SHO has recently designed the new stationery for executive coach Simon Crowe. As part of our brand identity development work, this has been the first part of the design application for the new branding, aimed at reinvigorating his one-2-one business and personal coaching.

With so many ideas and references on the development wish-list it’s been a very interesting graphic design project.

There are many cliches around for training and coaching branding. Our brief was to find a way to encapsulate the values of what Simon does, along with some of his personal character, in an original and professional brand identity. With ideas ranging from focus, energy and pushing back boundaries to a love of Italian culture it’s not been an average branding project for a graphic design agency.

The final brand identity mixes conceptual elements with classical references to create a very clean, professional and contemporary design. The vibrant colour injects the energy of Simons executive service while the classic Bodoni logotype, originally designed in the 18th century by Gianbattista Bodoni, delivers the experienced insight he brings.

With so many cliches used in coaching branding we were tasked with finding a way to encapsulate the values of what Simon does, along with some of his personal character, in an original and professional way on his new stationery. With ideas ranging from focus, energy and pushing back boundaries to a love of Italian culture it’s fair to say this hasn’t been an average brand identity project.

Following a successful application process which included a credentials check and an interview with business link consultants, we are now listed as one of their preferred suppliers, providing design solutions for anyone starting up a new business or growing a business in the capital.

As a quality approved supplier, our details will be matched to all newly registered companies as a part of the free support and services they receive from their assigned Business Link consultants, to provide bespoke and tailored design solutions to new start-ups and developing businesses based in London and the surrounding areas.

Our details will be available on the Business Link website very soon.

Experience and skill counts for an awful lot but a great idea can come from anywhere. So we’ve put together a few helpful pointers that can help to refine an idea and develop a narrative for a great brochure. To make it more than a collection of pages with product or service soundbites and a few pictures.

1 › Theme

It may sound like a strange idea but having a theme or concept for a brochure can immediately make it more memorable, create greater stand-out from competitors and help the recipients access the information more easily. It could be a simple idea that provides a thread through the whole brochure or a bigger concept that underpins everything. Whatever it is will immediately set your brochure apart from the rest that simply say ‘This is us and this is what we do’.

Try to think of HOW you do what you do, what are the values that set your business apart and what are the reasons your customers prefer you? If it’s the personal approach that customers value it may be a good idea to base the theme around the people who make the business what it is. If it’s the experience of an established business that brings it’s success that history could provide a graphic thread throughout the design.

2 › Format

Not everything has to be A4. A great way to stand out from everyone else is to use a different size, shape or binding method.

But don’t make a change just for changes sake, this is about standing out from the competition not sticking out like a sore thumb. Think about what will compliment your theme, perhaps its a page size or orientation that works more effectively with your images. A clever format will demonstrate your innovation, additional finishes your quality and attention to detail.

Stocks and materials have a texture your customers will notice. Have you ever kept something that felt too precious to throw away? Now wouldn’t it be great to associate that value with your business brand.

3 › Style of Imagery

Imagery is a hugely emotive thing. You can create a completely different tone with black & white images compared with colour, even when they’re the same subject. The style can unite disparate subjects and strengthen an approach into a single cohesive concept.

An example of a simple but effective image style is the use of colour. Different subjects can be united by their colour, for example a company’s tools or products could appear in the same colour, background colour or lighting technique. Obviously if the colour is a corporate colour this connection becomes even stronger, but the simple effect of uniting these elements can be striking and highly effective in it’s simplicity. Other examples are movement, focus and production (eg. BW images). Find the direction that suits your theme and build on it.

4 › Typography

Typography is the most often overlooked element of a brochure and yet it can be the most distinctive. Whether it’s simply overlooked or just undervalued, type can create the distinctive character and voice that sets your brochure apart from the rest. It provides the most consistent connection with a brand identity and can be the link that sets the design and layout free from the standard or ‘usual’ conformity.

Type can also be the most effective way to highlight details and focus attention on the important messages that you want to communicate. A clear information hierarchy can be defined with a good type style and enable readers to browse or read in detail with ease. The ability to access the information in your brochure easily will be appreciated, and these systems can also be extended to online too.

