Bag one before Christmas

David and Associates has been helping bag retailer TinTac with all its branding and communications. This month sees the launch of a web site for this new entrant to the market, competing with the likes of Crumpler, Tumi and Jack Spade.

The first two offerings are the Hoxton - a cotton-canvas messenger-style bag in a range of muted colours with contrasting vivid linings - and the Bloomsbury - a workhorse of a bag that started life as a DJ's vinyl tote.

The musical heritage is no accident as TinTac's founder, John Wright, was also the man behind DJ emporium City Sounds - something of a mecca for the UK's DJs from the early 70s onwards.

These two bags are to be followed by two more designs in the New Year - the Chelsea and Soho.

As part of the launch celebrations, we have been invited to extend to all our visitors the offer of a 20% discount on all purchases from the web site up to the 31st December 2007. To take advantage of this, please key in the Discount Voucher code: TT004 when prompted on the checkout pages.

www.tintaclondon.com

Copywriting for Ruskin Square

Mike has written the brochure, billboards and website for Ruskin Square, a major mixed-use development in Croydon.

The project, designed by Foster + Partners and FaulknerBrowns, is managed by developers Stanhope, and will create an entire new community, with homes, offices, shops, restaurants, bars and even a GP surgery. It is also providing a stunning new home for Croydon's famous Warehouse Theatre.

As its name suggests, the development has been inspired by the ideas of John Ruskin, who believed passionately in the power of architecture to transform lives.

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Practice makes a perfect client

We recently completed our first project through Africa Practice - the specialist strategic communications and investment publisher - for JETRO London (Japan External Trade Organisation).

We designed and produced this digitally printed 36-page study, The impact of the Chinese Presence in Africa (Click on the link to download a pdf of the finished piece - 528kb). The whole piece, complete with diagrams and maps, was produced in a very short space of time from receipt of final draft to finished bound copies.

The report studies local and international responses to China's recent push into Africa - a move fuelled by a growing need for oil and industrial raw materials, an urge to deepen and enhance its global standing, and a desire to encourage a more international outlook from Chinese companies.

The report shows that while there are mixed views both in Africa and more widely, the majority of Africans believe China's influence to be ultimately positive, despite certain business and aid practices. The pervasive view from the international community, meanwhile, appears to be that China is harming efforts to bring economic and political sanity to the region's trouble spots.

"The Chinese are making great strides into Africa, and this report makes sense of a complex situation with concise writing and clear design. Due to its ever-changing nature, the research is being continually updated and the report had to be completed swiftly to create an accurate snapshot: the team worked well together to produce an excellent and impactful report, which will contribute greatly to the ongoing debate about the Chinese Influence in Africa."

James Laing, Africa Practice

the POP charts

According to POPAI, 75% of shoppers make their purchasing decisions in the last 4 feet of the shopper journey, thanks to Point of Purchase (POP) material. Hence the name of SMP Group's recently launched in-store arm, the last 4 feet.

We've been working with their marketing team to develop a database-driven web site for the new venture. You can see the results by clicking on the link above.

As well as setting out the company's stall, the site introduces POPwatch - a bespoke tool that helps clients understand their current ROI on POP spend. POPwatch is also the title of the news section, which provides a round up of what's new in the world of POP and in-store marketing.

Business Unit Director of the last 4 feet, Neil Johnson, said,

"We engaged David and Associates following a comprehensive selection process, as we wanted a web designer who both understood our business and brand values as well as being very creative. The group's experience with other clients such as Breed, IBM and BAA certainly offered a pedigree we could trust, and they have really delivered. I believe the site not only communicates our USPs, but also sets us apart from other POP businesses in terms of look and feel - our fresh "agency style" approach really comes across well."

Hunt Dobson Stringer website

Mike has written the new website for regeneration consultants Hunt Dobson Stringer.

The consultancy works with both private developers and local authorities to balance commercial and social needs, and ensure a successful outcome for all.

Front-line golf villa at Desert Springs is looking to build links

We've just completed a new web site for Los Saguaros, a luxury front-line golf villa overlooking the second tee on the Peter Mcevoy designed Indiana course at Desert Springs in Almeria, Spain. This golf resort is the closest thing you'll get to Arizona-style desert golfing in Europe.

The site has been designed to make it simple for the owners of Los Saguaros - John and Penny Stuart - to update themselves.

