Technology Scotland recently caught up with our member,The Publishing Bureau, for our Member Spotlight series. We find out who The Publishing Bureau are, what they do, and much more! Take a look below and get to know them.
What does your organisation do?
We’re a communications agency that helps organisations get their message across clearly. Our work covers everything from writing and editing content to designing publications, building websites, and creating animations. We often work with SMEs and project teams who don’t have in-house communications support, and aim to be a trusted extension of their team.
The business was set up in 2007 by our director, Oliver van Helden, who is an editor by trade. He found himself working with experts who knew their subject inside out, but struggled to share their knowledge in a way that was clear and engaging. That experience still shapes how the Publishing Bureau works today – we focus on combining accessible content with design that supports the message.
An important part of our work is designing and building websites. We make sure they’re fast, easy to update, and tailored to our clients’ specific needs – not just built around a collection of third-party plugins. We also create explainer animations, which are a great way to communicate complex information. And we work on more technical projects too, like developing interfaces between websites and databases to make routine processes more efficient. That feeds through into our day-to-day operations, which we manage through a cloud-based platform built by our in-house developer. It’s key to managing our workload and keeping us agile.
What is your organisation’s biggest achievement?
Despite being a small team (there are four of us), we’re proud to have delivered over 5,500 projects since 2007. Most of our clients are international, with the biggest cluster in Brussels, where we have a strong client-base in the trade association and research sectors. That’s given us a good feel for the cross-border nature of science and technology.
We’ve also worked on communications for a number of Horizon projects, which means we’re used to working with multidisciplinary teams, tight deadlines, and technical subject matter that needs to be made accessible to different audiences.
Why did you join Technology Scotland?
Although we’re not a technology business ourselves, much of our work overlaps with the sector. We first came across the network back in 2017 at a transport conference in Strasbourg, where Dr Ally McInroy was representing MaaS Scotland. It was a surprise to meet there, given both our organisations are based in Glasgow!
Since then, we’ve watched Scotland’s tech sector grow, and are keen play a part in supporting that growth. We know that for a lot of smaller organisations, communications can be hard to prioritise – but getting it right can make a real difference. We’d like to connect with companies who want their communications to be as smart and impactful as the work they’re doing.
What kinds of organisations do you work with?
Our clients include non-profit bodies working in fields like health, mobility, sustainability and manufacturing. Increasingly, we also work with SMEs and project teams who don’t have in-house communications support but need high-quality output. We aim to be an extension of their team – responsive, adaptable, and trusted to deliver.
Do you have a message for our members?
Absolutely. If you’ve got a question or challenge around communications, we’d be delighted to chat and share our perspective. There’s no charge for an informal conversation – we always enjoy getting to know new organisations and learning about their work. We’re also happy to take a quick look at your current comms and offer suggestions for how things could be improved. Just drop Oliver a line at [email protected].