The Outside Directory aims to create a one-stop, collated resource for people looking to champion the creativity happening all over the UK, not just within London, and to share, celebrate, and encourage the talent in the regions.

A directory is the simplest, most concise, and inclusive way to accommodate the diverse array of talented businesses the regions have to offer and for people to engage with.

In short, it’s for everyone. However, to expand, the hope is that the Directory provides a starting point, or place to return to, for people exploring creativity in the regions complimenting the myriad of creative businesses operating within them.

We hope it will provide a valuable resource for graduates looking to live and work outside London, and contribute to the retention of the talent currently studying in the wealth of educational institutions in the regions. We hope professionals of all ages and disciplines will see the Directory as a complimentary resource in their career path and if looking for a new appointment, change in role, or change in lifestyle. We see the Directory as a valuable network and starting point for cross-disciplinary collaboration between practices and practitioners and we hope it will provide ample demonstration of the diverse and distinct creative offers and activity happening outside London.

The initial database was crowd-sourced by voluntary creative practitioners living and working in and around the UK regions (find out more on the Founding Contributors here).

Since launching, the Outside Directory operates as an accessible and autonomous platform, meaning any and all are welcome. By entering a few simple details here you can add your business, or another business, to the Directory directly. A minor URL check commences after submission to check validity of the entry before being added to the Directory.

Yes. The Outside Directory operates as an accessible and autonomous platform, meaning any and all are welcome. By entering a few simple details here you can add your business or another business to the Directory directly. A minor URL check commences after submission to check validity of the entry before being added to the Directory with a confirmation email following on. All entries to the Directory will have no association or attachment to the individual which entered them, and is therefore anonymous.

Our hope is to build the Outside Directory collectively and in a collaborative fashion to celebrate and recognise everyone working in the creative industries outside of the capital. As such we’d like to think that one’s inclusion in the Directory is a small but meaningful testament and commitment to this shared collective goal. However, if your business is listed on the Directory and for any reason you wish to have the listing removed, please email mail@outside.directory from an email address registered with or associated to the listed domain informing us of your desire to be removed and we will action within 10 working days.

The Outside Directory wants to recognise and celebrate all creative practices and practitioners working in the creative industries outside London. In this we also recognise the multitudes of models and make-ups of businesses, from global network agencies to one-person start-ups and everything in between. At present, however, we are only able to facilitate businesses in the Directory as we feel Freelance is a much more nuanced offer. We absolutely recognise the vital role and contribution Freelancers make not only to the creative industries but to the economy as a whole and do have plans fore a more dedicated platform for Freelancers in the near future regardless. For clarity, we are working on the loose classification that a freelancer is a sole individual whom works inside other businesses, as support or in consultation, creating work we would loosely describe as ‘white labelling’, whereas a business would qualify as any number of people, one or more, but whom work on their own body of work, usually, but not exclusively, direct to client. We acknowledge this is somewhat binary and by no means infallible, so if a business is half to client and half to agency, for example, we would welcome inclusion to the Directory.

The Directory’s tags contain disciplines which are left purposefully broad and loose. We haven’t tried to categorise too definitively due to the multi-faceted nature of the creative disciplines, so we ask you to please be generously open. Some classifications, such as Design, are more broader than others and we would suggest Design if operating or specialising in Graphic Design, Surface Design, Product Design, 3-D Design, Brand Design, Packaging Design, Design for Publishing and Editorial, Exhibition Design etc. For Social Media and Social disciplines we suggest Marketing. If you are unsure or wish to suggest a discipline we may have missed, please email mail@outside.directory and we will take it into consideration.

Sadly not. The Outside Directory concerns the creative industries in the UK regions only. We do hold dear a principle that creativity is never confined to any capital city, so if you would like to discuss open sourcing the Outside Directory for your nation, please email mail@outside.directory.

We want to make the Directory as appealing as possible to all browsers and provide a minor snapshot of the work, environment, personality, or principles of each entrant. Pictures support this. Images will be cropped square unless you provide them as such and must be under 5mb in size otherwise your entry will be unable to progress.

