Popping-in?

Our studio is filled with light and music.
There are multiple meeting rooms, a well stocked kitchen, and an indoor garden (with fishpond). Talk to us about access needs, environmental factors and any accommodations we might make to enhance your visit. Pop-in for tea and stay to use a spare desk for as long as you need.

11 Greenwich Centre Business Park,
53 Norman Road, Greenwich
London SE10 9QF

Cog is a Certified B Corporation

Public transport

We’re next to Greenwich train and DLR station. We have a door right on the concourse but it’s different to our postal address.
what3words.com/hungry.means.author

From Greenwich rail platform

This video shows the route to take from the train that will arrive at Greenwich rail station from London Bridge. There's a gentle slope next to the staircase.

From Greenwich DLR station

This video shows the route to take from the DLR that will arrive at Greenwich DLR station from Bank. There's a lift at the platform level if that's useful.

By car

If you have to come by car, we have a couple of parking spaces. We have a charging point that you are welcome to use if you have an electric car. Call ahead and we'll make sure the spaces are free. Use our postcode (SE10 9QF) to guide you in.

Get in touch

We’d love to hear from you. Use whichever medium works best for you.

11 Greenwich Centre Business Park,
53 Norman Road, Greenwich
London SE10 9QF

Cog is a Certified B Corporation

New project enquiry

It's exciting to chat about potential new projects. We don't have a ‘sales’ team or a form to fill in. Call us or give us a little detail via email and we'll get straight back to you.

enquiry@cogdesign.com

Website support

If you're a client then you'll be best served by calling us or contacting us via ClickUp, otherwise you can use this dedicated email that reaches all of the digital team.

digital@cogdesign.com

Finance questions

This email hits the inboxes of the people who deal with our bookkeeping and finances.

accounts@cogdesign.com

Just want a chat?

Sometimes enquiries don't fall neatly under a heading, do they?

hello@cogdesign.com

Cultural Calendar

A round-up of recommendations and reviews, sent on the first Friday of each month, topped-off with a commissioned image from a talented new illustrator. Sign-up and tell your friends.

Sign me up Cultural Calendar

Cog News

An irregular update of activity from our studio. Showing off about great new projects, announcements, job opportunities, that sort of thing. Sign-up and tell your friends.

Sign me up Cog News

The Joycean Society at Bertha Dochouse

The Joycean Society at Bertha Dochouse

For our March Cog night we visited Bertha Dochouse to see a fascinating duo of documentaries as part of the Obsessions season, a series of films focusing on extraordinary people with intense passions. Justin give us his thoughts.

We’re incredibly proud of the work we’ve done recently with Bertha Dochouse, culminating the launch of their new website this month. A unique venue, the Dochouse is the UK’s first cinema to focus purely on documentary films, and we’re huge fans of their thoughtful and varied programming, which frequently includes films which aren’t shown at any other venue.

The Cog team grabbing drinks on the terrace The Cog team grabbing drinks on the terrace
Bertha Dochouse's exciting new programming strand: Obsessions Bertha Dochouse's exciting new programming strand: Obsessions

We were treated to a beautiful sunny evening as we walked up the cinema from King’s Cross station, passing our friends at the Foundling Museum along the way. We made the most of the unexpectedly mild weather by enjoying pre-movie drinks on the terrace outside the Curzon Bloomsbury before taking the steps down into the cosy surroundings of the Dochouse. 

We were there to see two interestingly paired films, both focusing in different ways on themes of wordplay and the search for meaning in language. 

In the short, tender film Dear Araucaria (2014), we are introduced to John Graham, the veteran puzzlemaster who wrote tens of thousands of cryptic crosswords for the Guardian newspaper. Graham devoted most of his life to the task of setting puzzles. When he reflects back on this in the documentary, he sounds surprised at how this quaint activity has become such a major part of his life, and had such an impact on others. The childlike sense of joy that Graham finds in coming up with the perfect crossword clue with its clever, tantalising play of words, is offset by the seriousness of his dedication to his craft, and the profound devotion of his fans, for whom the crosswords are so much more than just a game.

March highlights from the Dochouse March highlights from the Dochouse
The entrance to the magical Dochouse screen The entrance to the magical Dochouse screen

The main feature, The Joycean Society (2013), is themed around the Irish author James Joyce, famous for his radical approach to language. We encounter his work through a little known Swiss-based group of James Joyce superfans, whose devotion has seen them meet weekly for over three decades to discuss the finer points of his infamously obscure text Finnegan’s Wake

While Finnegan’s Wake is usually referred to as a novel, many critics prefer to think of it simply as an exercise in wordplay: a game of words written purely to explore the playful, musical aspects of language, while interpretation and meaning take a back seat. The Joycean Society members take a more literal approach, dutifully working their way through the text paragraph by paragraph, hoping to identify elements of theme, character and story amidst the jumble of language. 

A more conventional documentary might spend time exploring James Joyce’s life and work, to help us understand the origins of this text and his motivations for writing it, but The Joycean Society intentionally avoids this. The focus is not on Joyce himself, but on the devotees who spend their time poring over his work, with careful attention given to the eccentric personalities of the group members, and the unique group dynamic that emerges through their interactions with each other. 

The Joycean Society are certainly an intriguing bunch of people, but there’s a gentle, non-judgemental quality to this documentary. The meaning of Joyce’s text is no clearer when the film ends, instead we’ve learned a great deal about the value that people can find in communing over shared interests and passions, no matter how odd their habits and rituals might seem to outsiders. 

Documentaries focusing on everyday subjects can offer a powerful perspective on the lives of other people, and sometimes their smallness and their intimacy is their strength. We all love to watch bold, spectacular films on the big screen, but it’s important to be able to see documentaries in this way too, so we can give full attention to the subtle, thoughtful qualities of this distinct style of filmmaking. The team at Bertha Dochouse show no sign of slowing down in their quest to assemble exciting new programming, and we can’t wait to go back again.