Thursday 19 December 2013

Our 2014 Calendar

The reports of the “death of print” you may have heard have been greatly exaggerated, and the positive feedback we receive every year about our calendar support the fact that it is indeed alive and kicking.


As with any self-initiated project, our calendar is a labour of “love”, as we strive to think of a new concept that will top the one from the year before. We started by putting our heads together in the Autumn. Ideas ranged from the team dressing up in all manner of outfits, to a cocktail recipe for every month (what does that say about us?), however in the end our inspiration came from the ethos that we proudly live by: “Clear, concise communication”.


As they say, practice what you preach. This year we put that into action by creating a series of typographic illustrations that visually represent us, and what we bring to our work and your brand. To really tie each idea into our brand we stuck to our black and white colour palette, using a subtle grey pantone to pick out parts of the design and lift them from the black. We then turned to the print team at Scanplus to bring our design to life, as usual their work was fabulous!


Some of you may also recall that we went one step further and animated these illustrations for the video on our stand at the recent Public Relations Show 2013, just to prove that print and digital can live together in harmony.


The Clear, Concise Calendar is being shipped out, but if you don’t receive one do not fret, all is not lost! Drop us an email and we’ll do our best to put one in the post for you. There have been whispers of a series of limited edition prints for some of the illustrations, so keep an eye on our e-news as we’ll announce them there first.

You can also download a free copy of our calendar in PDF format here

Do let us know what you think - inspiring or a waste of time? Let us know!

Deck the halls with news...

Festive Knitting

Nothing says “Festive Season” more than the gift of socks, mulled wine and rather snazzy Christmas jumpers, and they don’t get much snazzier than those created by some very talented illustrators and “printed” on a hacked 80’s knitting machine.

That’s right, you can hack a knitting machine! As proved by Andrew Salomone, who is leading this festive venture in collaboration with Hoxton Squares KK Outlet gallery.

More info (Creative Review)


A word?

What words defined 2013? For the Oxford English Dictionary, the word they chose was 'Selfie' - not exactly highbrow, this refers to the act of taking a quick narcissistic snap of yourself via your camera phone (usually accompanied by everyone's favourite 'duck face' expression).  Whereas, the Collins Dictionary chose the slightly less shallow word 'Geek' as their word of 2013. For our money, Dictionary.com chose 'Privacy' as their word of the year – and we think they nailed it.

And if we're not happy with those words, how about the words we were all searching for this year? According to Google, this is the top 10 list of searches over 2013:
  • Paul Walker
  • Boston Marathon Bombing
  • Nelson Mandela
  • Cory Monteith
  • iPhone 5s
  • Government Shutdown
  • James Gandolfini
  • Harlem Shake
  • Royal Baby
  • Adrian Peterson

They've even created a video that represents their view of 2013, check it out here...
More info: Google Zeitgeirst 2013


Don't forget the fun!

Did we mention that we've created a little memory game just for Christmas? If you haven't already tried it yet, do give it a go and test those brain cells of yours. There's even an HTML5 version specially for you iPad owners...

» play the Christmas Memory Game!

But if you REALLY want to give the brain a stress-test, our colleagues at The Cyber Security Challenge have concocted their own Xmas brain teaser, but be warned, you'll need tip-top code breaking skills to crack it!

The Cyber Security Challenge sets these competitions throughout the year to find young talented code breakers and introduce them to the world of Cyber Security. When you see some of the sponsors of this charity initiative you can see why they're hunting for them. We thought we'd share the challenge and see if any of you are up to the task. Follow the link below to try it out and find out more about this great initiative.



Read all about it!

This month the Independent revealed its new design, which was the result of a 3-month long process with their inhouse team and designer Matt Willey.

The Independent has changed its guise several times over the last few years with each change of editor or milestone it reaches, however this iteration of the British staple offers a much cleaner layout and differentiates it from its sister publication, i.

