to the point

Where the past meets the present

2012-02-28T16:53:00.009Z

www.palazzodorottya.com

Back in July last year we featured a short story on our e-news about the branding and marketing tools – website, iPad tool and sales literature – we were creating for Palazzo Dorottya, a luxury residential and commercial building in the heart of Budapest.

After a lot of hard work (and unfortunately, only the one trip out to Budapest) the project is now complete, and we, not to mention, Richardsons Capital LLP and Fingen, the joint developers and property owners, are thrilled with the results. This has been a great project to flex both our digital and creative muscles and it's a great one to add to both our digital and property portfolio.

A grand, historic 19th century building, Palazzo Dorottya has been transformed into a premium six storey mixed use development, combining 87 apartments with commercial and retail space.

We wanted to communicate that Palazzo Dorottya is a sophisticated destination for living, working and entertaining, whilst conveying harmony between classic and modern. We created the strapline ‘where the past meets the present’ and developed the logo, giving it a typographic treatment by using two fonts to reinforce the juxtaposition of old and new.

This combination of past and present was also reflected in the marketing materials we developed. The innovative website includes a homepage featuring scaling and full screen images, a distinctive image gallery, along with a custom designed interactive map of the area. Individual floorplans are available as both zoomable images and downloadable PDFs. The site has also been optimised to work well on smart phones or tablets and is easy for the sales team in Budapest to update.

Alongside this, we developed an iPad tool to help facilitate sales. There were several issues to overcome when creating this as it needed to be fairly quick to develop with no constant bug-testing or waiting on App Store approval. It also needed to be relatively simple to keep up-to-date and easy to use.

As iPad Apps and CMS are expensive and time consuming to create, we came up with an innovative, cost effective tool (essentially a supercharged interactive PDF). This enables the sales force to show potential clients all the relevant property information if there is no Wi-Fi connection, and allows them to access the website to show real time availability and pricing when an internet connection is available.

If you'd like to find out more about the various solutions we can create for you regarding Apps or presentations on the iPad (or other tablets) - talk to our Head of Digital, Ben Jackson to find out more.

To complement the website and iPad tool, we created a luxury wallet, informative brochure, and floorplan inserts for each of the 87 apartments. We specified a high quality digital print solution for these inserts, which enabled the client to call off shorter runs, printing floorplans only when needed to tailor presentations for specific client needs, as well as reducing the environmental impact associated with printing.

Constructing a brand

2012-02-28T16:50:00.002Z

One of the UK’s top project management and construction companies, Warwick Avenue, asked us to refresh its current identity to reflect the next stage of its development.

The company has expanded from its core business of project management to provide highly integrated services covering the full property and construction life cycle, across Europe and the Middle East, and needed its identity to reflect the breadth of its services as well as conveying experience and professionalism.

We put together a number of creative concepts, looking at the possibility of retaining the existing cross device as well as a number of completely different routes. We also considered ways of reflecting the construction industry within the logo itself.

The chosen route retains the cross device, but replaces the flat red colour with two shades of orange to give it more depth and energy. The orange provides an interesting juxtaposition against the grey of ‘Warwick Avenue’ whilst the ‘L’ of each side of the cross shape not only implies a positive working relationship between Warwick Avenue and its clients but also alludes to the idea of walls and rooms.

The addition of a strapline ‘Projects and Construction’ completes the logo and conveys Warwick Avenue’s sector and experience to potential customers.

We are also redesigning the website, producing a corporate brochure, a range of stationery and PowerPoint templates for Warwick Avenue, all of which are currently in progress. Once complete. these will feature in a forthcoming e-news story, so watch this space.

Finally, Warwick Avenue found us through a Google search, having looked for digital agencies located in SE1, so it’s a nice example to show that our SEO is working. If you want to find out more about SEO and how we can help you to stand out then please contact Ben Jackson, our head of digital.

As easy as PIE

2012-02-28T16:43:00.006Z

the new PIE identity

PIE is a specialist mapping data and routing business, supplying industry-leading mapping and routing products for local authorities and freight operators. It also provides up-to-the-minute mapping datasets and downloads for freight routing and software manufacturers.

PIE has developed the data for the new TFL Freight Journey Planner for the Olympics (due to go live in March) and saw this as an ideal opportunity to promote the service and related products more widely.

Originally, PIE approached us to develop the naming and logo for this service, however, the project quickly developed into a full brand evaluation of the group. The existing logo lacked dynamism, was overly complex and was used inconsistently across the various sub brands both in print and digital applications.

original PIE identity

Having undertaken an audit of the brand hierarchy and business structure, we recommended that all of the businesses were brought under one comprehensive brand identity and developed a clear structure for the company.

The PIE company structure

Furthermore, we advised dropping the original and longer full name, Public Information Exchange and wholly adapting the recognised short version - PIE. Dropping ‘Public Information Exchange’ removed the impression that PIE was a public sector organisation, whilst the new strapline ‘the source of insightful mapping’ clearly conveys PIE’s offering to existing and potential customers.

We came up with a number of ideas for the logo, that ranged from corporate to quirky, before deciding on a logo that was an evolution from the existing brand look and feel, but more representative of the service offer. We used a location peg as a recognisable icon in a bold purple, whilst the diagonal text of PIE added intrigue and an element of quirkiness.

We also produced simple brand guidelines, which along with a rationale and diagram of the four core services, have helped bring some much needed coherence to the brand.

page from the PIE identity guidelines

Having established the new identity, we’re now in the process of designing the look and feel for the website and microsites which, once complete, will feature in a forthcoming blog, so watch this space.

Size does matter

2012-02-27T18:05:00.004Z

Last month’s proof marks guide proved very popular, so hopefully this month’s guide to paper sizes, scaling and usage will be just as helpful.

Almost everyone is familiar with the standard A4, A3 etc sizes of paper (well, except for North America which is resolutely sticking to imperial measurements).

This ISO A series of paper uses the metric system, with all sizes based on a height-to-width ratio of the square root of 2, where the base format is A0, a sheet of paper measuring 1m² in area. Successive paper sizes in the series A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8, are all half the size of the preceding paper size.

Unsurprisingly, the most frequently used paper size is A4 (210 × 297 mm). The B and C series are far less common than the A, with B slightly larger than A and mainly used for posters and books, whilst the C series is generally used for envelopes and folders.

A series usage:

A3: typically used for drawings, diagrams and large tables.
A4: usually used for general and business stationery, brochures, booklets etc.
A5: commonly used for smaller items such as leaflets/flyers etc.
A6: international postcard size.
A7: labels etc.
A8: business cards

Download our handy paper size guide here (PDF)

To infinity and beyond!

2012-01-31T14:40:00.001Z

We've just won a four-way tender to produce the guidelines for the UK Space Agency, to help create a strong, recognisable brand, that has consistency and an authoritative voice.

Space is an essential part of all our everyday lives and one of the key enablers of the global economy. The UK Space Agency were looking for a design partner with whom to design and compile full brand guidelines, to ensure brand protection and create consistency across all of their materials, whilst at the same time enabling them to evoke more of a personality across their deliverables.

The guidelines will be versatile enough to work across a wide range of media and will meet the needs of their various individual audiences. As such, we will be developing and enhancing the existing interim guidelines, providing a toolkit that ensures communications are consistent, creative and engaging. We're really excited about getting started and this will be another science related identity project to add to our portfolio.

Mark my words

2012-01-31T13:04:00.000Z

TTP's Top Tips – January

Welcome to the first of our monthly top tips column. Each month we’ll be looking at an industry related topic, trend or simply sharing something that we’ve found interesting.

And to kick us off we’re taking a quick look at the most commonly used proofreading marks and what they mean.

Proof marks are globally recognised symbols and squiggles that are used when correcting draft documents and typeset pages. It’s a way of making what can be a painful process far simpler and efficient, helping to improve consistency and miscommunication.

Although proof marks aren’t as widely used as they once were, they are still useful tools whether marking corrections on paper or electronically, and you never know when you might need them.

Download our proof marks guide here (PDF)

Bringing Informa’s knowledge to life

2012-01-30T13:55:00.001Z

We have started work on a corporate video for Informa, the global academic, publishing and exhibition providers, combining illustrations, animations and live footage.

This is a really exciting project and is going to be a combined team effort, utilising our skills as illustrators, animators, scriptwriters and editors. Our first video shoot was of Lloyd’s List – a core part of Informa’s business and the world’s oldest, continuously running daily newspaper – coming off the printing press.

Informa is a dynamic, rapidly changing company, with the ethos of ‘bringing knowledge to life’. We’ve been asked to create a short, snappy, dynamic video that reflects Infoma’s history, what the company is today and conveys the sectors in which they are active whilst being engaging, quirky and clever. Phew, just a simple job then!

Building the foundations for charitable giving

2012-01-30T12:50:00.000Z

CAF is a charity dedicated to finding the most effective and efficient ways to connect donors to the causes that matter to them and for money to get where it’s needed.

We’ve been tasked with coming up with creative concepts and an engaging, inspiring brochure design that also conveys knowledge and trust, helping to raise awareness of the full range of services CAF offers to companies regarding their corporate community investment and social responsibility planning.

We’ll keep you updated on this challenging project and will share the concepts and final designs in an e-news story once they’re complete, so watch this space. If you want to find out more about CAF and their services visit https://www.cafonline.org/

A year in words

2011-12-15T13:20:00.006Z

A custom word-cloud we've made from key news events of the year (click to view larger)

The top 10 words and phrases of 2011 include ‘occupy’, ‘Arab Spring’ and ‘Steve Jobs’, although given the industry we’re in, we can only claim to have links with the latter. Not quite in the same intellectual vein - given that Charlie Sheen comes in at number four - we’ve also looked at Facebook’s top 10 global topics. However, it is quite an interesting mix of the historic and the banal, ‘military operations begin in Libya’ versus ‘Call of Duty” being a case in point.

Facebook - top 10 global topics (click to view larger)

To find out what words would be in our top 10 over the year we created word clouds from our e-news stories and blogs throughout the year, with ‘Society’, ‘print’ ‘website’, ‘new’, ‘business’, ‘digital’ and ‘brand’ coming out on top. This links in very nicely when we look back at the projects we’ve worked on over the last year, as there has been an interesting mix of digital and print based work.

a custom word cloud from all of our 2011 blog posts (click to view larger)

Our digital services have definitely grown this year, and we’ve designed and created a number of websites for clients including e-Front (naming and producing new site Pevara), Montagu and CLS. However, the branding side of the business has remained strong, and we’ve created new identities for Clip and Ping, Optalis and The Physiological Society, amongst others. We’ve also become very much involved in the science sector, working with EPSRC, BBSRC, Bloodhound and The Technology Partnership as well as Optalis and The Physiological Society as above.

Property projects have also been successful for us this year, having worked with Carillion Richardson on the branding for St Martin’s Quarter in Worcester as well as Palazzo Dorottya in Budapest. The internal office graphics at CBRE’s headquarters also provided us with a fantastic opportunity to expand our expertise in experimental branding with the iColour tiles piece.

It's all doom and gloom for 2012 according to the news, however, it’s not all bad news here at TTP. Yes of course, the continuing difficult economy has had an impact and we have seen repeat work from old clients taper off as the downturn continues, but what is refreshing is that we’ve gained a number of new clients, either those coming to us direct or from introductions or recommendations, which shows we’re doing something right!

We have plenty of prospects for 2012 bubbling under and we’re looking forward to working on a number of projects, both digital and print, with new clients including Yahoo in Switzerland, YahSat in Abu Dhabi, Informa and PIE in London (and no, it’s not the apple variety).

Merry Christmas and wishing you a happy and successful New Year from all of us at tothepoint.

Tangram Teaser

2011-12-15T09:12:00.041Z

With the Olympic games coming to London next year, giving our 2012 calendar a sporting theme was a natural choice. As the Games make the journey from Beijing to London, we thought we’d be clever and link them (and our calendar) to another game that travelled the same journey, albeit hundreds of years ago.

The tangram originated in ancient China before reaching America and England through trade in the early 1800s. To play a Tangram, you simply arrange the seven pieces – five triangles of varying sizes, a square and a rhomboid – without overlap, to exactly reproduce the given image. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Believe us, it isn’t. We needed a number of attempts to produce recognisable Olympic sports. If you don't receive your calendar or know someone who would like one, let us know as we always have a few spare.

Continuing the theme, our Christmas card also features a tangram in the shape of a tree, which thankfully, was much easier to create. We'd love you to punch out the pieces and create your own symbols/icons and send the pictures to tangram@tothepoint.co.uk. We'll send a real tangram puzzle to the best ones.

Get a sneak preview of our calendar online

or download it as a PDF

We've also created a little screensaver just for christmas and inspired by the 12 tangram illustrations we've used on our calendar, you can download it (for Mac or PC) here.

Finally, an odd, and intriguing aspect of the tangram is the phenomenon of paradoxes. A tangram paradox exists where two puzzle configurations are almost the same, yet a part in one magically ‘disappears’ in the other version. One of the most famous examples is the Dudeney paradox featuring two monks, where on one version the figure is a complete person and on the second version, the figure appears to lose its foot. Have a look at this head-scratcher here and see if you can solve it.

