Month: March 2016

Cache, discussing the creative community

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Last week we attended Cache. An event designed to discuss bringing together the creative industries under one banner, hosted by Noribic at the Mac in Belfast.

We were greeted with smiles, wine, and music by local singer/songwriters Travis is a Tourist & Owen McGarry. After we got settled amongst some fellow graphic designers and SEO specialists, we got down to business. Kicking off with some key speakers talking from the perspective of their professional fields.

Mary McKenna was first up, a Northern Irish technology entrepreneur and angel investor, who spoke about the benefits of networking and collaboration. She shared with us some great bite sized bits of info, such as: “Every opportunity is attached to a person.” – Mary McKenna

She also has some great advice on her blog, here: http://bit.ly/1MW83Eh

After a quick break for some fish and chips, washed down with another cheeky glass of wine, we got back down to business.

Gemma Milne, keynote speaker and The Creative Lab Technologist at Ogilvy & Mather Group, talked about market research. She spoke about her passion for start up companies and helping them find their voice. “Corporates need to learn to speak startup & startups need to learn to speak corporate.” – Gemma Milne

Noribic then opened the conversation to all. In Northern Ireland we have no single strategy or representative body for the industry, as a whole. Willing to take up the challenge, Norbic had gathered everyone from across the creative industries to discuss the interest, if any, in such a venture. There was resounding support, with lots of positive feedback on the idea. And on that they left to ask the question again in Derry/Londonderry.

Talking Brand

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Senior designer Ryan Stanfield popped into BBC Radio Ulster ‘Good Morning Ulster’ this morning to talk brand.

How it’s come about

It has been built on a solid foundation of 6 years of creativity, the studio was producing work across the island of Ireland and beyond, but was an unsung hero. We wanted to give the creative team and our clients a voice, a brand that could tell the story of who we are and what we do.

Why is what you do important

I believe it is important to effect change for the better. That is what design does. It intervenes to create a preferred state. It’s the ethos of Kaizen Brand Evolution and how we help our clients in business.

What will Kaizen Brand Evolution offer?

“In two words creative change. The ability to evolve in an ever changing and competitive marketplace. To continually engage with both internal and external audiences both visually and through brand language. We offer ideas and thinking on brand that can find output both in print and digital formats to reach the most fitting solution to the design problem. We offer a way forward.”

“We have recently converted our first floor into a studio space, allowing collaborative thinking from the designers, a break out meeting area, and reception to ask how you’d like your cuppa.”

“We are currently fortunate to work with a wide spectrum of clients, from charities to media moguls and everything in between. Our designers find themselves getting under the skin of many industries, believing that the value of design comes in knowing how businesses work in order to help find the right solutions to make creative change.”

“In terms of recruitment, we have just welcomed a new account manager, as well as someone to look after the numbers, and are in the process of sourcing a highly talented designer to join our gang.”

Why are brands important

Brand are incredibly important. Ultimately they are visual story tellers, they build consumer confidence and speak on behalf of your company. The visual language and tone of voice crafted for your brand will engage with your audience, build that audience and sell to that audience.

International Society of Typographic Designers 2016

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I travelled to DIT (Dublin Institute of Technology) Grangegorman last weekend, 5 March 2016 for the Annual ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers) Student Assessment. Every year design students from across Ireland take part in what Erik Spiekermenn described ‘The Most rigorous and honest assessment in the world. No personal likes/dislikes can affect the outcomes.’ The students answer one of 5 ISTD briefs to which they may use a number of mediums and outcomes. When assessing we look for strong concept with comprehensive typographic exploration.

On arrival we have a chance to grab some breakfast and catch up before beginning the assessments. This year I was paired with Jamie Murphy from Salvage Press, a typographer and letterpress printer and all round great guy. The briefs are outlined below.

Project 1: A life’s work

Celebrate the life’s work of Adrian Frutiger. Create a prestigious ‘publication’ (digital/physical or both) that celebrates the life and work of Adrian Frutiger.

Project 2: The Undiscovered Country…

‘Stare death in the face’ and find out everything there is to know about it. Consider international, societal, scientific, religious, historical, statistical, cultural, literary and poetic touch-points within your research, before determining your approach.

Project 3: Visualising Music

Using Philip Glass’ opera Einstein on the Beach as your source material, you are asked to investigate different ways of making visual typographic notations in order to create a music score for this work.

Project 4: Eye Witness

Your task is to translate a written, first person account of a significant event, into a typographic experience that is designed as a site-specific installation in the gallery of your choice.

Project 5: And the winner is…

Celebrate the Nobel Prize. You may wish to propose the design for a suite of publications that highlight the various categories of awards; perhaps a prestigious publication that investigates the life and work of a selection of Nobel Laureates; or a very focused approach looking at a specific category e.g. the prize for literature.

Yet again the standard of work for Ireland is exceptional with a number of students passing the bar and one merit awarded from myself and Jamie. I thoroughly enjoy the assessments and believe that this institution greatly benefits the design community, raising standards in typographic practice across the globe.

Sylvester’s – Brand

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Sylvester’s needed a contemporary brand identity that held up the legacy of the owner’s Grandfather ’Sylvester.’ The new Belfast eatery is a full circle restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and evening meals in style. The owner’s family have a longstanding hospitality and restaurant background that puts Sylvester’s on a solid foundation for growth and success. We pitched 3 brand directions for the restaurant, showing interior, exterior and marketing materials for each scenario. The client chose the first concept to which they felt a personal connection with the illustrations of their Grandfather. The Logo itself includes the Grandfathers signature, which is carried throughout the branding. Illustrations were done in house at Kaizen Brand Evolution and rolled out across menus, wall graphics and online. The legacy of Sylvester lives on through the branding, and the contemporary direction will set Sylvester’s ahead of their competitors.