It’s clear from the finished product that the team were looking to create something with a more confident, sophisticated aesthetic, and this new look seems to offer clarity on the paper’s position as a compact broadsheet rather than a tabloid.

We think the use of typography and Dan Williams’ illustrations are lovely, and the clear, concise layout is of course a big hit with us!


Mmmulled drinks

As the weather gets colder and Christmas draws in, our minds turn to warming up on delicious mulled drinks (or is that just us?).

Do not be fooled into thinking red wine and cider are the only drinks to be doused in a warming, cinnamon glow. Everything from rum to pear brandy can be turned into a Christmas delight, and thankfully this post from Buzzfeed has listed all the best recipes. Go forth and mull my friends!


Tech mecca
As you know we’ve been working with the Croydon BID on re-developing the brand and websites, so of course we’re already big fans of the area, and so it would seem are some of London’s trendy tech bods as Croydon is set to become the new Tech City.

With rent in the proclaimed tech mecca of Shoreditch continuing to rise, many start-ups are looking for new areas to colonise. Believe it or not Croydon is already a hot tech scene, playing host to some big players such as dotMailer and games developer Hotgen, so it’s now starting to attract some of London’s growing digital talent. Last year Croydon took matters into its own hands and launched Croydon Tech City, the initiative is now a 400-strong community of software developers, VCs and tech start ups.



Mimi's carefree

This month saw the release of the If Only For A Second campaign for the Mimi Foundation, a French foundation aimed at supporting cancer patients. Inspired by the quote from one patient “You know what I miss the most? Being carefree”, the foundation, alongside Leo Burnett France aim to bring this feel back to 20 patients, if only for a brief second – via the use of a unique make-over experience. The reactions are captured in this touching 3 minute video, and are also documented in an accompanying book.


Christmas Matters

It seems that everyone is getting into the spirit of Christmas, from this IT department to the clever clogs in the science industry. The guys at Matter PR (who we worked with earlier this year on their identity and website) have rounded up the best, and most amusing, of the Christmas themed stories, videos and experiments for us all to enjoy.

Friday 29 November 2013

Putting on a show


You may recall from last month's newsround that our client CIPR were going to be hosting the first dedicated PR show, aptly named The Public Relations Show 2013, and not only did we brand the event and much of the collateral, but we were also planning to exhibit.

The event was the first of its kind to bring people from the industry together to demonstrate what they can offer, and with over 1,000 visitors, 37 exhibitors and #prshow13 trending on Twitter, it’s fair to say the event was a massive success!


On the lead up to the event, we implemented the brand across press ads, web graphics and a promotional flyer, as the CIPR worked hard to help the show gather momentum. On the day itself, the brand filled the Business Design Centre from the printed show guide and the signage, to bags and Oyster Card wallets. It’s always rewarding for us to see our projects come to life, but to see this one coupled with the buzz from the visitors was fantastic!


With the event being such a success, it was a long day for Ben and Simon, who were tasked with manning our stand along with our partners in crime ETC. We’ve worked with the team at ETC for a number of years now on projects such as St. Martin’s Quarter and the Francis Crick, so they were the obvious choice when we needed to produce our own exhibition stand.

Our stand proved to be quite a hit, thanks to our I Shot The Serif game (and of course our work), which you can play here; however be warned, it is highly addictive!

Ben who manages the digital side of the business (ttpdigital) and who created a special showreel to play in the background (see below) said,

"We've not really exhibited at these things before, so we treated it as a bit of an experiment. In the end it went really well – we met lots of interesting people and it was great to see such enthusiasm in our work and our experience. The video showreel really drew attention as did 'I Shot the Serif' running on one of our iPads – people got quite competitive! It was an exhausting day though, I now have a new-found appreciation for the guys manning their stand all day at the next show I visit!"

All in all it was great day and we’re looking forward to The Public Relations Show 2014.






