Choosing your design partner

We look at the provision of creative services as a partnership. As such, we are looking to work with fired up entrepreneurs, go getters and trail blazers. Often, we're in a difficult situation where two, three or more agencies are pitched against each other, the project parameters change or the brief isn't sufficient for us to quote against or we just can't get the client on board as a long term equity prospect.

Here's what we have found useful over the years when it comes to selecting the right design partner for your business.

1. AGENCY vs FREELANCE

There are really 5 key things to remember when deciding between a full agency or freelance approach. PRICE is probably top of the list, however be weary. Agencies will be more expensive because of overheads and skill sets. Freelancers will be cheaper but may not be able to tackle large scale projects so well. In both cases, cheap design makes you look like a cheap business. Cutting financial corners will lower price point of your product/service and customers will value it less. The QUALITY of work is key to any creative success. This is usually demonstrated in a portfolio or by accolades and accreditations. A freelance approach can often bring better results because they are able to drill down into the detail. Agencies tend to want to get into the next project. If you need to work to a TIMESCALE, be sure to pick a partner who understands this and be sure to allow plenty of time for the creative process. We simply don't work with people who don't value this concept. You may find that the process takes longer through an agency because there are that many more people involved. Freelancers tend to get there a little quicker. You will always benefit from EXPERIENCE. It will help keep costs realistic. Generally, there is little understanding of how a creative arrives at a solution, only that a solution has been reached. Often, there is a whole process post design that takes place so that a piece of design can be implemented digitally or in print. Known as pre and post production. Agencies naturally have a collective experience, combining many talents to create the end result. Most of all, pick a creative who is good at COMMUNICATION. Concepts need justifying, emails need answering and meetings need to be successfully held to keep everyone in the loop.

2. CLEAR BRIEFS

In my 20 years experience, I have seen only a handful of briefs, scoping documents, framework files and so on. Planning your communication strategy helps clarify what it is you want to achieve. Not knowing what you want means not knowing how much it's likely to cost. At prevamp©, we use a mind mapping process that helps identify need. It helps visualise where to spend budget, what communication is required across which mediums. For us, we can plan a design programme from this document. I cannot stress just how important it is to know what the end result is going to be before pen is put to paper. It saves a lot of time and money and if you know the outcome of the process, then you will know your customer and how you want them to respond.

3. PROCESS

Understanding the design process can really help the creative juices flow. If design is constantly put under pressure to deliver, if deadlines are too tight, if briefs are unclear or if the creative isn't allowed the space to create, then all is lost. It is no more than a spending disaster, a write off on the ledger. We all find fault first and look at things from a very personal perspective. We aim to be impartial and take the view that a business, product or service is a person in its own right. How best can we all serve that person? What do we need to feed it, how often should we water it? Trust your design partner to do the right thing, after all, their success is making you successful.

4. LOOK TO THE LONG TERM

Don't be reactive to business needs. Sure, things will crop up that need addressing, but generally speaking, having a strategy will serve a business far better than jumping day-to-day into different design projects. Working with an agency or freelancer on a monthly retained basis is more beneficial for all parties that by job or by the hour even. I guarantee a designer will want to present the best possible solution and will work above and beyond a time allocation to deliver it. Knowing the mid to long term goals of any business is key to success. Commit to one design partner and not many because there will be no clear message if you hire multiple creatives. Be sure to have a brand expert in place to overlook web agencies, designers, product designers, photographers and so on. We can always recommend the best people to work with and put the right people in place to achieve the end result.

5. LAUGH & ENJOY IT

Many think of design and marketing as a non essential service to business. Of course, we think differently. There are many competitors for all of us, we have them too! It is in times of change that we can take more market share, get ahead of the competition and become statesmen. Where you win is through USP's and customer service. We've helped many businesses re-connect. Communicating a business means feeling confident about making the offer to others, feeling proud of who you are, having the internal communications to support the process, putting smiles on faces. Of course there is a serious side to what we all do, but there is also a need to show our human side. Design shouldn't be grey, safe, thinned out. It should be bold and command our attention. Looking different to your competitor is a good thing...it demonstrates that you are a leader and not a follower.

prevamp© believes in sustainable products and services. We want to be as kind to the environment as we can be. Our packaging design, business stationery and brochure work incorporates recycled materials or products that are fully compostable. Printing inks are water based where possible.

prevamp© wins London interior design project

We're proud and pleased to be working closely with a prestigious mortgage provider in London to re-generate their central offices. The aim is to make it beautiful and functional for customers and staff. It's part of a general overhaul of the brand incorporating a re-brand, new colour palettes and a more phycological approach to mortgage provision.

We're currently putting together a series of mood boards, product and style guides and sample packs to present to the client. We look forward to the challenge of setting the mood, ensuring a bright future for this forward thinking brand.

Manx TT rider illustrated

Last year, I completed an intricate illustration of a Deluxe Angel with rider, depicted from the ManxTT. The challenges were keeping it monotone (although there is one single area of grey...if you can spot it), and the level of detail. If you were to look at the life-size version of the illustration, you would see every screw head.

I enjoyed creating this and it has led to work in a similar vein. If you are looking for top class, accurate and polished illustrative work, then please get in touch.

Roka Wine re-design

We're ecstatic about Roka wine and a recent label redesign of their award winning wine. Printed onto a special silver paper, the marque reflects the Slovenian word 'Roka' or 'hand'. Hand picked, hand crafted, hand bottled and individually numbered, this wine is award winning and from the emerging new world market that so many connoisseurs are keen to experience.

