Bungalow Blog

Putting Sears Property on the Map

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT

You'll have no doubt gathered that we love property here at Bungalow, and when we received a call from Berkshire based estate agent Daniel Sear in need of our help, we were all ears!

The Background

Sears Property founded in 2010, has built a strong reputation based on the quality of the service it offers. A truly independent and family owned and run business, it found itself being overlooked in the sea of competition due to its dark, dated brand identity.

Having met and spoken with Daniel as 2012 drew to a close, it was immediately apparent was that their old identity (a blue and red Pepsi-style logo on a black background) became almost completely invisible on its for sale and let boards during the long dark evenings.

The Approach

We prepared a 4-phase strategy for Daniel: a whole business approach, commencing with a rebrand… rolling out across all the required materials (including his low-visibility boards)… through to a full website refresh, and marketing beyond. The prime directive being to increase visibility, engagement, and ultimately market share in this highly competitive part of Berkshire.

The Identity

We took inspiration from the freshest new brands appearing on today's high streets – and not just those in the property industry. We scoped-out Sears' competitive landscape, assessing the colours, typefaces and approaches used by other local agents, and crafted a unique identity all of their own.

Based around the now universally-familiar 'geo-pointer' icon, adding yellow for visibility, a vibrant on-trend blue and a typeface designed to connect to a broad demographic (originally developed for Volkswagen), combined with a selection of positive and affirming tag lines… the new Sears identity was born!

The Roll-out

Aware that the property market was moving fast, and Daniel was keen to catch the spring-time movers, we worked quickly to roll out the rebrand across all his materials. Starting with striking new board designs for sales and lettings, property particulars, window cards, property press layouts and advertisements, 20-page marketing booklets, a snazzy suite of stationery… and of course, a brand new website.

The Website

Working to the constraints of the existing website framework provided by Acquaint, we designed and copywrote an entirely new site to fit the template format already in place. Fresh looking, modern, vibrant – a site that truly represents Sears' energy, and their clear, simple approach to property. The site is full of testimonials to reinforce Sears' commitment to quality service, and certainly holds its own when pitched against the sites of their larger competitors and peers.

Already signed up to social media, and auto-broadcasting properties with no audience, we took Twitter and Facebook to task, designing new page backgrounds, set up new followers and started tweeting and sharing stories to get them on the right road. We wrote an initial blog post for the website all about their new look and used social media channels to spread the word.

From identity to boards, website to marketing materials, we've worked hard to help Sears communicate and engage with their target market – building stronger connections, and a stronger brand as a result.

The Office Makeover

Not content with reworking all digital and print elements, we set about transforming their premises too. We designed new signage and window graphics; provided a schematic for the walls — colours, lettering and artwork, and sourced new, modern furniture: brightly upholstered benches, pods and sofas to complete a truly on-brand look. Sears' 'property shop' is now a real destination on Bracknell High Street. Thanks to Kremer Signs and Barkham Office Furniture for bringing our vision to life.

Word on the Street...

We're absolutely delighted with the result, as are Sears – early feedback is very positive from clients and passers by alike, and Daniel's been told that his new boards stand out a mile. We'll be working closely with Sears on a marketing strategy to take this modern property brand forward, having now put it firmly, and visibly, on the map.

A Bungalow Treatment for TalkHealth

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Case History

Founded in 2000, talkhealth partnership began as talkeczema and grew into a suite of related condition-specific sites providing free support and information on a wide range of health conditions. A vanguard platform for patients and carers looking for the latest information on specific chronic health conditions, the sites presented a valuable resource of NHS-syndicated content alongside blogs, forums and product- and service-rich directories.

Expanding so quickly, but without a platform to properly support its growth, talkhealth required a future-proofed solution to enable them to move forward and expand sustainably.

Call in the Consultants

We began by redesigning and restructuring talkhealth into a single site, with specific health condition hubs and forums nested within. All in one place, on a single domain, easier to navigate and better cross-linked to enrich the visitor experience.

A rebrand followed, introducing a softer palette of more soothing tones, and modernising the original speech-bubble-inspired logo. We devised tag lines; a friendlier, more approachable tone of voice, and carefully selected typefaces and stock imagery... a 'personality' to better connect and engage with the site's wide and diverse demographic.

