New tenants take space in The Sharp Project

Four new tenants have moved into The Sharp Project – 4D Immersive, Creative Cow, 9Seven Group and Creative Blast meaning 20 more digital and creative specialists can call the digital content production complex in east Manchester their place of work.

4D Immersive has a core team of five design, technical and software specialists. The company uses light, sound, projection and software to inspire imagination, creative thinking and immersive experiences. They design and install permanent and mobile interactive spaces to facilitate immersive experiences. They currently have over 80 immersive spaces across the UK and have just done their first export to Canada. The company started with focus on primary, secondary and special needs education, but is now in the health sector with a space at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and a number of centres that support people living with dementia. In addition, they offer a mobile solution where they can create temporary bespoke immersive environments for commercial and marketing activities.

Colette Gollcher, Operations Director at 4D Immersive said: “4D Immersive has found a way of harnessing imagination, and supporting the expression of the imagination, through the use of space, light, sound and projection. We are able to personalise the software and design to any clients’ needs and we will install it and train staff to use the software so they can facilitate the immersive experience in the spaces themselves. We offer tech support but the software is very intuitive. We also support a community of practitioners so they can share their experiences and learn from each other.”

Four-year-old digital design and print business, Creative Cow, has a dedicated multi-disciplinary team of creatives and technologists that work together to craft brands for digital and print.

Co-founder Michael Dandy, Creative Director of Creative Cow said: “We are a creative design agency which isn’t tied to one particular sector. Our clients are very diverse, from logistics, to publishing, car leasing and education. This keeps us on our toes and the work varied. We are very digital-led and creative-led, so we can apply our skills to anything. We love it here and the move has really sparked our creativity. It’s also given us a renewed confidence as the place certainly has the wow factor when you bring clients in.”

9Seven Group produces platforms for private social networks. The company, which employs eight people, creates branded social platforms similar to Facebook for their clients so they can own and build their fan engagement. This works particularly well for football clubs. The club takes ownership and drives engagement to their free channel which also offers additional paid-for content.

“We’re in the business of connecting people with a common interest, creating a community,” explains managing director of 9Seven Group, Andrew Brooks, “Our business model is based on revenue share, meaning it’s low risk for the client and we have a vested interest in it being a success and that keeps us on our toes.”

“The environment here at The Sharp Project resonates with us and we like the fact no one is a start-up. It’s a unique space where everyone is of the same mindset. Whoever we bring here is really impressed with the building and we wouldn’t want to work anywhere else now.” Andrew added.

Creative Blast supplies high end commercial grade meeting room control software to the audio visual industry and boasts a number of high profile clients. Owner Phil Gorman, who previously worked for Viju, another Sharp Project tenant, was inspired to return having enjoyed being based in the building first time round.

Phil Gorman, Founder of Creative Blast explains: “The Sharp Project is a good environment to work in. It suits the developer/programmer culture. I’m looking forward to growing my business here. It’s an exciting time, and with lots of new projects on the horizon, I couldn’t be in a better place.”