Pot Kettle Black | Rebrand

Coffee, brunch and breakfast restaurant Pot Kettle Black began life in 2013 with one venue in the Grade II listed Barton Arcade. Their original art nouveau-inspired identity responded to their grand surroundings.

But when we started working with Pot Kettle Black, their founders, Mark and Jon, were considering expansion. They needed to articulate their story to drive their growth. The platform we created directed everything from their pitch to landlords to their products and culture.

It was only natural that the identity would need a refresh, too. Rather than taking inspiration from the original surroundings, the identity needed to embody the new true north of the business. Our new identity preserved some of the characteristics of art nouveau typography but also drew from a mid-century style book. We chose the typeface for its quirks and hand-drawn imperfections. We sought to capture the sunniness and warmth at the heart of their new brand platform through an almost baked colour palette.

 

 

Morro | Rebrand

Jessup Partnerships has built residential developments across the Midlands for three decades. When you’ve been in business that long, it’s easy to become known for your past rather than your future. Come 2023, and the business had new investment, a fresh leadership team and a bold vision. They wanted to build a brand around where they were heading.

Jessup Partnerships asked Squad to rename and rebrand the business. We took inspiration from their leadership team’s vision to create better tomorrows for people and communities across the Midlands by developing sustainable, affordable homes. So, ‘Tomorrow’ became the idea that inspired their brand platform, new name and branding.

 

How to ace the creative interview

I’ve been asked and have answered this question many times. My answers have typically been thorough and imbued with common sense (hopefully). And honestly, they’re probably very similar responses to other creative leads. This time, I find myself answering in a woollier fashion. It is perhaps less functional, specific or numerical. Gone are the days of showing me your eight best pieces of work, twelve pieces. And I can’t speak to what other agencies are looking for, but I can say that, from my perspective, we’re looking at so much more than the work. And what I’m looking for is highly specific to how we see the world and how we work.

I’ll start with the more obvious helpful pointers.

We’re looking for talent. So put only your best work in your folio. I mean, your absolute best, knock you on your backside, shit. 

I’m after ideas and craft — divorcing the two seems like an archaic construct. 

Edit, edit, edit and weed out the merely good. 

And treat your folio like a piece of work in itself.

Sequence your work — listen to a whole album (preferably on vinyl) and savour the order in which the artist has laid down the songs; you’ll learn a lot. So pace your folio to take the viewer on a journey with you.

Learn to talk about that journey.

Learn to enjoy talking about that journey.

And here’s a big clue on how to make that more relaxed and work for you: do your homework.

Research the agencies and work out who you want to talk to.

Then, research some more. Research the agency’s work, people, and process. Find old press releases and go deeper than what’s on their homepage. Sure, this can help you better butter a few egos, but you’re looking for a potential connection in how you see things. The conversation should flow. And that’s where the magic happens, or at least, it does for me.

It’s about culture, a shared one. 

The meeting shouldn’t feel like a slide show or an interview. It’s a discussion.

What truly gets me excited is when I can see that a person is interesting or interested. 

It doesn’t mean you must be flinging yourself from planes and showboating to the world how interesting you are on Instagram or Tik Tok.

What are you curious about? How do you watch and translate the world? What are you reading that I should be reading? What are you listening to? Are you making music, film, or photography in your spare time? Do you make anything else? Collect something? Obsess about something? Podcast about it?

It is far beyond, ‘I like running, staying in, going out, and watching films.’ And if that’s what your CV currently sounds like, I suggest you might want to look at that. 

People will employ, want to work with, and want to be with interesting people.

Hopefully, that sounds more interesting than bringing me eight bits of work.

Note. If you want to read some top-notch thorough advice, then look no further than this 

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7072848818672656384/

 

Bruntwood | Alberton Identity

The Alberton is the workplace revolutionised. Dark and Satanic, it certainly isn’t. A modern reimagining of Manchester’s Victorian cotton mills, with world-leading amenities within its walls, it will become the flagship of Bruntwood Works’ Pioneer programme.

The Alberton will embed physical and mental well-being into daily working lives, featuring the UK’s highest workspace pool within its ground-breaking rooftop holistic wellness centre. Overlooking the River Irwell, the ground floor will offer the best of Manchester’s food and drink scene, pumping life back into this part of town and the banks of the river.

Bruntwood tasked us with creating a brand to connect the building with prospects, agents, and local and national media.

We captured the building’s position as the workplace revolutionised and used it to shape the narrative platform for all marketing activity. Our visual identity embodies the architecture and materials palette of the building scheme. We created a custom version of Bruntwood’s primary typeface so the typography could be cut into the fabric of the building, such as the oxidised copper sheets — which, in turn, influenced our colour palette. The mark, quite literally, reflects the building’s situation on the banks of the River Irwell.

The building will open in early 2025.