Results of a recent collaboration with me and fellow studio inmate Pete O'Toole -
11.7.11
18.5.11
14.4.11
Pete O'Toole - Interview
Here's an interview I filmed with Huddersfield-based illustrator Pete O'Toole. See more of his work at http://www.peter-otoole.co.uk/.
21.3.11
24.2.11
21.2.11
New studio
I finally moved in to the new studio today, despite Apple's best intentions.
On the day of the move (last Monday), the iMac's hard drive decided that it wasn't getting out of bed any more and that was that. Thankfully I managed to salvage most of the important stuff with DiskWarrior.
Anyway, I'm in now, so keep 'em peeled for some pictures of the new space coming this week. If anyone wants to come in to see the space first hand, just give me a call and come up! It looks much nicer in person.
On the day of the move (last Monday), the iMac's hard drive decided that it wasn't getting out of bed any more and that was that. Thankfully I managed to salvage most of the important stuff with DiskWarrior.
Anyway, I'm in now, so keep 'em peeled for some pictures of the new space coming this week. If anyone wants to come in to see the space first hand, just give me a call and come up! It looks much nicer in person.
9.2.11
I'm back
Hi everyone!
I've not posted for a while, so just to let you know I'm still here, moving in to new studios next Monday (photos will be provided) and doing bigger and better things all this year.
Thanks for your support.
I've not posted for a while, so just to let you know I'm still here, moving in to new studios next Monday (photos will be provided) and doing bigger and better things all this year.
Thanks for your support.
31.1.10
Design process
If you read my previous blog post about price wars, you'll know that one aspect of differentiation I suggested (based on the 'split the market' technique that the vodka market employed) was creating a new design process.
If you're a designer reading this, there's a very good chance that the entirety of your production is done using the Adobe Suite. Maybe Freehand if you're old school. To differentiate in this process, you need to start looking further afield. A classic example is Vault49, who almost always bring hand drawn sketches in to the mix. This differentiates them from the creative masses because they have a clear, identifiable and unique process.
Why do most people stick to software based design? Its easier for the creative directors and studio heads to amend digital artwork, to tinker with it (as they invariably do). Designers know that this will happen and so take steps to make their artwork easy to change. Therefore the studio heads have to enable this process. Give more power to the designers. Base their relationship with the designers on trust.
This is just one positive change that you could implement to differentiate. More ideas to come. Keep 'em peeled.
If you're a designer reading this, there's a very good chance that the entirety of your production is done using the Adobe Suite. Maybe Freehand if you're old school. To differentiate in this process, you need to start looking further afield. A classic example is Vault49, who almost always bring hand drawn sketches in to the mix. This differentiates them from the creative masses because they have a clear, identifiable and unique process.
Why do most people stick to software based design? Its easier for the creative directors and studio heads to amend digital artwork, to tinker with it (as they invariably do). Designers know that this will happen and so take steps to make their artwork easy to change. Therefore the studio heads have to enable this process. Give more power to the designers. Base their relationship with the designers on trust.
This is just one positive change that you could implement to differentiate. More ideas to come. Keep 'em peeled.
24.1.10
Price wars
The design industry is in a price war. Take a handful of large agencies out of the mix and the rest of the design industry comprises of 3-20 man studios and a few one man bands. Lots of one man bands now that the big boys have cut their staff by 20%. Thousands of one man bands now that graduates can't find a job and are setting up shop solo.
Due to the availability of pirated software and decreasing print costs, students and one man bands can produce a professional front relatively easily, so market differentiation is difficult. So most people resort to the staple of the capitalist market - price. Rates come down, competitors follow suite.
Supply is massive, demand is low.
So how else can you differentiate?
Look at a few other industries - the design industry isn't the first to have a price war. The vodka market went through this. So did the airline industry.
Vodka split the market. Premium vodka and basic vodka. The distinction between cheap and premium vodka is largely in the marketing and the process used to make the vodka. Some filter through diamonds, others through charcoal.
