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June 1, 2010EPILEPSY ACTION MAGAZINEI have recently designed a magazine called Take Action for Epilepsy Action. The 8 page mailer was targeted at specific markets to 1. Raise awareness, and 2. Improve donation rates for the charity. Epilepsy Action were delighted with Take Action, and the roll out will be throughout the spring and summer of 2010. The creative is designed to be like a magazine aimed at women between 30 – 50 and is already getting a good response.
January 6, 2010November 17, 2009History of the Coca Cola bottle
Coca Cola History: Left to Right 1899 – 1900 – 1915 – 1916 – 1957 – 1986 An interesting image of how the Coca Cola bottle has changed over the years. One of the most recognisable brands in the world, this bottle is the classic representation of what a brand can mean to a company, probably more so than the slightly cheesey Advertising campaigns that they have run over the last few years. However it is an enduring/historic brand that will be with us for many years to come. Notice the logo, this has barely changed, rather tweaked every few years, because it sees its history as key to their brand. September 23, 2009Graphic design, and it’s uneasy relationship with iStockiStock is a resource for people to supply, buy and live in a virtual world of stock material aimed not only at the graphic designer/creative, but also at a much larger business audience. It is relatively cheap when you compare it to the more expensive/exclusive stock libraries, for example gettyimages (who recently purchased iStock and ramped up the prices), but what does a professional graphic designer really get from iStock? Well, cheap photography from a self policing web community, with contributors worldwide supplying a wealth of source material. But I have noticed a backlash against this recently, where clients have said “yes, that image is a bit ‘iStock’”. The reason? In my view, as soon as any average photographer has the ability to make easy money with their brand new 12 megapixel digital camera, they quickly work out what people want to buy, and produce more of that; it is a simple supply and demand formula. And with less creative people now getting heavily involved in selecting photography, every design job has started to look the same, and we are getting creatively dull. Is there no room for the expert any more? The truth is the real talent won’t bother with it. The iStock style has become scorned upon, the illustration is safer than a nice rabbit, the photography in the main is bland. There may be a certain amount of risk taking/creativity, but the problem is these images just don’t sell as well, so soon no-one will produce it anymore. One photographer I know saves his best work for himself, and puts his ‘rubbish’ on iStock as it may bring in £15 every now and again. iStock was a good resource for designers to get their hands on hi-res, reasonable quality imagery. But, like everything in this world, it has become easier for anyone to design, shoot, write and gain an audience – which is great, but conversely we have lost quality and, more importantly, we have lost creativity. What’s next for iStock? Well, they are now moving into generic branding, where designers can supply generic logos for generic businesses around the globe. No real thought about what the logo needs to do, a simple ‘change the word to stick with an icon’. This will be fine for companies up to a certain level, but to be serious about your brand and making it work for you, you will still need expert skills and knowledge. My advice? Fight the machine, or at least get the job done right. September 15, 2009CASE STUDY – Arena Group re branding
In early 2008 Arena Group in Wakefield contacted me about their branding. They were competing in a technological marketplace with a brand that did not do the business justice. The existing logo was designed by one of the directors when the company first formed in 1991, and whilst initially it ‘did the job’, time and the business had moved on. Arena originally specialised in supplying photocopiers across the North of England, but over time had grown to become an all round office solutions provider, offering services in electronic document management, IT and consultancy, in addition to their thriving photocopier sales. Arena had a well respected standing in the market and wanted to sell on an assured quality of service. A tired and outdated brand, with weak formatting and typography. Within that brand however was a trusted icon, the Arena roundel, which was recognised by the company’s substantial client base. The business also needed to show it was integrated under one umbrella brand, whilst able to sell expertise and products to different markets, i.e. not just a ‘jack of all trades’.
We worked closely with the client to establish what to keep in the Arena brand, what to dispense with and what to develop. To cut a long story short the roundel survived, with a design refinement, along with the name; otherwise it was a total brand overhaul.
A couple of the ideas First came the initial concept stage where a few ideas were presented to the Arena Group Board. Two routes were chosen to take through to development stage where we would explore the segmentation of the brand. After the development stage a final decision was made on the design route. We then tweaked, tested and polished the brand until everyone was happy. We tested different Pantone colours and redrew the font to make it unique to Arena. This was only the first stage of building the new brand; it is necessary to look after it and treat it with the greatest of respect wherever it appears on all future company communications/material/literature. This is where Arena are now. The final Brand Photoshop palettesAn interesting look at how the Photoshop palette has developed over the years. I seem to remember most of these, I certainly remember the dark days before layers.
September 13, 2009Logo EvolutionIt’s interesting to see how to see how the big corporations develop their logos over time, They all seem to develop to fit in with the fashion of the time, whilst retaining an element of history throughout. The success of some brands can be seen when they feel it can stand to lose the text in a logo, see Nike and Apple. Most examples here operate the evolution, not revolution technique which retains existing brand values, see BMW. The Google brand philosophy remains the same, however the typography changes with the time. Pepsi has 2 distinctive brand movements, although they merge in the 50’s. Apple start from somewhere strange, and move to a simple icon we all recognise today. BMW play a safe hand throughout with a few typographical changes. Nike has the confidence to remove the word Nike and rely on the famous swoosh. Sony (like Google) retain the value of their brand name with simple typographic treatments.
 Sony logo through history  Nike logo evolution  BMW logo through history
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Ground Floor, 1912 Mill, Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, Leeds LS28 5UJ. CLIENTS | CORP ID | LITERATURE | ADVERTISING | WEB | MISC | CONTACT | BLOG | PHOTO
