TRUTH LOVES... 2017

It's no secret, we love brands and what better day than today to share our own love stories. For some it's a short but passionate affair, for others it's a slow, smouldering romance, here are Team Truth's 2017 loves. Spread the love peeps.

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Jo loves Netflix

It feels as though most people have a Netflix account nowadays. From its impressive selection of golden oldies, to original titles; when you consider the impetus that Netflix has achieved as part of our lifestyle in the UK, it's quite impressive. The brand not only works with intelligent algorithms, tailoring content to suit you, yours and even small people; it has created a brand vernacular that is commonplace within our modern day lives...

Streamed viewing is just what many of us now do. Netflix binge. Netflix and chill...

The brilliance of Netflix has developed a fundamental content strategy within its very own platform to wholly engage its audience base. A pretty impressive brand retention strategy. Simple, yet brilliant.

As a brand it connects its audience with stories, encourages curiosity, and enables you to explore; but that's all before you've actually viewed any content. How many of us settle on the sofa for an episode but simply can't stand the anticipation of the next one - so keep watching to four or five?!

But what I really love about Netflix is it's brand identity system. Smart businesses realise that a brand is so much more than a logo-mark; Netflix offers a plethora of different products but it has successfully unified the customer experience thematically and visually, so that as a brand it stays cohesive. Great branding works when as a consumer you don't need to see the logo to feel a connection with the brand.

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Chris loves Google

For years Google appeared to the world as a WordArt experiment gone global, all be it with the world’s most creditable search engine software behind its multicoloured facade. We all respected google for what it was, but as the brand became more outwardly polished I started to respect Google for what it could be…Apple and Microsofts biggest headache. 

What first made me sit-up and take notice was a change in design ethos. Google now feels slick and personable, a modern tech-giant built on almost 20 years of reliability and as the company has started to diversify it has showcased how strong the foundation of this new design philosophy is. 

Recently we have seen the emergence of the Gsuite and the Pixel, both of which evince Google’s mission to challenge the biggest software/hardware companies of the 21st century. The Gsuite feels like a slick cloud based version of Microsoft’s Office, a package that has been the 'go-to’ both for personal and professional needs since the early days of Windows, while the Pixel boasts the highest rated smartphone camera and in its short life-span appears to be the first true challenger to the iPhone in a long time. 

Apple and Microsoft have sat in relative comfort for years, Google bring a level of competition and tech muscle-power to shake that perch. It will be fascinating to watch how all three companies strive to push their boundaries, and if indeed we will see dominant player.

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Jordan loves Pokemon

If you're not into it, you just won't make sense of it but for a large amount of people in my generation Pokémon is full of childhood memories, either by playing the game on a gameboy (I still have mine) or trading & battling with the cards in school (which I also still have).

Throughout my 22 years on this earth I've collected and played every Pokemon game Nintendo have produced and it's safe to say the originals are still my absolute favourite. 

The story begins the same way in every game and it never seems to get old, your sent into the Pokemon world at the age of 10 with your first Pokemon given to you by a professor (Professor Oak, etc...) and you then start your first battle, from then on you take control of your own little world traveling from town to town asking people questions and working out how to complete the story all while finding, fighting and capturing Pokémon and gym badges along the way. 

Pokémon was so immensely special to me as a kid and I guess this is why I love it. No matter how much I might try to explain to someone how amazing it is as a game and as a piece of child focused fiction. 

I’m fully aware that if I hadn’t played the game nearly every day of my childhood life... I probably (like most of you) wouldn’t give a toss about it today. 

This year my love for the Pokemon has definitely been rekindled and this is because of Pokemon Go. I'd been anticipating the release of it for a long time and what made me love it even more wasn't that people of all ages were playing it, it was actually seeing people walking up and down streets looking for fictional animals that only appeared on their phones. I've even seen people running to catch a one. 

But, I guess you've 'Gotta catch'em All! 

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Terry Loves Lego

I am now enjoying Lego for the second time in my life...with some considerable years in between the two. Only the other week, we were told that Lego was the worlds most powerful brand, not surprising with the toys strong appeal with both adults and kids, and as of this month the spin-offs with the Lego Batman movie.

I first enjoyed Lego as a kid, many years ago...then it was large green bases and pretty big bricks, where you could knock up a decent construction. Now I have been introduced to it again by my grandson, who can’t put it down. The pieces are now pretty small and intricate (often to be found down the side of the sofa cushions) and you can make some impressive things, usually a themed kit...with moving parts and accessories, which still all click together with ease, and with characters to go with it, including Batman and his comrades, make for endless hours of fun...all over again!