8 Health Hubs, 18 Forums, 11 Online Clinics... And Still Growing!

We rolled out our site-plan to cover all the key areas of the new website, with interfaces designed for blogging, forums, product & service directories, members' area, online clinics, surveys, freebies as well as the healthcare information itself. The talkhealth partnership site thus evolved into a fully-fledged online community. It is now more welcoming, content rich, and much more interactive too, through the introduction of a bloggers' network, more user-friendly forums, members' stories, plus NHS-sponsored online clinics offering participants direct access to advice from medical experts – a groundbreaking service.

Strategies for advertising and sponsorship opportunities were designed into the site, along with persuasive marketing materials for pitching to leading pharmaceutical companies... as well as keystone charities, and celebrities too, for high profile support. (Check out the 20-page marketing booklet / media pack fully designed and copywritten by us.) The roll-out also included social media set-up across twitter, facebook and pinterest; plus a smart stationery suite and modular e-newsletter design, keeping everything fresh and on-brand.

The Prognosis is Good!

Much time and thought was invested into the initial consultancy phases and site restructure – time well spent in future-proofing the online business – with our involvement taking some six months to complete. To date, the site is live though still in the hands of the developer and there remains much content to be rolled out over the coming months.

We're delighted with the results and proud to have been involved in a project of this size – and significance. It's an invaluable resource: it empowers, informs, and makes available a wealth of information from patients' own experiences, literally enabling everybody to 'talk health'.

It's early days but the response so far has been resoundingly positive – talkhealth is fast becoming one of the UK's leading online health communities... Why not check it out for yourself and join in the conversations!

www.talkhealthpartnership.com

Dancing With The Stars

Fri, 14 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT

After working with the world renowned dancer/choreographer Chris Marques in 2011 on his own brand and website in readiness for his rise to TV fame as head judge and artistic director on TF1's 'Danse Avec Les Stars', Chris and his partner Jaclyn Spencer commissioned Bungalow to create an identity and promo page for their new dance company: 'Dance Rocks'.

Chris and Jaci are the world-class duo behind some of the hottest choreography in the industry, including 'Strictly Come Dancing' and working with the biggest names in music and fashion. Their new company sees them performing at spectacular red carpet and VIP events, as well as award ceremonies and catwalk/couture events for the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier.

We set about creating a sleek star-lit identity and rolling it out as a one page addition to Chris' personal site with showbiz style and top-billing layout all to a backdrop of couture style photography.

Now signed to Sony Music, Chris's site attracts a world-wide audience – not least as he has a new DVD to his name (with artwork based on the identity we originated for his personal site).

Here's to their ongoing success, and as their library of video clips and photographs grows, there are plans afoot to roll out the page into a full site of its own. Watch this space!

You guys are stars!!!! Thank you once again!

Chris Marques

Click here to visit Dance Rocks.

Our Brown Paper Wrap Service

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 10:12:00 GMT

We're not the most frequent bloggers about our work, we'll admit, but that's not to say we're not busy. Aside from renovating a midcentury property (one of our biggest passions), we felt it noteworthy to blog about one of our newer services, one in fact requested by fellow design and web development agencies.

We call it our 'brown paper wrap' service. Essentially, other agencies have cottoned on to our core in-house skill set:

consultancy
brand identity
graphic and website design
customer journey
image sourcing and retouching
copywriting

…and choose to outsource their design commissions to us.

Our level of polish and professionalism, effective across the board from sole traders to global organisations, charities to celebrities, saves agencies time and money by providing a considered, consultative approach delivering one solution which invariably meets with approval.

Of late, we've been sub-commissioned to design websites for a financial organisation and a £multi-million turnover online shop, a conference microsite for leading IT company, advertising emails for one of the UK's largest supermarkets and vehicle livery for one of the UK's leading suppliers of office furniture. All delivered on time, and on budget.

Whilst we can't feature these recent projects in detail on our blog or portfolio, we're proud of the work and wanted to let you all know about our new Bungalow package.

When it comes to great design, Bungalow have it 'all wrapped up'!