The real Christmas lights

2011-12-15T09:10:00.014Z

CBRE’s Architecture and Design division approached us earlier this year to create an innovative concept for their new headquarters in Henrietta Place. As part of the project we installed a sculptural lighting installation in the reception area (see our previous blog on this here). This was really well received and has become a great talking point, so we decided to help bring some Christmas cheer to visitors and CBRE employees by designing a bespoke Christmas animation sequence for the festive season.

The ambient animation consists of a number of sequences and is around 12 minutes in total. The aim was to create something vibrant and colourful without it being too garish or distracting. It seamlessly blends a series of seasonal images, including gently falling snowflakes, exploding fireworks, flickering candles, Christmas tree and baubles. Santa even puts in a brief appearance, complete with reindeers and sleigh.

The lighting installation is on permanent display in their main reception area and the Christmas animation will be running there until the new year.

Martin Lewis, Chief Operating Officer at CBRE had this to say: “Once again TTP has created an inspiring and visually appealing lighting installation, and it is an imaginative conversion of well trodden images into a fresh format that catches people’s attention.”

Ben Jackson, who created the sequence adds: "This was a fun and unusual project to work on, after all, it's not every day that we get to create something more as abstract art than functional design. The LED tile displays are perfect for a more ambient kind of animation - whilst lacking in the crisp detail of a TV screen, they convey movement and colour really well and I tried to take advantage of that with various sequences that convey some of the fun and 'sparkle' of Christmas."

You can see a section of the sequence above (or visit their headquarters to see it yourself).

Branding Macmillan's Next Chapter

2011-12-15T09:08:00.018Z

Macmillan - The Next Chapter (click to view)

Macmillan is one of the world's leading publishers, home to Nature Publishing Group, Palgrave Macmillan, Macmillan Education and Pan Macmillan. To improve collaboration and give its employees a fresh, modern working environment, the company is bringing together its various publishing divisions, which are currently split between Oxford, London and Basingstoke. Macmillan is also investing in new premises in Basingstoke, which will become its main service centre for fulfillment and distribution.

We first got involved in branding the move when Mat Rumblelow, head of internal communications consultancy, Rumbers Ltd - whom we had worked with before on an internal branding project for News International - asked us to create a new logo and strapline for the project. As part of the brief, the internal communication needed to be on brand, work with the Macmillan 'red wave' logo and be bold, quirky and fun.

We were conscious that the project identity couldn’t focus solely on London given Macmillan's investment in Basingstoke, as well as the fact that although Macmillan’s identity is rooted in print, digital is a growing and vital part of its business.

We came up with a number of concepts, before opting for a fun, simple, iconic identity that reflected the joined-up thinking of bringing all the different publishing divisions under one roof. Using a bold red linear treatment that took its cue from the Macmillan logo, we created an overarching icon featuring a book and turning page to represent the project strapline of ‘The Next Chapter’. The turning page graphic also featured an extended line treatment to link the individual publishing divisions together.

We then created a number of images and accompanying straplines in the same style to represent the reasons for and advantages of the move. These included ‘sharing knowledge’ and ‘embracing innovation’ which were represented by arrows converging and a laptop, while Q&A and Next Steps sections of the briefing pack were represented by mortar boards and pencil illustrations.

The move was announced to all staff on 9 November 2011, with the overarching logo and The Next Chapter strapline used on all internal communications, including briefing packs (given to over 2000 staff globally), presentations, newsletters and the staff intranet. The campaign was underpinned by a video from the CEO that covered the vision and changes ahead. The video was scripted by Mat and shot by Stickman Productions, who worked with us on the EDF video for upstreaming.

The project’s branding was really well received by employees at Macmillan, who felt it was highly professional, with a clear tie-in with the Macmillan logo and culture. Some even went as far as to say it as the ‘best internal communications ever seen at Macmillan.’

Mat Rumblelow says: "As always, TTP demonstrated their ability to capture the essence of the Macmillan Brand, while creating a new vibrant identity for the co-location project. The team pulled together a range of concepts under extremely tight deadlines, giving us a number of viable options. The chosen identity was a real success and will be carried forward over the course of the project to create a range of high-impact deliverables."

Park that problem

2011-11-29T10:15:00.010Z

As the initial stages of a wider marketing campaign, ParkatmyHouse asked us to design a colourful and impactful flier targeting people living near transport hubs who have a driveway. The flier needed to raise awareness of the opportunity and cost benefits of renting out parking space through them.

The fliers were delivered last week and the results are being collated as we speak. The ParkatmyHouse team are monitoring website traffic and running analytics to measure the flier’s success. Once the results of this campaign are known, the flier will be adapted to ensure the most effective messaging is used on further mail drops in particular areas.

The ParkatmyHouse team have very kindly agreed to share the analytics with us, so we’ll let you know the results in a future e-news. In the meantime to find out more about the service, visit www.parkatmyhouse.com

A TTP Partnership

2011-11-29T10:15:00.007Z

Working in partnership with its clients, TTP combines the strengths of science, engineering and business development to bring new products to market. Having successfully tackled the sales presentation to communicate the key messages that differentiate TTP from its competitors, TTP now wanted to do the same externally and to a much wider audience through print advertising.

There was already an existing set of ads but these lacked clarity and branding, so the challenge was to create a suite of ads that were fresh and current, drew on TTP’s expertise in exploiting new technologies and which could be rolled out over a period of time.

So, we brainstormed a number of ideas to present to TTP, and then got to work developing the two chosen routes. We built on the look and feel that was established for the presenter, utilising the red blocks of the logo for brand continuity across both routes. One route features bold imagery of disruptive technologies with minimum copy, whilst the other features imagery that is more in the background with a bold typographic approach. This route also focuses on the idea of a ‘successful partnership’, which works across a business and recruitment perspective, as well as offering a direct link to the TTP brand.

TTP’s Dr Allan Carmichael was really pleased with our efforts, so a successful partnership indeed!

Let's get Physiological

2011-11-29T09:43:00.006Z

We first got involved with the project in April when we were invited by the Society (on recommendation from EPSRC, with whom we have an ongoing relationship) to take part in a competitive pitch, which we subsequently won. The Physiological Society last undertook a rebrand in 2006, gaining a new logo and brand guidelines.

The existing printed materials loosely reflected these guidelines, but as a collection the leaflets and posters lacked consistency and a strong visual identity. As such, our role was not only to refresh the visual identity of the Society but to also ensure this new identity was applied consistently and correctly across all of its printed materials, helping to increase the profile of the Society amongst its varied audiences, including within Industry and Parliamentarians.

We obviously managed to impress the right people at the Society as Clare Kingston, Head of Media and Communications at the Society, had this to say:

“Not only have ttp been brilliant in delivering a fantastic new brand identity and design on budget, they have been great fun to work with too. Refreshing a brand in a member organisation can sometimes be a tricky process but Jim, Mark and the team have produced a contemporary look that is still sympathetic to our roots as an established scientific organisation. They have been a pleasure to work with and our Members love the new designs.”

There were a number of things we had to be aware of when we started the project. As part of the brief we were advised that the Society was not looking for a complete overhaul of the branding, but more of a refresh/evolution. This was because the existing logo was firmly established amongst the scientific community, and, given the economy the Society didn’t want to be seen to be spending frivolously on design. The Society however was looking for ways in which to evolve the brand cost effectively. We also had to consider that as a science organisation, the Society is reliant on strong branding and eye-catching design to make the occasionally ‘dry’ subject matter more appealing.

As physiology is the science of how different systems function in the body, the existing logo was based on a visual representation of an ‘action potential’ – the electrical impulse in a nerve cell. This change in electrical activity is represented by the rise and fall of graphic lines in the logo – a nice idea but we felt the graphic was a bit dated.

So, using this as a reference point, we came up with a number of options for the logo, designing a couple of safe options where we stuck closely to the existing style and retaining the action potential concept, along with some that pushed the boundaries in a variety of directions. After presenting our ideas to the Society, we then developed one of the ideas routed in the action potential curves and a cleaner, more accessible and contemporary logo was born. Featuring a primary colour palette of navy and cyan, the five waves create a bolder and more impactful identity whilst reflecting the gravitas and expertise of the Society.

The new logo has been implemented across all printed materials including booklets, posters, exhibition banners and pop up stands, stationery and business cards. We also produced a set of brand guidelines, which detail electronic use as well as print. The updated website is based on these guidelines and has just gone live.

Furthermore, the update of printed / marketing materials forms part of a wider communications review conducted across the Society this year to ensure it is communicating as effectively as it can with its variety of audiences which include senior scientists, early career scientists, undergraduates, schools, policy makers, Industry and the general public.

You can download the full guidelines here or view image examples below.

The death of print?

2011-10-31T14:33:00.002Z

The demise of the printed version of Design Week earlier this year after 25 years was a real blow for the print industry as well as the design industry as a whole. Here at TTP we looked forward to receiving each copy, with its mix of news, comment and profiles. Many of us were to be found at lunchtime, actually reading, not just skimming through it. Given that we spend most of our time staring at screens, it can be a welcome relief to read something on paper.

The death knell has supposedly been sounding for print for the past few years. Does the demise of Design Week (the printed version at least) mark the final nail in its coffin?

In a word, no. Whilst there’s no doubt that print media has suffered since the digital age exploded, it’s down, but not out. Yes, Amazon’s ebook division may have comprehensively outsold its print counterparts in the US (115 to 100 respectively), but there are other signs that suggest print isn't out for the count.

The latest research to come out of the US found that new magazine launches in the first half of 2011 were up 53% from the same period in 2010, from 90 to 138. The number of publications that closed fell 15% from 87 in the first half of 2010 to 74 in the first half of 2011. The UK market is seeing similar trends. The end of 2010 saw the launch of a new quarterly publication, Delayed Gratification, by the international editor of Time Out. The very title and its unapologetic tagline, “last to breaking news” is surely the antithesis of the immediate, yet throwaway news culture embodied by the digital age, featuring in-depth analysis of the previous three months’ news. The success of the free Stylist magazine, the rise in circulation of the now free Evening Standard and the launch of i from the Independent all hint at recovery.

Of course, the advent of the Internet and the increase in hand-held, digital devices has irrevocably altered the way we consume news and brings many benefits. When it comes to breaking news, the immediacy of online has a real advantage, but for longer articles, analysis and features, I believe print will always triumph. Digital formats, whilst interactive and exciting, just don’t lend themselves very well to this type of in-depth reading, being suited to more easily digested, easily disposed of snippets.

Let’s not forget the sheer physicality of print media. It's probably its saving grace. Books, magazines and newspapers are tangible and appeal to many of our senses; they are heavy, glossy, tactile, the pages crackle when they’re turned, and then there’s that newly printed smell of magazines, not to mention the romantic smell of musty old books.

Books, magazines and newspapers are evocative in a way that no electronic format can ever be. And that’s a very good thing.

I will freely admit I’m a Luddite when it comes to technology. I can barely work my iPhone, more than one TV remote confuses me and when it comes to books, I’m a romantic - I want the feel, smell and experience of an actual book. But I know not everyone agrees with me and, ultimately it should be the content that’s important, not the medium.

Electronic formats do of course have numerous benefits and e-readers are in many ways far more practical than books. They are incredibly light, readable in any light, store hundreds of novels and are bringing books to a new generation of people constantly on the go. They also save paper, enable a less expensive distribution of books and can help first time or unknown authors publish without an agent.

The problem is, as with all technology, what happens when the next generation of e-readers hits shops? Will all the obsolete models be destined for silicon heaven? Electronic waste is a huge issue due to our reliance on machinery– but that’s a topic for another blog.

However, the best argument I have heard against e-readers is that you can’t tell what other people are reading on the tube! Now, for those who have to suffer the daily commute on the tube, craning your neck to spy on others’ reading material takes your mind off the stale aroma emanating from the stranger’s armpit wedged above your head. Whether it’s interest in the book, a way to pass the time or plain old sniggering at someone else’s embarrassing book choice (come on, we’ve all done it) it’s a great form of people watching. Leaning in to get a proper look at someone’s e-reader means getting far closer than is socially acceptable, and surprisingly enough, people don’t seem to appreciate it very much.

But then again, the flip side of this is that no one else can see what you’re reading either. A quick poll of the ttp office suggests that boys really don’t want to be caught reading ‘chick lit’ or DIY manuals, whilst women are ashamed to admit they read self help books, dating guides, or any cheesy romance novel. But thanks to e-readers we can indulge that Twilight habit in complete anonymity!

Here at tothepoint we’ve embraced digital but a great deal of our work is print; whether it’s corporate literature, ads, staff handbooks, brand guidelines or bid documentation. The advent of digital was a huge cultural change and has altered the playing field irrevocably. The scope of what we can do now in terms of design is staggering, and looks set to become even more so.

