Tag: belfast

Lean Bean – brand identity

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Lean Bean approached us to create a unique brand identity as the business was faced with significant growth across Dublin and Ireland. Lean Bean is a well-established Fresh Food Outlet in the centre of Dublin, serving up some of the tastiest breakfast and lunch time meals on the island. Reputation soon spread of the fast, fresh offering across the city and demand for the product dictated an increase in stores. With this in the pipe-line the owner of Lean Bean realised opportunity to re-define and re-state the brand purpose, look and feel and communications. With the naming already in the mix it was our job to deliver an identity to reflect the reputation and truthfully communicate this forward-thinking delicious offering.

In their own words:

Founded in 2017, Lean Bean is a destination for healthy food served fast. To us healthy means real food made from scratch. Lean Bean was built on the idea that today people are time poor and the food on offer is of low nutritional value. We want to change that by providing real food, real fast at an affordable price. We believe education around food is very important to our success and that people are actively making more health-conscious decisions.

First off was the logo. We created a unique word mark based on a Stencil font which provides a sense of tradition, sophistication and modernity. The way the letters fall in the stacked version of the logo allowed the typography to play over the line ever so slightly to create an interesting, stand out identity. Paired with the traditional stencil style mark we introduced a modern san-serif to bring harmony in the brand across headlines, menus and body copy that was to be used. Clarity between the two typefaces is important as you will see throughout the menu and website, a natural yin and yang balance really elevates the brand and gives it strength to roll out across any medium required. 

Following the craft of the word mark we created a colour scheme to suit the offering and attract the right audience. Numerous concepts were put forward but the pairing of the fresh ‘lemon’ and the strong ‘teal’ working together provided something completely new for the industry landscape. Teal’s of course reflective of the green ingredients with the hint of Lemon to freshen things up across the brand. The completed palette is extremely ‘fresh’ and packs a real punch when placed in front of the fantastic plates, ingredients, drinks and interiors at Lean Bean.

One of Lean Beans mantra’s is sustainability, as seen here:

Sustainability

We are always trying to reduce our carbon footprint. Over 90% of all our packaging is now compostable with some of the remaining being used from either plant based or recycled plant-based material which is 90% less carbon.

This Lean Bean ethos of sustainability sparked an idea for a new style to accompany the word mark and colour palette. With this in mind we created a unique set of bespoke illustrations which are intertwined across brand textures, backgrounds, interiors and the website. The illustrations are hand-sketched and really bring an air of sustainability to the whole brand personality. This in toe we wanted to introduce a strapline to sum this up. Eat Smart was born. Eat smart encompasses once again the brand ethos of Scratch Cooking, Transparency, Healthy Living and great food. We felt it was a much easier was of letting the customer know that ‘we do healthy food’ and encouraging them to join the food revolution. 

Lean Bean very much is a revolution in fast food and we continue to work with them in the brand roll out and evolution of the business.

BeyondHR – Brand identity

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BeyondHR focus on a relationships based approach to Human Resources, their headquarters are based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, with another office based in Glasgow, Scotland. Previously named Personnel and Training Services (PTS), our rebranding project was undertaken to reposition the business within the market.

Their name PTS, was out-dated for the marketplace, we took this opportunity to rename, to allow the company to engage with its audiences in today’s world. Starting wide, we went through over 50 names each with reasoning on why the name was relevant. We then refined, short-listing down to seven.

The chosen name ‘BeyondHR’ was a fantastic metaphor for the business with lots of branding potential.

Understanding the Brand

We looked at the industry landscape and noticed the majority were very corporate, and didn’t seem very approachable for a business which dealt with people. A lot of the logos didn’t give you much of a hint of what they do. We seen this as one of the challenges we had for BeyondHR, as we needed the business to look approachable, friendly and tell you what they do.

Our goal within the BeyondHR rebranding was to create a trustworthy brand, which kept inline with their core values of focusing on relationship.

Brand Audit – Brief

To create a brand identity for BeyondHR incorporating the new name with a clever, friendly visual direction. The new identity would become the face for the brand and reflect the core values of BeyondHR. The brand will position the business as the go to HR company when you need them the most. The brand allows flexibility to evolve over time. BeyondHR wanted to reach out to smaller businesses, as they want to make Human Resources more approachable.

Like many brands we create at Kaizen Brand Evolution we have created a branding system which makes it simple for anyone in the business to be able to use. We show the client how the brand works and how it can be utilised. BeyondHR’s brand was developed from research we gathered from multiple sources to make sure we understood the industry we are designing for. We took elements from our research and we created three independent brand concepts that fully reflected the marketplace BeyondHR operate in. Each had a unique value proposition so BeyondHR could visualise their brand potential, after refinement of the chosen brand concept, we are rolling this out across a range of deliverables both offline and across digital media.

The Logo Build

The logo type was created using elements ‘BeyondHR’ + ‘Support’ + ‘Eye’ + ‘People’. From this we built a clever device, which houses a person in the negative space of the ‘O’. This represents that BeyondHR are people centric in everything that it does. We wanted people to smile when they discover the person in the logo, and hopefully smile when they engage with BeyondHR. The device will be used throughout the branding system from housing different icons depending on the sub-brands/services they offer.

Each element of the brand has been thoroughly looked at, from brand campaigns to lanyards to how the coffee mugs would look like.

We introduced a vibrant colour palette to use against a contrasting navy, the colours used per sub-brand each have their purpose in the brand, the red is used as it shows leadership and suggests stability; the teal is used as it’s more softer for training purposes and represents knowledge; the yellow is used as its friendly and approachable, perfect for recruiting; and finally the green is associated with healing and protection.

Brand Language

We created the approachable brand, we needed a tagline which helps define what BeyondHR does as the brand language is just as important as the visual identity. “We’re People People”.

Whiterock Finance – Brand identity

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Whiterock Finance are an independent alternative funding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Previously named Whiterock Capital Partners, our brand audit project was undertaken to reposition the business within current and new markets.

Traditionally such businesses are branded in a manner akin to an accountancy practice and of course this adds strength to the diligence requirement of such a process. However for many entrepreneurs or business owners, this traditional look may be misunderstood for a variety of reasons.

Our goal within the Whiterock Finance audit was to create an engaging, dynamic brand, that retained the heritage of an established, trusted and extremely well respected business.

Understanding the Brand

In the process of understanding the Whiterock Finance brand and its products/services, we were led to the many clients they have supported with the Growth Loan Fund and Growth Loan Fund II. Entrepreneurial, growth driven and ambitious companies who are making a huge impact in each of their sectors was the common theme and from this it was very clear to identify the personas of key markets.

We created three independent brand concepts that fully reflected the marketplace Whiterock operate in. Each had a unique value proposition and while design is objective, the selection process is of course subjective. After refinement of the chosen brand, we are now rolling this out across a suit of deliverables both online and across digital media.

What is Alternative Finance?

Alternative Finance is an umbrella term that covers any type of finance that does not come from a mainstream provider, such as a bank. It is not a mortgage, but a considered loan for use as investment within your company.

Whiterock Finance support local businesses with ambition that can demonstrate sales and profitability growth.

Brand Audit – Brief

To create a new and engaging brand identity for Whiterock Finance, incorporating the new name with a smart, modern and visual direction. The new identity will become the voice of the brand and reflect the core values that Whiterock Finance represents. The new brand will also position Whiterock Finance as the premier alternative finance option for entrepreneurs seeking growth in their businesses across Northern Ireland. The new brand will be flexible for growth, perhaps in Scotland and the mainland. The brand will be attractive not only to entrepreneurs but to major investors across the water and fit in with their brand library.

The Logo Build

The logo was created using elements ‘W’ + ‘ Whiterock’ + ‘Money clip’. From this we built a clever Rock device crafted from the negative space of the logo. This represents a strong foundation to help support your business. The device will be used to throughout the branding system from housing photography, to use as an arrow to point to the language or to be placed as a white rock when the logo can’t be used.

Each element of the brand has been well thought out from the colours, layout and the typography. We used a typeface, which can be legible from size, with subtle curves in the letters to tie back to the curved logo.

We introduced a clean colour palette inspired by the coast, using a sunset yellow and rock grey with contrasting bright colours used to add more depth to the brand. These colours were used when we updated the Growth Fund logos too so they updated in the style of the new brand.

Brand Language

The brand language was critical, as it had to be corporate and approachable. Some of the language created was, “We invest in the brave”,” We invest in the ambitious”, “Alternative, Intelligent Finance” and “Grow your business”.

As well as the branding system, we produced a range of visuals to show them how the brand could be used across different mediums; including adshels, brochures, signage, business cards, lanyards, mugs and online presence. When you see how all the brand elements are brought together it’s clear to see the cohesion. With this brand structure, Whiterock Finance will stand out from the rest of competition. 