If you're an agency looking to outsources elements of design where our consultative approach would add value to your service and to your clients' businesses, contact us to discuss our 'brown paper wrap' service.

The Right Move for Redhot Property

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:00:00 GMT

We love property here at Bungalow and were very excited when estate agency entrepreneur Darren Wickes came to us on the strength of our work in this industry. Setting up a new estate agency business, particularly in London, required a complete package and he commissioned us to create a sharp identity, office signage, interior design, for sale & let board designs, stationery, property brochure designs, press adverts & templates, marketing campaign, flyer design, visuals for digital window displays, posters, mini liveries... and of course a website design which we copywrote from top to bottom.

The project had a number of hiccups, the first being, namely, the name. 'Redhot Property' wasn't a name that we felt matched his brief and vision for the business and we tried to coax him away from it. Change wasn't to be, particularly as he'd also invested in the key domain rhp.co.uk at not-insignificant cost. We didn't feel it sent the right messages to the customer and so worked to give the identity a particularly soft-edged whilst thoroughly modern treatment to offset any harshness that might be inferred. It not only met with approval from Darren, but also garnered the attention and interest from other agents on his patch.

The second hiccup was the website. We designed a beautiful, comprehensive site, and produced a blueprint guide for its build. The plan was to pass it to one of the UK's largest property website developers to build for ease of integration with their choice of back-office system and property portals. We provided an interactive walk-through demo site plus a 44-page build guide… and despite promises of their lead developer's attention, the project was outsourced to a junior (an all too familiar story). To cut a long story short, they failed to deliver and after countless wasted months, pulled out from the project.

To make matters even worse, rhp's state of the art office was situated in one of the streets most badly hit by the London riots.

Darren came back to us to explain the situation and our advice was to set up afresh as a fixed-fee internet-based agent, removing the focus from the high street presence, and concentrating on brand and service. He commissioned us to rework the original website design in accord, and insisted that we built it in-house here at Bungalow.

With understandably limited budget and short timescale, we crafted a new site based on a WordPress engine that showcased his brand, the key offers to sellers and landlords, and his level of service. Much was repurposed and updated from the original design, and with strong imagery, simple navigation, intuitive flow, fresh copywriting and our trademark lifestyle hooks, the site was designed, built and launched on time and to budget.

One key saving both short and long term was to host his property listings solely on Rightmove, rather than design, build and manage a parallel system on his site. Why duplicate what the UK's leading property site already does so well? Buyers and tenants head straight to the major portals to find a property – not to individual agents' websites. Our belief is that an agent's website should focus on presenting their services to vendors and landlords: showcasing their brand, and quality of service, marketing and materials – these being the key USPs to differentiate them from their competitors.

The new website went live without any amends: the look, feel, design, imagery, and copywriting all approved without change. Darren is thrilled to have his agency vision working for him at last, and to be doing business with a website that doesn't just sell his service… it really hits home.

Here at Bungalow, brand comes first – it's your most valuable asset in business. Whether you're an estate agency small or large, if you'd like to make best use of your marketing budget to grow, promote and strengthen your brand across web, print, and social media channels, contact us here at Bungalow Industries and make the right move for your agency.

An Empowering Business Makeover

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Getting Connected

With our move now behind us, we were keen to start doing business locally, participating and contributing to Whitstable's thriving entrepreneurial vibe. With so many independent businesses here, we wanted to put our skills to good use locally, broaden our network, and enjoy a balance in having more face-to-face clients. The challenge: to find our first local client for a Bungalow-style business makeover!

With that in mind, we headed off to our first tweetup at Whitstable's Hotel Continental. No sooner had we walked through the door than we were approached, arms-wide, by the rather wonderful Kerry Hales, who we had already struck up conversation with over coffee some months earlier, Christmas shopping in Whitstable. A well-connected, much-liked and social-media-savvy businesswoman with great energy – and accomplished track record, she admitted she felt held back by not having a professional brand image, identity and website (other than her existing stock-template, unbranded blog). As a Strictly Come Dancing fan, she had already seen our work and was only too thrilled to let us take a look at her business. Early discussions made it clear that she would benefit from a Bungalow makeover... and that we too would benefit from her infectious and inspirational manner. The fit was good — we clicked!