November News

Black Celebration

Friday, November 29th is officially 'Black Friday' - which is actually a lot less ominous than it sounds. It's a tradition in America for shops to start their sales on the first Friday after Thanksgiving (similar to our Boxing Day sales) and this idea has now started to creep over to the UK, with many retailers (such as Amazon) now offering impressive Black Friday deals. The name originated in Philadelphia where it described the heavy traffic that would always occur on that day. Newer still is 'Cyber Monday' (Dec 2nd) which specifically refers to online shopping (this is a recent invention by marketeers keen to push the Black Friday idea over to another day!). So with even the likes of Apple now finally getting in on the sales act, if you see either of those terms around this weekend - make sure to look out for some good deals! But do try to avoid the chaos seen in some American stores today!

more info (the telegraph)


Stalking Friends

According to a recent book on the birth of the micro-blogging phenomena that is Twitter (and we're looking forward to working with them in the new year!) - it went through several different names and logos before arriving at the iconic bird we know today. From 'Smssy' and 'Twitch' to more worrying sounding names like 'Friendstalker' (which some might consider rather telling!). Most of the initial logos were created by one of the founders Biz Stone - going for the idea of youthfulness over old and boring approaches. You can see a few of the rejected logos in the link below.

more info (the verge)


Font Masher

Despite being a couple of years old, our little typography game 'I Shot the Serif' is still generating online buzz. Most recently it was featured on Mashable (one of the largest online sources of news and resources for the social media generation) as no. 5 in their '18 insanely addictive font games'. As a result, hits to our website page rocketed (again). We used the game on our stand at the PR Show recently and it was really effective at breaking the ice - more info on that here. And if you haven't played it yet, do check it out and be sure to look at some of the other font-based games on their list too!

more info (mashable)


4 vs. One

The next generation is upon us as both Microsoft and Sony launched their new games consoles this month - and with both of them breaking first day sales records, they've obviously got something right. But do these herald a new age for interactive entertainment - and more importantly is either of them a 'must buy' before Xmas? If you're interested (or have kids begging you for expensive presents) here's a super concise run-down:

Microsoft Xbox One:
Offers the most interesting package - aimed at taking over your TV, in theory it will eventually be able to control your TV / cable box using gesture controls and voice recognition (ie. throw away that old remote). You can play the latest games, browse the web and even Skype your friends all at the same time. However, in practice, many of these features are not working at all yet in the UK and it looks like they've skimped a little on the graphical power in relation to Sony's PS4 - and despite this it's still around £80 more expensive.

Verdict: there's no compelling reason to buy it right now, but as the software and capabilities improve it could really come into it's own - perhaps sometime next year - or even the year after?

Sony PS4:
A much smaller box than the above, but offers more gaming power inside. This looks like it will be the 'hardcore' gamers choice over the Xbox One, but doesn't have the same ambitions to control your living room.

Verdict: If you HAVE to buy one, this is the one to get, but even with the extra power, there's still no big reason to buy it right now, pretty much all the good games around are also available on the older consoles too (and they don't look that different yet) - better games will appear on the system from next year onwards.

So, our advice: save your pennies and wait around - maybe they'll drop the prices a little next summer!

more info (polygon)
PS4 review
Xbox One review


It’s all change Croydon.

This week saw the planning approval for the Westfield Hammerson JV to develop the Centrale and Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon. There are interesting times ahead for businesses, residents and visitors, and with our work with the Croydon BID we’ll hopefully have an active roll in helping communicate and manage the change and likely disruption that will ensue over the next couple of years. Our brand evolution work with the BID, and initial strap line 'all change! Croydon', has even more relevance now that Croydon's development and future plans are coming to fruition. As a company we're experiencing the major changes in London Bridge, where in the past, poor communications has added confusion to disruption. As our MD, Simon, also lives in South Croydon we’re even more eager to help communicate the changes and manage disruption through proactive and accessible information. The Croydon BID website we designed and developed aims to be a central hub for up to date information so find out more here. Good luck Croydon.