With Whiterock Finance we built a strong brand that works for the business and for their clients. We throughly enjoyed working with the Directors on this exciting project and look forward to working with them to evolve the brand even further.

Tonic Pharmacy – Branding

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Tonic is a friendly, caring Pharmacy based in the heart of Derry/Londonderry. The Pharmacy began in February 1987 with John MacCafferty (originally with the name MacCafferty’s Chemist) with a belief that focusing on the delivery of a personal customer experience. They offer a variety of pharmaceutical services to meet the health needs of the local community.

They are the first in the area to provide a 24-hour prescription ordering app and messaging service. You can also order popular health and beauty products from their online shop.

In their own words:

“We are dedicated to providing a friendly, caring pharmacy experience with an emphasis put on delivering a quality, efficient healthcare service to our community. In November 2007, we purchased the Pharmacy and by following the same ethos the business has continued to grow.

Tonic pharmacy is a trusted e-commerce platform for anyone to purchase quality skin care and health care products, which help people feel better about themselves. Tonic in a sense means rejuvenating/ up-lifting/ invigorating/ replenishing. We sell only products that we feel have these properties and help ailments and treat concerns. We try to focus on natural products, which are not tested on animals and contain only natural ingredients. We offer an e-commerce service to collect in store with 48 hours: ‘pick-me-up’ service or an e-commerce delivery experience option for any of our products. What sets us apart from other retailers is that we have a dedicated pharmacist available to guide and advise on suitability and choice of products via an online chat/email conversation.”

Tonic approached Kaizen Brand Evolution to rebrand their pharmacy of 31 years. They asked us to design and develop a new branding system for a pharmacy, skincare, well-being store and e-commerce business that needed to be contemporary, bright, striking and clean. It should look modern so it could really stand out in Derry/Londonderry, or in any city if they decided to branch out. We wanted Tonic to set a new standard for how modern pharmacies should look.

They wanted to reach a new target audience of Men and Women aged 35+ and Parents. People who really wanted to feel good and really look after themselves would be the type of people Tonic wanted to be their customers.

The new Tonic Pharmacy wordmark consists of the word Tonic and a mortar & pestle (as it’s a tool used to crush, grind and mix solid substances into a powder). Tonic wanted to promote more of their natural medicines. We felt people know Tonic is a medicine, which has a general effect of making you feel good and the mortar and pestle best sums up their natural products.

We developed a tone of voice, which feels really positive, friendly and trustworthy. We wanted people to feel reassured, “Heal & Soothe” knowing Tonic is always there for you, 24-hours a day in-store or online. You can always rely on Tonic, they want you to feel good.

As well as the branding system we had created illustrations of what they stand for; a flower (for natural remedies), a clock (for 24-hour service) and Derry’s Guild Hall (for Trusting Local) using the elements of the mortar & pestle. It would be fun to work on other illustrations. We also created some visuals on how the brand could work across different mediums including their delivery van, packaging, business cards/stationery, signage and their website.

Over time when Tonic has become more established, the T and the Mortar & Pestle could be used stand-alone, and it will still be recognized as Tonic Pharmacy.

We enjoyed working with Tonic Pharmacy on this branding project; we can’t wait to see the brand being rolled out across their vans, social media and perhaps a visit to their store. I would like to see Tonic expand and set the bar for modern pharmacies.

Meet our evolutionaries – Dean

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1. What has working in Kaizen Brand Evolution taught you about the design industry?

From only being here a week, I’ve noticed how fast-paced the studio can be, you always need to be on the ball.

2. Desert Island Design Studio, which typeface would you bring with you?

Odd place to use a typeface; I love geometric typefaces, I’d take LL Circular, it’s fun, and has character…

3. What do you use for motivation inside the studio?

Flicking through some design books, drinking coffee (black, no sugar) and being surrounded by creative people.

4. Any designers you have been stalking online recently?

I’ve been stalking Tony Futura over a year now. He’s a fantastic conceptual artist, creating tongue in cheek visuals. It’s different.

5. What are you listening to in work today?

Today I’ve listening to Eric Prydz (he’s coming to Belfast in June) always puts me in a happy mood, love his visual work to (GMUNK). I usually try to sneak in some hard house and hardcore.

6. Any exhibitions in Belfast recently that are worth checking out? 

I’m looking forward to an exhibition called ‘The Museum of the Moon’ (W5). It on 10th Feb to 4th March. It involves a massive installation of the Moon. I’m get excited by new uses of technology.

7. What’s your pet called? Tell us about them.

Heidi and Kitkat, Heidi’s a cross between a Dachshund and a Bichon, then there’s Kitkat (Chunky). She’s a massive cat.

Meet our evolutionaries – Ciara

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1. What has working in Kaizen Brand Evolution taught you about the design industry?

Other than all the practical do’s and don’ts, form and function.  Working in Kaizen Brand Evolution has taught me a lot about the customer focus, everyone has a different eye, therefor, see’s things differently, something you have to always keep in mind.

2. Desert Island Design Studio, which typeface would you bring with you?

Brandon Grotesque is hot. It would totally be my sidekick. So versatile, friendly, strong…

3. What do you use for motivation inside the studio? 

I find working in a studio with a group of talented designers motivational. I can look around the room at any time and be impressed, interested and motivated by all the amazing work going on around me. That and some heavy tunes.

4. Any designers you have been stalking online recently?

I am always stalking every designer. Recently I have been obsessing over Young Jerks. I’d recommend anyone to check out their work.

5. What are you listening to in work today?

I hate to admit it, but DJ Ryan Stanfield has usually got the best mix on. If I need to focus, I will usually listen to some small angsty band or Little Mix.

6. Any exhibitions in Belfast recently that are worth checking out? 

I am so proud of Belfast and how well the creative scene has blossomed the last few years, there is a beautiful new mural every few months. The Black box puts on a walking tour and exhibition of Belfast street art, I’d love to go.

7. What’s your pet called? Tell us about them.

My favourite thing in the world is my cat Kitty. She is small, black, and very noisy. She always has her tongue out, unless she is drinking milk or giving kisses.

The Skinny Sauce Company

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The Skinny Sauce Company approached Kaizen Brand Evolution to create an engaging brand identity and packaging strategy for the launch of their exciting new Skinny Sauce product range. The brand story begins with the owner and entrepreneur Maria Doran. Maria’s passion for sauce has been long standing; from ketchup to curry she has always loved adding flavour to her meals to enhance the eating experience. Maria also embraces the healthy lifestyle, going to the gym, eating right and taking care of herself. She soon realised that despite eating healthy she craved the added flavour that the sauces and dips brought to her meals and the sauces available on the market were full of sugars, additives and unhealthy ingredients in general. Maria’s mission is to revolutionise the sauce market and make healthy dips and sauces for the health conscious consumer.

With this in mind be researched the industry and developed a strategy for the business with the tagline ‘skinny dip more often.’ This strapline acted as the foundation for the creation of her brand identity and packaging. Keeping the target audience (health conscious shoppers who crave sauce) in mind we designed a bold, eye-catching brand that highlights the good ingredients that go into Skinny Sauces. In a world of Heinz and other well-known sauce brands we aimed to reach Maria’s ambition of becoming a household name and compete and stand out on the shelves in major retailers.

The first point of call was the brand mark. We crafted a ‘handmade’ type based logo with a bright, youthful colour palette, which immediately stands out from the competitors. The logo is a reaction to modern brand styles and trends utilising hand drawn type and illustration to reflect the fun skinny sauce experience. The brand mark leads nicely into how we visualise the brand narrative ‘skinny dip more often’ – using the hand drawn script and bold palette to emphasise the text. The language plays an important role in communication the values and vibrancy of the product. Aimed at an audience of 25-35 we have tailored the brand to fit in with that demographics lifestyle. As well as the language and the brand mark we proposed a photographic and typographic direction that would spark an emotional and aspirational connection with the target audience, using young, happy, healthy models to communicate this rings true in the Skinny Sauce marketing strategy and in their brand collateral.

Following the identity, strategy and narrative and artistic direction we began work on the packaging for the Skinny Sauces themselves. Each bottle and flavour introduces a fresh colour palette creating an engaging, eye-catching suite of products. One ambition for the packaging was to make it look suited alongside the likes of high-end sauces within M&S or Waitrose. This ambition was easily realised following the identity and artistic direction for the brand. We were able to utilise the type direction and layout to suit such retailers and realise the ambition for future growth and perhaps buyer in such retail environments. As well as the colour palette for each flavour of Skinny Sauce we introduced hand-drawn illustrations to reflect the core ingredients inside the bottle – beautiful hand-drawn chilli’s, peppers, tomatoes were included to create an all round flavour focussed packaging piece.