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Fiona Loves Lush

When it comes to skincare, I tend to stick to the brands I know and love such as Neal’s Yard, Faith In Nature and Green People, ones that not only suit my skin but are ethically produced. LUSH may have been around for years on the high street but its products are a new addition to my bathroom cabinet.

Having previously avoided the bustling, multicoloured, perfumed shops synonymous with the 90s bath bomb craze, I found myself in a store last year, looking for an aluminium free deodorant and have been a convert ever since. My top three must haves are Dream Cream, Salted Coconut scrub and Ultrabland.

The LUSH values of creating products that are fun but effective, accessible for all and have a strong stance against animal testing permeates the whole brand experience. The store environment can be a bit full on for the LUSH novice but the warm, welcoming and knowledge staff makes every visit a real pleasure. Granted they certainly know how to get you to spend more, but I’ve loved every product recommended to suit my particularly need. The packaging might be a bit basic for some and lack a certain amount of shelf appeal for the average skincare snob, but I think it’s spot on for its no nonsense eco approach to providing great products that are cruelty free. The brand has bags of personality, from its engaging and cheeky tone of voice through to the illustration of who made your product on every pot. 

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Joanne Loves Instagram

As an avid user of social media, I’ve become slightly bored of the constant “check-in” or “status” updates, I want to be inspired and not made to feel as if my life is a little dull in comparison. I wanted to find something different and once I found Instagram (although a little late) I fell head over heels in love. 

Instagram gives me a little bit of escapism and the ease of looking at beautifully captured images by total strangers has become relaxing and almost cathartic. I don’t know these people, they don’t need to know me and there’s no pressure of having to “like” their post - I can just enjoy their photo. A simple, well taken photo can say so much more than 140 characters and I can take it all in, in an instant!

Instagram gives me that daily inspiration to be creative and maybe a little bit daring. I would even go to say that it has even given me the confidence to try things that I probably wouldn’t have before! From the colour of my walls (Farrow and Ball, Hague Blue), the Zara rose gold biker jacket (which to be honest I will probably never wear!) my fabulous Michael Jackson inspired boots and to our summer holiday in Naxos, Instagram has certainly enriched my life. 

Instagram has made me look at things in a different way and I now try and find something beautiful in most everything I see, even on the most depressing, rainy Manchester days!

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Jaselyn Loves Pinterest

I have a secret.

Slipping inside a cosy, candle-lit room with a glass of wine in hand, I get ready to indulge in a secret love affair… with Pinterest. The visual mood board has become my go-to site for just about everything – after all, excessive pinning inspired my candle-lit living room décor!

Spread across 10 carefully labelled boards are thousands of hairstyles I’ll never try, clothes I’ll never buy, home DIY I’ll never attempt and make-up looks only Kim Kardashian could master. I’m obsessed. But, I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one.

Whilst Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social networks, it’s argued that Pinterest isn’t a social network at all. Think about it, when have you ever ‘socialised’ via Pinterest? It’s an online shopping portal masquerading as a social hub. Spot an outfit on a celeb? Related pins will help you find it! In fact, summer 2016 saw the introduction of buyable pins to select US retailers; meaning users could purchase multiple items from various retailers without ever leaving the platform. So, to make a long story short, Pinterest is ‘Shopaholics Anonymous’ and yes, I am a member. 

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Sophie Loves Disney

Even at the old age of 22 I still get excited about anything to do with Disney, and I know that I’m not the only one who does.

Disney is a brand that has touched most people’s hearts, no matter what your age it’s hard not to feel some sort of connection to a Disney film or one of the Disney characters that have been there as we grow old.

Born almost 100 years ago, in a small office by two brothers who created the animation we know and love as Mickey Mouse, the brand has transformed into a world wide phenomenon.

The brand, which ignites everyone's imagination, has also created a world where in fact dreams do come true. Disneyland is labelled ‘The Happiest Place On Earth’ and if you’ve ever been lucky enough to visit you can truly see that customer service and creating happiness is at the forefront of Disney’s mind.

Disney is an inspiration to all, it shows that you should dream big and reach for the stars.

And as Walt Disney would say himself: “If you can dream it, you can do it.” And that’s why I love Disney. 

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Lucy Loves Youtube

Whether you’re looking for new music, inspirational talks or funny animal videos you can always find what you need on YouTube. As one of the most popular video sharing websites across the world, YouTube has allowed people to have their own voice for over ten years and has even propelled some careers.