5 › Simplicity

It may seem odd to put simplicity into a list of things to do, but editing what you put into a brochure and it’s design is very important. The easiest way to spot a professionally designed brochure and something that was put together hastily will be the clutter and overworked nature of the design. It takes confidence to leave things out and quite often creating a ‘lighter touch’ is far harder. When something isn’t quite right the natural reaction is to add something else in looking for a fix.

Unfortunately when a design is overworked the common casualty is detail. If information is harder to find or obscured what does that express about the business? That it doesn’t have good attention to detail, that it lacks focus, that it’s far busier talking at it’s customers than listening?

Contrast that to the perceptions created by a clear and clean design that gives information the space it needs, with intuitive type styles to communicate easily. That will create a confident and considered impression. That the business is focussed and on the ball. We’re not saying a design can’t be complex and fun, but you should always consider the function of the design elements. If they don’t add something or perform a role it may be time to edit.

6 › Colour

We love colour. It doesn’t have to be bright to be distinctive and it’s a great way to keep things feeling fresh and new. A bold use of colour, whether printed or from the choice of stock, can elevate a brochure above it’s competitors.

Another great use of colour is as a focus device to drive attention to specific information or areas of interest. Consider how colour is often employed in a website as rollovers, links and highlighted sections around the user journey. Compare this to the way print employs colour in an editorial way and you’ll see the similarities.

These ideas offer you a host of options that can enable readers to engage with your brochure.

Want to know more?

If you would like to know more, to discuss a project of your own or simply to get some advice then we’d love to hear from you. We’re always happy to spend some time talking things through. We may not be the right people for every project, but after a chat we may well be able to point you to the people who are.

Get in touch with SHO

For their new marketing, RCR asked SHO to design and produce an email campaign that could be sent out as an integrated part of their new business activities. The campaign is intended to showcase key areas of their expertise and highlight the additional value their experienced team approach delivers.

By creating an email campaign with an editable template RCR can enter different content and links to their website for a range of online marketing activities. The email also runs on a very useful mail system so responses, clicked links and other subscriber activity can be logged and the data viewed in reports at any time. All very useful tools to compliment the follow up marketing activity as part of the overall strategy.

SHO have recently been working on the design of a new product brochure for Integer Research. The Wire & Cable Focus Report brochure is part of the supporting literature being sent out as part of their new marketing campaign targeting businesses working in or with companies in the Middle East.

Incorporating the style developed with the previous brochures designed for Integer by SHO, the new Focus Report brochure uses a striking image to connect the dry subject of the report (predominantly electrical wire and cable) with it’s end use.

It’s been a truly enjoyable experience and definitely not your average design project. From their inception Hall & Partners have never been interested in doing the same as everyone else, something the design team have had to take on right from the start.

SHO have a long relationship with Bobby Simmonds, so we were delighted to be asked to create their new website design.

As a professional photography studio specialising in family and portrait images we wanted to create a website design that would be a platform to showcase their work.

Our light white website design works very well with their style, and the graphic language of image icons we developed for the site make a very intuitive navigation system.

The website has a full content management system which enables them to develop and extend the site. It also enables them to give clients private viewing pages and direct purchase downloads. A great new business solution.

SHO have recently completed the design of the marketing and advertising campaign for the upcoming Professional Liability seminar from Wilberforce Chambers.

Building on the strong branding and conceptual themes of previous years the ‘Punch’ design uses simple imagery, a clean graphic execution and punchy copy (excuse the pun) to create a distinctive and clean campaign.

SHO have just completed the new brochure design for exclusive city removals and relocations firm Edwards London.

Our brief was to develop a brochure design that can communicate the specialist services Edwards London provide and which also reflect the homes and lifestyles of their customers, a brochure that connects and engages with their core markets.

The final execution contrasts a silver foil on the deep blue cover to reflect the established quality of Edwards London. The photography within the brochure aims to walk customers through moving home, with shots of professionally designed interiors rather than the predictable men with trucks.