An initial consultancy session followed where we got to grips with her current business, before turning the tables and becoming coaches to draw out her longer term vision. We then began to plot out a strategy for her new brand, its positioning and roll-out.

A New Image

We wanted Kerry's brand and materials to be a true reflection of her personality, strengths, energy and capability. We turned the spotlight on Kerry, literally, when she visited us at our studio. Upon arriving, she instantly took a shine to our iconic Egg chair; glasses on, pen and journal at hand, Kerry looked right at home. The shutter began to click, and to our delight, a newly confident, empowered professional woman emerged. We shot a series of images that would become an intrinsic part of her new business identity and help direct the look and feel of her website.

A New Identity

With super new portrait photographs to work with, we focused on her visual identity and combined a friendly, positive mark and typeface with energising, corporate swatches, balanced carefully to appeal to both female and male demographics. We also advised she evolve from 'the communications coach' to 'Kerry Hales, the complete coach' to position her as the figurehead of her business and to connect more directly with her audience.

With brand visuals in place, Kerry was keen to present her new business identity at her networking events across Kent: we designed business cards with a QR code for quick mobile access, vital for such a busy networker.

The New Website

We then turned our attention to her website. Kerry's old site was no more than a stock-template WordPress blog. We took her site apart and turned it on its head. We redesigned it from the ground up, reorganising and rewriting the content, replacing what was effectively a personal journal with an engaging, business-based, service-focused website. We asked Kerry to write clear definitions of her core services, telling her to think of them as 'products', for which we created new pages, individual identities and site-wide promo-spots to make them feel accessible, tangible, professionally packaged – and purchasable.

Already up to speed with social media, we brought all her channels on-brand and incorporated them and their feeds into her site; we also introduced her to Pinterest to give an additional visual dimension and resource. Given Kerry's great presence in front of a lens, and wanting clients to be able to get to know, form a bond, and feel comfortable with her, we tried our hands at video-blogging... something we'll be focusing on over the coming months. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, email newsletter, and YouTube - all integrated into her site for maximum exposure and engagement.

Designed to Engage and Connect

Kerry's new website enables her to keep her existing network – and potential clients alike – updated with her news, blogs, inspirations, products, activities... even video-blogs to maintain that crucial personal connection.

Video blog
social media shares
newsletter sign-up
calls to action
pinterest
twitter feed
blog snippets
branded sign-off & contact details

Over to Kerry...

With the website now handed over, its WordPress engine gives Kerry full control over all content, management and updates. She now has all the tools available to enable her to do what she does best: work on her business – her products, services and marketing – rather than 'blog, blog blog'. She has a professional, confident image, and a thoroughly modern, first class website that not only means business – it clearly demonstrates that Kerry means business too.

We've thoroughly enjoyed working with Kerry and are thrilled with the results, as is she...

I'm truly staggered by the Bungalow boys' talent and abilities… they wear so many hats! Not content with being top notch designers, they are business strategists, consultants, social media gurus, copywriters, and website experts – is there nothing they can't do? I am so grateful to have worked with them and can't express what they have done for my business and for me!

If you're serious about business – and shouldn't we all be? – then call them. David & Scott are personable, have the highest integrity I have come across in business and they will over deliver on 'everything'. They get right to the core of your business, they need no direction… they just do it, they get it, they are on another level!!

www.kerryhales.com

Publications with Impact

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:21:00 GMT

Having originated the Society brand identity in 2009 and subsequently their inaugural corporate literature and website homepage, we were called in once again when the socially-aware recruitment firm required tailored publications for its growing reach and specialist services.

As per their tagline, 'make an impact', their two new corporate booklets had to be on-brand, striking and impactful. Providing us with the straight copy, Society allow us creative license to interpret their content in layout, visuals and image-sourcing to best convey their message and ethos.

We're delighted to report that Society are thrilled with their new booklets – as are we!

It's always exciting to work with a brand that 'thinks outside the box', and we're sure the resulting materials will continue to set Society apart as a leader in the world of recruitment and executive search.

Click the preview spreads above to view the full publications on ISSUU, and visit their website here.

