View SIte Here:  www.realitalianfoodies.com

Irish Web Awards Finalist 2012 in 2 categories:
- Most Beautiful Website in Ireland
- Best SME/Small Business Website

View Site Here:  www.realitalianfoodies.com

Irish Web Awards Finalist 2012 in 2 categories:
- Most Beautiful Website in Ireland
- Best SME/Small Business Website

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Project Included:

Meeting and Consultation
Site Visit
Brand Workshop
Desk Research
Market Research
Identity Design
Packaging Design
Supporting Promotional Material Design

History of Client:

Twomeys Bakery is a company steeped in tradition. There has been a bakery in the family for over 100 years. This tradition is still very evident in the way they bake their bread, sticking largely to family recipes which have been passed down through the generations. They have innovated with new product lines but the same care and attention goes into every product. Although their product line has changed over the years the underlying philosophy has not. This has helped them secure business in local shops and large multiples throughout Ireland, primarily in the Munster region with sales showing year on year growth.

Initial Brand Status:

When we met with Twomeys Bakery they explained to us that while selling well, they felt their brand image was somewhat inconsistent across their product lines. They were using a variety of packaging for their products and each packaging type had it’s own style of labelling/branding, which they worried would lead to confusion in the minds of their customers.  As well as consistency they felt that their current brand image did not really reflect the tradition of  baking in the family and was not particularly unique to them.

Scope of Project:

Create new Brand identity and apply this to packaging across all products.

Objectives of the client:

Year on year sales of the majority of products produced by Twomeys Bakery had shown good growth. They were keen to build on this growth and expand into areas where they were not already selling. To do this they wanted to portray a more professional image. It was important to them that although they were coming across as professional they did not want to look like just another bakery. It was made clear to us that it was very important for them to accurately reflect the pride, history and tradition of the bakery.

Twomeys bakery were also coming up to a significant milestone. The bakery would be celebrating 110 years of baking. This was seen as and opportune time to launch a new brand identity.

They were keen to freshen up their existing brand image but, as is should be, they did not want to alienate the already loyal customers they had.

Overall they wanted to portray themselves as steeped in the tradition of baking but also as an innovative company with an eye on the future.

Things to Consider:

After our site visit and early discussions with the folks at Twomeys Bakery we were keen to get to work on this project. The site visit, during which we got a tour of the bakery, provided us with a real sense of the brand. Once you get close to the bakery you get the unmistakable smell of freshly baked bread. This smell came back to us at each stage of the design process and really helped us stay on track.

We wanted to create an entirely new identity for the bakery and its products but we were also mindful of the objectives and comments of Twomeys themselves. While it was important that this was a new brand image we also had to be respectful to the history and tradition on the place.

How are our designs going to work in the market, among competitors and the brands which Twomeys had identified as benchmarks? We wanted the designs to be ‘fresh’ but with other considerations in mind we were not going to produce anything off the wall or too ‘out there’ just for the sake of being noticed.

For Twomeys bakery there were two main customer groups. The buyers for the large multiples and the end user, so the packaging design had to appeal to both. For the buyers it had to be something that was attractive enough for them to be confident that it would sell once on the shelves. The end customer (i.e. anyone who eats bread) will have certain expectations of what a loaf of bread is to look like. We wanted to create an image that was uniquely Twomeys but also immediately identifiable as bread. We were not going to use imagery or colours to stand out from the competitors. We wanted to bring out the aspects of the brand that only Twomeys can claim to own and accentuate them through the designs.

As with all food packaging there are certain rules that apply. Not only must the packaging be visually attractive, it must be durable, practical, informative and visually sustainable. It must be on brand but it must also provide all of the information required by regulation and it must also inform the customer,  in a matter of seconds, why they should buy this product and not the one sitting next to it on the shelf. All brand and product information must be clearly legible for the customer.

PROCESS


Meeting and Consultation

We always like to start a project with a face o face meeting with the client, on site if possible. When we went to meet Pat and the rest of the team at the bakery we got a potted history and guided tour of the place. Just listening to Pat and some of the bakers on site let us know in a few minutes the type of pride and passion that goes into production here. On further discussion with Pat and his sales team we got great insights into the challenges they faced for space on the shelves as well as growing their brand. We spoke at length about efforts they had made to date and the varying degrees of success achieved.