In preparation for the Skinny Sauce Company brand launch we worked alongside Maria to ensure that the values set out from the beginning would be strengthened and represented fully in the collateral and packaging. Working as brand guardians for Skinny Sauces we continue to develop and evolve this unique, beautiful brand to ensure the businesses ambitions are realised. We thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and look forward to working more with the Skinny Sauce Company in the future.

Belfast Central Business District

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We successfully won the Belfast City Centre Management pitch to create a brand identity for the new Belfast Central Business District. Following the success of Belfast City Centre Management establishing Belfast One as Belfast’s first Business Improvement District (BID) on 1st of April 2016, Belfast Central Business District (BID) is now in development for the BT2 area of Central Belfast. This area of the city centre functions as Belfast’s ‘square mile’ with many large offices in the finance, technology, professional services and government sectors.  The area is also home to many reputable restaurants, historic bars, quality hotels and a range of independent retailers.

After a year of preparation Belfast Central Business District (Belfast CBD) has now reached the ballot phase. The publication of the final Business Plan for the business improvement district on the 14th of September formally launches the six week long campaign to secure a ‘yes’ result on 27th of October. The ballot involves over 420 votes from 350 businesses across 10 sectors. Businesses have an opportunity to secure an investment of over £2.4 million in a wide range of money-saving and promotional projects over a five-year period in the BT2 postcode area south of City Hall.

The identity and brand system that we created for the project brings to life the area involved in the Belfast Central Business District, visualising the footprint that it will have in the city in a contemporary, almost architectural way. The brand encompasses the area as well as the nature of the businesses and residence in the zone allocated to the BID. As you can see in the brand visuals the device is flexible when addressing different streets in the area, becoming the talking point for the likes of Adelaide Street or Linen hall Street. The colour palette is reflective of a forward thinking, corporate area in Belfast.

We needed to address and connect with the businesses and tenants that currently occupy the Belfast Central Business District, as they would be the ones ultimately sealing the fate of the Bid. We provided a trustworthy, corporate identity that the businesses could get on board with. The ownership comes from the craft of the ‘MAP’ logo to which the businesses can almost point out where they are located. The identity and type family used solidifies the positioning of the BID with a forward thinking approach and timeless brand direction. We used Omnes as the brand typeface, a soft, corporate face that has a big personality when used throughout brand collateral and business materials. As you will see on social media we created a series of props and point of sale items for Belfast Central business District, which really stood out from the crowd at the BID events.

The versatility of the device really comes in to play when housing the likes of ‘VOTE YES’ messages or “I’M IN” statements in their marketing collateral. The strong primary blue palate also helps marry the brand language with the visuals and mark helping the BID take ownership of the area in a contemporary fashion.

We are delighted to say that following the branding project and campaign the BID for the Belfast Central Business District was voted for and passed successfully. We can’t take full credit of course but the brand identity and vision from the offset was always on point with the ambition of the BID providing a solid path to success. We thoroughly enjoyed working on the branding for the Belfast Central Business District and look forward to working with them in the future as the BID formulates and is realised. Another successful corporate identity made for purpose in the KBE studios.

NIce Design #ImWithTheBrand

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Northern Ireland is known for punching above its weight in many industries, and design is no exception.

Join us for #NIceDesign, the third installment of our #ImWithTheBrand event series. Four creatives from across Northern Ireland will come together to share their knowledge and insight on areas ranging from graphic design and typography to animation and lifestyle branding.

Our speakers include:

/ Ryan Stanfield

/ Design Director – Kaizen Brand Evolution

Ryan leads the branding team that create and manage some of the most well known brands in Ireland and the UK. After numerous years in branding agencies Ryan has learnt that designing for the client, building relationships and getting to the core of the business is key when undertaking any brief.

/ Colin McKeown

/ Creative Director – Whitespace

Colin helps clients to develop their brand and communications to improve business performance. Originally formed in 1989, Whitespace provides integrated design services in brand creation and strategic design thinking.

/ Barry Falls

/ Illustrator

Barry has always loved drawing, and since graduating from the University of Ulster in 2005 he has managed to make a living from it. His work is an exploration of hand-drawn marks, textures, and imperfect repetition, and is inspired by everything from popular culture – movies, music, television – to tiny details half remembered from everyday life.

/ Lee McQuade

/ Creative Director – Alt Animation

Lee and his team make animation & motion graphics for film, TV and digital with a focus on character building and storytelling. Lee has worked for clients such as Disney, CBBC, Nickelodeon, Channel 4, O2, Children In Need, Discovery Channel, MARS, Romain Jerome and RTE delivering award winning material with exceptionally high production values.

Our event will take place in The Academy in Ulster University on Thurs Nov 23rd from 3pm. Come along for refreshments, networking and inspiration from design leaders in Northern Ireland.

Tickets are £5 until Nov 10th (£8 after) and 25% of the proceeds will be donated to Alzheimer’s Society.

/ Book here!

Giant serviced apartments

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Giant Property approached Kaizen Brand Evolution to brand their Serviced Apartments business. Offering some of the best locations across Northern Ireland and Belfast Giant Serviced Apartments where established online running under the Giant Property brand identity. As the business evolved and reach increased they felt it needed its own brand presence and came into the studio to outline their ambitions for the company.

The first goal of Giant Serviced Apartments was to be instantly recognisable as a standalone serviced apartments brand, standing apart from their competitors and raising confidence in clients who book through the likes of Air bnb and Booking.com so that Giant Serviced Apartments website gives them the confidence that they will receive the same level of service booking directly rather than through a third party.

We created the narrative ‘stay happy’ for Giant Serviced Apartments positioning them as business that provides a positive, friendly, happy service when staying at any of their apartments across Northern Ireland. This narrative was the foundation that we utilised in creating the unique brand identity and logo device. The logo is a bold, contemporary yet soft typeface with the addition of a ‘Giant Smile’ on the loop of the G. The Smile justifies the positive reviews currently featured on trip advisor and Giant Serviced apartments social media channels. This seamless transition of type into simplistic iconography showcases the strength of the brand mark. As part of the marketing collateral and brand rollout we have adapted the smile icon to house messaging, frame imagery and business stationery. Simplistic and versatile branding is always a goal when creating an identity system for a business and we have achieved this through Giant Serviced Apartments new brand positioning. As well as the dynamic logo created for Giant Serviced Apartments we introduced a fresh, engaging colour palette removing the brand from the current industry landscape of Serviced Apartments in Northern Ireland – subdued in corporate tones.

Photography plays a large role in the branding for Giant Serviced Apartments. We collated an image bank of modern, seasonal and fun photographs, which set the scene for tourists and customers wishing to travel to Northern Ireland. The image bank is in keeping with the tourism in Northern Ireland as well as the buzz of our cities and town’s nightlife and hospitality offerings. To coincide with the dynamic imagery for Giant Serviced Apartments we brought together the brand pillars of the business and adapted the ‘Stay’ message to work with them. At Giant Serviced Apartments their goal is for each and every customer to stay happy, comfy and curious. These three pillars immediately connect with the target market and aim to sum up their reasoning for choosing a location like Northern Ireland to travel to and stay with Giant Serviced Apartments. Strategically we are able to introduce this language set into all brand marketing materials, ads, brochures and online collateral – without the hard sell. The language was introduced to connect and engage with travelling clients on their level without screaming from the rooftops about offers or seasonal pricing we have focussed on the offering with an emotional language connection.

From signage to water labelling the new brand purpose flexes its muscles across all collateral in a very visual and engaging way. The language provides the tone of voice that you would connect with when travelling on business or leisure – signing off with the line ‘leave with a Giant smile’ when you are checking out solidifies the brand strategy and showcases its strength and marriage of logo, language and longevity.

It was a pleasure to work on the Branding for Giant Serviced and as it is currently rolling out of the studio keep an eye out for the Giant smile across Northern Ireland.

Watch Tech

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Watch Portfolio Management is a well-established business specialising in financial guidance with many clients reaching from the UK to Australia. Watch Portfolio Management is based in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, and is known for their financial advice that leads businesses that have gone into insolvency to find solutions. This, however, is no longer the case! Watch Portfolio Management decided they would approach Kaizen Brand Evolution to create an identity for their cutting edge software, that they primarily would use for daily tasks, as going forward they would like to be seen as a financial software business. This software is to be called Watch Tech. The interface is easy to use and finds information fast making it the best financial insolvency software on the market.

To creating the brands identity we needed to first fully understand the industry landscape that Watch Tech would be positioning itself alongside. We researched and developed clear directions to take our brand ideas based on Watch Tech’s potential competitors in the financial, security and tech sectors. Learning from our research we found what was working and what wasn’t necessarily relevant moving forward with the creation of Watch Tech’s identity. It became clear that a simple, modern identity would be best to represent this brand effectively.