You may say that all social media platforms allow people to have their say, but for me I believe YouTube does it best, as sometimes it’s easier to express how you’re feeling or what you want to say out loud rather than writing it down.

What I love about Youtube is that despite being a Google company, it has managed to keep it’s own identity as a stand alone brand. It has created singers, dancers and vloggers who have gone on to become huge influencers in the social media and advertising markets. I love that you can lose track of time watching video after video and how it can bring people together with just six simple words: “Have you seen that YouTube video?” .

What brand has caught your eye this year, let us know?

Truth delivers digital services for Rosewood Pet Products

Manchester-based brand storytelling agency, Truth, has extended its 5-year relationship with Rosewood Pet Products to support the company with a wide range of digital and content marketing services. 

Work includes delivery of consumer-facing PR and social media campaigns, blogger outreach and the provision of a 24/7 press office function. Truth is also currently developing and enhancing Rosewood’s website to improve the user interface and experience and promote greater brand consistency. 

The additional remit builds on Truth’s long-standing partnership with Rosewood, which has previously involved rebranding its global packaging, creating new product identities, designing corporate literature and relaunching the trade customer ‘Market Place’ section on the website.  

“We have enjoyed a hugely successful five year working relationship with Truth so we were wholly confident they were the right partner for the next phase in our marketing strategy. The agency has the creative, technical and strategic skills we need to enhance our digital presence in both trade and consumer marketplaces and we are already seeing tremendous results.”

— Bev Panter – Owner and Marketing Director

With Truth’s support, Rosewood has seen a 74% increase in social media followers, is enjoying an average engagement of 5% and has reached over 8,500 people with its last three Facebook competitions. Average dwell time on the website’s ‘Market Place’ section has increased by 40%. 

Integrated brand storytelling agency, Truth, offers design, digital and PR services to global, national and regional clients. It employs 16 people and was established in 2006.  

Has Instagram killed the art of photography?

I love photography and I have an enormous amount of respect for the people that are good at it. It is an incredibly hard craft to learn and near impossible to master. It is a beautiful crossroads where science meets art, and the great practitioners of the art are as much skilled technicians as they are creative artists. They capture spirit and emotion and freeze it in time as an everlasting testament to that precise moment in history. They manipulate light and shadow to evoke mood and create atmosphere. This takes not only great skill but a great awareness of the world and a finely tuned creative eye. They are also so in command of their equipment that it has become an extension of their eye, they no longer have to think about the technicalities anymore - it’s simply intuitive. They are automatic reactions to the situation, the subject, the light. The ability they have to capture a perfect image in a fraction of a second still amazes me every time.

Not too long ago capturing professional-looking images was a elitist pursuit of those with an expensive SLR and later a DSLR. Then the iPhone came along. And yes, there were digital compact cameras long before, and there were even other camera phones before the iPhone. But the first iPhone changed everything, particularly the apps, and more specifically Instagram. Instagram combined the basic human instinct of showing off on social media with the ability to turn an average shot into a masterpiece. 

Lomo had already started a pre-iPhone trend called ‘Lomography’. This involved taking quirky ‘shoot from the hip’ images of everyday nonsense on cheaply made, expensively priced Soviet analogue cameras. These highly revered ‘toys’ were very basic, and hard to focus as this consisted of a choice of ’near’ or ‘far’ and then you had to pay to have your film developed which took days. All this, only to discover your shots were blurred and unusable. If by some small miracle you had a useable shot you then needed to scan it to share it digitally via the web.

Instagram captured the spirit of Lomography and the iPhone put it in everyone’s hand, and more importantly their pocket. You no longer had to drag around large conspicuous and costly equipment. You no longer needed to understand aperture, depth of field and f-stops, the iPhone took care of all that. You just had to point and click.

Suddenly everyone became a photographer and could freeze moments in time and keep them in their pocket forever. They could share them instantly on social media and print them at home on there desktop printer. Instagram’s nifty little filter effects meant users could adjust their shots to look professional and change the composition by cropping it. It made people more aware of the skill set of a photographer without needing to have them yourself. 

The beautiful thing that Instagram does is it makes people look at the world differently. You see supposedly ‘non-creative’ people change as they begin to see the world through the eyes of a photographer, and they start to look for the beauty in everything. They start to appreciate light, form, texture, they consider the composition before pressing the button, they begin to think creatively. They experiment to explore what works and what doesn’t. It really opens your eyes and makes you really look at what is in front of you.