Look out for the full project in our 'work' or portfolio section next year.

the only way is up

What is the value of brand? Advocacy, equity, value. These are all traits of great branding. We would go one further, heritage. When Adidas was in it's infancy, they employed photographers to attend sporting events in order to capture sporting footwear in context. They did this even though it destroyed their bank account! In 2014, Adidas created a remarkable campaign using these historic images. They brought heritage, equity and value to the brand and it created a new generation of advocates. It cost little but made a lot of money, able to visually communicate the history of the brand and to show pride in it.

What is the cost of brand?  Cost is different to value. Design to us isn't just a font, a colour and a few stock images (the economic route to market). Great branding justifies why you should be here to an audience that should be the future advocates of your business. When companies are sold or merged, much of the sale price is wrapped up in brand and advocacy. How does the business make us feel? What impression has a business created? As we enter a new era away from Europe, it makes sense to think about these deeper questions.

We see on average five new clients a month and most haven't challenged the meaningful stuff around brand and advocacy. Being less reactive and more proactive is a good start. Brand strategy will almost certainly do a number of things. A strategy will give time to collaborate, test, change and deliver campaigns, products and services. It will steer clients, customers and staff more confidently in a direction that is laid out for all to follow. You can start to predict deliverable results before conception. Most of all, brand strategy naturally brings a sense of heritage and being proud of where you have come from as you develop. We keep hold of and remember great design. Adidas made a point of doing this from day one.

When we talk about cost vs value, we hope to deliver projects at a reasonable cost that add significant value to your offer. If £10 is spent, we hope to add £100 to the bottom line. Factors are Our fixation. If you are looking to grow awareness and audience, we hope to achieve it through the power of design. There is no incentive for us to make companies money or to grow audiences if it is done at our expense. Dedicating a budget to brand is important. Many have high aims and hopes but low cost expectation. If we can't share in the success and the spoils, there seems little point in engaging a quality branding consultancy like prevamp©.

We are guardians of business. Not here to ruin or to be right. We exist for your products and services. Unable to survive without them. We want to let the product or service speak, to give voice to the voiceless. The most important thing is value not cost. We want to go beyond the obvious, the reactive, past the bounds of the 'physical' and into the realms of imagination, where anything is possible.

If you know of anyone considering a new venture or currently experiencing poor brand representation, we would like to hear from them.

a cup raised!

With the Anniversary of William & Catherine approaching, here's a project that hits the spot. Back in 2011, we were asked to design a coffee cup with a difference. 100% compostable or recyclable, Vegware are the leading manufacturers of compostable products. To celebrate the marriage of Will & Kate we were asked to deliver a design for a disposable coffee cup. The design shows an English Oak and an English Rose. There are a number of memorabilia hanging in the canopies that reflect each of their lives and achievements. All 'married' together above the college crest of St Andrews where they first met. Some of the detail is shown below. 

The cups were successful in the U.S. and amongst many 'Indies' in the UK. In the week lead up to the wedding, over 50,000 were sold.

It baffles me why the large retailers haven't cottoned on to this ingenious product? We've used it on Farm products to deli counter items. It literally melts away in 3-4 weeks! I suspect that it's largely due to the big boys not getting there first, patents etc. We highly recommend the products of Vegware.

Material choices

What are the benefits to better product design? Why bother potentially spending more for something you know will change over time, get all beat up, price changes and so on. Well, we take a different view. Menus are a case and point. Often getting damaged or soaked in beer or worse! Paper edges on a printed menu will always soak up liquids, unless fully encapsulated (a cheap look), however, this neat menu design allows full protection. It's robust and information is easily replaced in the wallet style of the menu. In practice, these menus actually saved the client money because it was cheaper to print the sleeves and the menus lasted for a considerable time. Menus are important in the make up of restaurant brand identity. They should show the image you are creating, be tangible, right there in the customers hands, feeling and seeing the quality.

Memorable memorabilia

I was looking through the samples box not too long ago and found some cracking invitations from times past. I like the idea of invitations done well. Crisp card, elegant print techniques and of course, considered design. 

Selecting the right papers is key and there are some great paper mills out there. We like G.F Smith papers as well as Arboreta for Screen Prints. Using metallic or even thermal inks can make an invite pop.

An invitation should be exactly that. A way of showing attention to detail and that you've taken care to present the day well.

We used a G.F Smith paper for The wedding invite (top images) and a green pearl paper for an invite to the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

We had a metal press printers stamp made up that was printed onto a corrugated white card for an invite to an exclusive bar.

The effect was great. We love stamps because of their ability to produce a slightly different and random mark every application.

Great response at ARTCRANK 2014

Friday Night in Clifton was busy and alive. There was a great response to the pop-up exhibition at a very central location, providing a constant flow of visitors. The feedback for Prevamp was great! Everyone was complimentary and sales were made! So here it is, our entry. One colour A2 screen printed onto specialist paper. Only 50 produced. If you would like one, then email us and we can make arrangements. They are £45.00 (including the poster tube) plus postage/packaging. Each is numbered and stamped for authenticity.

We produced a series of three bikes of which this one was screen printed for the exhibition. The series depicts cycling in the South West. There's a Tourer (Grifter) and a Rally X (BMX). We'll be putting the other two bikes on to the site soon so keep them peeled.