Also during the site visit we were able to learn about the machine they used for packaging their bread. This proved to be invaluable knowledge (and shows the benefit of actually being on site) as there is absolutely no point in us wasting our time and the clients by working on designs which will either not work or cost the client money to implement.

After initial site visit and discussion we conducted a brand essence questionnaire with the key stakeholders of the bakery (a cross section of management, sales and production). We asked them tailored questions to help get an understanding of how they viewed the brand, the customer, the customers expectations and the wider market. This would then form the foundation of the work we would do with them.

Desk and Market Research

As well as finding out the views of the stake holders within the company, to make any brand image meaningful we needed to get the views of another important group of stakeholders, namely the customers. We surveyed customers both online and in person to get their impressions of the Twomeys brand and their bread buying habits in general. During this part of the process we picked up some valuable insights. It was very encouraging to see that once people had tried Twomeys bread they were slow to go to another brand. It also became clear that the customers could appreciate the traditional nature and baking practices used in producing Twomeys bread with the phrase ‘proper bread’ being mentioned repeatedly.

Armed with our own impressions of the bakery and the insights gained from the discussion with all of the stake holders we started on the design process proper. The words below gives an indication of the aspects of the brand which stood out most to us.

REAL, TRADITIONAL (BUT NOT OLD FASHIONED), HEALTHY, NATURAL, HOME, FRESH, PROPER, PINCH, WARM, TOAST, FAMILY, HANDCRAFTED.

Brand Mark Design

Adding these to the other general research we had done on how other brands visually present themselves we got busy sketching. We thought that a crest/badge type logo would appropriately reflect the sense of family and history associated with the brand so we set about creating the correct shape for this crest. With the rows and rows of pre-oven rolls of bread we saw during the site visit we thought it would be nice to give the crest a doughy, bread like shape.

The graphic elements, the scroll and sheafs of wheat of the crest were chosen to fit in with the traditional look we were going for. The font we chose is clean and simple and was also in keeping with the traditional feel. We always start initial designs in black and white as adding colour this early on can often cause distraction but in this case the colour black seemed to suit the overall look we were going for. It helped with the traditional look and added a prestige to the identity.

Tagline – ‘Baking For Generations’

Once we had the shape of the crest created we needed to populate it with the core messages of the brand. The identity for Twomeys bakery at the time did little to reflect the key aspects of the brand. To help overcome this we created a tagline that really spoke to what was at the heart of Twomeys Bakery.  ‘Baking For Generations’ we felt covered the history of the business and also the fact that we discovered the product was loved by young and older customers.  The older customers loved the bread, and also loved giving it to their younger relatives as they felt they were giving  ‘proper bread’ to them.  Also we wanted to include the year 1901 as this was the year in which the bakery was founded.

Packaging Design

Once we had the initial design of the crest/badge settled on we then set about building a suite of packaging around it. During meetings with the folks at Twomeys they mentioned that they thought of bread in the way it was bought in the old days. Bought at the shop without outer packaging and often wrapped in brown paper. This rang out with us and we went about investigating using a colour palette which would call to mind brown paper wrapping. With modern packaging techniques, using actual brown paper would not be feasible but we wanted to work an indication of it in somewhere in the packaging design.

Another important consideration was the large visual aspect fo food purchasing so it was important to leave portions of the packaging clear so that the customer could see the product inside.

We went back and presented some initial designs to Twomeys. They were happy with the crest/badge idea and liked the tagline. We presented them with 2 initial designs for packaging. During feedback they felt we had gone too far down the traditional route with one design, even bordering on old fashioned. They quite liked the second design but felt there was maybe an overkill on the ‘brown paper’ effect. We took this feedback as well as some more small things on board and went back to the drawing board.

Development

Incorporating their comments into the refinements we arrived at the second draft. We then applied this identity to various other brand touch points such as bakery vehicles and print advertising. We were then ready to present again to the client. On viewing the second draft we were delighted when the folks at Twomeys felt we had hit the mark. some small extra refinements and we would be ready to get into properly designing the packaging and working to the existing packaging templates. We had the basic design figured out, now we needed to design a colour palette which we could use to differentiate the various products.

To finish, we completed the all packaging designs, liaising with the printing company, and provided the client with all artwork for future reprints. We get a little kick each week when doing grocery shopping and see our work on the shelves of the large supermarkets. We also created point of sale material and in-store promotional items.  We look forward to seeing the future growth and development of Twomeys Bakery and hope that what we have done for them has added value to their business and brand.