Six years after its launch some argued that Instagram has ‘devalued’ or ‘debased’ the art  and made the captured image disposable. I would argue that it has brought photography to the masses and heightened people’s appreciation of the art form, making it more revered than ever before.

Many of the world’s best professional photographers have now embraced Instagram as a platform to showcase their work. Steve McCurry one of the most celebrated photographers of his generation is an ‘Instagrammer’ (@stevemccurryofficial) and currently boasts 1.3m avid followers.

That is why in my opinion to say Instagram has changed the world maybe a bit of a stretch, but it has certainly changed the way its 400 million active users look at it. And I believe the great photographers of the past like Ansel Adams the landscape genius or the posthumously discovered street photographer Vivian Maier would approve too.

Written by
Darren Scott
Creative Director – Truth Creative

Follow Darren on Instagram: @darrenexplores

Brands as religion

Thou shalt worship false idols!

Many modern brands have become mini-religions or achieved cult status. Social media has allowed brands to offer themselves up to be worshipped.

Brands have followers, fan pages and every retweet effectively makes you a preacher for your brand of choice.The passing of the collection plate has been replaced by subscription fees, and baptism by loyalty schemes as brands encourage consumers to commit and to spread the gospel of their brand. 

Brand values have become the new commandments, the foundations every brand scribes to define their faith. A recognisable brand mark adds value to what you offer, it allows you to stand out from the crowd, and it can build relationships with your customers. But it doesn’t stop there, consuming a brand has become an experience, a lifestyle choice, a way of saying this is what I am all about, I believe in this.

Consumers tend to align themselves with like-minded brands. It says:
“Hey, I believe in what you’re doing, let’s do it together”.

Apple has achieved this by constant innovation and projecting an über cool attitude towards design innovation and customer service. They believe they can change the world, their believers think they can change the world, some believe they already have. As a result their customers are loyal and freely share their love for the brand, they are Apple ‘disciples’ if you like. They wear the brand like a badge of honour, with sense of pride and belonging.

This trust and loyalty allows Apple to drive the brand into new areas applying the same Brand philosophies as they go. The consumers now automatically believe their products WILL be better and WILL be cooler.

This blind devotion is THE ultimate in brand loyalty, it is the promised land.

Faith.

Like any religion, brands want people to have faith in what they have to offer. This faith leads consumers to have a life-long devotion to the quality of their brand. This leads to a sharing of beliefs and a growing following of devoted disciples.

Omnipresence.

The most successful brands try to be visible everywhere and to everyone. Many of the world’s most recognisable brands have achieved this. For example, the ‘Golden Arches’ of McDonald’s are arguably more widely recognised and prominent in modern society than many religious symbols.

Deities and Iconography.

Endorsements are big business, many icons of sport and entertainment align themselves with brands they believe in, or not. In fact, many of our modern ‘icons’ like Tiger Woods (fallen icon) and David Beckham have become global brands in their own right.

The Place of Worship.

You may have noticed that people still worship on the Sabbath day, just not in the same place anymore. The buildings still tend to be tall and instantly recognisable by the iconic signs and symbols. But, these temples are no longer made of grey stone and covered in crucifixes. They are the brightly coloured monolithic structures of B&Q and IKEA. These are now the weekend pilgrimage for many consumers.

Miracles.

Many technology brands perform what many would consider modern ‘miracles’.

When Sony launched the Walkman in 1979, people were able (for the first time) to carry music around in their hand. Many doubted it, but it changed the music industry and went on to become the biggest selling electronic consumer product in history. This made Sony a global super brand. Apple performed a similar miracle when the late Steve Jobs (God bless his soul) turned the muddied water that was portable music into the fine wine that is now iPod and iTunes.

A Sense of Community.

The unstoppable rise of social networks has seen brands like Facebook become the worlds fastest growing ‘religion’, it is the already the biggest and most diverse community on the planet, it transcends race, language and geography. It brings more people together more than any other faith. It is so high and mighty that even the biggest brands worship it, even to the extent where they display their faith proudly in the form of a LIKE button.

So if new ‘religions’ are merging, talking, sharing values and faiths, is the world heading towards one divine super religion called the internet?

To discover the secret to brand worship for your business, let Truth show you the way!

Written by
Darren Scott
Founder / Creative Director – Truth

Should Tesco rebrand?

