I watched 'Made in Dagenham' the other evening. Loved it. It has everything. A bit of British social history, story of competitive women, nostalgic romance: you name it. Something in particular captured my imagination. The references to Berni Inns. My childhood memories came flooding back: Meals at the Maidenhead Berni. Birthdays, Sunday lunches, Mothers day. Even celebrating my Dad's win on Teasy Weasy's horse in the Grand National. What happened to this household brand? On researching, it appears that the brand was blissfully ignorant on how British culture was changing and in particular how British food tastes were changing. Not moving with the times appears to be its biggest downfall.
This thought process made me consider the question - what makes a successful brand stand the test of time? And this has endorsed my total belief that a brand and business are intimately connected. Brands only continue to be successful if all of the business factors of that brand are lined up and squared off.
I have had the privilege of working with some amazing brands that have lasted the test of time. From the London Stock Exchange to Spurgeons to Johnson and Johnson. I am currently working for a fantastic charity, which started in 1854 that is re-branding - as it recognises it must modernise to survive (more of that in a future blog). They all have something in common: Great leadership that can see trends and have the insight to bring corrective change to adapt and move with the times. Leadership that can see threats from all angles (have you done a PESTEL analysis on your own organisation recently?) and see how to overcome obstacles.
Only once all of those fundamental things are right can a brand then really take flight. When we at ABA work with brands, we are as passionate about the business behind the brands as much as we are about creating great stories for those brands. I would like to think that if we were working on the Berni Inn account now, we would have been working with them and challenging them about the ways they were doing things, and not just creating nice 'stuff' for them.
There's no reason on earth why old brands can't prosper. But they do need to watch their backs.
Walking through my local shopping centre I had a profound moment. A moment that cemented in my mind that rare breed - a brand that is associated with getting the job done. In this case sucking up the dust, bits, bobs and the unwanted from shop floors, small businesses and community halls across Britain.
I saw two shop assistants consecutively shuffling to and fro with their beloved Henry, shutters half down, customers gone, but that efficient drone of a Henry can be heard and so easily identified. A perfect little symbol, not cool or high tech but brutally basic, that's why it works. The small industrial vacuum cleaner that is tough and no nonsense. Trusted and relied on across our land to ensure, tomorrow, things will look ship shape and ready for business.
The production home of this national treasure is a company called Numatic International Limited based in Shard Somerset. Over 4000 little Henrie's are born every day from a loving and skilled team of over 700 people. The more you explore Henry the more he becomes a British superhero brand. 40% exported overseas, a success possibly because of Henrie's quirky bowler hat, a postcard symbol of Britain and London overseas. The business is solely owned by Henrie's creator, the concept first realised in 1968.
But all that stuff aside, red Henry's sell themselves. We all become advocates of stuff we use that works and does the job. But the simple symbolism created around Henry adds a little personality and story telling. That makes him viral - anyone can remember the little fellow - "get one of those red hoovers, with the smile and nose, the one with the hat, the cartoon hoover!". These associations do the branding job extremely well. And they never stop working.
My walk through the shopping centre that night, past two consecutive identical situations emphasised how successful Henry is.
He's out there, he works, he smiles and everyone remembers him - genius!
This large guy has lasted for ever and is a great example of symbolism in branding. He's simple, versatile, fun and playful – everything you need to keep communicating all the good stuff about your brand.
His name is Bibendum or the Michelin Man and he is over 100 years old. Created by Marius Rossillon, Edouard and André Michelin, he is one of the world's oldest trademarks.
According to graphic design legend the creation of this great symbol almost didnt make it and came about through an incidental meeting:
"While attending the Universal and Colonial Exposition in Lyon in 1894, Edouard and André Michelin noticed a stack of tires that suggested to Edouard the figure of a man without arms. Four years later, André met French cartoonist Marius Rossillon, popularly known as O'Galop, who showed him a rejected image he had created for Munich brewery—a large, regal figure holding a huge glass of beer and quoting Horace's phrase "Nunc est bibendum". André immediately suggested replacing the man with a figure made from tires. Thus O'Galop transformed the earlier image into Michelin's symbol. Today, Bibendum is one of the world's most recognised trademarks, representing Michelin in over 150 countries." (Wikipedia 2011)
But surely he is testament to the leadership in the organisation to continually improve and refine this great symbol and be brave enough to carry on.
We've recently been experimenting with an awesome app that allows you to create interactive panoramas on your iPhone. It can be a little tricky but is hugely effective once you get the hang of it. We've popped up a couple of our more successful attempts.
The app can be found here for anybody who wants to lose an afternoon to the world of photosynth.
Just putting the finishing touches on a little identity for a friend who runs life coaching workshops. The identity references the process of brainstorming new ideas and new directions. Check out a video promoting their latest workshop below.
Sometimes we don't get a lot of time to explain to people how they should approach their brand. Our little leave behind pack of cards is designed keep people thinking about their brand long after we've left them.
We are really excited to be appointed by Cranfield University to help refresh Cranfield University School of Management marketing communications. With a fresh new illustrative approach the team really focused on those 'Cranfield moments' that make the courses so successful.
We're really excited to welcome a new member of the team here at ABA – Lola! Well it may be a little while before she's opening Photoshop but designers do seem to be getting younger ;-)
A good friend of mine recently found himself in need of business cards and an identity. As a birthday surprise I designed him a logo and card and had them printed and delivered to him. It's a pretty good feeling when you can positively use your profession to impact those closest to you.