Now that our styling has been determined from our research the identity soon followed. A potential branding direction that we explored was revitalising Watch Portfolio Managements shield to link Watch Tech to it’s heritage, as well as to show the software’s strength and durability when it comes to protecting your financial well being. However, the brand chosen to represent Watch Tech was our identity representing “financial growth”. This mark, illustrating a positive outlook, is a meaningful graphic that lends itself to the company’s primary objective for its clients. The brand mark uses three primary bars linked by two diagonal bars in the background giving a ribboning effect to shape into a “W” ultimately representing Watch Tech. Looking back on our research we decided to use a corporate typeface in a variety of weights to blend with our modern brand mark. This typeface joined with our brand mark comes together to create our Watch Tech Logo.

Following the design of the brands elements we were able to focus more on what our brands message would be. Watch Tech is really the first financial insolvency software to come onto the market and we decided “Pioneering financial insolvency software” would be a good direction for their brand language. Our taglines to follow this direction are “faster, stronger.” and “better, smarter.” to illustrate how superior this software is in comparison to other financial insolvency software’s and its main selling points the software can provide. Leading from this language our imagery shows the idea of exploration and moving forward to illustrate Watch Techs brand message.

With our logo and language already decided the next step in our process is to show our strategy in regards to how the logo would be implemented. The new Watch Tech logo is a strong shape with distinguishing features making it recognisable individually. It’s because of this that we decided to use the outlined shape of the brand mark as a device to house imagery. Imagery on print, signage and online would follow this strategy or be full bleed with the brand mark positioned accordingly alongside our brand messages. We didn’t just create a new brand identity for a piece of software we created a new platform and style for a new business to follow going forward.

Jane McClenaghan

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Jane McClenaghan owner of Vital Nutrition – Northern Irelands leading nutrition and healthy lifestyle brand approached Kaizen Brand Evolution to create an identity for herself in preparation for Jane’s evolution as a leading, national healthy lifestyle consultant. Jane has featured as part of Centra’s most recent influencer campaign and has appeared on BBC and numerous Food events across the province. Jane’s ambition is to be the figurehead for healthy living and nutrition, increasing her media coverage and crafting her ‘influencer’ brand presence.

The first step in the creative process was to fully understand the industry landscape that Jane aims to position herself as a stand-alone influencer. We researched and developed clear brand narratives based on Jane’s ambition and potential competitors in the healthy living/eating arena. Learning what is working and not necessarily working for some of the top brands was extremely important in the creation of Jane’s brand. As well as retaining the brand name ‘Jane McClenaghan’ we wanted to explore further options for her as a business, much like the way some influencers use nick names or brand names to trade under. Names such as Zoella, I Quit Sugar and Little Green Spoon have achieved major success from this approach. As one branding option we renamed Jane and presented her with “Nutrijane” as a potential brand direction – using this naming we seen potential for a clever brand strategy which would position her brand alongside the ‘quirky’ engaging names out there. In the end we stuck with Jane McClenaghan and plan to use Nutrijane throughout the brand emails and possible URL for her new website – so no idea un-used.

We designed a contemporary brand system for Jane McClenaghan to use across all of her marketing material both on and offline. We introduced a leaf to the word mark using negative space in the A to achieve instant brand recognition – summing up Jane’s offering and business objectives. Simplicity is the best policy here and when applied to type the negative space really speaks volumes for the entire brand identity. The logo itself positions the brand on the higher end of online influencers such as HEMSLEY + HEMSLEY, and Deliciously Ella which immediately resonates with Jane’s target audience. The unique blend of classic typography and clever brand language pulls the brand together in an engaging, visual fashion. We introduced a bold colour palette that reflects Jane’s colourful personality as well as the visually attractive meal plans she creates at events and on her online webinars. Taking influence from the bright palette of some of the key ingredients she like to use mirrors throughout the brand not just in her logo but in her very own, custom brand iconography set which will feature as a way finding system throughout her cookbook design and her website.

We created Jane’s brand language and tone of voice to reflect her offering in a clever concise way. Statements like “Health to thrive” and “I’m here for the good of your health” have spawned from the creative writing process for the brand. When married together the brand language and logo mark successfully tell her brand story.

Following the identity and language creation we implemented the branding on a number of deliverables that Jane has plans to release over the coming months as the brand is launched. From cookbook designs to event design and branded collateral for conferences we visualised how successful the identity can be across all of her needs with the colour palette and brand language constantly making an appearance, strengthening the identity as a whole.

It was a pleasure to work on the branding for Jane and we look forward to the roll out as she continues to evolve and increase her brand reach. Next phase is realising her new website and social media channels.

WYOBTTWD…

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Here at Kaizen Brand Evolution we are big music and fashion fans, so are eager to participate in this year’s ‘Wear Your Old Band T-Shirt To Work Day’ by Radio 6 on the 25th November.

We have our tees picked out, pressed and ready. It’s sparked a debate on our favourite albums that go with them, here’s an insight into our eclectic studio taste.

Ryan: Album – ‘Down in Albion’ by Babyshambles

For Band t-shirt day I’ll be wearing my Babyshambles – Pete Doherty, Heart Tattoo – T-shirt from their Irish Tour in April 2006 / Spring & Airbrake / Belfast

I kept this t-shirt as a memento to this epic gig! I had a pint with the band before their set, lit one of Pete Doherty’s cigarettes for him while he was on stage and appeared the next day on page 3 of the Irish News (which I still have) with Pete Doherty and Kate Moss on a feature about the band playing in Belfast.

‘Down in Albion’ is no doubt my favourite Babyshambles album. When I hear ‘Killamangiro’ it brings me back to my old student flat behind Auntie Annie’s where my mate and I started the band ‘The Couth.’ I’m still a massive fan of Babyshambles and the Libertines!

Lynsay: Album – ‘Stone Roses’ by Stone Roses
Painted by band member John Squire, the style harking to Jackson Pollock and the May 1968 riots in Paris, the chaos in the picture is balanced with the subtle placement of pattern that can be found in Squires current artworks. It’s my favourite, so much so, that my birthday present to me was the jacket. The chaos symbolises their handling of later events in their career, decorating those who had wronged them, homes and offices in paint, as “that’s the way people deal with things in Manchester”.

One of the first things a Roses fan will ask you when you meet them is, “first, or second album?”, I’m in the first camp, with ‘I Wanna be Adored’ still giving shivers.

I’m choosing the Phoenix Park T-Shirt over the classic ‘Lemon’ due to typesetting, I love green, and my friends and I got pit tickets and we were so close we could have licked him!

Shaleen: Album – ‘The Script’ by The Script
I listen to quite a lot of different music so deciding on a T-Shirt for Band T-Shirt day was quite difficult. My favourite bands would be Maroon 5 and The Script, who have the advantage as I’ve been to see them live in concert. One of my favourite songs would ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ but I generally love most of their songs. But I also love older music bands like The Beatles and Queen.

Jordan: Album – ‘Gutter Phenomenon’ by Every Time I Die
I wish I was wearing an Every Time I Die T-shirt for band T-shirt day, because that would mean the one that was ripped off my back at one of their gigs would still be intact. I loved that shirt! My favourite album of theirs is ‘Gutter Phenomenon’, because it’s just so heavy, riffs for days.

Vicki: Album – ‘Ill Communication’ by Beastie Boys
I don’t listen to that much music these days unless you count movie soundtracks. I don’t have that many band t-shirts (always too pricey for me, who loves a freebie!) In saying that, I still have and love my Calling tee. I was obsessed with them as a teen; finding out Alex Band was related to Charles Band, director of the ‘Puppet Master’ horror movie franchise, only made it worse! For the big day though, I have acquired and repurposed a Beastie Boys Tee, which you can see how here  here. I wasn’t as big a fan when I was younger, but finding myself really enjoying their music as an adult.

Lizi: Album – ‘Spice’ by Spice Girls
I haven’t really been a music lover or a groupie and loved one particular band and any band that has been cool and hip. I have always just liked any music just by the song, so picking my favourite band for band t-shirt day has been hard. I just go with the flow when it comes to music!

When I was little I always wanted to be part of the Spice Girls (I know, cool right!) Sporty Spice was my favourite and I knew every song and dance move there was!

Design of the Boojum Food Truck

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This month in Kaizen Brand Evolution we had the pleasure of working on the concepts and design of Boojum’s brand new offering –The Boojum Food Truck. The Food truck is now available for bookings across the whole of Ireland for events, festivals, weddings and pretty much any party you can think of. The food truck craze has taken America by storm and the owners of Boojum felt that Ireland was the perfect place to launch their own!

We created the campaign, additional web pages and Food truck design itself for the launch and already it has had major bookings for festivals and events across the province. ‘You see me rollin’ is the lead campaign for the food truck encompassing the rolling of the burrito and the food truck rolling down the road. The vehicle design is big, bold and extremely eye catching. The branding was also ‘rolled’ out across video, print and digital campaigns. We are, as always very proud of the work done and wish the Boojum food truck all the success it deserves.