On a recent car trip my six year old son, Dylan, recently pointed out to me that he recognised a Sainsbury’s store, ‘because Sainsbury’s is orange’. Being a brand whore this intrigued me and I decided to quiz him further on other brands, and more specifically supermarkets. What colour is Waitrose I asked? ‘Green daddy, dark green’, he replied.  ‘And Morrisons?’, ’Yellow daddy, and green too, but just a bit’, he replied. Asda? ‘Green’. Marks & Spencer? ‘Dark green as well, I know because grandma goes there’.

He adds that ’Netflix is red’ and that ‘Sky believe in better daddy!’. He also adds that ‘Ocado doesn’t have a colour, it has fruit’, (his knowledge of the Ocado brand is purely based on the vans that deliver to our home). Then I asked about Tesco, his reply? ‘I don’t know daddy, is it black?‘. Now, I know that I have taken him to a Tesco store on several occasions, but for some reason the branding had not registered with him. 

I know that six-year-olds are not the target demographic for Tesco, but I guess that they are not exactly top of the list for the other supermarket brands either. Maybe what the others have, is more brand presence or a better connection with consumers. Tesco is often criticised for being a faceless corporation, trying to take over the world, and as the second largest retailer in the world (based on revenue), you could easily argue they are. However, they are often accused (sometimes unfairly) of single-handedly destroying our high streets and squeezing the life out of our farming industry. For this reason alone they should be on the charm offensive, they should work extra hard on getting their personality right, and addressing the negativity through brand experience. Many of our other large supermarket chains are equally guilty of the same practises, but deflect it with brand experience, mask it with personality, and offset it with high profile CSR activity. 

Obviously a six year old is unaware of the negative (or positive) press a brand might receive and all that surrounds it. A six year old is free to simply judge branding at face value and purely as a cosmetic solution, which is fascinating. Sometimes we could all benefit from looking at the world through the eyes of a child – that simple clarity, free from the white noise of our busy lives and corporate spin voodoo. They don’t over think things, they just say it as they see it, and it is beautiful to witness.

So, is it the branding?

A company’s branding is not only the delivery mechanism for their personality, but also the cosmetic veneer that envelops the brand experience and the company’s culture. Tesco has several aspects to its brand that buck the trend of most supermarket branding rules. But are they really faceless? I would say no, but as the brand is so sterile it is borderline generic, and so their face is forgettable. Bland would be a more accurate description, over brand. Now, this may be a deliberate ploy, based on market research or focus groups, but Tesco do little (visually) to make you warm to them as a consumer. This is bad news when you consider that branding is usually an all important first impression a company has on a potential customer.

Feeling blue.

Tesco has traditionally always used red and blue on white as their brand colours. Patriotic as this is, it feels sterile and cold. The blue headlines on white feel corporate or medical, not enticing and welcoming. As a brand, it lacks the warmth of Sainsbury’s orange and the tradition and prestige of Waitrose green. In fact, all it communicates is blandness and almost a lack of effort to connect with customers in a meaningful way. A warmer colour would go a long way towards injecting passion and warmth into their frosty appearance, and maybe even make them more emotive and human in the eyes of potential customers.

The clothes that their words wear.

The expanded serif typeface is overly spiky and angular, it feels tired and dated (not traditional), more appropriate for the signage on a medieval castle carved into stone, rather than a family supermarket. The use of capitals is SHOUTY, and it doesn’t have the warmth and personality of many of the other supermarkets. Ironically the softer Clarendon typeface that Tesco traditionally used is now embraced by several supermarkets, mainly because it has personality and a certain bounciness to it, that softens the message it is communicating. Competitors like Sainsbury’s use serif typography but it is softer and more flowing with its rounded bowls and tapered serifs, the use of lowercase is more personable and friendly. Waitrose use an elegant and rounded sans-serif that feels minimal and elegant to underpin their premium positioning. That is why the choice of typeface is a key part of any branding project, it is the accent with which your words speak, and it speaks volumes about your brand.

Personality check.

Tesco lacks a face or a recognisable personality that we, as consumers, can associate with, and align ourselves to. Jamie Oliver made Sainsbury’s feel like a friendly, food-focussed company that had your best interests at heart. Jamie brought passion and creativity to their customer experience. Tesco would benefit from a shot in the arm of celebrity juice from an appropriate brand ambassador (think Jamie Oliver, not Kerry Katona). Aldi has developed a cult-like status by having great personality and a sense of humour that people warm to.

Obviously a company is much much more than simply how it looks. It is about culture, experience, product and most importantly people. I am not claiming that the negativity surrounding Tesco is because of their branding, far from it, but I don’t think the branding is doing enough to win customers over and shift the perception of the company. In summary, Tesco is getting a lot of little things wrong, adding up to a dysfunctional brand experience, which consumers are failing to connect with, other than simply convenience of location and price. As Tesco claim ‘Every little helps’ but in this case, every little hurts, particularly in the eyes of a six year old.

