A Point In Time

Time has been playing on our mind recently, not in an existential crisis way, but because we’ve been working with CBRE, the world’s leading real estate services company, on a series of clocks that will help bring their One Team behaviours to the fore.

The project started with a series of focus groups comprising representatives across their UK business, to explore their five One Team behaviours, what they mean to them and what the solution needed to communicate.

From the focus groups it was clear that client service, collaboration and face-to-face interactions were key to all of the rules, which focused our thinking towards concepts that could be used within the shared spaces, especially meeting rooms.

Our solution was to create 40 bespoke clocks, which have features that highlight some of the One Team behaviours. For instance the markers between 11 o’clock and 12 o’clock are emphasised in CBRE green as a reminder to finish or leave five minutes early to ensure you’re on time for the next meeting. Branding is kept subtle across all of the designs, with the CBRE green used as an accent colour.

The clocks are now hung in meeting rooms and break out areas across CBRE’s UK offices.

It was a project with a solution that required experience and knowledge outside our usual work but we were unfazed and ready to jump out of the printed brochure.

March - Drum-roll please

Drum-roll please We’re thrilled to announce we are ranked no.1 in the UK for our financial performance, in the top 15 in the peer poll and just outside the top 30 in the client recommendations! The Drum research report reviews the UK design industry, showing growth in the design sector. Agencies are ranked based on financial performance, client satisfaction and peer recommendation, the results are categorised by staff size. We would like to thank The Drum, our clients and peers for their support!

Box Park Croydon If you’re sporting a rugged beard, ride a fixed gear bike or sport a pair of dark rimmed specs then you’ll already be aware of (and visit regularly) Box Park in Shoreditch. But what you may not know is that there are grand plans to bring Box Park to Croydon. Gavin Elliott is the designer behind the alternative mall, which will sit just outside East Croydon Station. This is good news for our friends at Croydon Bid who we are working with to help communicate how they are helping to transform Croydon into a more vibrant and buzzing place.

A T-what now? Here at TTP we love a bit of nostalgia, so when our design team stumbled across a short video remembering design pre-computers, it became quite the talking point. The phrase 'In my day….' was used, people looked baffled and Simon gave the team a brief history of design with his T-Square as a prop - for the younger readers a T Square is a technical drawing instrument used to draw straight lines. Take a look yourself here and see if you can stir up some fond or not so fond memories.

Challenge Charlie: 3 Peaks Challenge Charlie  is back! The lads of Oxted Hockey Club will soon be taking on the gruelling endurance event that is the 3 peaks challenge, but not in the balmy Summer months-too easy. They're undertaking the challenge in a few weeks while the peaks are still snow capped!! Here at TTP we have lent a designers helping hand with the logo, t-shirt design and website. The funds raised will help to build a much needed clubhouse for the club, the funds are also being shared with the RNLI. If you would like to show your support here is the just giving page. To find out more about Challenge Charlie visit the main site here.

It’s The Climb This month our studio manager Will, embarked on a quest to conquer one of London's iconic structures, the 02 Arena. Here are a few little fact-lets he picked up; the 02 is exactly 365 meters in circumference representing the days of the year, the dome is at a height of 52 meters representing the weeks of the year along with 12 spires on the roof for the 12 months of the year. Interesting huh? And it hasn’t stopped him singing Miley Cyrus ‘The Climb’ ever since.

Winchester Geese London is full of little secrets and our home of Borough is no different. Nestled just off Redcross way is the Crossbones park, a post medieval burial ground for Winchester Geese' (otherwise known as ahem “ladies of the night”). Now the space is being re-developed by Bankside Open Spaces Trust who are turning the site into a garden for all to enjoy. If you would like to support this wonderful project then you can donate here. If you would like to find out more about the history of the area then you can read 'The Southwark Mysteries' by local author John Constable who was inspired by the spirit of a Winchester Goose!

April Fools  Don't worry we have not played any tricks on you..... There have been a few flying round the office, from icons swapped round and giant cursors on screen. Some people take April fools seriously take a look at a few of these crazy pranks.

Celebrating with a bang

Not too long ago the Transport Systems Catapult launched the All Aboard Competition, a national school competition challenging children and young adults to make it easier for those with a visual or hearing impairment to travel by bus.

We branded the competition with a quirky and vibrant take on the existing TSC IM campaign, using hand-drawn icons and the trademark TSC blue to create something a little more “down with the kids” as they say.

The competition featured on national TV, with Baroness Kramer; Minister of State Transport, helping to drive the competition forward.

The deadline crept up (just like it used to with homework) and before we could say “accessible transport” it was time for the finalists to exhibit their work at the Big Bang Fair. We equipped the TSC team with everything from roller banners to silicon wristbands (which went like hot cakes!), adding to the excitement of the event and giving the finalists the platform their hard work deserved.

Baroness Kramer took to the stage to announce the winner; congratulations to Daria Butza with her ingenious idea for a vibrating wristband. Our on screen graphics provided the perfect backdrop for the presentation and prize giving.