Design could split the market. The problem is that the cheap brands market themselves as professional and disguise their process. They don't say that for £200 you're only getting recycled logos.
So maybe premium brands could create a new process, one that's difficult to copy. Market it well. Split the market.
Another option is to become the cheapest. Pile the templates high, sell them cheap. Plenty of companies are already doing this. In fact I know of a local company that is running purely at cost for the first three years in order to build up a client base. They plan to sell the company as a design franchise, with low overheads employing students working off templates. Like a factory. But cheap.
You could always maintain the same prices, hope your clients don't start looking around.
Or you could innovate. Off something no-one else can. And no, service doesn't count. Everyone offers a high level of customer service (or at least they say they do). Create something new, embrace new technologies, use techniques that everyone stopped using. Experiment, buy an old letterpress machine for your studio, ring your paper manufacturer up and see whats new. Stop printing on 9 lives silk stock. When was the last time you used a special ink? Can you offer AR business cards? How about new markets? Check out the big boys, they're doing deals in the middle east, India and Africa. South America is going to be a massive market soon. Thailand is an opportunity - name a big Thai design company or a big Thai brand.
Do something new and stop whining that no-one will pay what they used to. Why should they?
Due to the availability of pirated software and decreasing print costs, students and one man bands can produce a professional front relatively easily, so market differentiation is difficult. So most people resort to the staple of the capitalist market - price. Rates come down, competitors follow suite.
Supply is massive, demand is low.
So how else can you differentiate?
Look at a few other industries - the design industry isn't the first to have a price war. The vodka market went through this. So did the airline industry.
Vodka split the market. Premium vodka and basic vodka. The distinction between cheap and premium vodka is largely in the marketing and the process used to make the vodka. Some filter through diamonds, others through charcoal.
Design could split the market. The problem is that the cheap brands market themselves as professional and disguise their process. They don't say that for £200 you're only getting recycled logos.
So maybe premium brands could create a new process, one that's difficult to copy. Market it well. Split the market.
Another option is to become the cheapest. Pile the templates high, sell them cheap. Plenty of companies are already doing this. In fact I know of a local company that is running purely at cost for the first three years in order to build up a client base. They plan to sell the company as a design franchise, with low overheads employing students working off templates. Like a factory. But cheap.
You could always maintain the same prices, hope your clients don't start looking around.
Or you could innovate. Off something no-one else can. And no, service doesn't count. Everyone offers a high level of customer service (or at least they say they do). Create something new, embrace new technologies, use techniques that everyone stopped using. Experiment, buy an old letterpress machine for your studio, ring your paper manufacturer up and see whats new. Stop printing on 9 lives silk stock. When was the last time you used a special ink? Can you offer AR business cards? How about new markets? Check out the big boys, they're doing deals in the middle east, India and Africa. South America is going to be a massive market soon. Thailand is an opportunity - name a big Thai design company or a big Thai brand.
Do something new and stop whining that no-one will pay what they used to. Why should they?
22.1.10
Fresh Kids / Album launch event
On Friday 29th of January at 9pm we will be at Verve celebrating the launch of the new album that I designed the cover art for. Feel free to come along and check out the event details here.
11.1.10
AR and the logo
Finally, we've come full circle.
Remember what constitutes a great print logo?
Simplicity, scalability, identification.
This used to apply to the limitations of a printing press coupled with the need for immediate recognition.
Now this apples to the limitations of augmented reality coupled with the need for immediate recognition.
Sure, AR will start to recognise drop shadows in ten years, but by then something else will be the next big thing. And it will start simple.
Remember what constitutes a great print logo?
Simplicity, scalability, identification.
This used to apply to the limitations of a printing press coupled with the need for immediate recognition.
Now this apples to the limitations of augmented reality coupled with the need for immediate recognition.
Sure, AR will start to recognise drop shadows in ten years, but by then something else will be the next big thing. And it will start simple.