The power of Snapchat

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Snapchat is one of the most powerful ways of communicating today, short and sweet bursts of messages between you and a friend on your phone that disappear before you have a chance to react, it’s the fast-paced engagement and the exchange of information keeping us hooked. From Snapchat’s origin in quick fire picture exchange, its has significantly evolved offering text exchange between users, highly interactive and engaging video filters, story telling video diaries, worldwide event coverage and most prominent – Brand advertising. Just as the evolution of social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Snapchat has quickly overruled as the leader in brand awareness. The user interaction analytics secure Snapchat as the most used social media platform and with this information comes a responsibility as a business to jump on board and get your brand out there.

There are many tiers of Snapchat advertising that can be easily achieved at any business level and what makes it better is Snapchat advertising is surprisingly affordable. For instance, our first use of Snapchat advertising at Kaizen brand Evolution was a simple Geofilter (interactive branding watermark over the top of the live feed camera) at Culture Night Belfast 2016. For this, we simply created a mobile sized, branded template, which could be used on the night of the event. The brilliant thing about Snapchat is that you set your location; timings and radius reach to pinpoint exactly where you want the Snapchat Geofilter to appear. What an unbelievably personal, in the moment and engaging form of advertising. It was so exciting seeing people interact and use our own Kaizen Brand Evolution filter on the night, and it appeared on your selections just after the main Snapchat filters. Following the interactions and success of the evening at Belfast Culture Night 2016, we reviewed the analytics of our simple Geofilter design and the stats were staggering. Let me put this into perspective, we set the location radius to an area of Belfast about the size of a football stadium, we had it running on Snapchat for 6hours and we told maybe 100 people who came to our stall at Belfast Culture Night 2016 about its existence and how we were testing the new medium. Our analytics report on user engagement was staggering: We had 17.3k views of our filter and 346 uses.

This only sets to prove my point on how powerful Snapchat is as a brand awareness tool. Following our first use of Snapchat we have been providing the branding service for our clients. Most notably for Boojum and their Halloween campaign. The premise of the campaign was to draw customers to each of the 3 locations of Boojum restaurants in Belfast City Centre. We created and designed 3 separate Snapchat filter designs for Boojum to use across their Great Victoria Street, Chichester Street and Botanic Avenue sites. Each design is different and alongside a Facebook and Twitter post we encourage customers to attend each Boojum location to essentially ‘catch ‘em all’ (not to paraphrase the Pokemon Go craze, but you get my point). There are two key points to this campaign, brand awareness, and brand engagement. Alongside the fantastic Halloween themed design the plans to involve their customers and locations will certainly prove successful. This forward thinking brand medium provides a new platform for brands to showcase their business in a new way, and the results speak for themselves. If we can achieve 17.3k views with hardly any marketing or build up, imagine the possibilities for your brand.

We now specialise in the design, creation, and customisation of Snapchat Geofilters and advertising. If you believe in your business and would like some design intervention online, engaging and interacting with more potential customers that ever, get in touch and we’ll be happy to set up a meeting.

Meet our evolutionaries – Shaleen

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1. What has working in Kaizen Brand Evolution taught you about the design industry?
In the few months that I’ve been at Kaizen Brand Evolution, I have learnt about presenting for design and how to present a client’s brief back to them and the best way to show outcomes. While working in Kaizen Brand Evolution I have learnt a lot about print and setting up different documents for print. I feel this is invaluable as it is something that will be used in all aspects of design.

2. Desert Island Design Studio, which typeface would you bring with you?
Helvetica, it’s my go to typeface as it is reliable, bold and can be used in all different weights for everything.

3. What do you use for motivation inside the studio? 
On a Friday here at Kaizen Brand Evolution we have a boojum, haha that keeps me motivated throughout the week. More motivation around the studio is the showcase of Kaizen Brand Evolutions work on our walls, seeing the brands that we have worked on and the creative solutions is very inspiring to see.

4. Any designers you have been stalking online recently?
My favourite designer is Jessica Walsh, I first heard her speak at OFFSET in my first year of University and I follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

5. What are you listening to in work today?
I listen to a mixture of everything, usually a bit of Beyoncé.

6. Any exhibitions in Belfast recently that are worth checking out? 
David Sherry at the Golden Thread Gallery, looks like an interesting exhibition I’m hoping to go to it this weekend.

7. What’s your pet called? Tell us about them.
I have a dog called Buddy, he’s old and quite stupid, I live on a farm and he likes to chase cows around the wrong direction.

Meet our evolutionaries – Ryan

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1. What has working in Kaizen Brand Evolution taught you about the design industry? 
Reputation is everything, building a good reputation across industry in invaluable and keeping the creative momentum simply nurtures the reputation.

2. Desert Island Design Studio, which typeface would you bring with you? 
Helvetica Neue – the family. I know! But stranded on a desert Island, a neutral typeface with great clarity, no intrinsic meaning would be of great comfort to me.

3. What do you use for motivation inside the studio? 
An eclectic mix of playlists on Spotify, caffeine and surfing Behance.

4. Any designers you have been stalking online recently? 
I love the work coming out of Barcelona at the minute, particularly Mucho. Check ’em out.

5. What are you listening to in work today?
Nirvana – Nevermind as it’s the 25th anniversary.

6. Any exhibitions in Belfast recently that are worth checking out? 
Keith Wilson: Calendar, at the Mac. Looking at the cultural status of sculpture, considering how ideas develop from studio to public presentation.

7. What’s your pet called? Tell us about them.
I have a crazy cockapoo called Riley and a very chilled cat called Obi. They’re best friends, oddly.

Meet our evolutionaries – Lizi

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1. What has working in Kaizen Brand Evolution taught you about the design industry?
KBE has taught me to always push myself to do the best – What I personally think is best for the design project I am undertaking.

It has also taught me that every day, every client will be different in the design industry.

2. Desert Island Design Studio, which typeface would you bring with you?
Why is there a design studio on a desert island? That’s what I am wondering first of all? …But if I was to bring a typeface with me it would be Futura. I would bring this because it works well with most design projects and is very reliable. It always has a slight retro feel to it, which I love.

3. What do you use for motivation inside the studio?
When I want to get motivated in the studio, I will plug in my headphones and zone out from the rest of the world, however the odd sweet or two also helps me, my favourites is Squashies incase anyone would like to know.

4. Any designers you have been stalking online recently?
I wouldn’t say stalk, but I love the web designer Sarah Parmenter, I love everything she creates, it is always so lovely!

5. What are you listening to in work today?
We usually have to listen to whatever Ryan puts on in the studio… Sometimes I will request the occasional Disney number but at the moment we are listening to the playlist Throwback Thursday #nostalgic.

6. Any exhibitions in Belfast recently that are worth checking out?
Oliver Jeffers was in the Ulster Hall recently doing a book signing who does lovely, cute illustrations (examples Lost and Found book). Also, Belfast Design Week is coming up in November which should be interesting and filled with lots of talent and creativity.

7. What’s your pet called? Tell us about them
As most people know I am a bit cat crazy – so of course I have a cat. She’s called Nala, she is the cutest thing ever, but also very crazy. Sometimes she will follow me to the bus on my way to work and try to get on with me (which is so embarrassing) or even just sit on top of my head just when she feels like it. I have plenty of stories about her which I talk about a lot in the office, but that’s for another time!

Meet our evolutionaries – Jordan

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1. What has working in Kaizen Brand Evolution taught you about the design industry?
Probably how to manage time more effectively. There are so many things going on in the studio ranging right the way through from client graphic design work, photography and our own internal brand that I always try to take a step back from the work and ensure that what is being done is in the best interests of the client, whether that is ourselves or someone else.

2. Desert Island Design Studio, which typeface would you bring with you?
Garamond Premiere Pro! I don’t know whether this typeface would be particularly useful on a desert island but it is definitely my favourite out there. Its classic shape works equally well in lower case for body copy or in the small caps case for detail text and sub headers. I always find that it gives a real sense of class to whatever publication or project it’s used in. I suppose in that sense if I were stranded I could imagine it was part of a big adventure book all set in the classic typeface.

3. What keeps you motivated?
The sheer range of clients that we work with means that we can experiment a lot with different styles and ways of communicating as we try to find the unique voice of a brand. I suppose this means I never really get bored as every job presents a new problem or task, which needs to be overcome in a visually pleasing way.

4. Any designers you have been stalking online recently?
There is a company from Argentina called ‘Hola Bosque’ who are really inspiring for me because of how the use colour. Everything they do is bursting off the screen with ingenious combinations that always seem so obvious until you try to do it yourself. They are primarily an illustration studio, which means that their style is very handmade and organic, which, combined with the colours make for a brilliant result.