The Bungalow Journal

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Settling in after our big move has been no small feat, but Whitstable is a fantastic place – we've already met lots of fantastic people, it's by the sea, packed with independent shops… and the house is a midcentury marvel. All in all, it's right up our street!

Embracing this vibe, we've been working on a new Blog: the Bungalow Journal — a place for us to post our architecture, design and style inspirations (all with a midcentury slant, of course!) There's much that we're eager to blog about that really doesn't quite fit with this, our business blog, and so the Journal was conceived, designed and built… and has just gone live!

Starting with entries about our midcentury move, including full details of our Bungalow renovation – and how we sold it privately, and now starting to take a wider look at the Californian architecture of the era that so captured our imaginations, it's very much a work-in-progress.

Post-by-post, we'll share our inspirations from the mid-20th Century, insights into seaside life here in Whitstable, plus updates on the renovation of our new house, Cambria. (The latter is likely to be a very long process indeed, so it's good to know our virtual notebook won't run out of pages!)

Jump across to our Journal and check out the first few chapters in our journey!

Brand New Breed of Holistic Therapist

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Always great to catch up with our old pal and holistic therapist Tim Norris, we go way back – first working with Tim in 2003 in fact, he was our very first client here at Bungalow Industries!

Since then Tim has made the move to Sydney, Australia, settled down, has a family of his own, and has gone on to develop a large corporate wellness program My5 (with a little Bungalow help in the brand identity department).

With My5 now established, Tim needed our help once again to unleash his new business!

Spotting a gap in the market, Tim has taken the lead and combined his holistic therapies with his other passion in life… his dogs! It was no surprise to hear that Tim is now very much in demand as a canine Myofunctional Therapist and with business booming and fast gaining the attention of the local Sydney press, he urgently needed a brand identity for his business 'Both Ends of the Lead'. Our ears pricked up!

Knowing it would be a walk in the park for us here at Bungalow, Tim sent over the copy and let us get to work. Such a unique enterprise required a considered approach: friendly, engaging, but with a feeling of trust and authority. Built on Wordpress, Tim wanted to be able to update the website himself with all of the events he attends, the canine resources he wants to share, and dates of his regular clinics too. We're also encouraging him to get to grips with social media, and have introduced him to Twitter with a flurry of initial tweets. The result is a bright, fun brand and website that really hits his target market. With just enough doggy cues, great photography and catchy lingo, the website looks a treat!

Tim is already a regular at dog shows in the Sydney area demonstrating his approach and talking to potential clients. With this in mind, we wanted to kit him out… literally! With branded clothing, A-boards, flyers and appointment cards, Tim is certainly going to stand out as 'being best in show'.

It's great to be able to help chums out, and we wish Tim all the best with his latest venture (not that he'll need it with his agility, discipline and pedigree).

www.bothendsofthelead.com.au

(Excuse all the canine howlers in there… couldn't resist… we got like a dog with a bone!)

DIY .docs for YCI

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The Youth Career Initiative, a programme of the International Business Leaders Forum, is a long-standing client of Bungalow Industries and it's always a pleasure to help them out with their ongoing documentation and materials.

As part of their closer integration with IBLF, and the expansion of their youth education programmes into new territories, they have a growing need to manage their suite of smart, designed documents in-house. From their programme overviews to full course curricula, having truly 'working' documents is increasingly important – not just for ongoing updates but also for regional localisation and translation.

It was our pleasure to not only begin a refresh of their collateral, but to go a step further and convert the designed documents from our workhorse application, InDesign, into… deep breath… Microsoft Word.

No mean feat, as any of you with experience in creating professional looking layouts in Word will agree… but ever-focused on our client's outcome we sallied forth with margins, columns, text boxes, tabs, tables, shapes, styles and page formats to achieve our end – and checking they displayed correctly on the team's PCs from London to Brazil and beyond.

YCI are full steam ahead in deploying these documents whose implementation came at a great juncture: the tourism-based life-skills programme is about to roll out across hotels in India!

Well done! I very much appreciate your attention to detail, your technical skills, creativity and above all your patience!

YCI, London

Wow! It looks fantastic, congratulations for making this possible! I am sure our partners will also appreciate it! Greetings from Mexico!