Christmas Closing

We'll be keeping up with everything that's going on but our official doors close for a well earned break end of play on the 23rd December and will reopen on the 2nd January. A bit early to wish you all 'Seasons Greetings' but thought we should let you know just in case you've got that urgent job to get out before the end of year.

Excellent design for the Excellence Awards


It’s been a busy month for CIPR (and us!) with the launch of their first PR Show, the updated Training Brochure and the Excellence Awards 2014, and we’re proud to have been able to be part of it all.

The Excellence Awards are an annual event celebrating the cream of the crop within public relations. They showcase some of the most recognisable and memorable campaigns. We’ve had the pleasure of working with the CIPR on this event for a number of years, and the glamour and sophistication of the event makes it a great design project!

This year, the whole look is anchored by the bespoke pattern we created, which not only represents all aspects of PR coming together, but also reflects the glitter and sparkle of a big awards bash! Different tints of the gold pantone are used to add depth and intrigue, a spot UV was added for that luxurious feel, elevating the bespoke pattern even further. The colour palette of a warm gold, white and black was a clear winner to represent the timeless glamour of the awards.

The event has just launched with a series of digital graphics, produced by our digital arm ttpdigital, for the CIPR website and an eye-catching postcard encouraging people to enter. However, keep your eyes peeled and be on the lookout for the rest of the awards collateral, which will be appearing in the New Year.

Wednesday 30 October 2013

It's all change in Croydon!

We started working with the team at The Croydon Business Improvement District (BID) back in April. They approached us to pitch for their marketing & communications, website redesign and loyalty scheme launch, having heard from Better Bankside such positive things about our work for them. Revising the brand was not included in the original brief, however we felt it was both achievable and important to incorporate a brand refresh alongside the other deliverables, and after putting our case forward the team at the Croydon BID agreed.
“This is a time of real change for Croydon, not only in terms of what the BID is doing but also with the proposed new Westfield & Hammerson shopping centre on the horizon and developments across the town as a whole. It was important to find an agency who were as excited as us about these changes and Simon’s connection with the town and his experience as a Better Bankside levy payer made it an ideal match.”

Matthew Sims, Chief Executive, Croydon Town Centre BID.  
Old Croydon BID logo
New and improved!

The team wanted to improve the positioning of Croydon BID and promote the benefits the BID has already brought to the town for business owners, residents and visitors alike.

We started off by looking at the BID’s five key pledges to the business community – to make the town safer, cleaner, better promoted, more attractive and more accessible. We kept the original pledge colours, but developed a rationale to ensure consistency and harmony across the brand.


The logo was already established, however it needed a stronger presence. We focused on making the typography bolder and more vibrant, changing the colours in favour of something more contemporary (and a little less Wimbledon-ey!).

With the logo spruced up (and looking very smart if we do say so ourselves!), the core messaging needed to be updated. “All Change! Croydon” lent itself perfectly to the cause. Its subtle play on words not only indicate Croydon’s position as a major transport interchange, but also reflect the positive changes the BID brings to the town. On a secondary level “Making a Difference” concisely highlights what the BID is doing and reinforces its role and the reality of change.


Alongside the logo and messaging, a new website was also needed as it provides a key channel for the team to communicate the positive changes happening in Croydon. The site 'soft-launched' last week and although only a few weeks in, site visits are already up by over 3300% - you can see the new site and find out all about that side of the project here.

This strategy is being rolled out across various collateral from Christmas Banners, their Annual Report and the all-new Check Out Croydon loyalty card.



The Check Out Card gives exclusive offers and discounts in many of Croydon’s shops. The name we conceived, Check Out Croydon, offers a conversational and friendly tone, whilst the play on words also act as a call to action for people to check out what’s happening for themselves.

The card is proving to be a popular addition to Croydon BID’s positive changes, exceeding expectations with the number of sign-ups.
 