Neither print nor digital is better; they are just different, with one sometimes more appropriate than the other to deliver a specific message. Having said that, many of our clients want both print and digital, working together so that they can maximise the effectiveness of their campaigns. Therefore, the challenge always remains the same, to deliver something that is innovative, relevant, unique and exciting - regardless of the medium.

Penny Davies.
Account Manager / Copywriter.

Additional comment by Ben Jackson (Head of Digital):

Whilst I agree with pretty much everything Penny's written above, I'm not sure the best argument for print is its lack of privacy! Whilst I probably embrace new technology more than most at TTP, even I was very sceptical when I heard about the Kindle (et al). However, I must admit, I wouldn't be without mine now - of course it's not the same as reading a real physical thing, but the clarity of the screen, the simple controls and (most importantly) the ease of lugging around all your books – whether on the daily commute or on the sun-lounger makes it the perfect book replacement for me. And I definitely prefer the Kindle to something like the iPad - whilst Apple's device is capable of so much more, that's also its downfall as a reading device - the screen, weight and dimensions just aren't so well suited to longer periods of reading.

That doesn't mean the Kindle will ever replace print in general though. Reading a glossy magazine, brochure or a throw-away copy of the Metro is a totally different experience and it would be very sad indeed to think the days are numbered for the more physical medium. And while technology marches on, there still isn't a perfect solution in terms of a single device that can do it all (although Apple's iPad and Amazon's new 'Fire' would like you to believe otherwise).

As ever, the disruptive effect of digital communications does not mean that the old ways of communicating are dead, they simply mean that there are ever more channels with which to impart your message and interact with your audience. Where the latest iPad newspaper apps may offer new ways to view and interact with media, I still hope that there will be a place for printed versions too.

The next big frontier for printed news is quite how to create a business model that incorporates both and actually makes money. News International are still experimenting with their grand pay wall that excludes anyone who's not signed up. Whereas the new releases of the Guardian on Kindle, iPad and Android focuses on a more open approach - but are they making any money from it?

Who knows, it may not be digital at all that ends up killing print - it could instead be a combination of poor journalism (regurgitating PR bias, poor fact checking, bad practices in order to get a story) combined with the widely held belief that the huge abundance of online content should always be freely accessible (perhaps it's all Google's fault?) But only time will tell on that score.

Ultimately, I think we should stop talking about one medium replacing another and realise that we need to play to each medium's strengths - printed newspapers may well have to give up trying to top Twitter as the first to the news and instead focus on great, well written content and opinion that's been created (and checked!) by those who really know their stuff (let's face it, Twitter and the average blog will NEVER replace that).

Feel free to express your opinion below (or maybe send a postcard?).

Ben Jackson,
Head of Digital.

Pevara - The measure of success

2011-10-31T13:57:00.007Z

Pevara is a dedicated online system for financial experts - created by Efront (you can read their official press release here). It's designed specifically to provide performance and benchmarking solutions to support Limited Partners investing in private equity. It enables investors to monitor their portfolio’s performance, measure fund investments and evaluate new investment opportunities.

Having been briefed on the project, our first task was to find a name for the new service. It needed to be both unique and memorable (globally, across multiple languages) and more importantly, it needed to be available as a .com domain. After plenty of brainstorming (and constant domain availability checks) we came up with ‘Pevara’ - taking the ‘pe’ from the private equity whilst ‘vara’ is an old Spanish term for measurement – which aligned perfectly with the purpose of the site.

We were also asked to help create the overall look and feel of the software system itself to this end, we worked closely with the eFront team aswell as UI specialists in the States and the development team in Paris. As the purpose of Pevara is to improve operational efficiency for its users, ease of use of the programme and the website was paramount. The structural design needed to support this and provide simple, intuitive navigation.

Once this was underway, we then worked closely with the client, our recommended copywriter and an SEO specialist company 4Ps Marketing to plan and create the main website and make sure it did well in both natural and paid search. This involved planning the site structure and creating multiple wireframes of the site before moving on to create the main template designs. The site is essentially a marketing and promotional tool and so must grab its users’ attention, quickly imparting the key information (as well as event news) whilst establishing the overall Pevara brand. Once our template designs had been approved, we worked with our developer to create the CMS and website content.

Ben Jackson who created the site design, adds: "The project was a great one to be involved with and adds to our growing digital media portfolio. The name and overall brand is both modern and eye-catching and works really well across a variety of media - from the software itself to the website, stationary and even PowerPoint templates. We focused on making sure that right from the homepage, users are aware of the main benefits the system without bombarding them with too much detailed information. The Pevara team will be promoting their service world-wide with the first event kicking off tomorrow in New York. They've had a lot of people registering via the website, so it's obviously doing something right!"

You can view the website here: www.pevara.com

Montagu – bringing personality to private equity

2011-10-31T13:57:00.006Z

Montagu considers its website as an essential communication channel to the European Private Equity industry and as such, wanted to develop a new website to distinguish itself from its competitors using the latest technology and design principles. A key part of the brief was to develop the website based on a Content Management System that was easy to use for people with limited experience in web publishing.

Following a competitive pitch against several consultancies, we were awarded the contract and got to work. We undertook a complete site review and redesign, creating the site from scratch, with new content and photography. Once designs were approved we worked in partnership with developer Skyron, choosing to go with a customised version of the open source Umbraco system for its features and ease of use.

An essential part of the brief was that the new site should be flexible and allow for future extension of its functionality as and when required, without the need for a major overhaul. So, along with being mindful of this, we also had to ensure the design facilitated easy navigation, was compatible with Montague’s internal systems and was accessible on tablets and smart phones.

Working closely with both the client and the developers, Ben Jackson, our head of digital, ensured our design team produced designs that were both engaging and functional. The final design features a clean and simple layout, utilising the primary and secondary colours available within Montague’s existing brand identity to make the site visually appealing whilst ensuring it was in line with existing marketing collateral and branding.

Whilst the client and their target audience sit firmly in the corporate arena, we brought a much needed sense of personality to the site, using clear layout and liberal use of their main brand colour. We commissioned a photoshoot of Montague’s staff, allowing us to feature them throughout the site, whilst the animated banner of the homepage showcases both Montague’s key messages and its individuality. The updated news, investment portfolio and video case study sections all further reinforce this professional, yet approachable personality.

Ben adds: "The challenge was to balance the more corporate, conservative look that many of their clients expected with a sense of life and personality that didn't feel fake in any way. Ultimately, more than the current news and latest deals, it was their people who really set them apart and we tried to get this across in the featured photography. We concentrated on keeping the site simple and free of 'clutter', we tried to avoid a homepage that was full of irrelevant content and just focused on what their audience was looking for. Where pages became very content heavy, we used simple drop-down filters to help avoid information overload. Their main brand colour was perfect at really highlighting key areas of the page - whether headlines, stats or important information, we used it to help guide the user around the site."

The site recently went live and is already being updated to include French, German and Polish translations.

You can view the website here: www.montagu.com

Bloodhound – Blood, sweat and speed

2011-10-28T15:05:00.022+01:00

Located within the state-of-the-art S&B Automotive Academy in Bedminster, Bristol, the Bloodhound Education Centre is an innovative learning environment, designed to engage, educate and inspire young people into a career in science, technology, engineering and maths. The Bloodhound SSC project team, preparing for its 1,000mph world land record attempt in South Africa in 2013, is based at the adjacent site, so it made perfect sense to transform the existing ‘big shed’ into a hands-on learning experience to showcase the technology behind the car.

The official opening of the Education Centre last week was the culmination of more than a year’s work, involving lots of collaboration, site visits to gain an understanding of the space, steering group team meetings and of course, lots of design creativity. We first became involved through EPSRC, who are funding the research behind the fluid dynamics for the Bloodhound SSC and with whom we had worked previously. They recommended us to the Bloodhound team, who asked us to come up with some ideas for using the area as well as the branding, graphic, signage and overall theme.

The challenge was to create a contemporary, engaging space that communicates the fun aspects of science, technology and engineering to children of 7-13 years and to provide a deeper learning aspect for 14-17 year olds to encourage them to study the subjects further. We brainstormed a number of exhibition concepts and content for the space and information required, and created a floorplan, demonstrating different ways to represent the most exciting aspects of the project and submitted them to the Bloodhound team.

Once a concept had been agreed, Bloodhound got to work implementing our ideas. These included light boxes and information display panels featuring the car graphics as well as interactive computer games featuring subjects that children can easily relate to such as horses and tanks, to show the basic premise of engineering. We also suggested a laptop storage unit designed to look like an engine, timeline wall graphics for the corridor, a fluid dynamics wall, and worktables where children can build models of cars as well as a 15m track to race them.

Halfway through the project Bloodhound also asked us to design the theme and graphics for a classroom within the education centre specifically for older children who have a greater understanding of engineering. We used the natural light from the windows to create several lighboxes to show the car’s structure from different angles. We also designed the wall graphics and text explaining the project mission, and a chart comparing the speeds of the world’s fastest machines and animals with the speed of the SSC, all of which featured the Bloodhound colours of orange and navy.

Glenn Wood, our senior account manager on the project, was at the official opening of the education centre and said: "Seeing the fruition of a year’s hard work was very satisfying. The children were clearly enjoying the interactive activities, so Bloodhound is well on its way in its quest to challenge and inspire young people whilst pushing the boundaries of science. It really is great to have been involved in such a fantastic project and we wish Bloodhound the best of luck wit hits world landspeed record attempt in 2013."

The dogs...

2011-09-30T10:26:00.007+01:00

Clip&Ping has been a fantastic project and we first got involved purely on a branding aspect, not expecting the project to snowball in quite the way it did. We had previously worked with the MD of Clip&Ping, Rob Steele, when he was consulting for Alpheus (see earlier blog on this). Rob was looking for a London based consultancy and approached us, having seen our work and thought that we had our fingers on the pulse of the latest design trends and sound digital experience. We like to think so too!

Rob liked our work, ethos and professional approach so much that after the Alpheus project he asked us to help develop the brand awareness for his new clipping service, including our thoughts on the name. We were not convinced the original name was fit for purpose. We wanted to find a professional, easily remembered, yet quirky moniker, where its simplicity is its strength and meaning would highlight the ease of using the service. Ultimately, we wanted a name that does what it says on the tin – and Clip&Ping was born.

As well as the name, we created the corresponding logo, featuring a modern and bold monogram from the Clip&Ping initials that represent the sharing and discussion of the information provided. We opted for a simple colour palette of black and pink – black for the words ‘Clip’ and ‘Ping’ and pink for the ampersand and monogrammed logo – along with an open, friendly typeface to represent the approachable, fun brand identity.

Our talented design team also came up with a brand mascot, or rather mascots, creating two canine characters, one black and one white, to add personality, as well as instant recognisability, to the brand name. These characters can be used in a variety of ways to communicate what Clip&Ping offers its target audience, acting as ‘sniffer’ dogs, seeking out information and delivering it to their ‘owner’

All in all, we were very pleased with how it turned out and so was Rob, who says: “I had a great working relationship with TTP right from the start, and I felt that they had a thorough understanding of what we wanted. The collaborative and creative process delivered a fantastic brand identity that I feel really represents the aspirations, personality and offering of Clip&Ping.”

The concept of Clip&Ping came about from a need to have a service that enabled websites to stay current and feature refreshable content for SEO rankings, as well as an ethos of helping people share information and knowledge. And the premise of how it works is pretty simple.

It aims to keep its clients’ websites relevant, current and fresh by providing them with relevant articles, comment and social media - acquired under license from over 50,000 publishers, blogs and websites - to populate and refresh their websites daily. The added ability to automatically tweet the Clip&Ping content to twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn means that companies can also promote their business and services across social media platforms. All of this helps to increase readership, site ‘stickiness’ and improve search engine rankings.

“Many SMEs simply don’t have the capacity to employ someone in-house to regularly update and refresh web content and social media activity, which are essential to keep websites near the top of search engines,” explains Rob. “So, we developed this service for our clients, providing focused, relevant, timely and filtered content. Our increasing network of publishers means we have access to millions of individual articles daily, on every conceivable topic.”

So, having heard all about the wonderful things that Clip&Ping can do, we decided to test it for ourselves. We’ve provided Rob with our relevant keywords and are currently bedding the system into our web feed. We’ll have an update as to how we’re getting on testing out the service, including any SEO stats, for next month’s e-newsletter, so keep an eye out for this.

And if you want to speak to the man himself about this service and how it could improve your SEO then why not ping him an email

And now for some culture

2011-09-30T10:11:00.010+01:00

Maryann Maguire, Cultural and Political Advisor at InterCultures first got in touch with us back in March this year, asking us to brainstorm a number of logo options for the new company brand identity and website. We created several creative routes for her to mull over.

InterCultures was established to assist private sector companies in understanding and engaging with political institutions and local populations in post-conflict environments; especially to address the need to better map the cultural, political and development environments in emerging markets in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The company works for a small number of select clients, acting on their specific requirements, with community engagement, partnership and sustainable development as core operational values. They also work with public service clients, including various police forces, to help them better understand culturally diverse communities and how to communicate with them given sensitive issues such as religion or customs.