Apart from taking bookings they're keen to build links to the site from other golf related sites. So if you know of anyone who would welcome a reciprocal link from this stunning villa, please get in touch.

Capital ideas for Land Securities

Mike has recently been working on the launch of Land Securities' new identity, which went live in January. As well as working on elements of the identity itself, Mike wrote and edited the internal and external versions of the brand guidelines, and wrote the new 'Values Book', a piece that's sent to anyone who represents the brand - from employees to property agents.



Mike has also written the updated version of Land Securities hardback book covering all its London properties and developments, which are gathered under the umbrella of 'Capital Commitment'. The book has been turned into a website, www.capitalcommitment.co.uk, for Mike edited his own copy from the printed book.



Not content with all that, Mike also worked on the new Capital Commitment ad campaign, currently appearing in London. The campaign highlights obscure and bizarre London bylaws and regulations that are technically still in force, as a way of demonstrating Land Securities' unusually detailed knowledge of the capital.

Land Securities' marketing work has become something of a cause celebre in the design world, since the client decided only to work with designers new to the property sector. Many award-winning pieces have been produced over the last few years, and they're now being archived in a special 'Portfolio' website. You won't be surprised by now to learn that Mike is writing this new, and voluminous, online resource.

New speakers are the cat's whiskers

Mike has recently completed his first job for new client Bowers & Wilkins, makers of what are probably the finest loudspeakers money can buy. (Usually rather a lot of money.) They're the speakers of choice for music aficionados and studios around the world - including Abbey Road, who have been using them for over 20 years.

Mike's first job was to write the copy for an interactive exhibition pod at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show. The pod announces Bowers & Wilkins' new partnership with Jaguar - their first move into in-car audio. The showcase system has been created for the Jaguar C-XF concept car, and completely revolutionises in-car sound.

Deborah Milner and Aveda at AltaRoma

US cosmetics brand AVEDA sponsored a fashion show at Rome's AltaRoma featuring Ecoture by fashion designer Deborah Milner. Milner, well known for her collaboration with Philip Treacey, designed a stunning range of couture pieces based on ecologically renewable and recycled fabrics. Some of these were sourced from her trip deep into the Amazon jungle, where she worked with the Yawanawa tribe to develop sustainable fabrics from local materials. There were also fabrics from China and India, as well as other astonishing examples of recycling - like a white ball gown made from melted plastic bags.

Mark Andrews and Olly Ravaux designed and organized the show, which took place in the Second-Century Tempio di Adriano, in Rome's historic Piazza di Pietra. The film you can see here, put together by Mark and David Hughes, formed the backdrop to the main entrance to the show. It features footage taken by Deborah when she met with the Yawanawa and stills of each of the Ecoture pieces Deborah made for the show. movie link

Alas! Nick's written a book.

This summer saw the release of Alas! Smith & Milton: How not to run a design company - the story of one design company's 25-year struggle to make sense of a notoriously fickle industry. Co-written by Nick Asbury and Howard Milton (one of the company's founders), the story draws on interviews with friends, associates and employees of the company from over the years - including such design luminaries as Michael Johnson, Mary Lewis, Michael Peters and Richard Seymour.

"That almost impossible product, a design book which is a darn good read... expresses what we all enjoy and think about but have never quite managed to articulate." David Stuart, co-founder of The Partners and author of A Smile in the Mind

"A brutally honest tale of success, failure and the huge pressures involved in working in the design industry... There's a happy ending but any aspiring designer will learn some valuable lessons along the way." Creative Review

Helping ITV's advertisers reach more viewers more often

Without an audience, there'd be no advertisers, and no ITV.

But understanding television viewers isn't always that easy.

Demographics have always played an important part in planning, trading and reporting media performance against target audiences. But, many advertisers will know that demographics only tell part of the story.

Mick Jagger and Michael Howard were both born in the early 1940s and are both categorised as a ABC1 men. Michael thinks the grass is something you mow every Sunday, while Mick may see grass in a more exotic light...

Okay, this may be an extreme example but it shows that your age and other demographic details don't always tell the whole story.

Last year ITV set out to go beyond traditional viewing figures and create a new tool to understand its audiences in a rapidly changing media environment. They commissioned a usage and attitude study, that aims to understand how and why consumers make entertainment choices, how they relate to television in general, and ITV in particular. They also wanted to understand the key factors that affect weight of viewing, channel choice and programme selection. By ultimately linking this to BARB, they are able to understand not just what their audiences say about their viewing habits, but actually what they do and how they behave.