We respect your information and take data protection seriously. Your email address is required in the process of adding to the Directory for us to simply provide a confirmation of the entry or, should any fields contain errors—such as a duplication on the Directory or incorrect URL—to inform you of these. This is a one time communication and your details are not retained nor attached to your entry beyond this initial point.

Nothing at all. Not everything has to be about London.

The Outside Directory is committed to celebrating and encouraging talent and business in the UK regions. If you would like to chat with us about the Directory or have a media request, equally if you would like to discuss the possibility of us coming to your workplace, organisation, or educational institution to speak about the project and living and working in the regions, please email mail@outside.directory. We also hope to offer universities, colleges, and schools outside London the opportunity to have practitioners from their respective regions visit to discuss living and working outside London. We will also extend this to the same educational institutions in the capital for the benefit of students looking to leave the city upon graduation. Again, if this is of interest please email us.

The Outside Directory was initiated by Craig Oldham and Alice Fraser of the Office Of Craig. The initial database for the Outside Directory was crowd-sourced by over 100 voluntary creative practitioners living and working in and around the UK regions. These practitioners responded to open calls and open invitations for a contribution with each individual, organisation, or network, being afforded complete autonomy to add any entries from their knowledge, experience, and expertise.

We would like to place on record our extreme gratitude for the generosity and time offered by our Founding Contributors and for sharing their knowledge on the bountiful and beautiful creative scenes in and around their homes in the regional towns and cities of the UK.

Ad Lancaster, Aidan Noilan, Ailish Beadle, Alice Pomfret, Alyson Agar, Ashley Drew, Barry Strachan, Caleb Powdrill, Callum Richards, Chanelle, Chris (STCKMN), Chris Jackson, Chris White (We Three Club), Colin Davies (Aviary Works), Derek McKechnie, Dougal Marwick (Touch Agency), Edward Boyle, Ellis Hampton, Emily Jean Osbourne, Emma (the 6ress), Emma McDermott, Eva Louisa Jonas, Eve Warren, Gary Toal, Glen and Rebecca (GRRR), Graeme (Jamhot), Hana Barnes, Holly Catford, Holly Donnelly, Hungry Sandwich Club, Jaheed Hussain, James (Alt Studio), James Ashe, James Cross, Jill Dack, Jimmy Turrell, Joe Gill, Joe Habben, Jon Evans (Blood), Jon Hatton, Jonny Gibson, Josh, Karl Stones, Kathryn Robertson, Kerry Wheeler, Kristi Nickel, Laura Sayers, Laura Whitehouse, Lee Davies (Peter & Paul), Lily LK, Luigi Carnovale, Luke Tonge, Maris Latham, Mark (SW Productions), Mark Burgoyne, Mark Ferguson, Mark Glancy, Mat Bend, Matt Baxter, Micah Purnell, Mike (DbleNeg), Mike Smith (Clout), Mike Walsh (Uniform), Miles (Kaleido Grafik), Millie Jobson, Nathan Smith, Neil Hardcastle, Nicholas Parker, Nigel Ball, Pam Bowman, Pat Walker, Pete Thomas, Phoebe Willison (Design Weans), Richard Weston, Sam Cooke, Sarah Tempest, Saul Duffin, Sean Rees, Sophia Forte, Sophie Amono, Suzie Winsor, Tim Jones, Tom Richards, Will Rayner, Yee Poon.

Thank you.

Your privacy is important to us. It is our policy to respect your privacy and comply with any applicable law and regulation regarding any personal information we may collect about you across our website, https://outside.directory.

This policy is effective as of 17 August 2021 and was last updated on 17 August 2021.

Information We Collect

Information we collect includes both information you knowingly and actively provide us when using or participating in any of our services and promotions, and any information automatically sent by your devices in the course of accessing our products and services.

Log Data

When you visit our website, our servers may automatically log the standard data provided by your web browser. It may include your device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your browser type and version, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on each page, other details about your visit, and technical details that occur in conjunction with any errors you may encounter.

Please be aware that while this information may not be personally identifying by itself, it may be possible to combine it with other data to personally identify individual persons.