YCI, Mexico

Brilliant news, and we wish them every success in their continuing, youth-empowering work.

Top Flight Firm Targets Seats of Learning

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Perrett Laver has one of the largest Higher Education executive search practices in the world, with a vision of influencing society through a new breed of a leaders for a changing world.

Having worked with the directors and consultants on previous corporate literature, as well as the redesign and reposition of their website, we were appointed once again to produce materials for their Global Chairs Practice.

The new literature, aimed at identifying, engaging and securing outstanding academic leaders for the world's top universities, had to feel truly global, set the right tone, and feel every bit as sharp as the the company itself. Taking its overall look and feel from the website, we sourced supporting images and devised a structure to best present the information.

Having met with resounding approval, printed copies of the book were whisked off to Asia where the Global Chairs Practice convened with the heads of some of the region's top universities. Feedback was prompt upon their return and we're delighted to report that the document proved to be a "roaring success" among its learned readers.

Winter Warmer

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Our relocation now behind us, tucked up snug and warm in Kent, we received a winter warmer of a project from entrepreneur and regular client, Damien Knight.

With the overwhelming success of every venture Damien undertakes, and fuelled by the demand for his gas services, Damien swiftly commissioned us to design not one, but two new brand identities and websites for him. We thoroughly enjoy working with Damien, he's clear about his outcomes and objectives, decisions are made quickly, our designs are implemented promptly by his long standing developers – and he's always delighted with the results. This commission was no exception.

The first to be undertaken was 'London Boiler Centre': a simple, friendly and informative website targeting Londoners in search of a new boiler; the second: a sister site offering boiler repairs. Whilst the design work is complete for both, Damien is initially targeting the new boiler market, and the build of the repair site is on the back-burner for the time being.

We were mindful that the new sites should work well alongside Damien's other venture which supplies gas and electricity testing and certification to the property industry: London Property Inspections. We used our Bungalow trademark approach of clear, engaging graphics, strong imagery, plays on words, simple language, and most of all: a friendly and approachable feel.

Yet again the site has been a roaring success, and we are in talks with Damien about moving forward with a pilot for another of his business ideas. Damien is one bright spark!

www.londonboilercentre.co.uk

"Single Storey" — the Bungalow features in Midcentury Magazine!

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Back in July of this year when we launched the marketing campaign for the private sale of our bungalow, we were thrilled and flattered to be approached by Tabitha and Tom, Editor and Aficionado behind Midcentury Magazine — the only UK-based publication for fans and followers of the midcentury movement. It was a real honour when they asked if they could run a feature on our ranch-style, Renway 'Type 60a' bungalow… and of course, we agreed like a shot!

It wasn’t long before they came to interview us at home, seeing the bungalow for themselves, taking a leisurely stroll around the tree-lined roads in Edgcumbe Park, and hearing some of the anecdotes about the estate’s eclectic residents, past and present — not to mention the parties of the ‘swinging sixties’ in the early days of the development!

The issue's launch coincided with this November's Modern Show in Dulwich where we caught up with Tabitha & Tom busily subscribing new readers on their stand. We were delighted to see a generous nine full pages had been given over to featuring the bungalow, illustrated by David's lovely photographs, along with a separate focus on the Renway Construction Company's vision behind Edgcumbe Park co-authored by Scott. In addition, there’s a useful ‘get the look’ section with information on where we obtained our key pieces. In all, a very special memento of our time at the property, and hopefully something to inspire others to remodel their homes, midcentury-style!

Why not subscribe and read all about it?!

Each issue is packed with interesting and information-rich articles all with a midcentury flavour; the current issue no exception with some fascinating reads about furniture designers & manufacturers past and present; where to source the best midcentury finds (and what to look for —great article by Antiques Roadshow expert Mark Hill), and the best in midcentury media & arts (including author David Christopher's appreciation of midcentury hi-fi equipment, and a lovely background insight into Hergé and his Tintin by Charlotte Luxford).

If you can't wait for your copy to arrive in the post, click to see a preview of ‘Single Storey: An American Ranch Home in Berkshire’.

Once again, big thanks to Tabitha & Tom at Midcentury Magazine!

