We are a hands on design company. We only begin working on a project once we have a really thorough understanding of the project we are working on. For example, if we are designing a logo or corporate identity for you - we want to know what your company does, how it does it, how are you different ir better than anyone else and what and where will your identity be presented. What is your company like, what are the people there like - and what image would you like people to have of your company?

These are just a few examples of the questions we would ask before we start on your project. Once we feel we know you and your company well, then we will begin designing and planning.

We believe in a structured workflow which allows us to design and conceptualise to the best of our abilities, to deliver the very best results to you. Although we are used to heavy pressure and deadlines, a well planned project always bears better results.

The creative process in its purest form is simply a way of solving a visual communication problem. For example, a client needs to promote a new product or service to their customer base to increase sales. In one sentence we have described the problem and how we will measure the success of the solution. With the problem identified, we use it to research, gather information, discuss it, and develop the right solution to solve it.

A popular misconception is that creativity happens in a flash of inspiration and an advert or website can happen in a moment. But the opposite is true. True creativity and originality is a time-consuming process. Imagination, a sense of curiosity, plus logical and analytical skills all play an integral part in it.

Lets take a closer look at the five main ingredients of the design process:

Time
True creativity isn't possible without sufficient time. Unfortunately it is the first thing to go when cost or a deadline is the leading criteria. It is like trying to build a house in a week when it really requires three months. There is little time to worry about quality or attention to detail. What you end up with is a poor foundation and a lot of last minute painting to dress it up.

Time allows the mind to explore different approaches, revise and discuss them, and develop them further. When you start your advertising - you then know its right and you have covered everything.

We do a lot of work for small entrepreneurs and the advertising budget is often relied on to bring results to bring in new business. If you are spending money on a company that does not understand how important your advertising is, then you are at the wrong company - rather switch to us.

Information
Information drives great design. It is collected through several means; questions, interviews, marketing research, investigating all industry trends, and collecting data on your competition.

Some key questions are: What is unique about what you sell? Who is your customer? What do they want? What will they want in the future? What do they think of you? What can be changed about your product or service to be more beneficial? What can you offer them that they currently don't have?

Analysis
After the information is collected and organized, it is distilled down to a core set of items. Creative thinking and analysis begins by writing down any initial thoughts and ideas. At this point quantity takes precedent over quality.

After a day or so, the material is reviewed again. The previous information inspires new thoughts and ideas and identifies the unusable ones. Over time, two or three directions begin to emerge and eventually it leads to one or two strong concepts.

Concept/Idea Development
Creativity is progressive by nature; new ideas inspire even newer ones. As the initial images and text develop, minor adjustments are made; a phrase can be reworded to have more impact or an image adjusted to add more interest. Creativity has no endpoint, so it's also important to know when enough is enough to get the right result. Overworking something and over analysing can also be damaging.

Execution
When a concept is agreed upon, the final production begins. The production process starts and the advert is design, the packaging created, the website is developed and everything is managed to deliver on time. A critical part of creativity is attention to detail. Ultimately it must be a strong solution to the original problem to be a success.