The Ampersand looks good, sounds good and it lies at the heart of my own identity. I just gave it a little accent!
As a lover of typography, it’s also my favourite character and it represents the way I work. Working together in relationships with clients is, I believe, a real art – one that brings out the best in both of us and ultimately makes for the best results.
All brands should have a story to tell, and the ampersand is where my story starts. The ampersand looks great, sounds great and represents great things – togetherness, partnership, synergy, united, shared knowledge, something more, a real plus point, added-value, pulling together in difficult times, getting to know your strengths and learning to compliment them.
When we think of any of these benefits we think of people and all brands exist in people – you, your internal audience and your external audience make up your brand – and together we can get the best from all of them.
You & Me
I work with some wonderful people. ‘&’ means I work ‘with’ you. Not ‘for’ you. Whether ‘you’ are a client or an agency. I roll my sleeves up and get involved at every level, constantly looking for new opportunities to help further your business. I work very closely with my clients. I like to go above and beyond what is expected of me, it means you stay one step ahead of your competition, which in-turn keeps my ideas fresh and out in front. I tell your brand story in fun and engaging ways that are fresh, exciting and memorable. Let’s create a brand story together.
Experience & Expertise
I marry expertise from strategic and creative skillsets with experience from traditional agency and client side backgrounds to deliver results that meet and exceed objectives.
With over 25 years in the design and marketing business I have worked extensively both client and agency side with some of the world’s most recognised brands as well as many unheard of brands from start ups, SMEs, charities, public sector and schools. I’ve worked for big bucks and doughnuts. I’ve turned unknowns into household names. I’ve worked with some great teams and always get as much as I give.
Reliable & Affordable
Safe doesn’t have to mean boring. You can have fun with your brand and experiment with new ideas. Your audience will love it and welcome it. You and your brand will benefit from it. My work comes primarily from reputation and word of mouth, which is why it is so important for me to provide the best possible service within your budget. I will give you a totally new perspective on your brand. One that is almost impossible to see from within. One that will win you new business and have you telling all your friends about me.
I live in the real world and respect client budgets (large or small), timescales (reasonable and ridiculous), and objectives (possible and near impossible). I will keep you updated at every stage of a project and complete each job with outstanding results. If you just want cheap, sorry, you’re not the client for me. If you want results, and someone who is not afraid to experiment with brand, then you are in safe hands.
Questions & Answers
While others focus on getting to the answers I am still asking the questions. I have a process, but not a formula. And it all starts with questions. I define problems, before I solve them, with a focus on objectives and results – not obstacles and numbers. There is a definite method to my madness and this is reflected in my work. I am not afraid to dig deep and uncover the good, the bad, and the ugly. Within this mix I always discover the hidden gems that will drive your brand and business forward.
Marketing & Design
It brings together what I do best. Put simply, when you speak to me you are speaking directly to the person who will not only provide the strategy but also the creative to deliver it to market. No middlemen, no cheesy sales, no getting passed down the line, nothing lost in translation, just 100% me. I manage each project from start to finish and will be your single point of contact throughout.
Brand & Identity
Your brand is unique to you. Before you can build an identity you have to build a brand. All too often design agencies refer to brand or branding as logo design with bolt on stationery. They have little to no knowledge about what a brand really is or how to create and build one. To me brand is everything. It’s quite simply the basis for everything I do. I call it visually led thinking.
I build meaningful brand experiences for you and your customers, paying careful attention to the ‘channels’ and ‘touch points’ that will deliver your brand message. I tell compelling brand stories that will motivate your audience and make them do something positive about it. Only then do I look at creating an identity that will compliment your brand and take it to market.
Work & Reward
My unique no-nonsense, value for money approach gets to the heart of your business, and your brand, to identify clear steps to achieve your sales and marketing goals – whether that’s defining your brand, reaching your market, creating engaging content, attracting new customers, retaining existing customers, delivering a clear message, presenting a consistent identity or showing you how to make social media your best friend in business.
My reward goes far beyond rates and I have been entrusted with some incredibly rewarding projects over the years. I do not have enormous overheads, nor expensive taste. I share in the success of my clients. For me the reward is that the more I help you grow, the more I will grow too.
Discover the difference that I can bring to your business, find out more about my approach, my experience, my portfolio, or simply say hello.
Simple & Effective
Just like you, I hate things that are complicated and people who make things more complicated than they should be. Brand communications are no exception. I believe in simplicity; clear, effect, relevant and easy to understand. The results speak for themselves.
What I do is not rocket science, but I’ve been told it’s quite a refreshing approach. It keeps a project focused. It keeps things moving in the right direction and it creates understanding for you, your customers and me. I offer a fully integrated service from Branding, Marketing, Advertising and Digital Online services as well as complementary content including photography and copywriting. When I’m feeling really brave I even turn my hand to illustration work.
Test & Measure
You can’t gauge how well your marketing is doing unless you test and measure it’s performance. Whether online or offline or any other channel I always create campaigns that can be monitored throughout to ensure that you get the best return on your investment. Simple measures put in place that will help you understand what works and what doesn’t and how to improve or maintain a competitive advantage.
Research & Intelligence
Before a brand can be marketed or advertised to your audience or even taken online or mobile it first has to be defined, designed and developed. I start every brand story with a full brand audit to establish exactly where you are right now, where you have come from and where you are going.
I research you, your business and your audiences (both internal and external). I ask the questions that are often overlooked. I dig deep and I always discover hidden gems that will provide focus for your brand. It’s a simple, straight-forward approach but at the same time a well educated and highly intelligent approach that works. It’s called – intellibrand.