Brand Identity Matters

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Website development and SEO specialists Sugarcoat came to us late 2011 having observed our work for some time. They said they'd tried to craft their own identity countless times and failed, and came to the conclusion that if you want the job done properly, you call in the experts. We met, talked, and presented our options… the main one being a bitter pill to swallow: change the name. Sugarcoat underwent a rebranding proces with Bungalow Industries to become: netmatter.

We took their brief and crafted a new identity plus visual and language styles. We dissected their field and competitive landscape and devised a device that in one combined their name, their approach and their methodologies. We created a 5-colour double helix, cannily intertwining the 'n' and 'm' of the name (and the initials of the company's directors) and representing the DNA of the businesses that their approach targeted: the longer strand set in four Google-inspired colours for their 4-fold skillset (Consultancy, Design, Marketing, Reporting) and the other strand in a corporate grey for the SEO service underpinning every aspect of their approach. Simple, elegant, evocative and effective... 'genetic engineering for your business,' you might say!

We didn't spare any thinking on the typeface either: Delta Jaeger is a little-known typeface crafted by Gustav Jäger in 1983 for Berthold. Jäger sadly died last July, but his legacy also includes the font Catull – most famously used as Google’s typeface – and his work used here gives a subliminal tie-in for those in-the-know.

Netmatter were delighted and thrilled to at last have an identity encapsulating who they are and what they do so completely; one that also reflects their capability in this competitive – and fast evolving – marketplace.

An identity is more than just a logo; and from there, the roll-out commenced. We brought out the 'net' theme in their name, and the tile-able nature of their logo – both into long strands (like DNA of course) and into a net-like pattern vertically for their twitter background and stationery suite. We then designed a holding page, presenting the new name and identity whilst we designed the main site. The DNA strand was used to good effect moving across the screen presenting each of netmatter's key competencies. We coined friendly, approachable language, and a Diagnostic WebCheck service and visual as a hook to catch inquisitive visitors.

We designed and copywrote the entire site, covering a customer-focused approach to each of their business areas and provided them with all the artwork necessary to build the site, being SEO-savvy developers themselves. Meanwhile, business has been so good for them that they've not had time to complete the build, though it's being developed in the wings as time allows.

Business has indeed been good for netmatter as they've subsequently commissioned us to provide front-end artwork and brand treatments to a number of their projects. Confident in their coding abilities, and enjoying the refreshing change of digital communication and website design without having to get stuck into coding, the opportunities have been a welcome change!

www.netmatter.co.uk

Update Your Address Book!

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

This is just a quick change-of-address blog post to let you all know that we've moved! Our own property marketing campaign has proved a resounding success and we’ve sold our bungalow privately!

We're still amazed at how the bungalow and its online marketing have been tweeted about, shared on Facebook and featured on property, design and style blogs around the world — and look out for it in the next issue of Midcentury Magazine too! It's particularly rewarding that our combined talents have not only brought deserved attention to the Edgcumbe Park Development... but also saved us over £10,000 in Estate Agency fees.

December 2011: ISSUU, the world's leading online publishing platform, has just awarded us the accolade of best application of their product and we'll soon be featured on their blog! (Very chuffed!)

Once we're settled in we'll be blogging properly about how we put our property know-how and marketing expertise into practise to achieve this thrilling result.

Although sad to leave the bungalow, our super neighbours and the lovely locality behind, we were in need of more space — and the next challenge...

...We’re now settling in to an even quirkier property by the sea near Whitstable, Kent! Keep an eye here on our new journal to see more about our new home: an architect-designed, 1970's curiosity called ‘Cambria’, and our ongoing explorations of the local area — famed for its oysters and creative pursuits. We're very excited and are looking forward to sharing it with you!

Meanwhile, do please update your address books with our new details:

click to download our vCard

Bungalow Industries
Cambria
47 Hazlemere Road
Seasalter
Whitstable
Kent CT5 4AW

If you’d like our help in expertly presenting your property for sale to achieve the best possible price — perhaps even selling privately like us, you know where we are, or call us on 0845 601 1470.

With house-warmed wishes,

David & Scott

P.S. Even though our new home has an upstairs, we’ll always be ‘Bungalow’ ;-)