 
  
“Our partnership with the team at tothepoint has been great, they’ve produced some really creative, forward-looking work and have demonstrated a vested interest in our cause. It’s been a pleasure to work with the team and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them!”

Matthew Sims, Chief Executive, Croydon Town Centre BID.
As they always say (particularly at Halloween) there’s no rest for the wicked – we’ll be continuing our work with the BID. So when you’re next in Croydon, keep your eyes peeled for their influence, as we’ll have new collateral springing up in the coming months.


October scare stories

Eeeek! An Exhibition!

Our client CIPR will be hosting the first dedicated PR show, aptly named PR Show 13 on the 26th of November, and not only did we brand the event and much of the collateral; our good selves will be exhibiting! It's free to register so there are no excuses and throughout the day there are also education streams, workshops, advice hubs and even more. So why not drop by and say hello!


Wicked Wordpress

WordPress, one of the world's most popular website Content Management Systems (CMS) celebrated it's 10th birthday earlier this year. It's rapidly maturing into one of the most flexible and easy to use platforms to build anything from a simple blog to a fully functioning, content heavy website. To date there are over 72 million Wordpress based websites (about 19% of the web) and this isn't slowing down at all.

It's just been updated to version 3.7, bringing with it a few nice new features. Of particular note is the new background update process. Wordpress can now handle automated maintenance and security updates - to keep sites automatically updated to the latest version of the software. Security has been further enhanced with various additional checks – including much improved password recommendations – and the system also supports better localisation for languages other than English. Version 3.6 (which brought with it enhanced media management and a built-in HTML video player) was only released a few months ago, so at this pace we expect the next version to be out by the end of the year.

If you'd like to see some of the rather cool sites we've created using the Wordpress platform, just head on over to our new digital site at: www.ttpdigital.com

» read more (TNW)


Grand Guignol Google

Fresh on the heels of Google Reader’s demise, iGoogle – Google’s browser dashboard is about to close down. If you’re still using the service, it will go the way of everyone’s favourite Monty Python parrot on November 1st.

First introduced back in 2005, iGoogle has been my de-facto homepage for well over 5 years, so I’ll really miss it when it’s gone. This is all part of Google’s so called ‘spring clean’ – and is just one of many smaller projects and services they’re shutting down (here’s a few more) – apparently in order to have greater focus on the things they want to concentrate on.

For those who’ve never used iGoogle and are wondering what the heck I’m talking about – it’s essentially a tool for creating an ‘at a glance’ homepage based around your own interests and needs. So, for instance, it may show you: the latest news or sports results, the weather in your area, your twitter/facebook feeds, your ‘to do’ lists, useful notes or reminders, your email inbox and your online calendar – all on one page and accessible anywhere on any computer once you’ve logged in. You can easily change the layout and add new content whenever you want.

So, if you’ve never tried a dashboard homepage and fancy giving one a go, or if you’re looking around for an iGoogle replacement, here are my top 3 suggestions:

» iGHome

» iGooglePortal

» NetVibes


Whispering wallets

This nifty little creation brings your wallet to life, yes you heard right! The living wallet is paired with an app which monitors your spending habits and hopes to help the user save money. The wallet starts off by running away from you, moving on to crying for help when it's captured and as a last resort it'll send a text to your parents! It's a little spooky, but of course we're so in control of our money, it's wasted on us....(it's pay day soon right?)



Little Print Shop Of Horrors

Now, I know we shouldn't promote the work of a "rival" design agency, but this is all for a good cause! Manchester based Creative Spark have opened their Little Print Shop Of Horrors again this halloween. They are selling limited edition prints inspired by famous horror films, and to top it off, all proceeds go to charity.