Written by
Darren Scott
Founder / Creative Director – Truth

Getting kids to dig it!

As the age-old professional saying goes ‘never work with children or animals’, a mantra I have managed to stick to over the past 15 years despite actually having a very fond attachment to both now. It’s probably a well and truly justified piece of business advice, as nothing ever goes to plan with a whole host of potential issues to deal with from tears and tantrums to pooing and peeing. 

That said, a recent client win has pushed me well and truly into this realm. I’ve literally jumped off the deep end without the aid of armbands to keep me afloat (metaphorically speaking of course) and have found myself immersed into the world of kids. 

As the brief to create fun, educational and interactive holiday activities for Wyevale Garden Centres’ Little Diggers kid’s club landed on my desk, I took a gulp of air. 

Not only was this a huge project requiring a lot of logistical and creative brainpower, it also meant having to get into the mind of a little person, something I was not entirely relishing the idea of.

Where to start? Right I was a kid once, what did I like doing? Erm, I can’t remember that far back but I think it involved collecting frogspawn in buckets to show my neighbours, scratching my name onto my dad’s car with a nail and terrorizing my little brother. Not a good start really. 

So I decided to do a bit of market research and speak to some children, a prospect more daunting than the boardroom with Sir Alan. However the reality was very different and I wanted to share a few useful tips for dealing with kids and delivering successful experiential campaigns.

• Keep it simple - but kids are not stupid so treat them with the respect and intelligence that they deserve.
• We live in a punishment/reward society so kids love doing things successfully – quizzes, stickers and balloons are a winning combination! 
• Get messy. Most kids are followed round the house with a dust buster. Anything that results in paint covered hands or fingernails engrained with soil is a winner. 
• They are thirsty for knowledge, but it has to be authentic and dare I say contain a little bit of potential peril, such as meeting a real life beekeeper and seeing live bees in a hive, feeding a bird of prey and getting up close to its talons and sharp beak or holding an array of creepy crawlies and beastie bugs.
• They love to create and nurture, so give them the tools to remain interested beyond the event.
• Reconnect them to nature and they will be engaged, enthused and most importantly happy. 
• Lastly – make it fun, if it doesn’t get you giddy and remind you of your carefree days as a kid then don’t bother, it will bomb! 

I’ve learnt a lot from working with kids in the past few months, it’s definitely not without its challenges but nowhere near as difficult as I perceived and I have to admit that I love it. Perhaps it’s time to crack the animal side?

Written by
Fiona Kirwan 
Managing Partner – Truth PR 

The truth about brand identity

It amuses me (and baffles me) how little understanding so many people have about the role of designers and design agencies. I have been asked so many times – but what do you actually do? So I want to explain one of the most important ways in which design agencies support businesses – through growing and developing brand identity.

So what exactly is brand identity?

Your brand identity is how your company is seen and perceived by consumers and is what differentiates you from your competitors. People are often mistaken in thinking that a brand identity is only a company’s logo. Logos are so important, but there are many elements that make up a company’s identity. Including all of its communications to graphical elements and name. 

Like a person every brand has its own identity. A company’s personality, look and feel can have significant effect on its success. Your brand identity is what connects you to your consumers. Think about this – Why would you choose the more costly and well-known cornflakes brand over supermarkets own? That is Brand identity done well.

Stand out from the crowd.

A strong brand identity is unique, instantly recognisable, consistent and meaningful. A good brand will never go out of date. 

We all like to make good first impressions and this is no different for your brand. Your brand identity should draw in the viewer with its stylish design and pleasing aesthetics, creating a place for the brand in the viewer’s mind. What I’ve learnt is that even a small business can make a big first impression; a powerful identity can make a business seem much bigger than it is. Consequently, consumers are more likely to trust you and give you their business. 

A strong brand identity also creates loyalty. Loyal customers will continuously purchase products from their preferred brands, regardless of price. Ultimately brand loyalty leads to more consistent business, an increase in profits and ultimately a decrease in marketing costs.

“If you think it’s expensive to hire a professional, wait till you hire an amateur.”

A weak brand is inconsistent, unprofessional and fails to connect with consumers. You could have the best product in the world but it will go unnoticed if the right people don’t identify with it. 

