Summer is nearly here, the perfect time to let you know what we’ve been up to here at Grain Creative. Apart from lots of lovely projects for our clients, we’ve been creating focus for Grain itself. Looking at our clients, our design and our own interests, we find a common thread of entrepreneurial thinking. That’s … Read more

Founded in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies, 1% for the Planet unites member companies, which all donate 1% of their turnover to environmental charities of their choice. When we first heard about this Vermont-based organisation in 2008, we thought it was a great idea and … Read more

We’ve asked our entrepreneurially-minded clients how we make their lives easier. Watch this video to find out!

We have been interviewed for the report from eMarketer on “UK Affluents: Definitely Digital, but Hard to Target” which has just been released for their subscribers. The paper focuses on three key questions: > Who are affluents in the UK, and how big is the market? > How do UK affluents use and engage with … Read more

We’re so excited…we just can’t hide it! We just launched the website for Amersham & Wycombe College. We got to know the College well during the website design and development, and we are impressed by its hands-on, ‘work-ready’ ethos, and its industry links to places like the Next Gen Skills Academy, Pinewood Studios and the … Read more

We are delighted to announce the launch of Pro Formula – a name that we recently created for Tesco for their new hair, bath and body range. ProFormula is to health and beauty as Tesco Finest is to the food category. Pitched to the specialist toiletries consumer, the new brand name offers a personal, indulgent, … Read more

Christoph and I went to an inspiring talk last night by Vernon Hill, founder of Metro Bank and John Rosling, UK CEO of Shirlaws coaching. The topic was ‘Business Growth in a No-Growth Economy’. For Vernon, that meant growth in a no-growth sector, banking. His accomplishments include being number 4, right behind Warren Buffet, in … Read more

Our designer James Cassidy has been busy with his baking.  

After working on a project for the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, the idea of being an entrepreneur has been swilling around my brain for the last few months. The idea of having a small unique business is an exciting and seemingly very satisfying one. With a bigger push from the government for people to start … Read more

Yes: Gucci, leather and saving the environment do fit together – no odd one out here. Lucy Siegle’s article ‘Luxury Leather and the Amazon’ mentions that 95% of Gucci products are made in Tuscany. The leather is sourced from a ‘deforestation-free zone’. An interesting article for everyone interested in sustainable luxury.

During our ongoing research on apps, we stumbled across this beautiful one from Nasa called Earth Now. Try making the world spin as fast as it can go.  

Our resident future branding expert (now 6 years old) is trying his hand at advertising. The latest is this poster for the “Best shop in town” with enthusiastic customer endorsement.  

When we moved office last year, I took a fresh look at some documents we had issued and received over the past years. Reading the language which is used day-by-day in our branding world, I find a lot of it to be militaristic. We talk about “targeting” our market and we “bullet-point” our recommendations. We … Read more

Recently we have been thinking about entrepreneurship, both through the eyes of our entrepreneurial clients and as entrepreneurs ourselves. So this paragraph from Zeitoun by Dave Eggers caught my eye: …those eyes, holding the light they did, had seized her. They were dream-filled, but discerning, too, assessing – the eyes of an entrepreneur. He could … Read more

A wonderful collision of bananas and Pac-Man…eating lunch and the Star Spangled Banner…playing piano on stair steps. It’s MaKey MaKey. Check it out!