Terrifying Tesco

Another month, another Apple product release - this time they've graced us with updates to their iPad range, a new iPad Air (the bigger one) and iPad mini (the smaller one) - both sharing the new iOS7 look and rather spiffy 64bit A7 processor. The iPad mini has had probably the bigger of the two upgrades, not only significantly faster than its predecessor but now sporting a full 'retina' screen too. But with Google, Amazon, and even Argos getting in on the small tablet act - is this the best one to go for?

In short, yes it is, but with a proviso. It's probably the best tablet around right now on everything apart from the price. And at £319 for the base model it's certainly not cheap. For those wanting a email/facebook/iPlayer tablet that will handle most casual demands but won't burn a hole in the bank balance, it's worth checking out the new 7" 'Hudl' tablet from Tesco.

A brand hardly known for its cutting edge hardware, Tesco have just launched a rather nice new entry to the mini tablet market - and whilst it's not the thinnest, fastest or highest resolution tablet around, it probably offers the best value (every little helps right?). At just £119 it's a very decent bit of kit that compares favourably with anything else on the market. Perfect for those who find themselves wanting to try out a portable tablet but put off by the price of an iPad. If you're willing to go up a bit on cost to £189, then the Nexus 7 (2013) is almost on par with the iPad mini - but the iPad still holds the crown as king of the hill simply due to the tablet app support.

» Hudl review

...and while everyone else is trying to corner the 'mini' tablet market, Microsoft... well, they seem to have got their measurements a bit mixed up!


Scary skipping

Business In The Community (BITC) have recently launched a campaign highlighting the difficulties that ex-offenders face in the job market, with their goal being to have the previous convictions tick box removed from applications form. The ad features a clever use of the Skip Ad button to highlight how potential employers will skip over an applicant with a previous conviction, often without a second thought. It's a touching ad, and a very clever use of technology.

Read more (Creative Review) 



And finally...

It's Halloween again, and we had to end with some sort of spooky themed story. Although we tend to associate the carved, candle-lit pumpkins with a more 'American' version of Halloween, it's actually a tradition thought to have started in Ireland during the 19th Century (although using turnpis rather than pumpkins).

Of course, even if they didn't invent the tradition, American's always have to do things bigger and better and this years 'Great Jack O'Lantern Blaze' - a 25 night event held in New York is no exception. Still, they've really outdone themselves this year creating all manner of glowing pumpkin statues - from dinosaurs to sea monsters - see them here.

And if you're like us and feel your pumpkin carving skills could do with a bit of polishing you'll be happy to know that the Telegraph have put together a video to help you do just that!

In fact, if you've got a halloween creation you'd like to share with us – do send us photos of your pumpkins and we'll put them up here on our blog! We may even send you some treats for the effort! No tricks....

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Advanced design

The EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) are the main UK government agency for funding research and training within engineering and the physical sciences, and we have had the pleasure of working with them for a number of years.


“We came back to the TTP to help us with this brochure as they had developed the original concept for the series and we had a tight deadline to meet - as ever, they delivered for us, on time and on budget.”
Joanne Enderby, Acting Head of Communications, EPSRC.
Most recently they came back to us for another brochure based on advanced materials and nanotechnology, which would sit in their High Level Position Statement (HLPS) range. This range offers an overview of the strategic areas within the EPSRC portfolio and highlights key investments, along with future priorities and past impact within the area. The HLPS range is aimed at stakeholders within business, government and academia, this one was also used at a recent event, Nanotechnology Partnership for Progress – One Year On.

Both the event and the Materials For A Smarter Future HLPS brochure celebrate the work being done with nanotechnology, therefore a microscopic view of a carbon nanotube was selected as the hero image for the cover and central spread.

The EPSRC are constantly pioneering new research and investing in the future of engineering and physical sciences, so keep a close look out for more of their work in our e-news.


Monday 30 September 2013

Going digital

tothepoint launches a new digital arm 'ttpdigital' to focus on digital design and communications: www.ttpdigital.com


The world of marketing and communications is changing fast. It used to be the case that websites and videos were a low priority luxury that companies could afford to ignore (or merely pay lip service to). However that has changed and digital is more important than ever.