5. What are you listening to in work today?
I really love music, and having played in a kind of post-punk band for a few years I developed a taste for the heavier guitar riff bands like Queens of the Stone Age and Refused, but both my Dad and brother have great taste in music and send regular recommendations my way. Most recently I am going back to what my Dad played in the car when I was younger, a mix of Steely Dan and Sting. But I will listen to anything that catches my ear. One of my new favourites is ‘Dreams’ by Beck from the new FIFA 16 soundtrack.

6. Any exhibitions in Belfast recently that are worth checking out?
The most recent exhibition’s that I have seen were all on Culture Night 2016. There is always a plethora of events, shoes and performances to go and see so I don’t think I could choose my favourite from the night, but if I had to say it would probably have been the people from Flamenco Fino. Brilliant dancing and music.

7. What’s your pet called? Tell us about them.
I have a cat and a dog, Evee and Catty… Try to guess which one is which. They are both very old now but still in great shape, Evee especially. She is 15 years old and still going strong, but the best thing about her is that she is just so well behaved. Only barks when she needs let in from outside and loves a good hug. Catty is like any well respected cat would be, totally aloof until she needs something, then she’s all over you.

Meet our evolutionaries – Lynsay

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1. What has working in Kaizen Brand Evolution taught you about the design industry?
That it is the team that you build around you and the studio culture that you craft that can be credited for the success of a studio. It’s that, that helps cultivate creativity. Clients then feel the passion and positivity toward their projects in pitches, gaining trust in the process. At Kaizen Brand Evolution, we have an amazing team!

2. Desert Island Design Studio, which typeface would you bring with you?
Helvetica. Sounds standard, but I love a bit of symmetry and it would bring a bit of order to the island, born fixer!

3. What do you use for motivation inside the studio?
Diet Coke! The real thing that motivates me most is being engaged in a client meeting when I know we can really help make a difference to their business, when I can see a solution using design intervention to create change.

4. Any designers you have been stalking online recently?
I’ve mainly been creeping on Wayne Hemmingway as I’ve been furniture shopping. Also been checking out D.A.D.D.Y. to stalk at OFFSET 2017.

5. What are you listening to in work today?
I only had a chance for a brief headphones moment today before the studio day started, it was to listen to and watch the trailer for the documentary ‘Oasis: Supersonic’. Nostalgic old footage and a very young Kate Moss. The studio today has mainly played Nirvana to mark the 25 years since Nevermind. New Warpaint album for the journey home.

6. Any exhibitions in Belfast recently that are worth checking out?
The Hockney exhibition at the Mac was a must for me after seeing the documentary at QFT a couple of years back. Turned out expensive for a free exhibit as I’d been looking for a sofa at the time and it led me to buy a Hockney inspired range. It’s very true in what he says, that there are ways of looking, it’s just a question of how hard.

7. What’s your pet called? Tell us about them
Currently two cats named Mickey and Mallory, after M&M Knox in ‘Natural Born Killers’. More often, they get called ‘the black one’ and ‘the other one’, as they are more natural born scaredy cats. Rescued from a centre after spending their first 7 months in a cage they hadn’t been used to human contact or touch, and so are taking alot of time and patience to become domesticated. ‘The other one’ is now brave enough to be stroked, but only in the dark.

Meet our evolutionaries – Vicki

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1. What has working in Kaizen Brand Evolution taught you about the design industry?
You need to be fast, accurate and very, very good. I learn so much each day in the studio, and thankfully have a supportive and talented and patient team to teach me. 

2. Desert Island Design Studio, which typeface would you bring with you?
Century Gothic, nice, friendly and versatile font. I feel if ‘Wilson’ had been written in Century Gothic, he would have been more lively!

3. What do you use for motivation inside the studio?
Coffee, some more coffee, oh and some more coffee.

4. Any designers you have been stalking online recently?
‘I love dust’ I enjoy the biker persona they have and everything they do is loud and proud. I have a real soft spot for Chip Kidd, who doesn’t love the guy who created the Jurassic Park logo! His Ted Talks are really helpful and inspirational. I mostly stalk illustrators, mostly. Such as Steve Simpson (who I am a little obsessed with and literally stalked at OFFSET) Oliver Jeffers who just had a book signing at the Ulster Museum. Love local guys like Stephen Maurice Graham and Peter Strain. And a big fan of Chiara Bautista’s sketching. Her mix of music lyrics and emotionally charged imagery is delightful. I still check in to Deviant Art every now and again for a nosey too. 

5. What are you listening to in work today?
A mix of Eminem – ‘Rap God’ and Childish Gambino gets me motivated in the studio, and in the gym. For a calm down session I love Blood Orange – ‘Cupid Deluxe’ and anything by Devotchka. 

6. Any exhibitions in Belfast recently that are worth checking out?
David Hockney in the Mac, first time his work has been exhibited here, and marks a major turning point for art exhibits in NI. Late Night Art is always fun for free wine and a look at what’s happening each month. 

7. What’s your pet called? Tell us about them
Henry the cat. He had a bad tummy when he was young and a bad name ‘Henry’, named after some footballer. We just pronounce it differently now. He is all better and eats constantly, has a little extra flab to carry around. 

Get Twitter Branded

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On Friday 16 September Culture Night Belfast 2016, we are offering to “Get Him/Her Branded”.

Kaizen Brand Evolution raises the profiles of clients we work with and so we are setting up a mini version of our process to enhance people’s online profiles on the night. Whether it’s to document the night with friends, for dating, or to have a killer LinkedIn image for that new job. On the night we’ll be offering personal taglines, and to have your picture taken in Cotton Court Galleries in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter. So come, down, get involved, Get Him/Her Branded!

Image and brand personality has never been so pivotal for businesses in the public domain on social media. Before the event we thought we would go through a few top tips for branding your companies social media accounts.

Twitter:

It’s a conversation, plain and simple. If your business holds a lot of events, or is conversation focused, Twitter will work well for you. Use Twitter to network in a more informal way. It isn’t about how many followers you have, but how many are engaging with you and your content. This is true for all social media, but more so of Twitter. Talk with people not at them, and you will see a big difference.

Use hash-tags to join other conversations and reach a wider audience. When you visit or host events, Twitter can help get the party started both before and during the event, you can create a buzz and reach more potential customers with your chatter.

On the night use our hash-tag chalkboard board to speak your mind in your profile photos, and start some conversations. Chatting to people in all areas whether it’s show off knowledge of your business or your passion for your work, it’s a sure fire way of getting noticed on Twitter.

Keep up to date on our event on our Facebook event page: bit.ly/GHBranded

Get Instagram Branded

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On Friday 16 September Culture Night Belfast 2016, we are offering to “Get Him/Her Branded”.

Kaizen Brand Evolution raises the profiles of clients we work with and so we are setting up a mini version of our process to enhance people’s online profiles on the night. Whether it’s to document the night with friends, for dating, or to have a killer LinkedIn image for that new job. On the night we’ll be offering personal taglines, and to have your picture taken in Cotton Court Galleries in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter. So come, down, get involved, Get Him/Her Branded!

Image and brand personality has never been so pivotal for businesses in the public domain on social media. Before the event we thought we would go through a few top tips for branding your companies social media accounts.

Instagram:

Instagram is the vogue of social media, it’s all about beautiful well composed photos and videos. It’s all about aesthetics. Most prominent is food, fashion and fitness. If your company is any of these then Instagram is your main Social Media account.

Your imagery should be well composed, stick to the rule of thirds (Draw a 3×3 grid and place all object of interest onto the lines). Stick to them strictly and make sure your posts are beautiful and interesting! Filters can seem passé fast, so make sure you are up to date with new filters and try downloading apps with different filters to try out.

Like all social media accounts, being a little bit different can go a long way. Keep your hash-tags low, and put links and hash-tags in comments rather than the main body of text, as links won’t work on posts.

Keep up to date on our event on our Facebook event page: bit.ly/GHBranded

Get LinkedIn Branded

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On Friday 16 September Culture Night Belfast 2016, we are offering to “Get Him/Her Branded”.

Kaizen Brand Evolution raises the profiles of clients we work with and so we are setting up a mini version of our process to enhance people’s online profiles on the night. Whether it’s to document the night with friends, for dating, or to have a killer LinkedIn image for that new job. On the night we’ll be offering personal taglines, and to have your picture taken in Cotton Court Galleries in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter. So come, down, get involved, Get Him/Her Branded!

Image and brand personality has never been so pivotal for businesses in the public domain on social media. Before the event we thought we would go through a few top tips for branding your companies social media accounts.

LinkedIn:

Professional photos are a must for LinkedIn. But try to look a little different. Everyone in the company should have a LinkedIn profile that links through to your company’s page. It’s your professional portfolio and shows off the individual and how you all combine to make the company a powerhouse.