I’ve found that businesses with weak brand identities have often decided not to invest in their brand, using amateur, poorly resourced in-house staff or ‘quick fix’ websites. Though these options are cheaper, they often produce a brand identity that is impersonal and badly designed. It can be very detrimental to the company’s reputation and long-term customer relationships and lead to spending more in the long term.

Get it right.

Design agencies are experts at taking the core values of your business and communicating them in the right way for you. Professional designers have years and years of combined experience and have dedicated their lives to creating brands that work. 

What’s just as important as having a stylish and unique design, is the processes that an agency will go through before pen has been put to paper. Truth will put time and effort in to knowing your business inside out and develop a strategic plan for your future. Taking the time to go through these tried-and-tested strategic processes combined with our experience makes for a powerful and successful combination!

Written by
Angela Burnell
Creative Artworker – Truth

Truth Founder, Darren Scott Interview.

This is a copy of a recent interview with Truth Creative Director – Darren Scott by The Salford Type Foundry. 

As STF is dedicated to championing fledgling type designers, education is clearly at its core. With this in mind, our Features section offers a series of interviews with leading typographic practitioners in order to obtain a greater insight into their working procedures. This is the first in that series. STF was fortunate enough to secure an interview with Darren Scott of Darren Scott Typographics at the agency where he is Creative Director, Truth in Manchester.

Darren’s typographic journey began, as detailed below, when, as a student, his first typeface Berlin(er), was chosen by Neville Brody to be included in the seminal publication Fuse (15). From here his compulsion, dedication and desire to produce typefaces saw him submit type designs all over the world, including T-26,FontFont and more recently MyFonts and Hype for Type. His commercially driven output has seen him be commissioned to design typefaces for Fanta and The People’s History Museum.
In this article Darren discusses, amongst other aspects, his type heroes, methodologies and tips for success, whilst demonstrating his vigor and continued delight in all things typographic.

Can you discuss your typographic heroes, in terms of the work that inspires you, both historically and contemporarily and the inspiration this has on your own practice?

Firstly I think it is really important to have heroes, someone that inspires you to achieve more and want to be better. My heroes were always typographers and type designers, from the age of 15, when I first saw Neville Brody’s work for Face Magazine. It made me realise that type could be illustrative and decorative and communicate a whole lot more than what the words were actually saying, and also that typography was about controlling how messages were read and controlling the emotion behind the narrative. Brody’s work was always so decorative and impactful, it pushed the layout to it’s limit. This then led me to the work ofJan Tschichold, then Constructivism, Dada and the Bauhaus.

I obsessed about the rules, the grid, white space and the importance of craft. Then David Carson came along and tore up the rules and stuck them all back together again with a PrittStick and called it ‘Grunge’. This changed everything, the rules went out the window and suddenly everyone was a designer as craft didn’t matter anymore.

I quickly became bored of this lack of structure and sought influence in the work of Erik Spiekermann at Meta Design, the Germanic obsession with the grid and precision typography really inspired me. It was around 1995 by this point and Neville Brody became probably the biggest influence on my future career path when he chose my Berlin[er] typeface for inclusion of FUSE 15 – the experimental digital typography collaboration. (I decided to put the brackets on the er of Berlin[er] as the name Berliner was already taken by an older Erik Spiekerman typeface).

This opportunity coupled with the invaluable guidance of David Crow (another massive influence) really inspired me to draw my own typefaces and not settle for what was available to hand at the time, which at the time as a student was system fonts, and a purchased copy of FF Meta which a fellow student had carelessly left on a shared Mac in the Salford University Mac suite. Meta is such a beautifully crafted font and a real icon of 1990s typography for me.

On graduation I sent a few crude fonts I had been working on toCarlos Segura in Chicago, I remember it well as his email was the first email I ever received as an employee of McCann-Erickson. He offered to take my shoddily cobbled together ramblings of typefaces and market them via his new type foundry T-26. He offered to sell all 6 once I had finished off the basic character set of 256 glyphs. Looking back at them now they are very badly produced and the character shapes are full of basic errors. But I quickly learnt from that and continued to learn, develop and release fonts.

During this period I was introduced to the late Phil Grimshaw, who was a legendary type designer and master calligrapher. Phil took me under his wing and we attended the ATypi Conference together in Reading where Phil introduced me to some of the most influential typographers and type designers of our times. People like Erik Spiekermann, Lucas DeGroot, Matthew Carter, Timothy Donaldson and Alan Kitching to name a few. I also remember watching Adrian Frutiger talk about his Univers typeface at ATypi in Lyons France. That was a real seminal moment for me as he is beyond a legend, he is a God, and the audience hung on every word he said as if it was his last. The one hero that I wish I could have worked with is Herb Lubalin, he defined American typography, his work was so ground-breakingly beautiful and reminiscent of that period of glorious American advertising.