We’re not claiming that print is dead, or even that it’s on its way out. However, it is an undeniable fact that most people's first introduction to a brand is now through some kind of digital medium - usually a website, but sometimes a video, email or even an app.

And this isn't just affecting traditional print-based design, it's having a huge effect on the idea of branding too - when people's main experience of your brand is on your website, can we still treat the branding process in the same way? Your logo now has to work hard on a huge variety of sizes, screens and formats - and the brand experience must be in tune from your poster campaigns to your annual report and your website(s).

This change isn't slowing down either - whether you're a fan of them or not, the use of smartphones and tablets is increasing year on year and it's not limited to the 'early adopters' or young geeks. Your site is as likely to be seen on a nice big Windows laptop as it is on a tiny iPhone - and so we need to turn to new ways of doing things like building 'responsive' websites that reconfigure themselves to make best advantage of the screen size they're viewed on.

Recognising the importance of this, tothepoint has been a truly 'integrated' agency for quite a while. We don't believe in separating design for print, web, video or any of the other media we work across - we think it's essential that the brand comes first and that it works successfully and consistently across all required materials. However, we also acknowledge that for many companies, digital now comes first.

So, we've created a new digital arm of tothepoint dedicated completely to the pursuit of digital excellence: www.ttpdigital.com

Whether it's a new website for a startup company, an animated corporate video that has to explain the intricacies of a company USP in an engaging way, or e-newsletters and analytics, we thought it was time to highlight our expertise in this area and show the range and depth of our work.

Our new website is now live and you can browse over some of our work, or read (our admittedly 'techie' focused) blog.

Let us know if you have any comments about the new site - we'd love to hear what you think. And of course, if you have any digital projects for us - just get in touch!

September's newsround

Have a break, have an OS


In a slightly bizarre marketing mash-up, Google and Nestle have recently joined forces and named the next version of Google's Android operating system (version 4.4): 'KitKat'.

Google has been alphabetically naming each successive version of its OS after some kind of sweet since V2.3 'Cupcake' - followed by 'Donut', 'Eclair', 'Froyo' (Frozen Yoghurt), 'Gingerbread', 'Honeycomb', 'Ice-cream sandwich' and current version 'Jellybean' - so the fact that the latest iteration is named after a chocolate bar isn't such a surprise.

What is odd is that as far as all were concerned the next name would be 'Key Lime Pie' (an admittedly odd choice) - with the KitKat name seemingly coming from nowhere at the last minute. It's also the first time Google (or ANYONE as far as I'm aware!) has ever thought to promote their OS by getting friendly with an existing, unrelated brand.

Could this be the start of a strange marketing trend, or is it just Google being a little kooky? And if it follows the same convention for the next version - could Nestle's 'Lion Bar' be gearing up for an Android make-over?

I do wonder if they've both considered the potential implications of the deal. This could be perceived as Nestlé basically endorsing Android phones, which may then be seen as 'anti-Apple' due to the two tech companies ongoing rivalry - and Nestlé really doesn't want rabid Apple fans mounting an anti-Nestlé campaign!

more info (BBC)


The Gold standard


The usual media frenzy took the interweb by storm last week as Apple announced its newest update to the iPhone range. There have been rumours for a while now that Apple has run out of steam when it comes to innovation and sales are slipping against arch rival Samsung and Google's Android OS. So, did its new phone set the world alight once again?

Well, not so much, but to be fair, Apple seems to be on a path of refinement and minor improvements recently rather than throwing as many features as possible at their handset (certainly something of which the Galaxy S range is guilty). Many were expecting a high end iPhone and a mid-range 'economy' version this time round. However, we seem to have been given an expensive option and a REALLY expensive option. But, when Apple sees itself as more of a luxury brand - why do cheap? No doubt the varied colours of the 'C' model will sell well amongst the younger audience, whilst the 'bling' of the new Gold iPhone 5S may do well among the glitterati.

