We combine research and strategy with thoughtful design to create, communicate and build brands and identities that transform businesses and deliver measurable value.

A professional start-up

27 November 2009

Martlett is a unique start-up company specialising in IT consulting for lawyers and will advise its law firm clients on the selection, installation and deployment of administrative IT systems. BFK were charged with the task of producing a comprehensive brand identity to reflect Martlett's core values and service offering.

Key to Martlett's positioning is the need to be perceived as a trusted advisor to their clients—to be seen to be understated and professional, and to communicate excellence in IT consulting. Martlett will work closely with their clients so it was also crucial to demonstrate a close-knit interactive partnership. 

In the chosen design route the core symbol acts a visual metaphor for the interaction between company and client, working together to achieve an excellent result. As the two parts of the symbol mirror each other they form a supporting loop. The typography offsets the symbol and is based on clean, contemporary forms. Colours featured in both the symbol and type are cool and subdued—underpinning the ethos of subtley and professionalism as outlined in the original brief. In addition to identity design this project included design of a stationery range and the identity will soon be applied to Martlett's new web site. 

  

2010 UCD Prospectus: back to black

29 September 2009

This year's edition of the UCD Prospectus builds on the striking design aesthetic from the previous editions yet features a number of substantial content changes which the overall design and layout needed to reflect. 

 

One of the major improvements to the content was the introduction of comprehensive visual models of the different subject areas. These diagrams illustrate to students how their courses are structured and visualise their pathways throughout their degrees as well as potential graduate study and career opportunities. It was crucial that all of this information be presented in the clearest possible format and lead students easily through the opportunities available to them. 

 

Another aspect of this year's redesign was to accommodate an expanded list of fourteen subject areas. This made the contents page into a particularly interesting design challenge. Our redesign accommodated more content than last year's prospectus while reducing the total page count by 44 pages.

 

UCD also asked us to rethink their exhibition stands for the Higher Options third-level recruitment fair at the RDS. The core design challenge was to reflect the expanded subject groupings without losing any of the stand's impact. The stands were accompanied by a number of illuminated light-box tables which featured the same typographic design treatment.

 

Commission for Taxi Regulation Annual Report 2008

09 September 2009

This report is the latest addition to the extensive list of publications we have produced for the Commission for Taxi Regulation. With many recent developments in the SPSV industry, this year's Annual Report is a more substantial document with significantly more information than last year. The report's strong typographic design focus and clear, uncluttered design, accommodates this additional information and allows it to be easily read.

The document structure remains the same as in previous years, but we have revised the colours throughout and developed a new cover design which better utilises the colours from the brand identity.

The real deal

01 September 2009

Following a five-way tender, BFK were chosen to design this year's NUI Galway undergraduate prospectus. With the environment for third level institutions becoming more competitive than ever, the university prospectus is a key influencer of choice and an information point for prospective undergraduate students. With this in mind, we chose to focus on communicating the high standard of teaching and education as well as the ‘learning by doing' experience of being a student at NUI Galway.

Our design concept focuses on ‘Real Learning’ and the unique university experience at NUI Galway. The combination of sans-serif and serif typefaces gives the prospectus a distinctive look and feel which serves to differentiate NUI Galway from their competitors. Relevant intriguing and inspirational words appear between ‘Real’ and ‘Learning’ which provide the recipient with a snapshot of the NUI Galway university experience: ‘Real Discovery’, ‘Real Challenge’ and so on.

This design concept provides a platform from which we are building an overall recruitment campaign which includes exhibition stands, press adverts, posters and additional literature.

Building brands for small business

25 August 2009

Bord Bia Vantage is the Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) division that provides practical assistance and support to small food, drink and horticulture companies to help them to build and grow their businesses.

Research conducted by BFK for Bord Bia in 2007 showed that, alongside finance and distribution, managing branding was one of the key issues of concern to Irish small food and drinks firms. In 2009 Bord Bia commissioned Martin Crotty, Managing Director and senior brand communications strategist at BFK, to create and deliver a series of practical workshops to help these firms to understand and apply branding best practice in their business.

Held in a variety of locations around Ireland, the day-long brand workshops drew on BFK's branding and training expertise and were very hands-on, incorporating both exercises and case studies. They provided the small business participants with both knowledge and practical resources that they can adapt and use to build their own brands.

The Bord Bia Vantage brand workshops proved successful and were very well received by the participating firms.

BFK had previously designed the identity and communications material for Bord Bia Vantage, previously the Small Firms Division of Bord Bia.