8.1.10
Creative Review
Just a quick thankyou to Creative Review for featuring me on the CR homepage. My work is now available to view on the CR feed - http://www.creativereview.co.uk/feed/january-2010/05/monopoly-super-fun-remix
26.12.09
Attend or observe?
There are many arguments for owning a television.
If you own one, you'll be able to observe the 2010 World Cup from 90 different camera angles. You'll be able to pause the live action while you go to the toilet and make some nachos. You'll have the best seat in the stadium, with Jonathan Pearce giving you the lowdown and Alan Hanson giving you valuable pub quiz ammunition. All at the flick of a button, in the warmth of your own home with some cold beers.
Alternatively, you could attend. You could travel to South Africa to watch the World Cup. It'll cost a fortune, you'll have to queue up to get in and your seat will be so far from the pitch that you'd be better off watching the match on Google Earth. The guy in front will be wearing a stripy afro and a Les Battersby lookalike will be sat next to you making you deaf in one ear.
Attend or observe?
If you're one of those people who isn't really that bothered about the World Cup, you'll probably observe. Even if you like the World Cup, you'll still probably observe. That's OK, millions of people around the world do the same.
However, the true die-hard fans will attend. They'll make sacrifices to buy the tickets, work overtime to afford the plane fare. They'll do everything they can to pay more for what is (on paper) an inferior product when compared to what the TV can offer.
Why? Because TV can't give you the atmosphere, the feeling of being part of a tribe that is unified in support of one thing. It can't communicate the most basic primal instincts that form the collective consciousness of a football crowd.
These die hard supporters, the people who will attend, are the most important people in your audience. They only make up a fraction of the people who see what you do, but they'll extol the virtues of what you do beyond reason (or price).
These are the people who have the power to tell you what your brand is, because however they feel, they're right.
If you own one, you'll be able to observe the 2010 World Cup from 90 different camera angles. You'll be able to pause the live action while you go to the toilet and make some nachos. You'll have the best seat in the stadium, with Jonathan Pearce giving you the lowdown and Alan Hanson giving you valuable pub quiz ammunition. All at the flick of a button, in the warmth of your own home with some cold beers.
Alternatively, you could attend. You could travel to South Africa to watch the World Cup. It'll cost a fortune, you'll have to queue up to get in and your seat will be so far from the pitch that you'd be better off watching the match on Google Earth. The guy in front will be wearing a stripy afro and a Les Battersby lookalike will be sat next to you making you deaf in one ear.
Attend or observe?
If you're one of those people who isn't really that bothered about the World Cup, you'll probably observe. Even if you like the World Cup, you'll still probably observe. That's OK, millions of people around the world do the same.
However, the true die-hard fans will attend. They'll make sacrifices to buy the tickets, work overtime to afford the plane fare. They'll do everything they can to pay more for what is (on paper) an inferior product when compared to what the TV can offer.
Why? Because TV can't give you the atmosphere, the feeling of being part of a tribe that is unified in support of one thing. It can't communicate the most basic primal instincts that form the collective consciousness of a football crowd.
These die hard supporters, the people who will attend, are the most important people in your audience. They only make up a fraction of the people who see what you do, but they'll extol the virtues of what you do beyond reason (or price).
These are the people who have the power to tell you what your brand is, because however they feel, they're right.
8.12.09
Money well spent
The town square in Huddersfield town centre has recently been revamped - it has been completely repaved with york stone and has been extended, with the addition of fountains and lights.
It cost four million pounds.
My girlfriend said "what a waste of money, think of what they could have spent that on instead."
Four million could have been spent on providing a new library, funding new businesses or promoting youth activities. They could have spent it on a new sports centre, they could have spent it on drug rehabilitation or they could have renovated the indoor market.
But they spent it on colourful fountains.
Now every time I get off the train and walk out on to a plaza filled with colourful fountains it makes me feel a bit happier. You can't measure that in polls, surveys or demographics, but that single act makes me view my council in a more positive light than any of their other policies.
