This photo is a visual tidbit from our recent visit to Kensington Palace, current home of Kate and William, to hear about the business case of the recent, uber-impressive renovation. The talk was organised by the Harvard Business School alumni club (no we didn’t go there but a friend did). Historic Royal Palaces, who also … Read more

In the Don Draper days – despite the fact you couldn’t see your hand before your face for cigarette smoke and whiskey fumes – life was smoother for the ad man. But here we are, forty odd years older and wiser and advertising as well as branding have moved on in ways unimaginable back then! … Read more

One of our designers showed me a really cool feature in Firefox  – right click the screen to inspect element, then click ‘3D View’ at bottom right and you see – ta da! – all of the layers of code on a site. This is the kind of thing that I love.  

A rose by any other name, of course is the crux of all decisions made by any brand manager or marketing director: will it, would it, could it possibly smell as sweet? Lend me your imagination for a moment or two and let’s just pretend that way back, it was decided to call a rose … Read more

We all know that Google pretty much rules the world and that we’re very dependent on it. The very transformation of a noun (‘Google’) into a verb (‘to Google’) means that it’s important – a company is becoming an action, something that we do, and for most of us that’s something we do many times … Read more

What better time to come across a new website called Make It British: passionate about products made in Britain. As of this moment, Team GB currently stand at 3rd in the Olympic ratings with 25 gold medals. I am sure that founder of Make It British, Kate Hills, would be happy for that pro-GB spirit … Read more

Someone I met recently at a networking meeting was intrigued to learn my business was luxury branding. What exactly did that mean, he wanted to know. Well, like most of us faced with a question as to what we actually do all day, my mind went temporarily but totally blank: how to instantly summarise? Then, … Read more

I love what the guys at Animal Systems have done with Chirp by using computer generated sound bites to share information like web links, contacts and photos. Beats pairing your phone with a new acquaintance before sharing your details by Bluetooth. The opportunities for brands seem endless. As nice as the robo bird song though … Read more

We are delighted to announce the launch of the website for Main Squeeze. After having named the new brand, designed its brand identity and designed orange juice and apple juice packaging the brand needed a distinctive online presence. The website has been launched in English and Chinese and is expecting further products to be added … Read more

Labels and Labeling magazine asked our views on QR codes…and we gave our frank response!

Yes you can! 1% for the Planet, through which we donate 1% of our turnover to the Woodland Trust and the Centre for Alternative Technology, has put together an album of 41 tracks. All proceeds go to environmental charities. Contact us to get your code to download the album for free (we’ve paid for it … Read more

Thought we’d share a pic of our new digs at 12 Melcombe Place, Marylebone.  

Facebook has had a lot of press over the past couple of weeks because of the IPO. This story from May 2009 has been popular lately and I thought I’d show a few more original Facebooks from Exeter, illustrating where Mark Zuckerberg’s idea for the name probably originated. And yes, I can admit that I … Read more

A quick recommendation on how to spend these sunny days – Ainsley’s Ultimate Barbecue Bible – though perhaps more fitting for the weekend than on Monday morning – fire up that barbecue and enjoy!

“That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.” Yes, but how would sales figures look? We have just finished our third naming project for Tesco – in as many weeks! It will be a few months before we can reveal anything else…