The Project Included:

Meeting and Consultation
Site Visit
Brand Workshop
Desk Research
Market Research
Identity Design
Brochure Design
Website Design
Advertising Design

The Company

SOL GOLF is a contracting firm, building and maintaing high profile golf courses internationally. They have expertise in all areas of sports turf but are mostly known for their work in golf courses. They would estimate that 90% of their business is golf related.

SOL GOLF wanted to capitalise on their current standing by undertaking a re-brand exercise. For the most part the brand was already out their and we just needed to work on ditstilling it and presenting SOL GOLF in a way that truly reflects thier history and dedication to quality and service.

The Vision

SOL GOLF want to be the market leader in the construction and maintenace of signature golf courses, built to the highest quality, providing an enjoyable and memorable golf experience for the discerning golf enthusiast and giving the course owner, club president, club captain and greenkeeprs a course they can be truly proud of.

The Mission

SOL GOLF will use their combination of experience and reputation to produce golfing experiences of the highest excellence and quality. They already have a history of expertise and will build on this to be a world name in golf course construction. They aim, in particular to become world renowned for the construction of world class links courses, a claim they can stand over and one which their competitors cannot. When golf course owners think of links courses they will think SOL GOLF. They will continue to grow worldwide by providing a skilled project foccussed team to each build they take on. They will make sure that the build is a SOL GOLF project from beginning to completion.

The Values

Experience – Reputation – Excellence – Quality

The Difference

The difference between SOL GOLF and their competitors is their level of involvement in the project. “When you engage SOL GOLF for a project they are with you for life”. SOL will do more than just build the golf course. Due to their experience and knowledge they can provide valuable assistance and guidance in all areas of overall golf resort construction.

SOL GOLF will not get into auctions with their clients. They set their prices to reflect the dedication, expertise and quality they bring to a project.  The fact that previous clients continue to work with them again and again bears witness to the standards which SOL GOLF set for themeselves and their work.

Another difference between SOL GOLF and their competitors is their growing expertise and reputation in the construction of links courses. SOL GOLF are at the cusp of becoming world leaders in links course construction and as such are a step ahead of their competitors in this regard.

Positioning

“SOL GOLF’s experience of championship links courses is unequalled and their workmanship is second to none”- Donald Trump

SOL GOLF have the know-how, the experience and testimonies of their clients which can position them as number 1 in the world for golf course construction. It’s a big claim, but they the belief and the skill to back it up. If SOL GOLF continue on their current path and at the same time identify and seize upon opportunities for improvement their is no reason they cannot legitimately claim to be No.1 in the world.

Opportunities

With SOL GOLF’s involvement in Trump International Golf Links, and with fans like Donald Trump, amongst others, in place to tell their story this is the perfect opportunity to show the market what they are about. Research we have done into the competitors and the wider industry lead us to believe that we could create a stand out identity for SOL GOLF which would set them apart from anyone else in the game. We would see the identity as being largely web-based, with support material for trade shows and exhibitions being produced as required.

We studied the web presences of others in the industry and had seen nothing with the ‘WOW’ factor. We believed we could give this to SOL GOLF through the creation of a memorable and relevant identity presented in the right way. The identity had to reflect the companys history and ambitions equally and embody eveything that is SOL GOLF. In time we could see the new identity becoming synonomous with high end, quality golfing experiences.

The Brand

The SOL GOLF brand will rely on much more than the identity. The identity will serve as the visual reminder to staff and clients alike of the values, standards and driving forces behind the company. We felt that this is very well understood at the top level in SOL, which will make it easier to transmit to the rest of the organisation.

It is in ensuring this that we made the brand a self propelling entity which will be easliy recognisable and will evoke a feeling of confidence and reliability in the client.

The Brand Mark

The Logo (Brand Mark) is made up from the concept of sand dunes, creating the shape of ‘S’ for SOL GOLF. The metallic styling is to give the impression of a premium and high quality product. We kept the overall colours to black, platinum and gold, again in-keeping with the excellence and quality of the companys work.  This would set the style for all other material bearing the SOL GOLF name including brochures, stands, stationery, advertising and website.

The Tagline – ‘Experience Excellence’

This came fromt the main Brand Values that is inherent in SOL GOLF.  Their experience is a major selling factor for them and they pride themselves on providing excellence in all projects they undertake. Putting the two words together created the Brand Promise that they were offering to their clients.  It is inviting clients to experience the excellence that SOL GOLF offer.