'Helping advertisers reach more viewers, more often.' is a 28 page booklet we produced with Mindshare and Breed to explain ITVs methodolgy, the benefits of this new approach and the role of segmentation within ITV specifically. It explores six audience groups, who they are, what their passions and interests are, their entertainment and media choices, the TV programmes they watch and their typical profile.

A box of delights for Land Securities

Mike has recently written a major piece of print for property developers Land Securities. His words appear alongside a range of beautiful images designed to promote New Street Square, in the City, to potential retail tenants.

It's an especially interesting development, turning what was a typically revolting 1960s office block into a collection of new buildings that reinstates the long-lost street plan. Instead of a monolithic lump of concrete, New Street Square is becoming a little hive of lanes and open space, surrounded by shops, cafes and restaurants.

All those establishments need tenants, of course, and that's where this piece comes in. Much more than a mere brochure, this box portfolio contains a selection of stunning, aspirational images (which can be tailored to the audience) to tempt high-quality retailers into the Square. The minimal, straight-talking copy, which introduces the concept and accompanies each image, puts the powerful business case for setting up shop in New Street Square.

Two new brochures

Mike and Piers have recently worked together on two new pieces of print design, both with a charitable focus.


The first, a new brochure for the International Fundraising Consultancy (IFC), tells a very direct story. The IFC helps charities of all shapes and sizes to increase their fundraising income, by providing a range of services from strategy to training and interim management. They also have a direct marketing arm, IFC Direct, which draws its creative talents from the pool at David & Associates.

The new brochure, which doubles as a direct mail piece, opens from a square to a large-format cross shape. The message is simple: the IFC offers 'a big plus' for fundraisers.

The other brochure, which has also just been printed, is for Asthma UK.. This is a case for support, aimed at major donors who may give thousands, or tens of thousands, of pounds. And the money will help secure the future of the new Asthma UK-MRC Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma. This is a unique new centre that should accelerate tremendously our understanding of asthma - a growing disease that kills one person in the UK every six hours.

As well as producing the brochure - which, for Mike, involved interviewing some dauntingly eminent scientists and taking something of a crash course in microbiology - the team created the appeal identity: Partners Against Asthma. This, too, makes graphic capital of the plus sign, but we promise it's sheer coincidence.

You can download a PDF of the Asthma UK brochure by clicking here. (2MB)

Natural Ki

Ki, or 'Chi', is the Japanese word used to define the body's internal energy. And it's the name that Shelley Borkum and Jane Wake have chosen for a brand new high-energy concept in corporate and wellness training.

Today's hectic, stressful, lifestyle can trap and damage our internal energy, making us tense, tired and bad-tempered.

Through a unique combination of voice, breathing, martial arts, live drumming and laughter techniques, Jane and Shelley plan to help their clients to:

- Release trapped energy both emotional
and physical

- Experience the energy high usually associated with vigorous exercise

- Increase confidence

- Improve communication skills

- Increase workforce performance

- Feel elevated for up to 7 days after just
one session

We've helped them put together the look and feel for this new service and produce cost effective promotional material. This is on the back of the work we did earlier for Jane on her core business 'Body-A-wake'.

Thoroughbred

2005 saw the start of a new breed of agency - one without any creative resource of its own. Instead Breed creates a dream team for every brief it works on. It does this by drawing on a massive pool of supremely talented freelance writers, art directors, planners, designers - you name the discipline and they'll build a team that fits the bill. And for their own branding they picked David & Associates - which was nice.

Lost for words

"David Hughes is rare. A designer with an understanding of the real potential of words. He was the perfect partner to interpret the needs of our writing group 26 with a wonderful design for a regular e-newsletter."

John Simmons

Many thanks for the kind words John. Not sure there's much else to add. Other than - to see the latest issue click on the 26 banner above.

Helping The Black Solicitors Network make a name for itself

In September 2003 the long awaited official recognition by The Law Society gave an added boost to their work. The group approached us to produce a launch website as part of a suite of material to quickly create a distinctive visual personality for this campaigning association. Shown here is the display stand that acted as a backdrop to the Group's first official announcement following recognition.