So, whilst on her work travels around the world over the last few months (including that well known tourist spot, Libya), Maryann asked a number of people for their thoughts on which logo option she should choose. A decision finally made, the minute she touched back down onto home soil, Maryann called us and it was all systems go.

Our challenge was then to finalise the logo and create a holding page that could help her start to convey the open, engaging and professional ethos of the company.

The logo comprises an informal circle, representing the world and people, and consists of four different coloured ribbons – red, orange, green and yellow – which also represent the four key messages of InterCultures: Map, Understand, Enable and Communicate.

“It was hard to find a team of designers who were creative and imaginative and who got the concept behind InterCultures", says Maryann. "The tothepoint team were not only enthusiastic, their initial work captured the spirit of what we do, which is about better understanding, bridging differences and finding better ways to communicate”.

Mark Stevens, our designer and man of the moment, says: “Given InterCultures’ wide remit and approach of utilising community partnerships and sustainable development, it was essential that we conveyed this ethos within the logo design. This holistic approach is reflected in the circular shape and bright colours of the logo, which convey the positivity of the company as well as representing its four key concepts.”

We’ll be helping Maryann develop the brand identity, including the website and stationery, so watch this space for an update on both our and her progress.

Some more Worcester sauce

2011-09-30T10:01:00.004+01:00

When complete St Martin’s Quarter, in the heart of the industrial centre of Worcester, will be a thriving retail, restaurant and leisure destination. Produced by the scheme’s principal architects, Mountford Pigott, the video is a walk through of the development, and consists of a series of stills of the existing city centre blending seamlessly with mocked up stills of how it will look once finished, highlighting the possible new shops and restaurants.

The mocked up stills also bring our branding to life through the proposed signage, and help viewers identify the location and different aspects of the new development. We are working with our contractors on the wayfinding and hope to get all the signage installed on site as soon as possible – and we’ll obviously keep you updated in our enews.

The scheme is built on an old industrial site and as such has conservation status, meaning the design and all new brickwork had to remain sympathetic to the traditional character. The combination of this heritage with the contemporary feel that the development brings which, as those of you who have read our previous blog on this project will know, was an important element when creating the branding.

Finally, the virtual tour takes the viewer past the main anchor store, Asda, and through to the focal point of the development, a sculpture made from the stonework from one of the city’s last remaining industrial kilns.

Read more about the video here on their official press release

note: this is a follow up story to this original post

Living Light, living green

2011-08-31T13:03:00.008+01:00

We were approached by CBRE’s Architecture and Design division to come up with an innovative concept for their new headquarters in Henrietta Place, London. As part of the brief, we included an interpretation of their early stage brand phrase, ‘living green.’ This phrase became a trigger for one of our concepts, which was to make the building as a whole feel like a sensory experience with the integration of innovative lighting, sculptural and audio visual applications, as though the building itself was alive (living green).

On the ground floor, one of the principal innovative lighting features was the installation of an art-based structure (utilising Philips iColour tiles technology), which allowed abstract, large format video to be displayed within a sculptural lighting installation. These were housed in the reception area and became a real talking point with visitors due to their abstract, almost hypnotic quality and were one of the first of their kind to be installed anywhere in the UK. You can see a short video of them in action here:

This is also now featured on the Philips Lighting Youtube channel.

From a textural/sculptural aspect we created a wave graphic that was applied to interior windows and interpreted around the wall surfaces. We used large format three dimensional tiles that reinforced the ‘living’ concept as well as adding an element of boutique style and sophistication. The tiles were carried through the ground floor break out area, working in tandem with LED floor lighting. This enabled the whole wall to change colour so that CBRE could change the mood of the area from a cool business environment to one suited to client entertainment, when the area took on a more exclusive bar-like quality.

We also proposed installing a large format LED display for the lower ground floor CBar area (4metres x 2.5 metres). The flexibility of this technology would enable CBRE to either create the effect of an abstract moving wall of light or again change the mood to display cinema sized film or video for entertaining staff or clients. In the interim, CBRE has installed a projector, housed in the ceiling, which acts in the same way but without the luminosity and visual impact of the LED mesh.

Throughout the six month project we were also involved in a consultancy and project management role, advising on other aspects of the interior, from signage and wayfinding to colour coding and imagery.

The finished building provides a stylish, innovative and modern corporate headquarters that not only reflects the gravitas that one would expect from one of the world’s largest global real estate organisations, but the inventiveness, energy and dynamism of the CBRE brand and its employees.

update: Estates Gazette has a video feature on the new space, watch it here: http://bcove.me/8cdgst25

(click on any of the images above or below to view full size)

Engineering a graphic solution for EPSRC

2011-08-31T12:32:00.010+01:00

We have just finished work on a challenging data visualisation project for the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s (EPSRC) website. The brief was to communicate where EPSRC - the UK government agency for funding research and training in engineering and physical sciences – allocates funding to its many research disciplines.

So how to communicate this in an innovative, aesthetic and accessible way? Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Believe us, it wasn’t!

EPSRC divides its research portfolio into a number of different challenge themes: Healthcare Technologies, Global Uncertainties, Digital Economy, Manufacturing the Future, Energy and Living with Environmental change and capability themes: – Engineering, ICT (Information and Communications Technologies), Physical Sciences and Mathematical Sciences. Our task was to visually represent these so that they are clear and easy to understand.

So far, so straightforward. However, given the nature of EPSRC, there is huge overlap within the different themes and within each central theme there are numerous individual research areas that interconnect with each other. Take Physical Sciences for instance. There are 28 research areas within the theme, (yes, we counted them), all of which connect with one or more of the other 27. Therefore, we needed to design something that showed clearly the overall research portfolio, the challenge and capability themes, and their related research areas whilst also representing them as individual entities.

An essential part of the project was to show the current funding for every research area and represent their relative funding over the next year.

There were a lot of numbers involved so we needed to find a way of simply representing these figures. After brainstorming a number of creative concepts, we opted for graphic maps. Our first task was to create a main overview map to show the challenge and capability themes.. Each of these then had its own graphic map, featuring circles representing each specific research area and interconnecting lines to link related areas together. The circle size represents the level of funding received up until April 2011, with the colour indicating whether the relative value of funding over the coming year is expected to grow, reduce, maintain or if it is still under review.

To make matters more complicated, we also had to ensure all the maps were accessible for visually impaired audiences – again, a core part of the brief. So we had to be creative whilst constrained by the limited choices in the visually impaired palette. We used yellow, pink, green and blue to represent funding status, along with white text on darker backgrounds and black text on the lighter colours.

Altogether, we created nine maps, all connected to the head diagram. It was our aim to create something that combined aesthetics with functionality and we are very proud of our efforts. And EPSRC felt that the resulting graphics helped to communicate the complexities of their portfolio.

(click the diagrams below to view full size)

we're hiring!

2011-07-21T10:33:00.001+01:00

This is just a quick post to say that despite all the gloom and doom and economic woe, we seem to be as busy as ever as the moment, therefore we're looking for someone new to join our team.

We're looking for a Mid to Senior level designer. Our ideal candidate will have at least 6 years plus experience, be passionate about design and have a hands on approach. So, if you have spent some time in one of the big corporate branding consultancies, or you have been instrumental in the growth of a small consultancy that is no longer challenging your ambitions, this could be the job for you.

We're looking for a great all-rounder, capable of everything from from pitch presentations to creating artwork – from excellent knowledge of print processes to the complexities of website design.

For a bit more info on the requirements, visit our website here:
http://www.tothepoint.co.uk/contact/opportunity.html

to the powerpoint

2011-06-30T13:07:00.003+01:00

Sometimes it's the simplest solutions that get the best results. Case in point, we've just completed a project for The Technology Partnership (who spookily also refer to themselves as TTP - no relation!).

As a bit of background, TTP is a technology and product development company. They work in partnership with their clients to bring new products to market, creating new business from advances in technology – developing and commercialising diverse technologies and products across a broad range of sectors.

So how to communicate this in an interesting, dynamic and innovative way? The original plan was to create an interactive corporate presentation featuring an animated company overview and multiple case-studies. To make matters more complicated they wanted to be able to edit and add to these case-studies at any time. Hmmm.

Lots of different technical solutions were considered but for time, cost and practicality we ended up producing the whole thing in PowerPoint. Now, at the mere mention of Powerpoint, most designers groan in disappointment. It's well known that PowerPoint often produces tedious, poorly designed presentations with nothing going for them apart from the fact that they can be edited with ease and usually have some sort of clip-art or tacky sound-effects attached.

However, with judicial use of embedded video and plenty of interactive links to take the user around the presentation, it's amazing what can be produced. In order to personalise the company and 'keep it real' (as the kids say) they commissioned us to undertake both a team photoshoot at their own offices and a separate product shoot at a photography studio. This gave us striking images to work with that kept the whole presentation both impactful and consistent.

The full video animation was split into five different sections - each can be viewed independently within the main PowerPoint presentation using a simple menu. You can see all five sections together in the full piece here.

Worcester source

2011-06-30T12:23:00.011+01:00

We have recently completed the name generation and branding for a new shopping destination in the heart of Worcester. The development called St Martin’s Quarter is a joint venture between Carillion and Richardsons Capital LLP, and is our first project for them. The scheme will be offering the city, new, large floorplate, food and retail units that previously have not been catered for in the small traditional shops on the High Street.

The chosen identity, designed by our senior designer Nikki Saunders, is based around a rare, local variety of pear (known as the Worcester Black Pear). Sourced from it's appearance on the city’s coat of arms, it perfectly combines the city’s tradition and heritage with the freshness and modernity that the scheme will bring to the city. The colour palette of charcoal grey and lime green underpins this and will help the scheme transform a previously run down area of the city into a thriving destination.

It was important to us and the client that the brand not only has the flexibility of translating across the immediate deliverables such as signage, leasing brochures and hoardings but to more abstract interpretations, with potential for the brand to be used for public art and commissioned sculptures. We liked the idea that the brand would translate into a three-dimensional experience that the public would interact with and that becomes a talking point for the community. Shown below are our initial ideas for a metal Pear Tree structure occupying centre stage on the pedestrianised public space and large commissioned metal gates at the entrance of the scheme that comprise of pattern repeats of the logo.

The scheme will occupy what was previously an old industrial site which is of historic value and now a conservation area. A few of the existing buildings will be retained and restored such as the Old Infirmary, Counting House and New Filling Shed, and these will sit alongside the new development which is due to open next year.

update 1: view local press (and plenty of comment!) here

update 2: a nice write up in Design Week (may require subscription to view) here

there is a follow up to this story here

Working with Wokingham

2011-06-09T13:29:00.026+01:00

Our latest recruit, Jim Demeza, is certainly hitting the ground running. Hot on the heals of his work with Actis for their AIM 2011 conference, his first project win was launched this week. Working closely with the design team here, he steered us to victory on the the tender to create a new identity for Wokingham Council’s new independent local authority trading company, Optalis. As a local authority trading company (LATC), and only the second independent LATC to be formed in the UK, Optalis will be able to operate competitively in the adult social care market, providing it’s customers with more choice and greater control in their support services and spend. It will also allow those who are not eligible to receive help from the Council, to buy services privately. The final design was created with the assistance of the Sensory Needs team to reflect a bright, friendly and modern organisation. The design can be viewed on our 05/11 news page here.

Designer Mark Stevens, who worked on the branding said:

"Transferring existing adult social care services into an LATC offers those in need of care, a greater choice over their support arrangements, allowing their needs to be met in a more individualised way. Working closely with the Optalis team, we used colour to communicate the importance of these 'new choices for living' and backed it up with a succinct tagline, to create a warm, approachable marque for an auspicious new scheme."

Design Week took an interest in what we had done too, so if you are a subscriber you can view the article here.

We are currently in the process of working on the brand guidelines, and a range of templates, to help them save money on both their internal and external marketing, whilst also ensuring they retain brand consistency across all collateral.

Here's the official Optalis Press Release:

OPTALIS TAKES OVER THE REINS OF WBC’S ADULT SOCIAL CARE PROVIDED SERVICES

Vulnerable adults with a disability, and older people who need care and support, will have more choice from today (June 6) as Wokingham Borough Council launches Optalis; its new adult social care company.

Optalis, which is wholly council-owned, has today taken control of all the borough council’s adult social care provided services. This includes day centres, employment services, home care, residential care and supported housing services, as well as brokerage and support and sensory needs services.

The council was prompted to set up a separate company by a combination of its policy decision to become an increasingly commissioning authority and the national policy of Putting People First, which allows adults who are entitled to personal budgets to choose who provides their social care, rather than being told by social services. This has meant people have more choice and control about how they spend their budget. Whilst this is extremely positive for the borough’s residents it has meant that the councils’ long-established care services couldn’t be guaranteed to be able to survive.