Brochure

SOL GOLF wanted a brochure to leave in the hands of prospective clients that would give an impression of quality.  Using the black, platinum and gold colour scheme of the identity, we design an A4 Landscape perfect bound brochure highlighting the companys most prestigous projects to date.  The outside cover is matt celloglazed with a Spot UV varnish on the logo and photos to add luxury.

Website

We were asked to design a new web presence for SOL GOLF.  Their existing websie was old fashioned and too text heavy.  We sourced beautiful photography for them from one of the world’s best golf course photographers.  This made it possible for us to show off their work in the best way, as photos can be more visually stimulating and impressive than lots of text.  We designed the site to make it easy for prospective clients to see what courses they had created and give an overview of the company and it’s people.  Their ‘Project Showcase’ is dominant on all pages and opens in a portfolio style window showing photos, work undertaken, the client and testimonials on each project.  It is the centrepiece of the site.  We fell this website creates the best possible impression of what SOL GOLF do and the quality and prestige of their work.

View the website here:  www.solgolfconst.com

The design style of these are casual while simple and contemporary. The grey wood background features on all pieces with the primary colour being an olive green, which they already had in place so we didn’t want to alienate people from this.  The photos have a very candid feel about them and give a truthful impression of the owners, staff, restaurant and the type of food they produce.

Lorraine and Bruno have been running their restaurant since 2003 and have gone from strength to strength since then.  Lorraine writes a food blog (for which she has won awards too!) and is also considered to be one of the most well known social media names in Ireland. It was through Twitter how we got to know her. Her handle is @italianfoodie.  We really like the way they stay consistent to all things Italian and are truly authentic in their food.

They have young kids themselves so they are passionate about feeding healthy ‘real’ food to kids.  Their kiddies menu is authentically Italian made fresh everyday using the best ingredients they can source locally.  They also started a ‘mini italian foodies’ club for kids where they get a sticker when they eat there and colour in the ‘pizza chef’ on the back of the menu.

We have also developed the new brand name, brand identity, product packaging and website for their latest venture of bringing their fresh pasta sauces and meals to the market. We wish Bruno and Lorraine all the very best of luck with La Cucina and their new range of products.

TOCHT is two days of fabulous dance – watching, learning, joining in and experiencing something new.  A taste of all kinds of dance: Comedy Dance, Traditional Dance, Hip-Hop, Salsa and dance for people of all ages.  TOCHT is all about bringing Dance to Kerry.

This is the first job we have done for this client, Muckross Park Hotel. This brochure was an insert in a national newspaper before Christmas and was created to help sell breaks, gift vouchers and spring getaways to their customers. They wanted to get across that their location in the heart of Killarney National Park was a big selling point for them so we used an image of the lakes in the park on the cover. The whole brochure has a ‘christmassy’ feel about it and showcases the hotels rooms, dining options and their Cloisters Spa. It is full of gift ideas for spa breaks, christmas activities and spring getaways. We went with a warm and cosy gold and cream colour scheme throughout, which is simple and elegant and is representative of the 5 star hotel offering. It was aimed at attracting guests from outside of Kerry so it had to sell the location as well as the packages on offer. They also wanted to attract prospective brides and grooms to consider the hotel for their wedding venue.

Killarney is well known as being a beautiful place for a break away, but this hotel enjoys being the only hotel actually situated in the National Park. We were told that the brochure produced better than expected results for our client, which is the very core aim of all our work for our clients, results! We hope to work with Muckross Park Hotel on many more projects and will post any further projects when they are finished.

This is the biggest event guide we have done for Siamsa Tire, 52 pages this time. Again, it covers all the performance, music, dance, visual art and workshops that Siamsa offers. The guide is divided in colour coded sections for National Folk Theatre of Ireland, Performance Programme, Visual Arts and Get Involved. We do this every 4 months and we love doing it. We used a full image on the cover this time because we simply loved the image. We oversee the printing of the 15,000 copies and also provide a web friendly version that can be downloaded on the Siamsa Tire website.