In recent times I have been lucky enough to have some of my heroes produce numbers for our birthday posters, with Milton Glaser designing a 4 and Wim Crouwel designed a 5. Also Si Scott who does some amazing work with hand-drawn type produced a 2 and Supermundane produced my favourite so far which is a wonderfully illustrative 3, which is a real thing of beauty.

What gives you the greatest pleasure in type design? 

The greatest pleasure I take from designing fonts is firstly the achievement of working out what is essentially solving a great big puzzle, but then seeing how people interpret it and the context in which they use it. Only by drawing type yourself do you really understand the skill and craft required to create a perfect character shape, like the New Baskerville 2 or the Gill Sans lowercase g, things of such beauty, an impossible dream. I once spent a day redrawing the Pistilli ampersand just to walk in his shoes and understand the process and level of craftsmanship that went into producing such a seductive character. I remember I blogged about the whole experience and a young American Designer contacted me to ask if I would send her the artwork to have tattooed on her back. I did, and she did!

Why is type design still relevant?

Of all the design crafts typography has to be the most important. As a designer, it is the most powerful tool at your disposal and one you will use every day of your life. The ability to set type and control the connotations of the message is to control the minds of the reader. An appropriately chosen typeface can make copy appear sad, happy, aggressive, exciting, modern or traditional – it has that power. When used effectively it is without doubt the most powerful communication tool available to a designer. That is why in my opinion the most influential designers in history were also typographers or type designers.

Any key tips for budding type designers?

The one thing that progressed the quality of my type design was trying to master the drawing tools and in particular Bezier curves. These are a very important thing to invest time in mastering. Simply knowing where to place points, and how many, really improved the quality of my character shapes when designing, helping to speed up my glyph production.

Can you explain your processes of making, by which I mean how do you begin to design a typeface, where does the inspiration come from for the original characters, and how do you produce them?

Typically font design for me was always about getting things out of my system. Not being able to find the font that had the exact emotion I wanted, so I drew it. This led to further internal conflicts with myself as the process of designing any font is a long intimate one that involves many hours of spacing, kerning pairs and adjusting side bearings. You spend a lot of time doing the technical aspects and you soon disconnect yourself from the emotional and visual qualities of the character shapes. You spend a lot of time focusing on the space between the letters rather than the actual letters themselves.

This means you start to look at your own finished typefaces as pairs of letters and as character shapes and it becomes hard to disconnect from this and see the emotion again. This means using your own fonts can become slightly uncomfortable and frustrating. This meant that once I finished and tested a font, I didn’t really use them within my own design work.

However, it does give you a heightened respect for the truly great fonts like Gill Sans, New Baskerville, Frutiger, Franklin Gothic, Univers to name a few classics, and the truly great designers like Erik Spiekermann, Jonathon Hoefler and Matthew Carter who continue to produce ‘Classics’. You take more pleasure from using other peoples fonts once you really understand the amount of skill and effort that goes into producing them.

I soon realised what really gave me the most pleasure was seeing how other people interpreted my fonts and the contexts in which they used them. Once your fonts start popping up everywhere you quickly start to realise whether you achieved what you wanted or that you have created something completely different to what you intended.
Corporate fonts are very different as you are typically responding to a brief. It is a problem solving process rather than a personal piece of expression.

Usually with a headline font the client will have a basic idea of what they want and may even provide basic sketches or even a set of crude digital characters. It tends to involve a lot of back and forth with clients (who tend to be creative agencies) and with their clients too (Corporations or brands). I tend to use a paper and pencil very little to draw fonts, not because I think this is wrong, it just isn’t the way I work. I used to draw a lot of the characters in Adobe illustrator first then import them into Fontographer in the early days. I see character shapes as exactly that, geometric shapes based on basic shapes like a circle and a square, these can be manipulated more effectively digitally. I was always inspired by the simplicity of Futura, it is an alphabet of circles and squares, it is über efficient.

I don’t come from a calligraphic background and I don’t really have those skills, I wish that I did, but I really don’t have the patience for it. The thought of designing a script scares the hell out of me, and I guess that is why you don’t really see great script fonts anymore, it is a dying craft. Once I started working in FontLab it became so much easier to draw directly into FontLab and go from there.

Read the full interview in context HERE