Feature-wise there's nothing too ground-breaking, but the new fingerprint scanner could end up being a game-changer. It's not certain quite how accurate it is in the wild, and how Apple might then use the new security feature to connect other apps/services, but if it works as advertised, it could open up a whole new world of in-phone-payment that its competitors can't even get close to yet.

And talking of competitors, Microsoft was very quick to parody Apple's new creations - which would have worked well if those ads weren't so poor - they've now been quickly pulled after Microsoft admitted they were 'painfully unfunny' - oops!

more info (the verge)


Ya-who?

So after 30 days of teasing, Yahoo! finally launched its 'real' new logo to the world. Did it make sense of the plethora of design variations previously shown? Has it moved the company forward and refreshed the brand? For one of the Internet's earliest and longest surviving players (it's 18 years old - which is about 180 years in web years!) it will be interesting to see how it is received by users and non-users once the initial parodies and criticisms die down.

Marissa Meyer, Yahoo!'s new young and energetic CEO writes all about it in her personal Tumblr blog (well, it would be Tumblr as she oversaw the purchase of that company not too long ago) – and goes into detail about the design process ...

http://marissamayr.tumblr.com/post/60336044815/geeking-out-on-the-logo

In her words:
"I love brands, logos, color, design, and, most of all, Adobe Illustrator. I think it’s one of the most incredible software packages ever made. I’m not a pro, but I know enough to be dangerous :)"

One would think it's a rare CEO who gets their hands dirty with this sort of thing (or even knows what 'Adobe Illustrator' is). Although, having said that, Rupert Murdoch essentially designed his own News Corp logo not too long ago, skipping the need for an external design agency, or even Adobe Illustrator. Is do-it-yourself brand design the new trend? If so, are these 'dangerous' times for brand agencies?

The jury is still out but as one of our clients we see this as an opportunity to help evolve and support the new brand. Our work so far has ranged from standard signage and wayfinding to the more adventurous art installations we produced for their Rolle office last year. This work demonstrates the life that can be brought to a brand through creativity and that a brand is far more than just a logo.

Only time will tell if this new logo can last as long as the previous one - but if stock price is a good measure, perhaps the refresh really has worked a charm! http://mashable.com/2013/09/12/yahoo-stock-30/

more info (adage)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

So while Yahoo drops the 'flat' and brings on the 'chiseled' 3D look, the rest of the big search boys are changing their logos too - and 'flat' is definitely the trend du-jour.

Microsoft's big Google search challenger 'Bing' has just announced its logo has had a makeover - it's now bright yellow instead of the original blue and much more angular than the previous version - and flat as a pancake of course.


And if rumours are true (update: turns out they were), Google is also going through a logo refresh - dropping the long-standing drop shadow and 3D bevelled effect and going for a simpler, flatter (there's that word again) identity.

This new version first started popping up all over the company's services, but was then officially announced a few days after Bing's updated identity.

So, can it be a coincidence that all the big internet search brands are refreshing their logos at the same time?

more info: 

» bing logo change (the verge)

» google logo revamp (BBC)


A shriekingly good light show


Had a bad day? Feel stressed and need to let it all out? Why not pop along to the ‘House of Pain’ on Borough High Street, where you can unleash a cathartic scream or yell, with each scream generating an instant light show that illuminates the whole building.

We tried it out and it’s a lot of fun, but be warned, people on the street outside the building will hear you!

Part of this year’s MERGE festival, the ‘House of Pain’ is open between 5pm-10pm every night until 21 October.

And finally...

We're hiring! We're looking for a front-end web developer with an eye for design so if you're interested in joining the lovely ttp team or know of anyone who would fit right in and push new ideas, get in touch. For further info have a look at the opportunities page on our website or check out our Linkedin ad.