Moving to a separate company allows those services to better manage their costs and to better respond to personalised care needs, ensuring they will continue to be attractive to personal budget holders. It will reduce operating costs and overheads, and grant new flexibilities and freedoms that are not possible as part of a council set up. As Optalis is now operating competitively in the social care market, it will be available to those who previously may have wanted to buy Council’s services, but were not able to because of legal restrictions on the council selling its services. The launch of Optalis will therefore offer more choice than in the current market. This way our existing and future clients will get the best of both worlds – having the choice of a proven high quality service and also one that has freedom from public sector requirements.

Stuart Rowbotham, strategic director commissioning, said: “Doing nothing and remaining as we were was simply not an option. In order for our services to flourish and to continue to provide our excellent services to the public, we needed to be able to trade and contend with both established and emerging market competitors. Transferring our in-house adult social care services into a new company is our best option for doing this. We have invested £250,000 to set up this exciting new company which the council will recoup over time.

“We expect Optalis will be able to grow and develop new and improved services, including those that are currently missing from the social care market and are in demand. This will, in turn, offer more support options and activities that until now vulnerable adults haven’t been able to access.”

Cllr Julian McGhee-Sumner, executive member for health and wellbeing, said: “Our key priority is to sustain and improve the services we already provide and to give continuity and high quality support to the people who already use our services as well as those who may do so in future. Transferring our services gives us the best chance of achieving this.“

Mike Walsh, managing director at Optalis, said: “We have been working hard to ensure the transition period is smooth and those customers already receiving a social care service should not notice much difference day-to-day other than the change of organisation name and image. Most importantly, people should continue receiving support from staff that they know and are happy with because the council staff delivering the service have been transferred to Optalis. Those vulnerable adults who receive a service from us will experience greater choice and control over their support arrangements; and the risk of disruptions to their service or a loss of service altogether will be far lower. It’s an exciting time to launch Optalis.

air freshener...

2011-06-08T17:32:00.002+01:00

We've just helped our BID team at Better Bankside, who teamed up with Vertical Garden specialists Treebox , Network Rail and Skanska, to bring a 35metre length of green wall to Bankside. Across the street from the Hop Exchange on Southwark Street, the original hoarding has now been transformed from a hard and flat surface to a lush green living wall of ivy, incorporating graphics by to the point.

The area around the Borough High Street / Southwark Street junction sees high traffic volume and as a result can often experience poor air quality. The living wall is being monitored by students from Imperial College, London, to see what impact the planting has on local air quality.

The Mayor of London launched the London Air Quality Strategy in late 2010. Better Bankside hope that this small contribution within Bankside will provide valuable learning and practice that can be replicated elsewhere in London. The living wall also helps to increase the amount of green space in the neighbourhood, again helping achieve Mayoral targets of increasing green cover in London by 5% by 2025.

Valerie Beirne of Better bankside signs off "We know it will help make Bankside become a thriving place to work, visit and live!"

Preserving trust...

2011-04-28T11:29:00.005+01:00

The signs of recovery are clearly here. The new clients we are currently working with are innovative, driven and hunting out the opportunities that exist in the changing landscape of their local, and global, economy. We've had a lean couple of years and seen private sector work drop off while public sector continued and then the recent reversal as private sector picks up and public sector halted slightly more immediately than expected!

However, with our broad spread of sectors, and balanced split between public and private sector work, we have come through these tough times stronger and in a position to still offer the breadth and depth of experience that is essential to help drive the visions of these new businesses forward. Whether it's helping in-house teams set up systems and templates using Microsoft Office to communicate consistently and on brand, helping businesses evolve through accessible change management programmes or naming and creating new identities and branding for start-ups, our skill sets are again being challenged and enjoyed by our clients.

With the naming exercises we've undertaken recently, the unsuccessful search for related URLs demonstrates why so many companies are opting for made up or mis-spelt names. But the name is an integral part of the brand so a little more lateral thinking relating to meaning and how the name might be developed as an identity helps create a stronger more effective brand.

This month, we looked at two new business wins that are capitalising on changes and requirements within their environments. Both early stage but already the feedback that design is helping them to differentiate and raise awareness of their services is great. Efront started with the naming exercise that has worked on both the meaning front and from a visual perspective with the 'Pevara' solution. But beyond naming, the fact that we challenged both companies preconceived ideas, can look at their vision and requirements objectively and that they listen and adapt, is testament to the preservation of partnership relationships built on trust. Long may this continue. Feedback from our contact at Alpheus sums it up nicely - thanks Robert:

“Working with TTP has been a refreshing change from other deign agencies with whom we have worked in the past. TTP are more inclined to spend time understanding and challenging our ideas and assumptions by getting under the skin of what is important to our business. Simply re-hashing old ideas is not an option, but thinking laterally and understanding the big picture is second nature. This process has allowed us to, collectively, reach the desired goal, and, as such, we have already recommended them to our customers!”

You can find out more about FLOW:Coherence from Alpheus here: www.flowcoherence.alpheus.com

targeting new business... bring on the fun

2011-02-24T13:47:00.004Z

With tothepoint’s ‘I Shot The Serif’ app game taking the world (well, North America and Germany) by storm, our thoughts turn to what other innovative methods of drumming up new business have been doing the rounds lately. Here, we provide some thoughts on how successful they can be for design firms looking to expand or just get some work through the door.

We all want to work with well-known companies that do great work, but it’s the companies that aren’t well-known and have poor branding that can be the easier win, discovering the benefits of good design. These companies often rely on PR for their exposure so reading the national (rather than design) press will help you research and find these opportunities (obviously, still read the design press for inspiration!). Some quick searching online can reveal the in-house people who generate these releases so, with access to their email or postal addresses, you can send a bespoke letter or email that touches on how they could improve their profile and how you can help them achieve this. With overloaded inboxes we find a well-crafted letter is more often read and remembered, helping you to start a dialogue. But don’t expect them to ring you – you need to follow up with a call.

With email you can also take the volume approach, as long as you don’t mind the possibility of clients thinking you’re spamming them. If you buy mailing lists for specific sectors you can tailor the emails with appropriate case studies of your clients in this sector and hopefully show the benefits, or better still the ROI, you have achieved for these clients. Always play to your strengths rather than seek new challenges in new sectors – the grass isn’t always greener and clients like to feel you understand their business so there isn’t such a steep learning curve.

Multi-mailing ('multi' so you can manage it, 'mass' you won’t) is a very effective route to getting your message in front of a large number of prospects for very little outlay. However, be warned. Some people can get quite touchy about it so, if you have the resources or you can afford a new business agency, a cold call to the intended recipient before sending an email can break the ice and make it more likely they will read it.

Allocating time to new business is essential and you shouldn’t stop when you are busy. Plan ahead for those quiet times. A good database (or CRM system) will help you to develop and manage a mailing list of the people you speak to. Make sure you ask them if they are happy to receive materials like a monthly newsletter. This way, if they haven’t got work now, you are more likely to be in contact at the right time when they do have work. Just make sure your materials aren’t only about you but also offer useful advice and insight into ideas that may benefit them.

The best way of engaging with prospective new clients is, of course, by allowing them to find you and this is where keeping your website dynamic, blogging and other social media marketing techniques come in to place along with PPC and SEO. Some people say “clients won’t find an agency by searching online” and they may be right. It’s quite unlikely that a marketing director will Google “branding agency UK” and think “oh look, there’s half a dozen, I’ll get them in to pitch!” But think a bit laterally. If you were thinking of rebranding, which steps might you need to go through first? Maybe some research into employee engagement? Is there actually more going on than a simple rebrand (if there is such a thing!); perhaps the client is merging – would ‘managing change’ be further up their agenda?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself. Then you need to consider what your audience, if looking for help with these issues, might search for. Make sure that you have an opinion on these things and that your opinion can be found by writing white papers on these subjects and submitting them to the right places including your own blog with some good SEO content and techniques.

But this by itself is probably not enough. As Adam Whittaker, of new business agency RSW, explores “The number of people you probably could engage with is huge, tens of thousands, and for all these people you need PPC, SEO and a good blog. But there are probably only a few hundred who are your absolute priority and for these people, you need to be SURE they know where you are, which is where the integration of social marketing with one-to-one marketing really comes into its own.” He goes on the explain how, by using Twitter and LinkedIn to broadcast your thoughts to your target audience, it’s possible to significantly raise awareness of your firm so that clients know how to contact you, as and when they are in the market.

“And that” Adam sums up, “is what you really want to do – make sure YOUR firm is the one that first springs to mind whenever they have a need for the service you specialise in.”

Gemma Went, Founder of Red Cube Marketing, has worked with a number of design firms on their social media activity “Many dismiss it as something that doesn’t apply to them, but after illustrating where people they want to engage with are online and how easy it can be to strike up a conversation with them, they tend to be more comfortable about investing time in it.” When asked which social media platforms tend to work well for new business, one came out on top, “The blog is a fantastic tool for ‘showing’ people you’re great at what you do, which is opposite to the website which ‘tells’ people. With a blog you can showcase credibility and establish thought leadership, something that can be extremely powerful for any design agency. It also gives people the opportunity to engage with you and get into hearty debates, another great way of illustrating your knowledge. Partner this with a Twitter profile and LinkedIn activity to find people you want to engage with and you have a powerful marketing tool.” Gemma continues, “I also find it levels the playing field. In the past the bigger agencies had more money to invest in advertising, a PR agency and such like. Social media doesn’t yield better results by investing more, a small business can create a blog or engage with people on Twitter in exactly the same way as a bigger firm, getting the same results, at the same cost.”

At tothepoint we welcome digital communication but balance this with more traditional techniques to keep us in front of our clients, like our printed desktop calendar, we’re there in front of them all year. But I can certainly say our fun iPhone app has opened some new doors we weren’t expecting… give it a go on our website or download the free iPhone app: http://www.tothepoint.co.uk/more/fun/shoot_the_serif/ and good hunting…

note: this article also appears in Design Week: Feb 2011

Words in the clouds

2011-01-25T17:07:00.001Z

So how was 2010 for you? It was certainly full of variety for us! Looking back across all our news posts of the year (you can see them all on one page here) we certainly dealt with a wide variety of projects and clients - and whilst many have struggled during this difficult year, we seem to have kept ourselves pretty busy each month.

As a nice visual way to try to make sense of all that news we've create a 'word cloud' - built from all the news we sent out to you in 2010 (word sizes are based on how many times that word was mentioned). As you can see, 'new' featured quite heavily - which we take as a positive sign!

You can also see another word cloud taken from all our 2010 blogs (and just in case you missed any of them, they can all be read below!)

Although we'd love to take all the credit for the painstaking creation of these, we actually used a nice free service called 'Wordle' - http://www.wordle.net - this site lets you copy and paste any text (or import an RSS feed) and build a word cloud image from it - letting you tweak the layout and colours till you're happy. Give it a go - it's a nice way to add meaning and typography* to something that could be a little dry otherwise. Of course, for more customised ways to design and visualise your data, just give us a call.

We look forward to seeing what words define 2011 - in the meantime, we'd love to hear about the 'keywords' that defined 2010 for you.

Ben Jackson, Head of Digital Media

*Oh and talking of typography, did we mention our latest little free game and iPhone app..?

Appy we tried

2011-01-21T10:25:00.009Z

'I Shot the Serif' was our first proper foray into the design and development of a new app for the iPhone - here's some of the things we learned in the process.

As part of a loose campaign which started with the design of our latest calendar (it's a bit of an institution with us – this year we're focusing on simple typography and the idea of bringing design terms to a wider audience) we had the idea of a purely type based game to explain the difference between serif and sans-serif typefaces.

An original idea by one of our designers, Mark Stevens (and with a nod to Tom Gabor) it was then turned into the full game by Ben Jackson our Head of Digital. As soon as we started playing it ourselves we knew it would translate brilliantly onto the iPhone. From initial idea to seeing the app appear on iTunes, it took a little over a month – but that's including the week and a half of nervous nail-biting while we waited to see if Apple thought it met their strict (and mysterious) guidelines. We got it out just in time for our monthly Christmas news update – the timing couldn't have been better.

With little UK coverage we were surprised when it was picked up by a widely read blog in the US and within a few days we had a huge increase in hits to our site (with visitors playing the web version of the game and then heading off to the App Store to download the iPhone version and plenty also browsing the rest of our site). This week, a couple of influential design based sites in Canada picked up on the game through Twitter and again traffic has increased significantly. Because of all this, hits to our site in January are up around 400-500% on our month average.

As a game it is quick and fun (and pretty addictive if all the tweets are to be believed!) but with the increase in traffic, we are now getting work enquiries. These are coming from overseas – for branding where people have investigated our site after playing or passing on a link to the game (we've had inquiries from Moscow and Brazil in the last few days).

This was our first major experiment with app development and has so far proved to be quite a success. Because the core game was really quite simple, we were able to create an online (Flash based) version and then turn this into a fully fledged iPhone app too (if only the iPhone supported Flash - but that's a whole different discussion!). The outlay in time taken to develop the game was fairly negligible and has taught us a lot about the app creation process – aswell as the terrors of the notorious Apple review system. To be fair, they never rejected it - it was really just the tense moments wondering if the man from Cupertino would say 'yes!'.

