There’s been much talk about changes to our ways of working over the past year. But the creative industries are experiencing a more profound shift than a greater take-up of professional digital tools and remote access. More people are looking at what life beyond the capital could mean for them. They’re cottoning onto the fact that you might go further, faster at a non-London agency. And that there are more opportunities for marginalised groups.

Pre-pandemic, agencies based in other parts of the country were viewed as mere stop-offs for new designers to cut their teeth en route to London. People still laboured under the notion that a London location delivered edge and quality by proxy. But as the world’s approach to commuting and agile working changes, so too is capital-centric thinking. In future, it could be that insisting upon a nine-to-five, five-days-a-week London-based work structure will be a red flag for emerging young talent, seen as a bit old school and non-progressive.

So why is it a good idea to look beyond the M25? How will doing so help you develop your career faster and give you greater opportunities?