blog
Posted by Andy on 13 June 2009
Tags: | Design
Creativity is a strange thing. Some people find that are at their most creative when they are messy. They thrive in an environment of abandonment. I have known certain design studios to be full of clutter and chaos. Many designers love to collect weird and wonderful objects – from their childhood, from markets and boutiques – such as toy robots, match books, comics, neon signs and mannequins.
Others prefer order and clarity – a place for everything and everything in its place. I definitely belong to this later group.
As I see it, when you strip away the excess, you get to essence. When you have essence, you have identified the true value of an idea.
Posted by Peter on 12 June 2009
Tags: | Company, Customer insight
As you can probably tell from then paucity of posts I have made recently we have been pretty busy of late.
Our new Bentley project has kicked off in earnest, Dunlop Health and Safety is just about to launch and you will soon be powerboating off Gibralter.
As well as existing clients we have several interesting pitches on at the moment and we are all thoroughly caught up in them. Triumph is a fantastic British brand with an amazing worldwide following which you can get a sense of by visiting some of the online forums. We are making use of Social Media to validate our ideas and opinions for the pitch and it is a very interesting and informative process.
We are also working on a pitch for a recruitment company who have a different model to any I have seen before which could be quite ground breaking.
Off to the Ace Cafe on Sunday with the team to meet Triumph bikers. Will have to hide my people carrier around the corner!
Posted by Lara on 11 June 2009
Tags: | Company, Customer insight, Social Networking
We’re in the middle of getting together our pitch for a well-known UK Motorcycle manufacturer and I have suddenly developed an interest in looking at bikes to see if they are the particular brand we are working on… if not (in my head) I seem to think all other makes are “inferior”. I nearly missed my turning the other day whilst totally affixed on following the said bike brand in front of me.
This got me thinking, what is it about working on a brand that makes you a natural advocate and how can I influence others around me to feel as passionately about this or any other brand I work on… which in turn will hopefully inspire them to influence others?
So in the run up to the pitch (and beyond) I plan on becoming that annoying friend who won’t shut up about this particular brand. In fact I would go as far as even trying to influence at least one of my friends to purchase a bike (if nothing else so that I could experience a ride on one).
However, on a more serious note and without wanting to give away too much we are approaching the usual suspects/influencers to gain their opinion and get a feel for their passion about the brand. It’s interesting just how strong people can feel about brands (for some reason it makes me feel normal). I’ll be interested to see just what comes out of this… watch this space.
Posted by Andy on 8 June 2009
Tags: | Design
I went to an event recently called Book Slam. It featured the writer David Simon who helped bring the television show The Wire to our screens. He read from two of his books Homicide and The Corner.
Simon is like a modern day Dickens. He sees through the hype of the American Dream and reports on a more authentic and vulnerable society in Baltimore. What stood out for me was his commitment and consistency in bringing his stories to light.
For some of us who have been involved in web design for a long time, we have experienced many highs and lows. For instance, in the mid-90s I worked for an agency that produced some of the first movie websites including Pulp Fiction and Toy Story to popular acclaim. And, in 2000 I worked on huge budget projects for the likes of BP and UBS. I have also experienced my share of recession, cutbacks and downsizing.
Taking David Simon as an example, I think the key to making progress in this current climate is staying committed and consistent. Our constant aim is to deliver quality work for quality brands.
As The Wire’s Avon Barksdale would say… “No doubt.”
Posted by Andy on 3 June 2009
Tags: | Design
We are constantly looking for innovative ideas for delivering dynamic brand experiences online. We collaborate with lots of different creative experts who help us achieve this. One person we are working with closely at the moment is Patrick Gosling, who is a photographer with extensive experience of automotive brands. For many years he was Ferrari’s principal photographer on the F1 circuit.
He has started to produce a series of movies using both stills and video to create a varied and engaging narrative. An example of his work is on our new site – the Tokyo cityscape. Other examples can be viewed on www.patrickgosling.com
Posted by Peter on 2 June 2009
Tags: | Company, Design
As an Australian I have always appreciated the benefits of sunshine to our outlook on life. This weather just makes you happier despite the gloomy economy and our flip flopping MP’s.
It is also makes me happy to look at a busy studio who have a number of interesting signed off projects and some great pitches coming up in June. Perhaps that economic outlook isn’t so gloomy after all or maybe it is being helped by the sunshine.
Posted by Andy on 26 May 2009
Tags: | Design
There is a well known Native American saying: “if you want to understand a man, walk a mile in his moccasins”. This seems particularly apt for our creative studio at present because we are working on three footwear projects for different brands.
To help illustrate the diversity and scale of our work we recently produced a mini brochure outlining a day in the life of our agency. Clients have responded well to it because it strips away much of the usual jargon of web building. We intend producing several more versions throughout the year to show the progression of our client’s projects.
Many of our clients are walking a hazardous path at the moment. Nervous about economic conditions and looking to ensure they are making the most of their web presence. Our consistent aim is to provide the right tools to ensure that they feel in control of their brand and confident that they are moving in the right direction.
Posted by Peter on 11 May 2009
Tags: Company | Company
Natalia just put the months production schedule on my desk and there aren’t many spare time slots on it which is great news. This week for me is Formula 1, music downloads, business growth and Bentley. Love it.
Posted by Andy on 30 April 2009
Tags: | Design
It is ironic that, more often than not, the journey to simplicity is full of complexity.
Right now, our focus is on crafting a clear and concise communication strategy for our agency. Whilst we have a great legacy of work and relationships to build on, life moves on. Anticipating and articulating what comes next is the big challenge.
We are looking to position ourselves as a Web 2.0 specialist. Nowadays companies don’t just want to put their corporate brochures online, they want to be in the driving seat – using their websites as a publishing tool for marketing, selling and networking.
Our job is to enable them to achieve this as efficiently and effectively as possible. We are paid to conceive; design and build the right solution and facilitate ‘intelligent interaction’.
As the new Creative Director at Global Beach, my first task to help Peter and the team convey our offering and capture the imaginations of our clients.
Posted by Peter on 29 April 2009
Tags: | Uncategorized
We didn’t get the pitch for the Youth Trust we were going for last week which was pretty gutting for the whole team as it was a lovely project and we’d done some really great work. The client handled it really well and said it was one of those horrible calls where she only had positive things to say, which she knew wasn’t any consolation.
Hey we made it down to the last two from six and it was really close. Well done team and we will learn lessons for our next one.
