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

Real Learning at NUI Galway

05 June 2009

We have created a new brand identity for NUI Galway. Following a series of workshops with a wide variety of stake-holders in early 2009, a set of core brand values were identified that accurately reflect the University's current achievements and future ambitions. These formed the basis for reviewing, reviving and revitalising the visual expression of the University's brand.

A revised brand mark is the centre piece of the new identity system. It includes the new rationalised University name in both English and Irish, reflecting the University's commitment to the Irish language and the relevant legislation. The brand mark incorporates an updated symbol of the University's distinctive clock tower. This shaply-defined graphic rendering expresses a more business-like and efficient positioning for the University.

 

While the University retains its full legal name, the rationalised form 'NUI Galway' has been agreed as the preferred version for general usage. It clarifies the University's brand name nationally and internationally and reduces confusion with the other universities within the National University of Ireland.

 

We have defined a complete brand identity system introducing a shared corporate typeface, a suite of colour palettes, and a standardised layout grid for printed literature. The brand identity system accommodates the relationship between all of the various individual colleges and research centres operating within the University.

The University has been awarded the title of Sunday Times University Of The Year for 2009. This updated brand identity confidently represents the reality of today's NUI Galway.

 

UPDATE 04 December 2009: NUI Galway has been named the Overall Winner in the Marketing Institute of Ireland West Region's Annual Awards. 'Significant measurable successes as a result of the University's outstanding marketing activity saw NUI Galway show a substantial increase of 13.1% in CAO first preference applications - a growth of more than double that of the university sector and the highest year-on-year increase of all the universities.'

Proof-of-concept branding for restaurant investment

25 May 2009

Mayan Kitchen, a company promoted by an Irish-American business consortium, plans to open an innovative Dublin city-centre restaurant offering contemporary Mexican-inspired cuisine based on a proven business model.

Our project included a detailed positioning evaluation of the fast food sector and the developement of a unique positioning for the new restaurant that would support its business proposition at the upper end of quality fast food - above McDonald's and Subway, but somewhat below Milano's.

To assist the Mayan Kitchen company in a funding round we worked with their management team to realise the potential of their brand offering. Working from a proposed name for the restaurant we created a proof-of-concept brand identity and a suite of supporting visual collateral that helped potential investors to understand the core brand DNA of this novel restaurant proposition and to visualise the future customer experience.

 

 We advised the Mayan Kitchen team on sourcing a retail design consultancy to develop concepts for the interior design of the restaurant. A mock-up restaurant was created in the National Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire, and was dressed with an impressive array of branded material to establish the ambiance of the proposed restaurant. This proved to be the basis of a successful investment event.

 

This was an interesting project that demonstrates the power of brand design to aid start-up companies in their early investment stages by making their core corporate vision tangible to key audiences.

Launch of Taxi Skills Development Programme

11 May 2009

The Commission for Taxi Regulation launched the official testing programme for the Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV) industry today in Dublin Castle. The Skills Development Programme has been designed to test all current drivers, prospective drivers and dispatch operators on many aspects of the industry such as SPSV requirements, customer service and running a business. Area knowledge is a key skill being tested which will involve recognising major roads, attractions and knowledge of the locality in which the license applies.

This project is the culmination of over twelve months of work. We were asked by Taxi Regulator to be involved in and advise on many facets of the programme, primarily the design and format of the Skills Development Manual, but also the DVD interface and design detailing of the on-screen test. The complimentary DVD is used alongside the manual to portray real scenarios and useful exercises.

The Skills Development Manual acts as part of the curriculum for the Skills Development Programme, as well as a resource document for future reference. It has been written and designed with the reader in mind and the tone of the copy is friendly and concise. We explored many formats and binding devices for the manual at the outset of the project to ensure the final Skills Manual is in a digestible, user-friendly format. The manual and DVD are packaged together in a robust book for durability.

Custom-drawn three-dimensional icons representing the seven modules of the programme are paired with colour-coded side bar devices on each page, easily identifying individual modules. The visual style we developed carries across to the DVD for seamless integration. The navigation throughout the manual has been carefully considered to ensure maximum readability and makes all of the information as clear, unambiguous and informative as possible. Reference boxes highlight key information in each module with relevant icons categorising the content of the message.

 

Effective information design and ease of use of the manual were core objectives of our brief and essential to the success of this project. The Skills Development Manual is the substantial result of a very involved process to meet the needs of the audience, setting new and innovative standards for the taxi industry.

Kathleen Doyle, Commissioner for Taxi Regulation, pictured at the launch of the Skills Development Programme in Dublin Castle today.

Accessible design for customer forms

01 May 2009

We have recently worked with the Commission for Taxi Regulation to redesign their complaints form. This form is used whenever a customer wishes to register a formal complaint to the Commission about any taxi service and is downloaded from the Commission's website. Our work involved examining the design of their existing form and optimising it to make is more accessible and useful for people who are visually impaired.

We liaised with the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind to ensure that the revised layouts meet National Council for the Blind of Ireland guidelines for producing accessible written information. Elements that we considered were the colour contrast of all text and headings; the logical sequence of categories; the inclusion of content to inform people of the level of content; and sufficient allocation of space for answers – which is important for people completing the form in larger type sizes.

While the outcome of this sort of information design project can be misjudged as being very simple-looking, to achieve such clarity of visual expression requires great clarity of thinking and analysis by the designer. The focus here is not on marketing but on ensuring that the message is conveyed in the clearest possible manner.

We have a lot of similar experience in this area and are familiar with the conventions for preparing large print and accessible documents. As part of our service we prepare large print versions of many of the publications that we design for our state clients. These are formatted as Microsoft Word files and are generally available for download from our client's websites. Particular examples are the public consultation and policy documents for the Commission for Taxi Regulation such as their Economic Review, Vehicle Standards and Annual Report. The nature of this work is less about the visible branding of our clients and far more about the inclusive aspects of their branding: ensuring that their messages are available to all of their stake-holders.

DMP signage guideline manual

21 April 2009

We have recently completed a signage guideline manual for the Dublin Mountains Partnership. This document will allow the various organisations represented within the partnership to present the DMP brand identity in a consistent manner across each of their existing individual signage systems.

Each partner organisation has its own corporate identity, chosen typeface and colour scheme. Therefore achieving satisfactory co-branding with the DMP was the core branding challenge that we had to resolve.  

Our technical challenge was to define a system that would achieve the optimum consistency across the wooden signs, used on public roads and on council land, and the metal signs used at the entrance to council sites located in more urban settings. 

The blue construction lines overlaid on the example guideline manual illustration above show how we used ratios to define the sizes and postions of the elements within all signs consistently for different sign sizes. In this instance the height of the capital D in the logotype forms the basis for all of the vertical dimensions.

Given the nature of the locations and properties involved we had to design for a range of classes of signs including approach road, threshold, trailhead and route-marking signs. As all of these signs fall within the scope of the Official Languages Act,  our design system is also fully bilingual.