Being a creative isn’t the exclusive domain of designers. Creativity has a role to play throughout the whole branding process. All of us use creativity to turn issues inside out, to position, to develop ideas, to enhance features and to come up with smart solutions.
We create brands and campaigns build on ideas so they stand apart, get noticed, connect with audiences and attract a response. The process is one of generating ideas that get us to the ‘big idea’. It's a combination of brain storming, sketching, going away and thinking about stuff. Then we sift, sort and test until we arrive at a point of execution.
Campaigns need to work hard from the get-go. The concepts need to be strong enough to turn up the brand volume, to have an emotional kick and the versatility to work hard through all channels, e.g. digital, print and above the line.
Every great brand is built on the same basic foundations: Who, what, why, where, when and how. We work with our clients to identify, refine and establish brands.
We create names for companies, products, events, magazines and campaigns that work hard. They are always memorable, distinctive, meaningful, easy to say and support the brand’s positioning. Names develop associations and become the verbal face of an organisation. When the associations are positive audiences know immediately what a brand stands for and whether it’s ‘for them’.
Every project no matter how big or small requires oversight, another pair of eyed, a guiding hand and the experience to interpret the brief both strategically and creatively. Our creative director has more than 20 years of working on more than a 1,000 brands and design projects.
Not every brand, design project or campaign requires illustration, but for those that do, illustration adds another visual dimension to their communication. Our designers illustrate to create more memorable brand stories, compelling campaigns and to capture attention and enhance a user’s experience online.
We don’t do pretty pictures, but we know as well as anyone that a picture is worth 1,000 words. Photography is an important element that will not only capture the essence of your brand, but will become another instantly recognisable visual element, over time. Similarly, high quality images can engage audiences, provide reassurance and drive sales. When customers are attracted to images, they feel confident in their decision to engage or buy, because they trust the source.
A brand story is a narrative expression of the brand and designed to entertain, inform and influence. Typically, brand stories talk about where you come from, who you are, what you believe in, what inspires you and what you want to become. There’s nothing wrong with brand stories employing a little bit of hyperbole, occasional irreverence and sporadic displays of chest thumping, but most importantly, they must be authentic.
Writing is part of our branding repertoire. It’s one of the most important tools we use to bring a brand to life. While design creates the visual expression of the brand, writing is its verbal counterpart. We use the brand’s tone of voice to write evocative copy to engage audiences, to convey key messages and create memorability. It could be a three-word strapline, a two-page executive summary, content for a website or a 500-word brand story. Whatever it is, quantity is irrelevant. The measures are; is it easily understood? does it suit the occasion? will the reader think better of you? is it on brand?
We create fabulous campaigns that deliver consistent messaging tailored to the unique qualities of each channel, so audiences experience a seamless experience across all promotional channels.
We’ve developed the brief, created the concepts and undertaken some execution. Now it's time to find out what the target audience think. Concept testing allows us to get feedback, check assumptions, to choose or reject a concept and then we feed these responses into the next iteration of the concepts or into the final execution.
