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Insights

An exploration into the past, present and future trajectory of creativity and the visual world. We combine our specialist knowledge with new insights, theories, processes and technology to inform and inspire.

Brand Guidelines

Brand Guidelines in practice

A logo or colour palette is just the start of a brand. What really makes a brand coherent over time is guidelines — the set of rules, principles, and…

By Fran Johnson : 21/10/2025
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Branding for Charities

Branding for Charities: Why It Matters, What Makes It Work

Effective charity branding is never about surface-level aesthetics, but about clarity, empathy, and long-term usefulness.

By Fran Johnson : 05/09/2025
Questions to ask designers

What business leaders should ask of designers

When leaders ask the right questions to designers, design can support and extend the core business / charity strategy.

By Fran Johnson : 15/08/2025
Crafting a personal brand as an academic

Crafting a Personal Brand as an Academic: Why It Matters

How do you go about building a brand as an academic? Thoughts on brand strategy and brand identity using two case studies.

By Fran Johnson : 06/07/2025

How brands can grow over time

Using Charnwood Brewery and its micropubs as examples, we look at how a brand can be flexible enough to grow over time and stay strong.

By Fran Johnson : 22/06/2025

How to choose a photography style

Choosing a photography style is about creating a consistent visual language that helps your audience recognise, connect with, and trust your brand.

By Beth Evans : 23/05/2025

2024: The year of the maternity leave

If we’ve seemed a bit quiet recently, 2024 was quite the year for a dozen eggs. We grew in numbers, but not in the conventional business sense and found…

By Fran Johnson : 17/04/2025
Favourite branding agencies

Our top branding agencies in 2023

Taking a look at the latest projects from the top branding studios in the UK and beyond. From packaging to signage and typography to illustration.

By Fran Johnson : 20/12/2023
Visual identities with flexible systems text based design

Visual Identities with flexible systems

Lorenz makes a strong case for no longer needing logo based visual identities in contemporary design and instead explores flexible systems.

By Jo Wdowiak : 24/11/2023

Day in the life of …

Once you have your persona, how do you work out how they'll want to be spoken to? The 'day in the life of' exercise is a great way to establish how you want to speak to your target audience.

By Fran Johnson : 02/10/2023

Using brand words as testing devices

Establishing brand words is a useful tool to steer project direction, but it is also incredibly useful to then test any project outcomes.

By Fran Johnson : 18/09/2023
Top 5 pared back rebrands

Rebrands : our top 5 favourite pared-back rebrands

The move towards simplifying logos and pared back rebrands has been a consistent trend for several years now. Some have come to label the movement ‘de-branding’ and it…

By Jo Wdowiak : 07/08/2023

You’ve got your shiny new rebrand, now how do you launch it?

Once you've got a shiny new rebrand, how do you launch it? This blog post takes you through some options and what to avoid.

By Fran Johnson : 01/08/2023