Personal Information

We may ask for personal information which may include one or more of the following:

• Name
• Email

Legitimate Reasons for Processing Your Personal Information

We only collect and use your personal information when we have a legitimate reason for doing so. In which instance, we only collect personal information that is reasonably necessary to provide our services to you.

Collection and Use of Information

We may collect personal information from you when you do any of the following on our website:

• Use a mobile device or web browser to access our content
• Contact us via email, social media, or on any similar technologies
• When you mention us on social media

We may collect, hold, use, and disclose information for the following purposes, and personal information will not be further processed in a manner that is incompatible with these purposes:

• To contact and communicate with you

Please be aware that we may combine information we collect about you with general information or research data we receive from other trusted sources.

Security of Your Personal Information

When we collect and process personal information, and while we retain this information, we will protect it within commercially acceptable means to prevent loss and theft, as well as unauthorised access, disclosure, copying, use, or modification.

Although we will do our best to protect the personal information you provide to us, we advise that no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and no one can guarantee absolute data security. We will comply with laws applicable to us in respect of any data breach.

You are responsible for selecting any password and its overall security strength, ensuring the security of your own information within the bounds of our services.

How Long We Keep Your Personal Information

We keep your personal information only for as long as we need to. This time period may depend on what we are using your information for, in accordance with this privacy policy. If your personal information is no longer required, we will delete it or make it anonymous by removing all details that identify you.

However, if necessary, we may retain your personal information for our compliance with a legal, accounting, or reporting obligation or for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific, or historical research purposes or statistical purposes.

Children’s Privacy

We do not aim any of our products or services directly at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information about children under 13.

International Transfers of Personal Information

The personal information we collect is stored and/or processed where we or our partners, affiliates, and third-party providers maintain facilities. Please be aware that the locations to which we store, process, or transfer your personal information may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which you initially provided the information. If we transfer your personal information to third parties in other countries: (i) we will perform those transfers in accordance with the requirements of applicable law; and (ii) we will protect the transferred personal information in accordance with this privacy policy.

Your Rights and Controlling Your Personal Information

You always retain the right to withhold personal information from us, with the understanding that your experience of our website may be affected. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your rights over your personal information. If you do provide us with personal information you understand that we will collect, hold, use and disclose it in accordance with this privacy policy. You retain the right to request details of any personal information we hold about you.

If we receive personal information about you from a third party, we will protect it as set out in this privacy policy. If you are a third party providing personal information about somebody else, you represent and warrant that you have such person’s consent to provide the personal information to us.

If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time. We will provide you with the ability to unsubscribe from our email-database or opt out of communications. Please be aware we may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity.

If you believe that any information we hold about you is inaccurate, out of date, incomplete, irrelevant, or misleading, please contact us using the details provided in this privacy policy. We will take reasonable steps to correct any information found to be inaccurate, incomplete, misleading, or out of date.

If you believe that we have breached a relevant data protection law and wish to make a complaint, please contact us using the details below and provide us with full details of the alleged breach. We will promptly investigate your complaint and respond to you, in writing, setting out the outcome of our investigation and the steps we will take to deal with your complaint. You also have the right to contact a regulatory body or data protection authority in relation to your complaint.

Use of Cookies

We use “cookies” to collect information about you and your activity across our site. A cookie is a small piece of data that our website stores on your computer, and accesses each time you visit, so we can understand how you use our site. This helps us serve you content based on preferences you have specified.

Limits of Our Policy

Our website links to external sites that are not operated by us. Please be aware that we have no control over the content and policies of those sites, and cannot accept responsibility or liability for their respective privacy practices.

Changes to This Policy

At our discretion, we may change our privacy policy to reflect updates to our business processes, current acceptable practices, or legislative or regulatory changes. If we decide to change this privacy policy, we will post the changes here at the same link by which you are accessing this privacy policy.

If required by law, we will get your permission or give you the opportunity to opt in to or opt out of, as applicable, any new uses of your personal information.

Contact Us

For any questions or concerns regarding your privacy, you may contact us using the following details:
mail@outside.directory

No problem. Please email mail@outside.directory.