It's great being able to hop onto Twitter and see people mentioning it and passing on the link - especially within the design community where it has naturally found a bit of a niche. Whilst certain news sites have kept the game buzzing around the world, we're starting to see Facebook as the most common place for people to hear about it and link to our site. This is very interesting as we've always assumed that as a smaller B2B company, Facebook isn't really for us – but perhaps it's time to re-assess this? (Our fledgling Facebook page starts here!)

I hope this positive feedback prompts other agencies to look at more than just Twitter and Blogs to generate flow to their site and interest in their own 'brands'. As this year's campaign theme continues to develop we'll certainly be looking into additional ideas, maybe there's even room for a sequel? 'Episode 2 - Revenge of the Serif'? Yeah, I bet you kern hardly wait.

I Shot the Serif - latest version (1.4) has just been approved for release, get it here

I Shot the Serif - Flash version can be played here

written by Ben Jackson, Head of Digital and Simon Hutton, Managing Director

note for Android owners, the Flash version plays pretty well on higher-end phones (Android 2.2) – try it here

where New York leads...

2010-11-26T13:35:00.010Z

...does London follow?

After a brief visit to New York recently, there were a few things that struck me about the fast pace of life over there. It's historically been the case that, at least with new technology, where New York leads, we tend to follow a few years later – but is this still the case? And if it is, what might be headed our way?

Smarts

Even more than in London, it's clear to see that the 'smart phone' has really taken off over there, plenty of iPhone users, but lots of people using Android, Blackberry and Palm phones there too. Whilst the UK is still in the grip of iPhone fever, the US is starting to see much more competition within the smart phone market - with Android phones really starting to eat into Apple's early lead. Meanwhile, Blackberry seems to have left the confines of it's 'business only' reputation – mainly due to it's great instant messaging ('BBM') and it's physical keyboard.

And this proliferation of mobile internet users is having a knock on effect. I was very interested to see that QR codes (you know, those strange bar-code squares you've seen occasionally and always wondered what they were) have caught on in a big way over there, whilst they're still largely underused gimmicks over here. So, for instance, in the New York 'Time Out', many articles ended with a QR barcode – just point your phone at it, click and you're taken to the website containing further relevant information. I'm not entirely sure whether this is genuinely useful for users or just a symptom of the print industry feeling itself being left behind. But it was clear to see that on many large format posters, magazine articles and ads, prominent QR codes effectively work like 'read more buttons' leading to additional, up-to-date content online. I suspect we'll be seeing much more of these over here too as smart phone use becomes more commonplace.

Right place, right time

Another by-product of having more people with smart phones and 'always on' internet (apart from the constant barrage of emails, messages, tweets and Facebook updates, of course) is that these phones are 'location aware' – with built in GPS, our phones know exactly where we are.

This is obviously useful when browsing Google Maps, but it's spawned a new kind of social media too – location based. Handy if you want to tell people you're at a conference, or down the pub – just incase your friends or work colleagues are there too. But while we in the UK seem to be a little more reluctant to share such private information with the masses, location based services such as Foursquare, Gowalla and, to a lesser extent, the newer Facebook Places seem to have really taken off over there. Foursquare seems to be the current leader, being much more integrated into mainstream use, with brands such as Starbucks, Domino's, Time Out, New York Magazine, MTV and a host of other media companies, newspapers, bars, hotels and museums all using it as a new marketing channel, offering special offers to regular visitors.

The really interesting shift here is that, until now, the internet hasn't really concerned itself in any meaningful way with where we or our customers/visitors physically are. In a way, the power of internet marketing has been it's world-wide reach and it's ability to ignore specific location. Location based marketing brings things back to the importance of 'nearby' and, as long as our audience is willing to share their current location, gives us another, very important and relevant communication channel. As consumers, we're currently able to search for businesses near to us (either physically or online), but location based marketing offers businesses the opportunity to search for potential customers near to them. It's early days for this as a concept but, in New York at least, brands are getting excited about exploring it's possibilities.

It's interesting to see that while 'location' is being heralded as the 'next big thing' out in New York, hopping onto Foursquare over here is still a fairly empty experience for now (or maybe I just don't have enough cool friends in the know?). And while Facebook is as busy as ever, I'm not seeing many 'Places' check-ins yet – perhaps this is because there just aren't many advantages for those who do 'check-in' over here. For instance, after two check-ins at my local Domino's, I've been awarded 'Mayor' status on Foursquare – and the benefit of being Mayor is a free pizza every Wednesday! This would be great, if it wasn't for the fact that the local staff have never heard of this offer, or even of Foursquare itself – so I guess we have some catching up to do! The other reason it's still not made much of an impact is perhaps that culturally we're much more reticent to share such personal information. The denizens of New York seem much less worried about letting everyone know exactly where they are – whilst this provides marketers even more targeted data, it may of course result in unintended consequences - as the site 'pleaserobme.com' set out to highlight last year.

A Minority Report

Although not specific to New York, while I was out there, the new Microsoft 'Kinect' device launched to much fanfare and marketing hype (and was released not long after, over here). In short, it's a gaming device that allows you to interact without a controller – a little like the Nintendo Wii that's been around for years (just without the remote). So, apart from the obligatory dancing and fitness games, what's so special about this and why should it interest anyone not actually into gaming?

Well, in short, the technology is really quite amazing and it's light years beyond the giroscopes and motion sensors used in Nintendo's offering. Based on tech originally developed for the Israeli military, the device features multiple cameras (including infrared) – able to capture a whole room (and anyone in it) in 3D and in realtime. Once it recognises a person (yes, it has facial recognition), it's able to map their exact body movements – creating a 3D virtual skeleton model that can be replicated by an avatar on screen. This is similar to the technique of 'motion capture' used for movies such as Avatar and the character 'Gollum' in Lord of the Rings. And if that's not quite futuristic enough, it even features speech recognition too. All wonderfully techy (for more info on how it works, start here), but what impact will this have other than another variation on virtual ten-pin bowling? The initial games all look quite fun, but it's what the technology itself offers beyond the gaming applications that I find really exciting.

As is the way with new technology and the excitable IT crowd, people are already dissecting it and trying to find out how it works – and what else they can use it for. Remember the famous scene from Minority Report, where Tom Cruise manipulates a rather complicated computer interface just with swift hand movements (requiring special gloves to do so)? We all figured that was a good decade or two away. Well, Kinect has the potential to do all that right now (and no gloves required). Where touch screens have revolutionised the way we interact with our phones, it's really limited to smaller screens and in two dimensions only. So what does the future hold for this 3D motion control technology? Possibly a complete revolution in the way we interact with computers – finally doing away with the age old 'keyboard and mouse' user interface we've used since Xerox invented the idea 37 years ago (yes, it's that old and no, Apple didn't invent the idea). Am I getting carried away by a cheap gaming gadget? Perhaps, after all, there's still a few issues with accuracy and latency, but check out these first step experiments and imagine a future where kids laugh at the ancient idea of clunky and unintuitive keyboards, mice and even the touch screens we're so used to now. Unlike New York, I don't think that future's so far away.

hacking Kinect - experiments in realtime motion control:

(oh, and of course, where geeks experiment, Star Wars surely follows...)

Ben Jackson,
Head of Digital Media,
www.tothepoint.co.uk

On yer bike

2010-10-27T17:44:00.005+01:00

Phew! It feels appropriate to be writing my first blog about a racing track as the past few weeks have been quite a whirlwind for me...

What started as a dream has grown into a full blown campaign and it’s with professional pride and personal interest that I want to write about the campaign to Save the Herne Hill Velodrome.

I have been a keen cyclist, racer and fascinated visitor to the Herne Hill Velodrome for many years now. However, this beloved landmark now faces closure due to deterioration and lack of funding, and with the country’s own Olympic moment just around the corner, it’s hard not to get sad at the prospect of the Velodrome closing forever.

The Herne Hill Velodrome is one of those rare things – an iconic landmark that’s in use and as relevant to it’s visitors today as it was in decades past. The oldest cycling track in the country, it was home to the 1948 Olympic Cycling Championships, with famous riders including Bradley Wiggins the three-time Olympic gold medallist, who began his competitive cycling career at Herne Hill. Today, it’s a favoured location for cycling enthusiasts the world over and local children alike, all training, riding and racing their way to a better time, fitter body or simply a fun day out. As I watch the children, including my own, gather for the various races and events made available to them, I hope and believe that there may be one, if not more, future Olympic champions among them.

With the threat of closure – and without forgetting Peter Cattermole and the unsung heroes who, over the last ten years, have kept the Velodrome alive – a new impetus was required. A group of us, led by Hillary Peachey, conceived the Save the Herne Hill Velodrome Campaign, with me in charge of the campaign’s identity, look and feel and of course all the materials. Many may think I can pull an identity out of a hat or cook up a campaign in my sleep but this was unlike anything else I’ve had to do in such a short time frame and with no budget. Fitting four days' work into a weekend, using matchsticks and only a handful of hours’ sleep later, I had produced the basics of a campaign including logo, website, stationery, posters, postcards, leaflets and helped with the Facebook page – branding and some content. Over the weeks that followed, I built on this with help on the campaign strategy and other materials including track banners, t-shirts, displays, stickers and badges as well as providing brand elements to third parties to produce their own materials.

One such party was Condor Cycles who believed so strongly in the campaign, that they devoted a large area of their stand at the Earls Court Cycle Show to help raise awareness to the wider cycling community.

It was great to work on something I felt so passionate about and personally connected to, and the collective enthusiasm and spirit kept me going during those sleep deprived weeks. I’m proud of the designs I produced and the message my work helped shape but, in a bizarre twist, I’m almost prouder of what’s happened since...

As a designer, I love what I do, but there’s something very special about people taking your designs and running with them. As this campaign is so personal to so many, taking ownership of the messaging is essential and creating a structure (with consistency across the various elements) gives people the tools to take it further and help grow the campaign. This is a true word-of-mouth, combined with social media, success story and the momentum the campaign now has, has really blown me away: we got widespread and heartfelt coverage in the country’s press including the Guardian, London Evening Standard and the Telegraph to name but a few. We’ve had BBC’s Newsround filming us, a tweet by none other than Stephen Fry (reaching his 1.8million followers), a hugely successful public meeting with over £70,000 pledged in support, backing by Tessa Jowell and a global Facebook following that now has over 4,600 friends.

To my family's amazement, I now even have knowledge of twibbons with Facebook profiles being updated to help show support for our campaign. I’ve learned more about the strength and spirit of communities and my own knowledge of how this can be harnessed and built on using today’s technology. After the whirlwind, sitting back to enjoy the fruit of our hard work to date and come up with ways to build on this success, I’m left with a smile on my face and a very warm feeling of satisfaction and achievement (or is that muscle cramp?). Make my day and show me it was all worth it – support us and pledge money at www.savethevelodrome.com.

Carl Ison
Branding and Design Strategy
carl@tothepoint.co.uk

Where the interiors come to life!

2010-10-27T16:08:00.101+01:00

Our relationship with Newsprinters has been going steady now for over four and a half years. During this time we've concentrated on evolving their brand, from the identity and marketing materials through to onsite signage and internal wayfinding.

Our latest undertaking is to bring personality to their largest print plant in Broxbourne with the design and installation of interior graphics. Whilst Newsprinters as a business is setting the benchmark in their industry through state-of-the-art technology and a specialised workforce that is second-to-none, the building itself has suffered somewhat from being devoid of any character. Turning that to our advantage, we have literally treated the site as a blank canvas on which we can inject some fun and humour through 50+ wall graphics.

The project has been layered – starting with dividing the site into working zones and introducing colour coding that is translated through colourful walls and a co-ordinated internal wayfinding system. We are now putting the finishing touches to the next layer which applies a theme across the entire building that adds visual interest and provides a stimulating working environment. The concept is simple in its execution yet also thought-provoking for both employees and visitors.

Each graphic is centred around describing a working area or task and is titled 'Where the, Where we, Where it...' and so on... This straightforward, no-nonsense tone of voice is an integral part of their brand and reflects perfectly the people that work in this company, and this industry. Newsprinters' core aim is to simply be 'the best newspaper manufacturer in the world'. No corporate waffle, no long-winded mission statements, just straight to the point. Each 'strapline' is illustrated in a strong, bold and modern font and accompanied by an image of an object that then brings another meaning to that task/area, and in turn, adds a lighthearted element.

The paper reel storage area

The paper reel delivery area

It has been refreshing to work with a client that is open to a creative solution and has the confidence to create a 'non-corporate' environment. Even from the initial brief, Newsprinters made it clear that the scheme should appeal directly to the employees, to provide an uplifting ambience in the surroundings in which they work. Much of the plant is windowless so bringing colour and visual stimulation was imperative. Alongside this, the graphics have to communicate to visitors, many of whom are groups of schoolchildren that take tours of the factory, and so far our humour seems to appeal to those who have seen the ideas.

