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How are we going to bring young creatives back to Detroit once they've seen L.A.?
Well, with opportunities of the type that got Scott Waraniak and Marcus Mullins to return -- and that they now hope to expand in a small way.
"We can't wait to see what the future holds for us and this amazing city that we call home," they say at the About page for a two-man studio called Space Camp Design.
The partners moved last week from the David Stott Building to the Penobscot Building downtown to gain space for their first employees.
The motion graphic specialists earned fine arts degrees at the College for Creative Studies in 2009 (Mullins) and 2010. Mullins then spent a summer in Venice, Calif., as a design and animation intern, while Waraniak spent 20 months as a freelance designer for two agencies in Burbank and downtown Los Angeles.
"The entire time we were out there, Marcus and I talked about starting our own studio in Detroit," Waraniak tells Jon Zemke of ModelD.
Waraniak and Mullins came back to the Motor City a year ago and launched Space Camp. The fledgling boutique firm specializes in design, branding and animation work for video productions. . . .
Local job creation was a significant factor in the inspiration for Space Camp. Waraniak and Mullins lament that many of the job opportunities for them and their peers were on the coasts and not closer to home. The company recently moved to Penobscot Building in downtown Detroit to make some room for its first employees.
"It was frustrating watching all of this talent being outsourced to Los Angeles and New York," Mullins says. "We want to create reasons for people to stay."
Recent projects include graphics for exterior video screens at Cobo Center, they say on Facebook, and Ford Explorer model launch videos, according to Zemke.
Here's the pair's promotional video from their startup:
