A FORMER finalist in an annual challenge to find Teesside’s most promising new entrepreneur is urging businesses to enter this year for the “great opportunities” it offers.

Mark Easby, a co-founder of Better Brand Agency, says the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s If We Can You Can Challenge brings money-can’t-buy benefits for start-ups and people with a new business idea.

The Stokesley-based entrepreneur said plenty of exciting new businesses and bright ideas existed on Teesside and owners should have the confidence to enter.

Mark said:

“It’s been four years since we were finalists in If We Can You Can and we are still seeing the value of the feedback we received and the network of contacts we made today.”

The challenge is sponsored by Yorkshire Bank and run in partnership with the Evening Gazette. It is open to any early stage business in any sector.

A shortlist of eight entrants will be invited to present their business to a panel of experts before three finalists go head to head in a public vote for the chance to win a prize worth up to £17,000 in investment and professional advice.

Since reaching the final in 2009, Better has grown to 12 people and counts brands including PD Ports, Teesside and Northumbria Universities and Yarm School among its clients.

As well as providing strategic branding, marketing, creative and digital services, Better is about to re-launch its private online community product.

Mark added:

“We entered the challenge soon after starting and since then have become great supporters of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s work promoting entrepreneurship, connecting people, building knowledge and sharing experience.”

Last year he was a judge for the challenge which was won by Paul Burgum, pictured, of BCT Aspire.

Enter at www.ifwecanyoucan.co.uk

In 2012 we heard that the government was strongly considering the removal of design-related subjects from the school curriculum with the introduction of the new EBacc. The concern was that at its very worst this could result in the death of UK creative industries, which currently employ around 2 million people.

A talk entitled ‘The Next Creative Generation’ at Cheltenham Design Festival addressed this topic and encouraged debate amongst attendees, all of whom are engaged in some kind of way in the UK creative world. Speaking at this talk were Sir Christopher Frayling – Professor at RCA, Tim Lindsay – CEO of D&AD and Adrian Shaughnessy – writer for Eye, Creative Review and Design Observer (Chair) – three extremely passionate and inspirational personalities.

Sir Christopher Frayling kicked off the discussion by sharing a piece of personal memorabilia from his school days – a woven square, which he has kept since he made it at school. He used this to demonstrate how design work can provide a sense of achievement, recounting the tale of the creation of the square, and sharing his belief that other subjects within school struggled to replicate that sense of achievement without a real physical outcome.

For me design always encouraged freedom of thought and the ability to create.

At school I struggled to concentrate in “academic” lessons, but found my passion in creating art from collections of shells or splurges of colour. The freedom to create was magical but most importantly encouraged! My art teachers were full of passion for what they did and genuinely enjoyed sharing the art and design love. This is the key to why design as a subject is special – it’s infectious and fun! I believe schools have a responsibility to grow the personalities of children and encourage their individualism.

This is what art and design does. The report on Higher Education written by Lord Browne focusses heavily on the importance of Science and Engineering as the core of the education curriculum. Design is not treated with this importance. The talk highlighted the ongoing battle that people working in the creative sector have to prove that their industry is worthy.

A large part of this battle is due to how design is taught in schools. In 1988 design became a mandatory subject, later became a core subject and now is only an option. Quite often the choice to study design is frowned up as it is wrongly perceived as an easy option as opposed to science or mathematics for example.

The battle is ongoing. ‘Have you had a hard day drawing pictures?’ If design is removed from the education system it will have such a negative impact on children’s imaginations, creative thinking and the curiosity to not just accept the given but question it, will be taken away. I believe that if I had not has design taught in early years I would not have become the person I am today.

The freedom of thought is a such huge positive and creative thinking should be encouraged.

Are born with a creative mindset or are you taught it? I think everyone is born with the ability to think and learn creatively but it is whether you nurture and encourage this mindset. I don’t necessarily think that the quality is taught and I believe its not a choice that you can make either.

If you respond well to creative thinking it is then your choice to realise this and teach yourself more about design. If schools didn’t teach design then maybe it is this realisation that wouldn’t be discovered and everybody would have the same academic learning brain.

A blog post from Fiona Plews, a member of our design team. 

The website was launched to support the growth of the organisation, and support the marketing for their leisure centre including Billingham Forum, Thornaby Pavilion, Splash and Tees Barrage.

The website, built on a heavily customised bespoke version of WordPress, includes tailored designs for each of their leisure centres, full CMS capabilities, custom activities search and manageable promotional areas. The website is supported by SEO and social media integration. Find out more at www.teesactive.co.uk.

Tees Active (Billingham Forum) - Website Design & Development Project

Tees Active (Splash) - Website Design & Development Project

Bespoke Activities Search Function:

Tees Active (Activities Search) - Website Design & Development Project

Having recently returned from the 2013 Cheltenham Design Festival, it’s safe to say I’ll be looking to return next year. The festival itself was focussed around the theme of ‘Who cares about design?” and had some inspiring talks, that filled me with the confidence, passion and urge to create innovative, fresh and unexpected designs that make people smile.

I have always believed that good design should make people happy and leave them feeling motivated when they interact with it. Ultimately that’s how we, as designers, engage with our audiences and build relationships.

If a design has no character or soul, then it’s cold, lifeless and meaningless. Who is going to engage with something so uninspiring?

The talk that highlighted this sentiment the most, and reinforced the importance of soul and happiness within design, was given by Bruce Duckworth, founding partner of Turner Duckworth design consultancy. Throughout his talk he spoke of engaging with audiences by consistently delighting them. He showed the audience a Christmas card that was designed by Turner Duckworth with the intention of sending it to their suppliers and clients.

The brief was given to both their London and San Francisco studios with the remit that it should incorporate somehow both offices. The solution was, in my eyes, brilliant. The recipient was presented with a card that when rotated revealed the London skyline and the San Francisco skyline. When I first saw the card, I didn’t instantly see the beauty of it, however after a closer look I saw the unexpected idea. The design uses very clever but simple negative space to create both city skylines.

What I loved most about the design was that I didn’t instantly see the clever idea behind the Christmas card. However, when the card rotated to reveal the clever and simple idea, it made me smile and engage with the talk even more, as I was instantly made more curious to discover more about Turner Duckworth.

In my opinion this is how all design should perform. It creates engagement, and builds relationships.

It gave me extended confidence that the way I see design was reinforced by a world leading design consultancy that are achieving results following this approach. In my opinion design should be about creating experiences and engaging an audience through their experiences. I’m not saying that this is the only way to approach all design, however it’s an avenue that works and proves very successful.

I believe there is a lot of design out in the world that lacks thought and imagination which results in an end product that doesn’t engage. Although in contrast I do believe that it’s important that your client is open minded and creative and trusts you as an agency, otherwise the creativity and idea gets diluted down to something that no one will truly engage with.

Bruce Duckworth spoke of the Turner Duckworth design approach ‘Delightful Simplicity’ and illustrated the execution of this by showing the audience a packaging design for Waitrose Honey. He showed how simple the packaging could be with the design displaying only the words “Waitrose Honey” and described this as simplicity in its purest form – there was nothing else to it other than what the audience needed to know.

He then changed the slide to reveal the actual packaging where the team at Turner Duckworth had made a small design addition transforming the ‘e’ in honey to a bee. This highlighted how simplistic packaging design can be when teamed with a clever hook, successfully engages with the consumer.

This instantly changed the emotional reaction to the design for everyone in the audience making them smile and engage with the design on a much more emotive level. He explained that this design now subconsciously engages with the audience in a stronger way and forms stronger positive opinions of the Waitrose brand. The physical reaction of the audience was an example of the effects this packaging would have on the consumer. In my opinion it’s an example of simple and effective customer engagement at its finest.

When we’re out shopping at the supermarket, how much packaging do we really engage with? I feel most of it is considered design that works, but could it (and should it) be more?

Are we really pushing branding and challenging an audience in order to keep them intrigued?

I don’t think we are, there’s a lot of safe design out there, however who am I to say it doesn’t work. It does work, otherwise these brands wouldn’t be making millions of pounds and retaining the same customers.

However are these customers truly engaged with that brand, and is there a long lasting customer relationship. Only brands and their customers can have the answer to that. The Coca Cola case study by Turner Duckworth is an example of how pushing branding beyond what is safe has incredible results for the brand and the relationship with the consumer.

The following images are a case study of work created for Coca Cola North America by Turner Duckworth. The team were asked to reinvent the visual side of the Coca Cola brand, but retain strong, identifiable brand recognition.

The above image is a visual representation of how Coca Cola appeared in North America before Turner Duckworth began working with them. Although the brand was very consistent it had become cluttered and over engineered which in turn gave it a dated aesthetic.

Turner Duckworth applied their ‘Delightful simplicity’ approach to the brand refresh, stripping back the brand elements to their most basic forms. However, Bruce Duckworth again discussed how simplicity alone is not enough, and that what was needed was the addition of character and personality.

These examples are just a small handful of how they continually, creatively executed the Coca Cola brand by focussing on coherence, as opposed to tight consistency which was how the Coca Cola brand was previously treated. As a result sales of Coca Cola significantly increased following this brand refresh, and sales are continuing to climb due to the evolutionary work Turner Duckworth continue to produce.

Sales did significantly increase, and so did the relationship with the consumer improve and become a stronger bond. As the brand is creatively coherent, nothing looks the same for long. Designs are regularly changed and updated to keep the brand fresh and unexpected. This therefore creates packaging that is limited edition, their physical product becomes a collectible item. They now have an audience that is emotively engaged with their brand.

For me, this case study and the others presented show how simplicity and original unexpected creativity forge strong people based relationships for brands.

I believe design is all about making people smile and creating a happy brand experience. When we do this as designers, and we follow our own design philosophies, we can create great timeless work.

The inspirational mindset that I gathered from this talk has already started to have a strong positive impact on the way that I will approach creative briefs in the future. Although I have always been passionate about simplicity within design, Bruce Duckworth has created an enhanced realisation that simplicity needs to be teamed with a clever, delightful and engaging hook.