The press hall

The press control area

We feel that we have fulfilled the potential of the project to the full – through our creative thinking and concept in providing an exciting environment that offers the unexpected but also brings a wry smile to those that see the theme unfold as they go from area to area within the huge plant. We have delivered a vibrant system through the use of various materials, bringing to life the environment in which the staff work, and all within a budget that could well have escalated when considering the sheer scale of the building and the amount of wall space available. We didn't get too carried away and installation takes place next month when the true results and benefits will be seen, and hopefully heard...

The logistics centre
The boardroom

Dragging politics into cool

2010-09-22T12:01:00.001+01:00

I can't lie to you, I'm not the most politically intellectual account manager out there, but I do try and keep abreast of current issues the best I can. During the build up to the general election, the sometimes informative, rarely entertaining and generally repetitive leaders debates were earmarked as a key source of guidance in the build up to 'vote day'. But overall, the most memorable thing I took away from the Sky News coverage on 22nd April was some rather snazzy projection graphics shown on the Bristolian building after the big event was over. This technology is not a new phenomenon, but in my opinion, that didn't detract from the impactful nature of the medium. A series of video animations were shown, taking up the entire building in question, including a mix of logos, images, and culminating in the apparent destruction of the building itself. It certainly caught my attention.

Sky News Leaders Debate Projection News Final Edit from Projection Advertising on Vimeo.

Since then, tothepoint have been in talks with the company behind this often guerilla style marketing approach - Projection Advertising. The best way to get an idea of the potential scale achievable is to check out their site where you can be inspired by previous examples of their work. Our experience in animations lends itself perfectly to a partnership with such an agency - giving the client the opportunity to bring their brand to life on a huge scale.

Additional to the standard projection, there are interactive options including AdWall, AdTrace and AdFloor - a kind of animation which alters when you interrupt it. Clever stuff, which in it's simplicity, manages to really stand head, shoulders and sometimes literally metres above the standard competition of static large scale poster advertising.

Feel free to give us a call on 0207 378 6999 or email us to discuss how your brand could be at the cutting edge of experiential branding.

Access to grind

2010-08-20T13:48:00.001+01:00

Increasingly we have been working with many of our clients to help them transfer their print materials into an appropriate digital format. As print becomes more of a unique medium it will still have its place in marketing strategy, helping with standout and differentiation which is still key, but digital can offer so much more if managed and implemented well.

Through research, advice and implementation of our digital strategies we have gained knowledge and experience. We have ensured standout and analytics, plus action based on related activity reports, has helped some of our clients to achieve a significant increase in readership, take-up and awareness of their offering.

As part of this communications change management, digital 'accessibility' is becoming an important growth area for our business and should be for all businesses. We all need to be thinking beyond just ticking the compliance box.

At its most basic, and not going into detailed website compliance, nearly all of our clients see PDFs as a quick and low cost way of converting their print to a digital format that all can access through the web or via email. True, PDFs are probably one of the widest used formats, and reader software is free. They enable people to share information in the way they intended, and the higher end Adobe Acrobat Pro gives some fantastic additional functionality and innovation. But how does this all work when you think of the new regulations and laws being actively enforced to ensure all content is fully accessible for all?

For some time we have been producing interactive PDFs and had moved on to developing these as accessible through basic tags and the Acrobat 'read out loud' feature. There is a plethora of information out there but as Adobe has such a large user base we, like many others, thought that this was all that was required to create a compliant accessible PDF.

However, as we have discovered, this is only the entry level for this area of accessible communication. We believe there are two key issues. The first is content and the second is technology, but I stand ready to be enlightened by any who know more on the second.

From a content perspective, you can structure how a PDF is 'read out loud' or made accessible for those with visual impairment, but does the final document truly convey the messages that someone, who can see the tables and graphs, would have access too? This issue needs to be addressed at content stage. Merely reading out tables or headings and captions of graphics is not enough. The text should be written in such a way that it explains the graphics for this wider audience. After all, the graphics are often there to support and help people speed read a document, often skipping the text. So expanding on the text to help the visually impaired, or even helping those that may not fully understand what you are trying to convey, should not be an issue, but rather a benefit for your audience.

The second issue is the technology. Like I've said, using and perceiving Adobe as the industry standard meant that we didn't test further than the this format. But there are issues with how these PDFs are then converted or used and read on the proprietary software and systems that are used by people with visual impairment to access websites and related content (eg Text Braille, Jaws or Window Eyes). To truly test these PDFs, companies need to either invest in these systems or partner with companies who have them so they can test the accessibility. We have been working with one client, the EPSRC, who have this software, and have discovered anomalies that mean the read order is completely changed when you convert from an Adobe PDF to JAWS. The read out feature jumps around so you could start on the back page and the user would therefore be thoroughly confused. This issue is addressable but requires deeper understanding and training on the software to ensure the PDF is compliant with these different formats.

Our experience has shown that it is better to work on accessibility in the original programmes pre the PDF conversion stage. All of the content should be planned for the wider audience and then made accessible in programmes such as word, powerpoint, indesign or quark.

Without the help of the EPSRC we would have been unaware of these issues and believe many others may still be unaware, clicking a few buttons in acrobat and thinking they have an accessible PDF. This could mean that content currently in the digital arena isn't accessible and at a time when you really want to be seen to be transparent, helpful and accessible, you need to make sure you are fully compliant.

I have added a few extracts and some useful links but there's a lot of reading here so if you'd like some help or advice with the accessibility side of your communications, do get in touch with us. There are many business benefits to having accessible websites and content so it makes sense to ensure you are accessible to all.

USEFUL LINKS
http://www.adobe.com/accessibility/
http://webaim.org/intro/

Every time you use Google, a kitten dies

2010-07-28T12:38:00.011+01:00

Yesterday I saw a comment on Twitter that really threw me. As both a long-time consumer and creator of digital material and also a believer in climate change, this statement really made me stop in my tracks.

"Making two internet searches through Google produces about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle!!"

Pretty controversial stuff, and shocking if true. For anyone concerned about the environment, this could have major implications. If we want to 'do our bit' should we stop using Google? Presumably 'Bing' and the rest are no more efficient, so does this spell the end of web search completely? Perhaps we just have to abandon the internet altogether in order to save the world?

Or maybe this is just a made up fact designed to get attention? Hmmmm.

Well, a couple of boiling kettles later, I found the origins of this statement. It wasn't made up, it wasn't just a casual tweet created to generate interest and site hits (as if THAT would ever happen!) - turns out this factoid has been going around since the start of the year. And worryingly (well for me anyway) it can be traced back to an article on the Times - so a pretty reputable source of information. You can read it here - and it's replicated in full here for those who are less keen on the new Murdoch Paywall.

A whole bunch of other sites followed up on the story. Here it is on the Telegraph and on the BBC - among many others - and it's obviously still doing the rounds. (Note: by this point I've probably boiled about 6 or 7 kettles and killed a small polar bear).

So, a shocking statement backed up by some serious journalism. But to me, it still doesn't ring true. Is that because I'm too involved with the web and can't let go of my preconceived notions that digital information is actually a GOOD thing for the environment? (saving on paper / waste etc.) Perhaps, perhaps it's worth just one more kettle to find out.

A day after the original article appeared online (and a lot harder to find on Google) this article was published on the Technology News World site, which says:

The Times reporters wrote about a new Harvard study that examines the energy impact of Web searches. One problem: the study's author, Harvard University physicist Alex Wissner-Gross, says he never mentions Google in the study. "For some reason, in their story on the study, the Times had an ax to grind with Google," Wissner-Gross told TechNewsWorld.

And the example involving tea kettles? "They did that. I have no idea where they got those statistics," Wissner-Gross said.

Obviously, Google weren't too happy with these statistics either, here's the view from their side.

Yes, of course computers use energy, but a single search is closer to 0.2 grams of CO2 and that's 35 times less than the Times article suggested. It's interesting to note that the original statement is still circulating around as assumed fact, while the refuting stories have a lot less impact - presumably because they're not associated with a bold, tweetable headline? Which in turn probably says something interesting about the dissemination of news as a whole, ie. the impact of sensationalism vs. more realistic (ie. more boring) information.

What have we learned here? Well, it's always important to check your facts - a growing problem now even within respected news journalism; if they don't do it, then we have to boil a few kettles and do it ourselves. Bias has a tendency to creep in - especially when people are trying to sell us news and there are always (at very least) two sides to every story.

Of course, while the figures reported are widely inaccurate, it does serve to remind us of the fact that using the internet does come with it's own environmental impact - and the more we use and rely on technology - the more PC's/Macs/iPhones etc. we buy - the more energy and CO2 we inevitably consume.

However, ultimately I think the moral of this particular story can be summed up neatly by the article that appeared on Physorg.com here:

"It would appear the London Times was trying to sell newspapers"

Shock news indeed.

Ben Jackson,
Head of Digital Media,
www.tothepoint.co.uk

Eco systems

2010-04-29T13:18:00.018+01:00

Whilst many are jumping on the 'Green' bandwagon, it is important to remember that this is not merely a marketing tool to sell more things to more people, it is a social responsibility that we all should bear. From CEOs to low level staff, we should all be aware of our personal and collaborative impact on the environment. Radical steps can be taken to streamline efficiency and reduce waste, but small changes in our behavior can equally pay dividends.

Here at to the point, we fully acknowledge that, the very nature of our work as a graphic design consultancy involves recommending the use of printed materials where appropriate and, as a company, we may not be as eco-friendly as those businesses who enforce an entirely paperless workplace. We do, however, recognise our accountability for our part in how our environment has changed over the years. We have already helped many of our clients reduce their impact on the planet by recommending recycled stocks and employing digital media over printed materials when appropriate. More recently however we have turned our attention to our own working practices and have taken steps to adjust our own behaviours. Simon (our MD) has asked me to drive our green initiatives forward and invest time in reducing our impact and improving our behaviour and awareness. We now continually target areas in which we can improve and work to be as green as we can possibly be. It is important to note that this is not an overnight process and should not be seen as something that can be solved instantly and then forgotten. We continuously evaluate our ways of working and endeavor to improve upon them.

What we have already done

We now produce our monthly newsletter digitally to reduce our print output.
We have upgraded all computers and screens to new energy saving work stations: Mac minis and iMacs
We have set up all computers to automatically shut down at the end of the day so they are not left on standby accidently.
All computer screens are set to go to sleep within under 10 minutes if not being used, and computers sleep after 20 minutes if not being used.
Halogen light bulbs have all been replaced with a low wattage energy efficient variety.
All staff take public transport, cycle or walk to work.
Individual bins have been removed to promote taking waste to the recycling points in the studio.
We now recycle more than ever thanks to the new Better Bankside scheme
We use double sided printing for all internal documents – reducing our paper output by 50%.
Whenever possible we supply our presentation document as an interactive PDF rather than a printed document.
We have invested in a better conference call system and remote access software to avoid travel to UK and overseas client offices unless essential.
We have invested in a complete digital project management and accounts system to reduce paper consumption.
We have purchased glasses for water so no more plastic cups in the water dispenser.

We continue to look for new ways to improve our environmental impact – any ideas (big or small) or working practices that may help us make a difference would be very welcome, so please post your suggestions below.

Free pitching - a shared responsibility?

2010-03-13T17:44:00.004Z

Things are definitely picking up but with the upturn comes the prospect of even more pitches and tenders and increasingly we are being asked for free creative. The free pitch debate has raged since before I came out of college a few centuries ago, and not much has changed. Public sector has a lot more red tape to cope with and, once you are through that, often you still have to free pitch. Private sector are requesting free pitching without the red tape but are asking more people to take part than the traditional three.

I do understand that with some new accounts the client will want you to demonstrate your creative abilities. This is so they can see that the past work you've shown could be created by the current team and also that you understand their business, especially if this is a new sector or market. However, if you have a track record (20 years for us), most companies can review your existing work, check bank details for solvency and take up references from existing clients. On this basis they should be able to select an agency or, if still undecided, select up to three agencies to tender for a project. Requesting more agencies than this for a creative tender means they don't appreciate the time and value of the bespoke work that will be wasted by all those that lose, not to mention the time they will need to spend to meet and review all this work. Requests for sealed creative tenders (must be close to 99% public sector procurement), without the agency even meeting the client, shows a complete lack of understanding of the process required to come up with strategic creative solutions.

If a solicitor or an accountant tenders for new business, they would meet the prospective client and give an indication or firm quotation of likely costs. As the client, you'd judge them on chemistry from the meeting, take personal recommendations or references to ensure they were suitable and you'd look at their track record and fees. Could we pick three accountants, ask them to present ideas for tax avoidance (not evasion) and produce our draft accounts for free - we'd then pick the one that has given us the advice we like and proved they can prepare accounts? I think not.

There have been articles about the DBA working with government agencies and marketeers for an improved procurement processes but it is in all our interests to look for ways to improve the pitch processes. This is a shared responsibility between client and designer. We've won some and lost some but recently lost one where we needed to explain the cost of pitching to our client and try to persuade them to look at new ways of working with their agencies. We had already achieved a place on their roster, had been through brand inductions and had worked on several projects but had lost two fairly big unpaid creative tenders.