Something a bit ‘outside the box’ here. The artist who we designed this exhibition invitation for, Tom Fitzgerald, had created this collection entitled ‘Celtic Zoo’ which is a series of works based on the Celtic Tiger years and how corruption, bad leadership and banking behaviou has affected this country’s economic situation. He felt in the eyes of the rest of the world, Ireland is seen as a bit if a joke and the concept of his collection is the idea of opening Ireland to tourists as a zoo, where they could visit and see the state of the nation after the ‘glory’ years.  The work is very satirical and politically uncorrect.  To showcase this, we designed this invitation in the style of a brown paper envelope stuffed with 50 euro notes, the epitome of everything that was corrupt in this country.  He thought it was quite amusing and very in keeping with his collection.  We even provided real brown paper envelopes to send out the invitations to guests.  We hear that it was reacted to very well, the desired result for us.  The exhibition opened in Bourn Vincent Gallery at University of Limerick in Decemeber 2011.

History of Client:

As a start-up this company had no history as such

Initial Brand Status:

We met with the owners of the Dingle Brewing Company at the very start of the project. They informed us of their plans regarding the product, the premises for their business and their business plan.

Objectives of the client:
On meeting the directors of the Dingle Brewing Company we soon discovered that they had a very clear vision. They wanted to produce a premium lager that would appeal to a wide market. One product made right. They wanted their product to be truly Irish and for the Irish. The pub trade in Ireland has been suffering for a number of years and they wanted to produce a product that would bring people back to their local pubs, a product that would be enjoyed in good company and in the warm friendly atmosphere of the local.

They made it clear to us that they were going to produce the product naturally, using only the finest ingredients and with the minimum intervention in the brewing process. They had acquired a premises in which to brew, a premises which was full of character and history and which would fit in perfectly with their values and vision.

Scope of Project:

Create and develop brand identities and supporting material for the overall business and related product(s).

Carrying out research into the brewing and craft beer industry was a big challenge but one we were prepared to make the sacrifice for. Purely for research purposes we had to spend a lot of time in bars. We spent a lot of time staring at beer mats, beer taps, different brand marqs and imagery used in other breweries. We also asked the opinion of bar workers. As the product was going to be only available in bars it was vital that we got their insights into independent breweries and how their customers reacted to same.

Brand Mark Design

At our first meeting we had a long discussion with MD of the Dingle Brewing Company, Jerry O’Sullivan. On that first meeting we also got a tour of the site, ‘site’ being the operative word. We were shown around what used to be the Dingle Creamery building by Jerry. During the site visit, Jerry explained to us his plans for the business and the premises. It was very clear from listening to him speak that he had a crystal clear vision for the project. From a brand building point of view this is the best foundation you could hope for – a strong clear vision. On leaving the site that day we had no doubt that if we could express that vision in a creative way that this would be an extremely interesting project.

With this initial stance we prepared a brand platform document outlining the vision for the venture and setting down the foundations for how we were going to portray and develop this, both strategically and creatively.

As well as this we spend time online researching the brands that had been identified by the stake holders as competitors and benchmarks. We also had the very welcome opportunity to spend a lot of time in Dingle, soaking up the atmosphere and environment of where the brewery would be based

Putting together and distilling all of the information we had gathered on the brewery we were left with these  key impressions:

Adding this to the other general research we had done on how other brands visually present themselves we got busy sketching. The image of the brewery building, being situated as it is, at the foot of the Conor Pass in Dingle was hard to escape. Other striking aspects of the brewery were the rich, dark wood casks that were part of the brewing kit and the sound of babbling water for the stream which flowed at the side of the brewery building. These images seemed to encapsulated the feel of the brewery.

The brand marq is made up of representative imagery. The client liked this and felt it fit in better with the ethos and feeling of the brewery. We used simple representations of the major features of the brewery, mainly the landscape and the brewing cask. We wanted to give the overall impression that this was Dingle itself being passed through the brewery and brought, via the lager, to the end customer. We kept the imagery simple and uncomplicated to reflect how the Dingle Brewing Company intended brewing. We also had to keep in mind that this brand marq was going to be scaled up and down for use on everything from large outdoor signage to small merchandise items. With one or two small adjustments the client was happy with the brand marq.

Support Material

With the brand marq signed-off we started working on developing the identity. As mentioned one of the memorable images we had of the brewery was the dark wood that the casks were made of and which was accented as part of the brewery building itself. We decided to use an image of this wood as a backdrop for the brand marq and as a background for the associated marketing material. It worked well with the darkness of the wood providing a good contrast against the mainly white brand marq. It also gave a good indication of the atmosphere of the brewery for those who would see the material without having visited the brewery.

We also got to work on other supporting material, from outdoor and ambient signage to flyers and brochures right across the board to t-shirts and other merchandise that would be available in the brewery gift shop.