All the rules of perfecting a CV apply here, and tailor it to your business you’re in or after. Follow and interact with people and groups, show off your authority and skill. Constantly learn and post the certificates regularly. Lynda, Google and Hootsuite to name a few, all have links that automatically share your recent learning’s or accolades.

Keep up to date on our event on our Facebook event page: bit.ly/GHBranded

Get Facebook Branded

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On Friday 16 September Culture Night Belfast 2016, we are offering to “Get Him/Her Branded”.

Kaizen Brand Evolution raises the profiles of clients we work with and so we are setting up a mini version of our process to enhance people’s online profiles on the night. Whether it’s to document the night with friends, for dating, or to have a killer LinkedIn image for that new job. On the night we’ll be offering personal taglines, and to have your picture taken in Cotton Court Galleries in the heart of the Cathedral Quarter. So come, down, get involved, Get Him/Her Branded!

Image and brand personality has never been so pivotal for businesses in the public domain on social media. Before the event we thought we would go through a few top tips for branding your companies social media accounts. Let’s start with…

Facebook:

Is your personal story and public space to show the world what you’re about. Every business should have a Facebook page, as it is the number one social media platform. Think of it as the ‘Yellow Pages’, you need to be in it to be found and trusted. It’s best to make your Facebook profile picture the same as opposed to changing it regularly. However change your cover images to show what you’re up to.

Your posts shouldn’t sell directly, they should tell your business story. What’s interesting about your company? What can you add to people’s lives on a daily basis that will interest and engage them?

An engaged audience leads to brand advocacy and that leads to sales, without ever having to post an offer, gimmick, or sales pitch.

Keep up to date on our event on our Facebook event page: bit.ly/GHBranded

Robert Roberts

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We had the pleasure of working closely with Robert Roberts on their brand and marketing materials recently. With the launch of their new range of flavours, based on famous landmarks across Northern Ireland we designed the advertising campaigns. Using the location specific designs with contemporary photography we created some intriguing ads that spanned the province.

Most prominently the ads are featured at Belfast City Airport. Branding the airport in a blanket fashion for Robert Roberts really profiles the brand, highlighting their forward thinking brand values and setting them ahead of their competitors. We continue to work closely with Robert Roberts and with our team of avid coffee enthusiasts we are excited for the working relationships future!

Brand evolution of White’s Tavern

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The owners of the White’s Tavern came to us with an idea to brand the floor above the traditional Irish pub into a one of a kind bar/eatery. Stepping away from the long-standing tradition of White’s the new addition was to be tailored to a young professional audience, which would become a place of nostalgia and happiness with an edge.

We delivered a striking brand identity for the new venture titled ‘Vandal.’ Vandal’s identity is a nod to nineties street art and culture. Through considered graphic design, the bright colours, patterns and hand drawn typeface are tributes to the 90’s theme with a contemporary treatment. The theme continues throughout signage, menus, wall graphics and online.

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.

Girl Power

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Kaizen Brand Evolution join Women in Business

We are excited to be part of Women in Business, one of the largest and ever growing business network’s for females in Northern Ireland. Lynsay from a design perspective, and Glenda from sales are new members joining many of our entrepreneurial clients. This gives us an amazing opportunity to network with local business as well as engage with new starts. An added benefit is the mentor programme, allowing our team to both mentor and be mentored to gain invaluable experience in the business world we contribute to. Looking forward to our first event and introduction to a great initiative. We’ll be sure to keep you posted!

BBC Digital

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Connecting Homes Roadshow

Here’s one you don’t get everyday! Lizi Daley from our Digital team has been working with BBC Digital and Farset Labs to create an interactive roadshow showing the evolution of digital technology in the home. The walk in mini home has everything from doorbells that operate lights to DIY Raspberry Pi solutions. Our job was to make what would arrive as a mobile on home on wheels to a cosy home that could display the technology and make the unit a domestic environment for the three day roadshow. Lizi had the task of mixing kitsch, shabby chic 70s style interiors with the corporate BBC Digital branding. Liaising with Farset Labs Lizi made sure online styling matched the environment she was creating that would take to the road. After a lot of wallpaper swatches, lighting research and door hunting, the vision came to life. The roadshow will be outside Belfast City Hall as well as Northern Ireland Science Park, designed, print managed and fitted by our team.

Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk

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Valuing brand with Robert Bau

Tuesday saw the alarm clocks set for 3.30am for Glenda and Lynsay as they embarked on a road trip to Dublin to attend a workshop hosted by the Institute of Designer’s Ireland with guest speaker Robert Bau, heavy-weight strategist and thought leader. Once fuelled with coffee and pastries courtesy of Brooks Hotel, they settled down to a compelling talk on the application of business strategy to selling and quantifying the value of design. Attended by mixed disciplines from interior design, packaging and ourselves from the point of view of brand and digital, the room was able to apply the theories to their own sectors within the design industry. It is easy to fall into a assumed pattern when pitching design and overlook the analysis of brief and predicted outcomes that as designers we all do, but don’t always communicate well or quantify as a valuable outcome of the process. The knowledge we gained in invaluable, both to our own company strategy as well as how we can help our clients. I feel a studio shared learning workshop coming on!

The value of Design

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At Kaizen Brand Evolution it’s our job to communicate our skills and services eloquently to our clients. Selling a “non-tangible” product makes our jobs harder initially, but much easier upon completion when the work speaks for itself. Our Client Showcase page is our most visited web page, it shows live projects that have seen major success and growth from our approach of comprehensive brand design and strategic thinking. The Client Showcase page gives an understanding of the level of work we undertake daily for clients all over Belfast, Ireland and beyond. Graphic Design is not just about making something pretty, but rather creating elements that will enhance the business function they are working for. Great design should communicate a brand’s personality confidently and coherently. It’s much more than designing a logo. It’s about telling the brand’s story, communicating and engaging directly with your audience to raise the bottom line of their business.

Our team of experienced and award-winning designers here in Belfast can help you outsmart the competition from small changes in your brand, to complete brand & design packages. If you think your brand requires some design intervention, please get in touch on 028 9507 2007, or studio@kaizenbrandevolution.com to arrange an appointment. Click here to find out more about graphic design Belfast

Harry Pearce Pentagram

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On Dec 10 2015 the design team at Kaizen Brand Evolution took a trip to the Connor Lecture theatre at Ulster University for a talk by Pentagram’s Harry Pearce. The University of Ulster Design department really pulled it out of the bag with this booking. Pearce gave an awe-inspiring talk through his life’s work with a look through the window to how it is to be a partner in Pentagram. Pearce’s work with the Royal Academy of Arts stood out for me, his dedication to Ai Weiwei’s up and coming show really highlighted the importance of getting involved with a client and learning from them on a personal level improves the end result. A fantastic night that left the KBE team hungry for more.

Nurturing creativity

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Southern Regional College

We have embarked on a partnership with Southern Regional College to work with students who are undertaking the graphic design course. To help develop industry skills and prepare students for live in a studio we are submitting live briefs for participation. The students get exposure to client briefs and an opportunity to respond in real time. We critique the responses offering advice and guidance and also show the final client pitch so that they can see the level of work involved and how their response compares. For some their work will get in front of the clients noses, for others they get to see how they can tweak and improve connecting to be client ready. In addition we have offered time to assist with portfolio surgeries to help prepare students for the recruitment process, advising on how to collate their work and mock interviews. We feel strongly about giving back to colleges that have supported us and prepare students so that they are industry ready on graduation. We have been impressed by the student’s thinking and commitment to deadlines, their motto to communicate, connect and create is paying off!

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/designcentresrc/

SRCgraphicdesign

http://www.src.ac.uk

Slim’s Healthy Kitchen, Belmont Road – Design Belfast

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Gary came to us for the launch of his new Belmont Road Store in Belfast, the third Slims Healthy Kitchen in Belfast. Gary was approaching on new territory and we prepared a number of brand progression scenarios for him. The brand is continuously growing, with the growth our involvement in the brand direction has stepped up a notch. The Belmont Road store was a complete refurbishment, including interiors, exteriors, menus, window graphics and a full wall mural. We created the new design direction for the Belmont Road Menus, a more minimal design which lets the food speak for itself, with this we dressed the windows with Festival style graphics. All of the design collateral in the build up to the launch we produced in Kaizen Brand Evolution. We also worked with local artists in the creation of wall mural you will see as you walk into Slims Belmont Road.

Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce – Twitter with Nick Pickles

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Today myself and Vicki were invited to the lovely setting of the Grand Opera House in Belfast where Nick Pickles of Twitter was discussing the ins and outs of twitter. As usual the Chamber put on a great spread for breakfast and fuelled the attendees for what was to be an intriguing insight to the world of twitter. Nick’s presentation helped explaining how twitter is not a tool used to generate profit, but to show your brand personality.