We explained that roster designers invest time in building knowledge of a client brand and how to successfully implement materials in both print and digital formats. This knowledge has a value and, as long as none of the roster agencies become complacent or over charge, by all working together they can each add value and proactively evolve and develop the client brand and communications.

Pitching is acceptable if it is paid for but if not, and work doesn't rotate, one or more of the roster agencies will soon face losses that can not be recouped through the other work they do for the client. The account becomes unsustainable, a line has to be drawn and the client potentially loses a valuable resource. The client needs to understand the value of their investment in these agencies - we think this knowledge and experience is well worth protecting.

Our view is that for any creative pitch some fee should be paid to all (three) agencies for their creative work. An agreed pitch fee, either split equally from the pot or with 50% for the win and 25% to the other two agencies, would promote a better platform from which to work. This demonstrates some client recognition and respect for the value of the work and the time spent. This may mean agencies accepting slightly less than the value of the work that is produced as part of a pitch but it does mean that all the agencies get some remuneration and the client isn't over exposed financially.

We strive to build long term partnerships with our clients but creative pitches hinder this, especially if they are requested again after an initial pitch. A solid relationship built on trust promotes joint proactive engagement, where the design agency and client share ideas and innovations beyond any written brief or project. The benefits of a long term working relationship are something that public sector tendering does not seem to recognise.

We have seen two recessions, been around long enough to know how to run our business and decide in which client accounts to invest our time and ideas. Many smaller design agencies are often led by creative output rather than financial remuneration. It's easy to take advantage of this, but these businesses will not survive without a careful balance of creativity and sound business sense. It is the responsibility of both the design agency and the client to ensure this balance is achieved and both will benefit in the long term.

Who counts the cost of procurement?

2009-11-30T12:32:00.000Z

I have just read Andrew Princes' COI letter in design week 26.11.09.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/coi-is-not-to-blame-for-public-sector-problems/3007140.article

We applied for the COI tender and received the full documentation. I find it amazing he thinks a response can be put together in 4 hours. It takes that long to read all the materials and work out how to fill in the PQQ before you start pulling together all the info required including relevant case studies and a written page to support each - make that 2 - 3 days and you have a realistic timeframe. Even at 4 hours with 1000 applying that's 500 working days of time that will only yield a result for up to 10% of respondents - 450 wasted days! The pre qualification is only the start. If you get through there is an ITT for which they want even more detailed information. I read and re read the requirements and came to the conclusion that despite being ably qualified for 3 or 4 of the 11 lots (why 11 lots just for branding!?), the questions were framed in such a way that you start to question your ability to deliver. Having been in business since 1991 and delivered full identity and branding solutions for the public and private sector and retained many of these clients on a long term basis we know we can deliver. But is public sector and procurement worth all the hassle? When I re read the materials I discovered that each lot could have up to 10 agencies on each roster. All agencies are invited to tender for each project and where there is cross over of lots for a branding project the agencies in that lot are also invited to tender. Based on my understanding this could mean having gone through all of this you could have 30 agencies tendering for 1 project. The total budget for the year is listed as £1,000,000. So 11 lots with up to 10 agencies in each means that by my maths that works out as less than £10,000 per project which for a branding exercise is not much for the risk involved. This coupled with the fact that you have to tender for every job means we opted out at the first hurdle to focus on real clients with real needs. When will the public sector realise the value and benefit of long term relationships built on respect, trust, knowledge and experience? How much does procurement and tendering cost the tax payer and the design agencies against any perceived saving this process achieves? How much better are the designers that get through all the hoops? How can piecemeal projects deliver true strategic approaches and brand consistency? I am sure that some of those that get through will see the benefits but from outside I just see the over complex inefficiency of bureaucratic administration that hinders many of our public sector services and delivers no real value.

Who counts the cost?

Joining or creating a bandwagon!

2009-11-13T15:51:00.002Z

I'm not sure if posting part of an email is a blog, but i'll put it down to my experimentation with social media before anyone starts reading or following my monologues! I'm trying to get my mind in order after the very inspiring yet worrying launch of a new mini publication that the email refers to and just scratching the surface of a subject area that everyone seems to be talking about in different ways for different outcomes with the same end game - to save the planet and we've got just 10 years to do it.

Worrying stuff, for starters i may still be alive! (Bit selfish.)
So I'll be joining forums, catching up and in the process decide if we are joining a band wagon or that if, with a bit of inspiration, we may be able to create one.

So the email is a response to the DBA following a request for feedback on subject material for future seminars after the very rich and interesting one given on social media by Gemma Went earlier this week. The extract goes:

"I have been going to a few non design talks recently but these have been overshadowed by one run by tommow's company at the House of Lords on Wednesday. It was entitled 'qualitative growth' and launched a paper by the ICAEW and was supported by the WWF. It set the real agenda for businesses and the paradigm shift that is required within the next 10 years. I also went to the tomorrow's company Al Gore lecture last year on climate change with his 10 year deadline. This in itself was eye opening but watered down CSR, sustainability and climate change initiatives have not really tackled the issues - we await the outcome of the summit next month. Unlike many there, I had not heard of Hazel Henderson or Fritjof Capra but they were the key speakers by video link. Their revelations and recommendations were quite shocking but are the issues that we must all be looking at, whether we agree with them or not. I'll be looking into this more and trying to find ways that as designers we can help this 'transformational change' take place. There is a lot of disparate info out there but a bit more focus on this area by the DBA and design publications will really help designers like us to advise and influence clients."

Google here I come...

A November rant - must be the weather

2009-11-07T17:30:00.007Z

Anyone else noticed that the governments logo for 'solutions for business' is 'red tape'! We came across this initiative, aimed at simplifying support, while working on a funding project with the brief that we had to work within the branding framework set out in the governments solutions for business programme. Having visited the site and clicked various links we soon discovered this is anything but simple :

http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/enterprise/simplifyingbusinesssupport/page44802.html

We have to agree though that 'red tape' as a logo is in fact very appropriate!

Next project, communicating the need for SME's to take a more active role in reducing environmental impact at work in line with Governmental policies. We're an SME but have never really considered the definition of an SME. Our research showed that roughly 99.5% of SME's in London have between 1 and 49 staff and 0.5% have 50 to 250. In Europe, SME companies are defined as: less than 10 staff are 'micro'; less than 50 staff are small and with less than 250 staff are medium. So it's no surprise that given these statistics that nearly all the documentation and 'red tape' we receive as an SME is more appropriate for the 0.5% rather than the 99.5% group. Certainly in our appraisal of the communications requirement for our project, there was a need for a tiered approach with sector specific messages to these different types of business within the SME bracket. I would suggest that some of the guidance and rules given to SMEs from government should also be tailored to 'micro', small and medium, but this could obviously make things more complex and undermine 'simplifying business support'.

When will Government, the public sector and procurement departments really make an effort to simplify things so people can actually get on with jobs and work that benefit people and planet rather than having to plough through endless red tape to tick boxes to satisfy the people that write the gobbledigook!

There is hope. We have recently started working with a couple of public sector procurement departments that actually have some understanding of what we do and don't ask us in contracts for a website to "clear our waste on completion of on site works"!

The joy of public sector work... it would be if only we could get through the PQQs and ITTs. Give me fast paced, relationship building, knowledge sharing, mutual respect and reward, private sector work any day... until public sector cut the red tape, believe in trust and build relationships with their suppliers.

End of rant and will have Christmas cheer hat on for next blog...

Are they missing the point! or postman to blame...

2009-10-08T14:39:00.009+01:00

We try to send out a press release each month, or more often when possible, but time is always against us in this fast paced side of communications. We have sent two stories to design week this year about our work for, up until now, low profile EPSRC, the research council for Science and Engineering. We originally talked about our branding for 'IMPACT!', their campaign to raise awareness of the impact of science on society but it didn't get any coverage. Disappointment all round. This month we followed up with news of our ground breaking design for a new satellite website, 'Impact World' :

http://www.impactworld.org.uk

We eagerly awaited our copy of design week to drop through our letterbox on Thursday. It did but no story again! Having failed twice to get coverage I felt a stand had to be made so a heavy two finger typed email venting my frustration was sent into the email ether. I pointed out that as the leading UK funder of scientific research (they invest over £800 million per year in research) why did nothing appear about the website, not even making it onto 'news in brief' ahead of something as bland and uninspiring as 'the London Restaurant Festival' (p5). I ranted on about Design Week's complete lack of understanding of the importance of Science in society.

I really wanted to understand why a business that doesn't have a high profile name but that has such a huge impact on society is not perceived as news worthy - I asked them if anyone actually took the time to look at the site and read some of the stories. Maybe like us, they are so bogged down with information overload that they don't have the time to spare so stick to the usual favourites, the quick wins and the no brainers while the unknowns stay that way - shame!

All sounded good to me until the short but sweet response that perhaps this was a postal issue and that the 'London Restaurant Festival' logo appeared in last weeks issue - I realised my error! Despite arrival on the right day of the week, I had received my design week one week late! Egg on face or what but no time left to vent my anger at that creaking establishment - the Royal Mail!

With nothing about EPSRC up on the DW website, I still await this weeks copy to see what coverage science gets. In some small way I hope it is a very small piece so that some of my frustration was justified.

I know the PR fraternity out there will be saying get a good agency on board and the stories will flow but I find it difficult enough to find the time to write a press release for Design Week, the occasional blog, let alone start a PR campaign (but it's a thought for better times!).

Meanwhile I'll pause a little longer next time before letting loose with my two finger typing!

Busy busy busy

2009-09-30T23:28:00.000+01:00

Had hoped to have one blog per month but there is a sense of relief that this has not been achieved due to work, work, work. Whether its a return from the non barbeque summer to desks of to do lists or true signs of recovery we are certainly starting to reap the rewards of our investment in getting our brand and marketing materials evolved to inspire and engage with the audiences that are making up the current and developing communications landscape. We are now helping new clients like EDF energy and EPSRC to realize their visions and the order books are starting to fill with new work from existing clients. The entrepreneurial spirit is also alive and kicking as we help smaller ventures to establish their brands where new opportunities are coming to light. We've just got to ensure we leave enough time to design our 2010 calendar! So I've beaten my midnight deadline to get this one in for September so that I've only missed out August!

time and change

2009-07-11T00:29:00.001+01:00

Today saw the launch of our new website. This is not just an update but is a complete rebrand that is the culmination of hours of discussion, debate, tension and persuasion. The persuasion being the majority trying to persuade a minority of one that it was time for change. Change is a difficult thing when there is 'history' and 'investment' but you do have to listen and although the change may be slower than some may want it does eventually happen. The balance of knowledge and experience with that of youth and flare is a catalyst for effective change rather than change for changes sake. It's not until it reaches these final stages that you can look back, compare and realise that this was so right. Not just the creative and timing but all the positives that have come out of it. The team spirit, the motivation, the drive and determination to create a consistent brand image that reflects our passion and belief in simplicity and good design.

It wont stop here. We have set ourselves a task to experiment, develop and evolve our brand. We want to embrace new technologies and methods of communication, especially the social networking revolution. We need to understand this so we can help our clients and friends to use it to its full potential. This is a challenge in itself as time as usual will be our enemy. Twitter, Flickr, Blogs, Myspace, Facebook, Linked-in et al - how does anyone have the time to keep these up to date with content thats useful or relevant, or infact read and keep up to date with all that's going on! It's difficult enough for us to write a blog once a month let alone once a week or daily.The opportunities are exciting and the benefits real but this is another area of change that needs the steady hand of experience and knowledge to help extract the true value that can be gained from these new forms of communication. The one constant for us will be our core principal - it should be clear concise communication.

Top 100?

2009-05-29T14:29:00.000+01:00

Well we’ve managed to move up the design week top 100 rankings and now are 92, up from 98. A long way still to go but the report has prompted me to write my first blog.

Last year was a good year for us at to the point but when filling in this years forms for design week we took a cautious approach to future growth in 2009. All the trademarks of recession were there. Having set up in '91 we've experienced it before, so a great time for start-ups but I was more than surprised that we were one of only two to put forward negative growth. For us this would still see us in profit but realistic about the coming year. We have grown steadily and secured a debt free business with owned premises - in boom times we didn't over expand, over indulge or rely on one sector or client.

With steady growth, a focus on client service, delivery and value for money we have retained a wide client base across a variety of sectors. Budgets have been cut, projects put on hold and long term relationships with individuals ended through redundancy but work is still coming in. We will for now remain focused on helping these existing clients rather than chasing the ever increasing number of unpaid pitches for new business.

There may not be the money now but when things do improve these clients will work with the suppliers/partners who have supported them through tough times. The lost colleagues will get new jobs and growth will be on the cards again. So for now its helping some of them make their CVs look more creative and even looking at our own brand and communications. It’s the first time in 18 years that we've had the time and with sound investment in the business and our staff we will weather this recession and come out strong on the other side.

We'll need to evolve our offer to suit the new landscape, but without jumping on the sustainability band wagon of designers changing the world. I prefer the more modest 'butterfly effect' that even small changes we help our clients make will have an impact.