As the largest ever Australian government investment in creative industries development, the Creative Industries Innovation Centre delivered tailored business services to more than 1500 creative businesses from 2009 to 2015 and provided industry intelligence and advice for public policy and peak sectoral activity. This collection gives an overview of the current ‘state of business’ in Australia’s creative industries – both as an industry sector in its own right and as an enabling sector and skills set for other industries – and reflects on business needs, creative industries policy and support services for the sector. With contributions from the Centre’s team of senior business advisers and from leading Australian researchers who worked closely with the Centre –including experts on design-led innovation and the creative economy – and case studies of leading Australia creative businesses, the book is intended as and industry-relevant contribution to business development and public policy. Content links to the publicly accessible Creative Industries Innovation Centre Collection Archive at the UTS Library, which holds material from Centre’s activities over its six years of operation.

This book explores the relationship between creativity, creative people, and creative industries in regional Australia through examining lived experience. The authors draw on more than 100 qualitative interviews with creative workers, and contextualise this creative work within the broader social and cultural structures of Australia’s Hunter region (located north of Sydney, in New South Wales). An invaluable resource for anyone interested in creative ecosystems as well as creativity and innovation, this book is an ethnographic study using the Hunter region as a case connected to the national and global networks that typify the creative industry. This timely addition to the Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture series gives a unique insight into creativity and cultural production.

This text provides a guide to creative business start-ups. The Creative business sector covers the areas of advertising, architecture, arts and antique markets, crafts, design, designer fashion, film, video and photography; musical and visual performing arts, publishing, radio, software, computer games and electronic publishing; and television. This resource covers business essentials including what foundations to put in place to the business started; how to set up and grow a business; sources of funding and tips for organizing business finances; what angels and other investors look for; where to find support; and the psychology of business success. It also gives actionable advice and essential tips to start and grow a business.

This open access book explores the experience of working as a craftsperson or designer maker in the contemporary creative economy. The authors utilise evidence from the only major empirical study to explore the skills required and the challenges facing contemporary makers in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Drawing upon 180 interviews with peak organisations, established and emerging makers, and four years of fieldwork across Australia, this book offers a unique insight into the motivations informing those who seek to make an income from their craft or designer maker practice, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing them as they do so at this time of renewed interest internationally in the artisanal and handmade. Offering a rich and deep collection of real-life experiences, this book is aimed both at an academic and practitioner audience.

Many of us assume that our creative process is beyond our ability to influence, and pay attention to it only when it isn't working properly. For the most part, we go about our daily tasks and everything just "works." Until it doesn't. Adding to this lack of understanding is the rapidly accelerating pace of work. Each day we are face escalating expectations and a continual squeeze to do more with less. We are asked to produce an ever-increasing amount of brilliance in an ever-shrinking amount of time. There is an unspoken (or spoken!) expectation that we'll be accessible 24/7, and as a result we frequently feel like we're "always on." Now business creativity expert Todd Henry explains how to unleash your creative potential. Whether you're a creative by trade or an "accidental creative," this book will help you quickly and effectively integrate new ideas into your daily life.

The business of design details the what, why and how of running an Australian design business. Written entirely from a local perspective, this is the only Australian book to span all the business skills needed to start, manage and grow a design studio.