Who wants to read tweet after tweet with a hard sell, its much more personal. In fact the ratio for personality tweets against business news should be 80% personality and 20% business if even. Vicki and I soaked up the information like two digital marketing sponges and put together a plan for out digital marketing strategy for our current and potential clients. This invaluable information has went a long way and we continue to grow our social media packages with some of Northern Ireland’s leading brands. Thanks Chamber, we look forward to the next instalment of business talks …and bacon baps.

Content is King!

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Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Annual Ireland Board Chair’s Lunch

Exploring the phenomenon that context is replacing content as King of the Digital Marketplace, Lynsay Spence and Connor McAuley attended the event hosted at Malmaison Hotel Belfast. Guest speaker, Chris Fielding-Martin, Head of E-Commerce at Malmaison and Hotel du Vin gave us an insight to his own company’s marketing and content strategy. Touching on copy lines, sales and marketing the Q&A also offered advise on dealing with customer service online. In 2014 nearly 22 million questions were posted on Facebook and Twitter making this a platform that companies in the new age of marketing need to be equipped to manage effectively. It was inspiring to hear how a corporate company communicated at a customer level and how they reacted when they didn’t always get it right first time. We also heard from Gavin Walker, Managing Editor of Business First, who has eight years experience in editing for the online magazine. It was encouraging to know how much we are already doing right and how we can make adjustments to do things better. This reflection was made sweeter over afternoon tea at Malmaison following the discussion as part of a networking opportunity.

Simon Brien, Belfast – Website Launch Design

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Simon Brien Estate Agents approached Kaizen Brand Evolution to design the advertising campaign for the Launch of their brand new website. Simon Brien are a forward thinking company with an extensive history in the Northern Ireland real estate industry and they required a fresh approach to their brand direction. Welcome Home’ was the campaign – which successfully communicates the web launch with the real estate industry, we featured the new video based ‘Home’ page on the ad with the copy top left in the design. The launch campaign featured in the Belfast telegraph as well as social media and proved very successful across all media. Each campaign we create for Simon Brien now has a play on words, the brand direction has really came to life over the past year.

International Society of Typographic Designers

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The International Society of Typographic designer’s is the staple for excellence in worldwide typography. This year I was invited to assess the Irish submissions for the Awards. The assessments involved a full day at DIT Grangegorman with Ireland’s top design industry and education professionals. The standard of work from across the emerald isle was very impressive from the final year students with some outstanding projects that successfully made the grade for the ISTD Award. The atmosphere was inspiring and the detail in the assessment process highlights its importance in our industry. Once all of the assessing was finished we had a well-deserved meal just round the corner from DIT and wound down. It was a pleasure to be involved and I look forward to next year’s submissions.

Ciara from Snax ’n the City knows good food!

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Long term city centre client  Snax ’n the City approached us to rethink how their food-to-go bags could look. Briefing there desire to move away brown bags, we set about exploring new ways for the brand packaging to evolve. We were conscious of how city centre workers would carry the bags against dark suits so we wanted stand out with an emphasis on the fresh produce on offer. We created a range of ideas developing the colour and graphic palettes. Our thoughts were as always, to go back to the roots. We revisited the Sex and the City comparison and used this to build a range of bags that were based on the graffiti element of the famous Carrie bag. The client loved it! Through a refinement process we brought the type style and heart graphic inline with the brand, maximising the impact of the contrasting colours. As a result we have now created both bag and cup ranges, instore graphics, and are about to commence an exterior wall graphic on the building. All carrying the motto Fast, Fresh, Fabulous Food!

OFFSET 2015

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When it comes to design religion the creative community pray south, towards Offset. It is a pilgrimage for the Kaizen Brand Evolution studio every year, trumping birthdays, Christmas and St Paddys’ day for the top spot in the calendar year. This year we used the wonderful Air BNB in securing an apartment just around the corner from the Bord Gais theatre and all of the nearest eateries and watering holes. The mood is what you would expect at the likes of Glastonbury, excitement, anticipation of seeing the worlds leading creatives and the opportunity to mix with your tribe. Removing ourselves from the studio and mingling with like minded designers is a way of refilling our creative juices for the creative year ahead. We secured excellent centre seats in the main theatre for the day ahead with some brief excursions to the top floor for Q&A’s.his ritual goes on for three days and with the amount of inspiring talks you really forget that you haven’t moved in maybe 6 hours from your seat. It’s brilliant! Some of the most outstanding presentations came from Hey Studio, Annie Atkins and Andy Altmann of Why Not Associates. True inspiration that has us chomping at the bit to get back into the studio. As well as the conference we attended the Offset after party hosted by Absolut Vodka, let’s just say we enjoyed what they had to offer… a lot! Walking about the party we were brushing shoulders with the likes of Annie Atkins telling tales of clients past and future projects. What a weekend in Dublin, 2016 tickets are in our sights and we cannot wait to get back down on holy ground.

Ministry of Sound Pitch – CD Cover Design

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Kaizen Brand Evolution were asked to develop design concepts for the release of two of Ministry of Sounds new CD releases – Throwback and the Ibiza Sessions 2015. We designed the concepts from brief and were successfully awarded positioning of the design roster for Ministry of Sound, a global client with extensive reach. CD cover design has always been a sort of Holy Grail in the design industry and working with such a big player in the music industry is a pleasure. Featured are the design concepts supplied by the team at Kaizen Brand Evolution, contemporary, detailed scenes echoing the themes of each CD. The artwork had considerations for small size outlets such as iTunes and other mobile retail outlets, so big type was a must The designs were rolled out across TV advertisements and featured in all of the top music retailers including the big supermarkets. Ministry of Sound are an absolute pleasure to work with, keep an eye out for the Kaizen Brand Evolution stamp of excellence in any of their future releases.

Buns on the Run!

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French Village Bakery Delivery Fleet

French Village Bakery are expanding their fleet of livery to deliver their tempting treats from the bakery to their Botanic Bistro and across Northern Ireland to their hospitality clients. Our brand team worked on concepts to translate the French Village Bakery style across the vehicles. After a site visit witnessing the bakers at their craft, delicately placing each embellishment by hand, we knew it was important that this art was not lost. The blue striped treatment with logo ribbon holder is a nod to traditional patisserie packaging to communicate the fresh handmade goods that French Village Bakery create daily. It’s subtle placement, not overpowering the vehicle, is the professional feel that the client required when arriving at corporate catering events and weddings. Our senior design Ryan Stanfield visualised and created artwork across a range of vehicle sizes, liaising with the vinyl print and applicator for quality control. We think they look très bon!

Ooh & Aah Bakery

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Little Treats NI were an established baking company with plans to re-launch a cookie-based company known as ‘Ooh & Aah’. Their tastes for brand direction lay in contemporary French design and with this we pitched 3 brand concepts. The Ooh & Aah brand uses contemporary typography as their mark and is housed in a number of badges and devices across their product range. Clean, minimal and pastille colours were the flavour of the brand and high end baking utensils acted as the backdrop. The owners launched the brand at the Balmoral Show 2015 where we created ambient printed materials showcasing the brand direction and messages. They created custom cookies which were sold in a ‘pizza box’ style packaging all designed in Kaizen Brand Evolution. The success of their products and branding has now led them to commissioning an eCommerce website with Kaizen Brand Evolution where you can select any cookie topping for any cookie occasion. A tasty project that continues to grow with us.

Bakehouse Belfast – Branding

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Bakehouse Belfast approached Kaizen Brand Evolution for a branding project to set them apart as the top B2B supplier of baked goods across Ireland. Already established in some of the countries top hotels they required a fresh brand that would be rolled out across packaging, marketing materials, menus and eventually plans to open a café/patisserie. We pitched 3 contemporary brand directions for the company to which they chose the wheat’ mark with accompanying distressed text logo, echoing the hand made aspect of the business. We designed the packaging for their initial stand alone protein bar using a mix of bold raspberry and mint green colour palette. The brand personality cam in the naming of some of their best selling products, for instance their apple pie was re-named ‘Granny’s hand made apple tart.’ We wanted to use ‘Belfast-ism’s’ for each product and reflect the companies Belfast heritage. All copy going forward would use this approach and set them apart from their competitors.

NI Design Alliance – Making Things Better

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with NI Design Alliance

We are proud to be part of Northern Ireland Design Alliance, a group of practising professionals who believe that great design makes things better for people. That’s what we do at Kaizen Brand Evolution, we pride ourselves in being creative changemakers. Both with our clients as well as cultivating talent in our internship and links with design courses to make a real difference in our commercial and social landscape. A forum for change, as well as a voice through key partnership with the UK Design Alliance, facilitated by the Design Council they provide an opportunity to engage with all kinds of organisations and representatives from society. You’ll find us on their directory and as avid attenders of the Anatomy of Design’ series, you’ll see us amongst the great and the good at the next event.