You can follow High Tide on twitter at @hightidetees to keep updated. We’re currently working on the website which will be live very soon at www.hightidefoundation.co.uk, but in the meantime watch this video which was created to be shown in schools and inspire.

Can you help shape tomorrow’s local workforce?

• Do you want to engage with the wider industrial community on Teesside to deliver greater training and employment prospects?
• Could you raise the aspirations of young people living near the port, and equip them with the knowledge and skills to establish a career in marine related industries on Teesside?
• Could your business raise the level of employment opportunities for local children?
• Does your organisation have the resources and the desire to support local schools and colleges in the delivery of industry led training schemes?
• Do you believe in investing in tomorrow, today?

If you do, and would like to be part of a training revolution on Teesside, then sign up today at info@hightidefoundation.co.uk.

As the award winning agency continues to build its client base across the UK, the new appointment is a direct result of the company securing a number of high profile brand communication and digital projects including the development of a series of crowd funding platforms for Carlton & Co.

Laura, who joined the team in January, brings to the agency nearly twenty years of experience in strategic marketing, successfully managing the full marketing mix for companies such as Heinz, Cadbury, and Procter & Gamble, in addition to agency side experience with dunnhumby. She is an expert in both local marketing implementation as well as global strategy development, and has a real passion for creating that all-important emotional link between a brand or business and it’s customer.

Mark Easby, Managing Director, said:

“Laura will be a valuable addition to the team bringing extensive knowledge and experience of brand development, marketing strategy and implementation.”

In addition to Laura’s appointment Better have also expanded the creative department. Fiona Plews, a Design Graduate from Teesside University, has joined the agency as Graphic Designer focusing on brand, web and print design projects.

Peter Jones, Creative Director at Better, said

“Fiona was one of the most exciting and creative graduates we’ve seen and provides further proof of our commitment to investing in the best young talent in the region.”

Alongside Carlton & Co, Better has won a number of major new accounts in the last six months across the North East, Yorkshire and London including: Philippa Gregory, UTS Group, Nortech, Marske Site Services, Barbarella London and Joplings Estate Agents as well as continuing to build powerful brand partnerships with existing clients including Anabas, Odyssey Systems, Lakelovers, GSC Grays, and Five Lamps.

So, maybe you should get booked up too. Not only will you be helping a great local charity, but it’s sure to be a very enjoyable and entertaining evening. The Ball, held at Middlesbrough Football Club on Friday 24th May, features a champagne reception, 4 course dinner, auction/raffle, casino tables, photo booth and a few other treats including special guest ex-boro legend Craig Hignett.

For more information, or to book tickets, give the Cornerstone team a call on 0845 223 2400.

More about Cornerstone Business Solutions:

Cornerstone is a multi Award winning leading provider of business solutions based in the North East of England. We partner with global technology brands such as IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, Cisco, Mitel, and BT to provide our clients with cutting edge business and mobile communications that are reliable, robust and supported by people who are experts in the design, implementation and maintenance of your business critical systems.

Find out more at www.cornerstonebs.co.uk

More about Butterwick Hospice Care:

We aim to improve the quality of life for those who have a life limiting illness and their families and to help them relate positively to every challenge they may encounter during their illness and to see death as part of life’s journey.

A diagnosis of a life limiting illness changes everything – moves all the parameters in your life and the lives of those around you. Hospice care exists to freely provide help to people living with a life limiting illness, relieving symptoms, enriching patient’s lives and supporting them and their loved ones.

The first Butterwick day hospice in Stockton was opened by Mary Butterwick OBE, in 1984. Skilled nursing, supportive therapies and experienced counseling coupled with constant fundraising have grown the Hospice over the last 26 years into a regional provider of excellent end of life care.

Find out more at www.butterwick.org.uk

There’s more to come on this soon but for now here’s some photos from the stand design and production project.

About the Show:

Multimodal is the UK and Ireland’s leading freight transport and logistics exhibition.  Now entering its sixth year, the event has evolved into an annual one-stop-shop for shippers who need to find ways of optimising their supply chain and transportation flow. Find out more about the Exhibition on the website at http://www.multimodal.org.uk/

We took the road trip down and soaked up every bit of the atmosphere, enjoyed some networking with other creative thinkers, and helped celebrate how original thought can change the world. The promise of inspiration was delivered in style through the diverse mix of studio events, auditorium presentations, and interactive discussions sending our team back up north full of ideas, feeling motivated and brimming with creativity.

Take a look at our Cheltenham journey and some photos from the festival. Some more thoughts and inspiration blog posts will be coming soon.

The heavily customised bespoke WordPress based website integrated the new brand style and photography to promote the Odyssey difference. The website will become the hub for the business’s lively digital footprint and support new business, client engagement and increase visibility of the products and services.  

View the full Odyssey case study.

Odyssey - Website Design and Development including Bespoke WordPress CMS Platform (homepage)

Odyssey - Website Design and Development including Bespoke WordPress CMS Platform (contact area and live chat)

Odyssey - Website Design and Development including Bespoke WordPress CMS Platform (interactive 360 viewer)

Odyssey - Website Design and Development including Bespoke WordPress CMS Platform (team page)