A few years ago we had the opportunity to get involved with branding one of the UK's greatest art heritage sites - the Stanley Spencer gallery. It was with a real sense of pride that we helped establish the gallery in the heart of Cookham; the home town and inspiration of Spencer.
With record prices for Stanley Spencer and L S Lowry claiming the headlines of last weeks 20th-century British Art auctions, having a solid home for Spencer's work is more important than it's ever been.
Standing on the sidelines of the London Marathon yesterday, it was impossible not to be inspired by the thousands of individuals streaming past, red faced and sweaty, proudly carrying the name of the charity they were running for. It was also difficult not to get slightly emotional when you see “In memory of...” written on the back of a shirt, knowing that months of hard training have been endured in memory of a loved one.
For us at ABA it is a privilege to work with so many fantastic charities. In particular to be supporting our client Oasis, including founder Steve Chalke who raised more than £2.3million, breaking his own previous record for money raised in a single marathon.
It was also fun to have introduced our Johnson and Johnson client to Oasis and be able to cheer on Mark Bangerter clad in the trademark Oasis orange, as he finished the marathon in 3 hours and 16 minutes!
All in all the London Marathon is a day to be in awe of humanity. Especially as our news is currently filled with so much pain and suffering, Sunday was a day to remind us that actually there are thousands of people prepared to commit so much to make a difference in our world.
When creating personal work I often struggle with the inertia needed to create images in a series. Singular pictures represent far less of a commitment and the energy needed to finish them is often generated entirely from the excitement of the concept. For me, the end of one drawing usually represents a dissolving of that excitement and the motivation to continue with an idea has to be built elsewhere. With the above sketches the excitement to persist with a theme came from the tools I was using to create. Every drawing I do on the iPad still feels like a learning experience and for me it represents the perfect time to capitalize on creating that most elusive of beasts, the three part series.
NB. Number one of the series can be seen further down the blog
Our web clients fall into 2 camps; those that commission websites all the time and those that only commission a website once in a blue moon. This blog post rings true for projects for the latter group of clients not the former.
I was having lunch with a business owner client last week and he said to me with reference to a website we built for him 4 years ago,
"You gave me what I asked for, the problem was I didn't know what I wanted."
I am happy to publicly confess this because 4 years is an eternity in the web industry. Our whole web process and skill base has been overhauled and we are a completely different organisation from then. We have new team members, and been through a full professional development programme for the existing team. However the comment made me think, and I realised the universal truth behind it. Clients often do not know what to ask for, and they will even ask for the the wrong thing. It is the job of a good agency to uncover exactly what it is that the client does want, and also to show them the power that the digital world can offer them. It is the job of the agency, not the client, to ensure that their web offering is maximised.
A key way we ensure that we give clients fantastic solutions is to build in enough time into the project to uncover client requirements properly. We can do sites at break neck speeds if needs must, but increasingly we are unashamedly building extra time at the front end of the project specifically to go over and over and over the possibilities of the project. Viewing the project from different angles, understanding exactly what it is that users want from the site, and indeed how they typically might access the information we are offering them. Working with different stakeholders to get the whole picture. For big enough projects include research. The initial phase of a project defines its success. This approach leads for better results, happier clients and a more fulfilled team.
So if you're reading this and it is almost blue moon time again - give us a call, we'd love to help you.
We recently met up with our friends at Sedus in their freshly refurbished showroom in Clerkenwell. This chair caught my eye amongst all the new shiny ones. A 1930’s original Sedus office chair with a lovely piece of typography on the back.
I pointed it out and was warmed inside when I heard the chairs story.
The chair had traveled a long way. Starting life in Germany many years ago it somehow found it's way to London. A couple of months ago the owner of a office in Clerkenwell was clearing out and noticed a logo on the back of an old office chair, it triggered something in his memory. Then he had a light bulb moment! As he looked out of the window and across the street below he saw the London Sedus showroom, the old chair was nearly home. And so from Germany to Clerkenwell and many bottoms in between he returned the chair back from whence it came.
And here's Greg from Sedus just giving it a gentle test ride!
I've dabbled with a few different sketching/painting apps for the iPad but few have captured my attention long enough to create something of note. For anyone familiar with digital desktop sketching, iPad drawing can often be a frustrating experience. A stubby digit is much less precise than a mouse pointer and a lack of keyboard really starts to show when short cut commands have to be selected from a menu (or worse by using complicated finger gestures).
For me Adobe Ideas gets it right. It doesn't try to recreate a desktop drawing experience but rather limits the controls at your disposal in favour of a streamlined interface. You can't cut/paste, create perfect shapes, fill, scale or even draw straight lines. What you get in the absence of all that is a piece of software that genuinely feels intuitive to use with one finger. Above is my first crack at finger painting but already I feel pretty hooked by it.
In a recent de-clutter, I found myself with 8 pieces of framing quality mountboard and decided to put them to good use. My personal brief was to use the 8 pieces of identically sized board (about 4" x 6") to create an illustrated story that could stand alone as a narrative piece. The above is just one of the scenes that will eventually make up the tragic tale of the misguided knight Sir Ralph.
When I feel slightly battered down and my creative energy is sapped I know it's time to sit down with the family and watch a Ghibli film. The story telling always surprises and delights, the visuals are inspiring and heart warming. We started a few years ago with Spirited Away and have worked our way back through more than 15 or so films, each time discovering more.
The Studio has a 'no-edits' policy when the films are released abroad, I respect this and really appreciate it as a fan. The films are very story based and you are always left feeling touched by the lives of the characters.
Most of these are great family films, if you want get started look here.
