Simple really. It’s a logic and magic approach. One before the other… We’ve developed a staged approach that we feel best describes the entire process. You tell us what stages you need. Some can be left out entirely, others are crucial.

Phase 1: We listen

The more we understand your offer, the more appropriate and relevant the visual language that we can create for your brand. We try and ask as many questions as possible, we listen, we research, we slice and dice the data until we are comfortable with the information and confident that we understand the target audience, your competitors and their message/ proposition. We take a good look at your business plan (if appropriate) and we then isolate the inherent value of what you’re offering to the market. Agency inputs at this stage might be: Brand audit • Research (qualitative and quantitative) • Application of marketing technologies (online research and survey tools) • Workshops

Phase 2: We think

When we understand what makes your brand tick we prepare a creative brief that we use as a benchmark to obtain your approval for the way forward and simultaneously create a yard stick to measure how effective our design solutions are. We spend time crafting the final outcome to ensure that all the aspects of the commercial challenge have been considered.

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Phase 3: We design

We explore lateral design solutions that meet the needs and create a unique marque that will represent the core propositions of your company personality. We ensure that the key drivers highlighted in our brief are reflected in our creative executions. Or in simpler terms, we hangout in creative book shops to familiarise ourselves with the latest design trends. We sniff. We scratch. We dig. We unearth. We hit Google. Hard. We design safe and unsafe options. We put on our caps. Our ‘hey wow creative idea’ cap and our ‘client’ cap just to make sure it’s in line with your needs. That’s how we create the magic.

Phase 4: We produce

Once we’re both happy with the designs and they’ve gone through a development stage we produce final artwork and then it’s into production. You let us know what you need and we’ll handle the fuss of it all whilst taking full responsibility for a seamless delivery. When it comes to production we have an old-fashioned outlook. Designers were always meant to work hand-in-hand with printers. It’s an age old partnership and we know how to get the best results from them. Unless you’re familiar with pagination, plates, registration, screens, trims and repro it’s probably a good idea to leave production to us.

Phase 5: We apply

To articulate how the brand will live, we apply the identity to a business card, letterhead and compliment slip. These are your primary branding applications. Secondary branding applications might be your company website, advertising, signage, packaging etc. We call this the fire breathing stage. This is where the design comes to life.

Phase 6: We ensure control

To support the marque (or whatever the requirement) we will create a proprietary set of guidelines that will ensure that the new identity is replicated appropriately and consistently across your company. These guidelines typically include; colour palettes, typefaces, tone of voice (or brand personality) and visual language. On design agreement, we’re able to create a versatile PDF that will document how this brand will live in the public domain.

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