they committed to continuing to assist their clients, despite the strain of limited resources, Covid-19 has also highlighted that The Pencil Box team need to aim for a better work life balance.