The competition may now be over but there’s no rest for the Transport Systems Catapult, ever the busy bees they’re now gearing up for their second Imagine Festival, which will bring together some big names in a series of talks, events and workshops exploring the future of Intelligent Mobility. We’re already working on an update of the website we designed last year, so watch this space!

Je ne sais quoi!

Bonjour! Et voici notre infolettre de janvier! And for those of you less au fait with the language of love we said "Hello! And here is our January newsletter!". Our love of language has been sparked through our recent work with L’Ecole Internationale Franco-Anglaise (EIFA), London’s premier bilingual school for children aged 3-11. This unique school's curriculum is taught equally in both French and English, which is something they were keen to reflect in their new branding.

The logo incorporates two traditional symbols representing England and France - The Lion Rampant and the Fleur-de-lys - both commonly recognised with the heritage to each country. Our illustration uses clean lines and block colour to give the two traditional symbols a more modern twist.

The layering of the colours not only show the combination of the two countries but also create the richer purple. The colours themselves are sympathetic to the current building (which is an exquisite listed building!) but are bold enough to establish a unique brand for EIFA beyond this confine.

We have then used the layering of the colours in a range of stationery templates for the brand which helps to unify the designs and strengthens the identity.

Once the logo was complete we created brand guidelines, outlining logo usage, typography and colours. On all projects we recommend guidelines as it keeps consistency and defines rules and regulations for the brand.

We have also created adverts for the prestigious French magazine Ici Londres the Educational supplement in The Guardian and Tatler magazine, to promote EIFA’s new secondary school opening in September. We have used the brand colours as a strong theme, creating bands to structure the page and build recognition.

See below the old EIFA logo and our design:

3D Reid - Hot off the 'Word'press

Award winning architects 3DReid came to us last year to elevate their website. They wanted a site that mirrors the quality of their work whilst still retaining a simple and clean style.

The site is uncluttered and gets straight tothepoint (see what we did there!) with an impactful homepage showcasing a full screen carousel of their choicest projects.

The site includes an extensive project library with a responsive masonry style layout. Dynamic filters let the viewer shuffle the deck down to their chosen category with minimum fuss and maximum effect.

With a simple menu system that allows you to reach any page in three clicks it is easy-to-navigate for users and simple to update for 3DReid. The site is also optimised for mobile so looks just as good no matter what phone or tablet you are using.

Graham Hickson-Smith, Head of Marketing & Business Development, said:

“We’ve worked with tothepoint on our branding initiatives for over a decade, which means they understand the culture of the practice implicitly. The design team, led by James, quickly assimilated our vision into a practical and workable solution that delivers exactly what we wanted on day one. A clean, timeless site that is easy to update and looks fresh. It shows off our work perfectly. They continue to be a joy to work with - we don’t view the tothepoint gang as an agency, but as mates who are great at what they do.”

All built around the Wordpress framework, this site shows how the popular CMS can be a solid base for innovative web layouts and functions. And that’s the beauty of Wordpress. With the right minds behind it, a global newtwork of developers, plug-ins and support, it really can be bent to your will. It provides a malleable, future-proof system that can be moulded to suit most people’s website needs.

Visit www.3dreid.com to see the site for yourself. And if you are looking to refresh or reinvent your digital communications, give James a call or drop him an email.

Flippin February

Flipping Heck As Shrove Tuesday descended upon London so did the sporting event of the year. That's right, you guessed it; the annual pancake race in Borough Market. Glenn, Charlie, Sarah and Will were the fortunate team that gained the honour to represent TTP (Tip Top Pancakes). The race had it all, thrills and spills and victory (sadly just not for us!). Even though we didn't win, the event was a great success and our friends at Better Bankside raised a lot of money to support Painting for Hospitals. If you want to donate here is the link.

Valentines day quiz This month's competition has come to an end. It's been emotional and we all feel that we have grown as people. The winner by a landslide is Stephen Young from The Drum. Stephen was the only person outside of this office to score the perfect ten. Look out for more updates from the quote bank in the future! The quizzes are still here if you'd like a go for fun... no more prizes...

Peas in a Pod This month there has been a large amount of coverage regarding driverless cars coming to the roads (and footpaths) of Britain. It's good to see that our friends over at Transport Systems Catapult are championing the Lutz Pathfinder Pod, even asking us for a hand with the livery design. The Pathfinder is built in Coventry by engineering firm RDM Group and is due to hit the pedestrianised streets of Milton Keynes in the spring. Putting great innovation back into Britain has led to this design creating a lot of global media and government interest, and the designs are now being shown in Singapore this week.

Jem's Half Marathon As you may know from our 'Challenge Charlie' events last summer we have quite a few runners here at TTP. One of our senior designers and Brighton resident, Jem, took part in the Vitality Half Marathon on the Sussex Coast. He didn't manage to beat his PB, but he did manage to overtake a runner who was competing on his 80th Birthday!

Tweets to make you Titter Bringing brand personality to workspaces is what we do best; most recently we've been branding offices across the pond in the Big Apple. The use of clever typography play on the tweets' subject. By using cut vinyl it is a cost effective way to bring life to bland walls and add interest to a space. To see our work on bringing personality to the workplace, click here.