The same could be said of investing money in your brand. You may not be able to measure the benefits in numbers, you may not be able to show a sales chart that suddenly takes on a 45 degree angle. Some people will criticize and say "what a waste of money, think of what they could have spent that on instead."
But people who interact with your brand will get that same feeling that I feel when I see the colourful fountains. They'll feel happier. Some so much so that they'll write about it on their blogs and tell their friends. They'll even defend you against the naysayers.
And that's money well spent.
It cost four million pounds.
My girlfriend said "what a waste of money, think of what they could have spent that on instead."
Four million could have been spent on providing a new library, funding new businesses or promoting youth activities. They could have spent it on a new sports centre, they could have spent it on drug rehabilitation or they could have renovated the indoor market.
But they spent it on colourful fountains.
Now every time I get off the train and walk out on to a plaza filled with colourful fountains it makes me feel a bit happier. You can't measure that in polls, surveys or demographics, but that single act makes me view my council in a more positive light than any of their other policies.
The same could be said of investing money in your brand. You may not be able to measure the benefits in numbers, you may not be able to show a sales chart that suddenly takes on a 45 degree angle. Some people will criticize and say "what a waste of money, think of what they could have spent that on instead."
But people who interact with your brand will get that same feeling that I feel when I see the colourful fountains. They'll feel happier. Some so much so that they'll write about it on their blogs and tell their friends. They'll even defend you against the naysayers.
And that's money well spent.
7.12.09
What's your customer worth?
All too often (especially in retail) managers look at short term figures at the expense of the long term. This is often due to the culture of driving sales and comparing weekly figures.
I went for a meal at Cragrats Brasserie recently. The food is great, as is the service. The surroundings are also pleasant. When it was time to pay the bill, my friend wanted to use a £30 gift voucher that he'd received as a birthday present. We asked to use it and the waitress took it to be processed at the till.
Five minutes later the (very apologetic) assistant manager came to explain that, because the brasserie had recently gone in to administration and set up under new management, the new owner (Jonathan) said he couldn't accept the voucher. However, Jonathan said he would honour 50% of the voucher as a goodwill gesture. My friend asked to speak to Jonathan. Jonathan wasn't at the restaurant, he was somewhere else but was available on the phone.
My friend spoke to Jonathan. Jonathan started explaining how he could claim the other 50% of the voucher from the administrators etc etc.
In the end, we paid and got £15 off a £100 meal.
The moral of the story is this. Jonathan valued us at £15 - he wasn't willing to pay any more to keep us happy. There were four people in the party, so he valued each of us at £3.75 despite the fact that the average amount we spend when we go there is £30 each. We would also have continued to spend that amount and spread the good word to our friends. Now I am spreading the bad word and will never go again. But Jonathan didn't see that far ahead.
I went for a meal at Cragrats Brasserie recently. The food is great, as is the service. The surroundings are also pleasant. When it was time to pay the bill, my friend wanted to use a £30 gift voucher that he'd received as a birthday present. We asked to use it and the waitress took it to be processed at the till.
Five minutes later the (very apologetic) assistant manager came to explain that, because the brasserie had recently gone in to administration and set up under new management, the new owner (Jonathan) said he couldn't accept the voucher. However, Jonathan said he would honour 50% of the voucher as a goodwill gesture. My friend asked to speak to Jonathan. Jonathan wasn't at the restaurant, he was somewhere else but was available on the phone.
My friend spoke to Jonathan. Jonathan started explaining how he could claim the other 50% of the voucher from the administrators etc etc.
In the end, we paid and got £15 off a £100 meal.
The moral of the story is this. Jonathan valued us at £15 - he wasn't willing to pay any more to keep us happy. There were four people in the party, so he valued each of us at £3.75 despite the fact that the average amount we spend when we go there is £30 each. We would also have continued to spend that amount and spread the good word to our friends. Now I am spreading the bad word and will never go again. But Jonathan didn't see that far ahead.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)