At the moment we are just finalising the web site design and hope to have this online in a couple of weeks. We, and more importantly, the client, are very happy with how it is shaping up and are looking forward to seeing the reaction it gets from users.

Product Branding

The guys at the brewery had a very simple business plan. Instead of going fo a range of products they were going to produce one product and put all effort and concentration into making that product a premium one. They had decided to brew a lager and they were going to name it after local hero, Tom Crean. We were delighted with this name. Through his many feats of bravery and endurance Tom Crean had reached almost mythical status. The fact that he was from nearby Annascaul, Co. Kerry gave the name all the more relevance and resonance. We felt that there would be great creative scope here to create a really memorable identity for the lager and the supporting material.

Tom Crean’s Premium Irish Lager
The Dingle Brewing Company wanted an image that would reflect the care and effort they were putting into getting the lager just right. They also have a great deal of respect fro Tom Crean, the man, and wanted this respected to shine through in the identity.

We set about researching the man. There was so much to this quiet, stoic, character who went from the village of Annascaul to being a valued member of expedition teams for both Scott and Shakleton and ended up being heralded as having carried out the greatest feat of human endurance. After his naval career he quietly retired to his home village where he owned and ran the South Pole in until his death in 1938.

There was a lot we could have worked with but sticking to the ethos of the brewery and the character of the man himself we wanted to make the identity simple, uncomplicated, understated and interesting.

We had thought about a hexagonal shape for the identity, based on the shape of the Polar Medal, 3 of which were awarded to Tom Crean for his various feats. We had not seen many bar taps or identities of this shape and thought it would be a nice way to honour the hero.

As a second option we thought of an explorers compass. The circular shape of a compass also sat well with the brand marq for the brewery.

After discussions with the client we developed the ‘compass’ option. What could be more evocative of discovery and exploration?. We went through many versions of a compass graphic, some too complicated, some too modern. We eventually settled on a very simple version with only the North and South points showing. We placed the compass slightly off centre in a nod to a ships chronometer and to give the feeling the the needle was moving back and forth.

For the name of the lager we wanted to accentuate ‘Crean’s’ It was the vision of the Dingle Brewing Company that the customer would walk in to the bar, nod a t the barman and ask for ‘a pint of Crean’s’ To this end we made ‘Crean’s’ the focus of the identity, with the first name Tom resting in smaller type on top. For the typeface we wanted to used an old fashioned, classic looking, serif font, as would have been seen in newspapers and posters of the time. we felt that using all uppercase letters spoke to the strength and unwielding nature of Tom Crean.

Once we had the main elements decided on we added some distinctive character elements. On reading accounts of Tom Crean there were many comments on how he never asked for much and how much he would enjoy his pipe. We wanted to incorporate this in some way and after playing around with it for a while we used a pipe graphic as the apostrophe in Crean’s.

Another little fun item we added is the 18/35. This has already proved to be a great conversation starter when people see the identity or as they are holding the glass. Was it the year he was born/died? Was it the year of any of his voyages or the year he retired?. In Antarctic conditions and surviving only on 2 sticks of chocolate Tom Crean set of on a 18 hour trek over 35 km, a feat of incredible endurance and all to save the life of his 2 colleagues. We had to mark this in some way, so without much fuss or fanfare we nestled the numbers under his name. It still gives us a kick to see people noticing the number for the first time a theorising about what they mean.

For the colour palette, with the imagery of medals being in our minds we stuck to silvers and golds. We felt these also added to the premium feel that the client was hoping to achieve.

Support Material

Once we had the 2 identities finished we set to work on all manner of support material. Beer mats, bar taps, exterior signage, flyers, tent cards, posters, t-shirts, merchandise, web and social media, even right down to working with the clients on choosing and branding the glass.

Tagline and ‘Footprint’

For the supporting material we need a strong but engaging tagline. Given the provenance of the name of the lager and all that entailed coupled with the entrepreneurial spirit of the guys in the brewery we settled on ‘Discover Crean’s’. Simple and effective, it evokes the imagery associated with exploration while letting people know that this is a new lager worthy of discovery.

We also need a primary image to accompany this tagline on the marketing material. Given Tom’s amazing trek, we decided on using a footprint in the snow. The client was very happy with the footprint image. in one simple image it evokes the mammoth task which Tom crean undertook. The bleakness of the footprint in the snow contrasts nicely with the warm hue of the lager.

It all came together for us when the lager officially launched. The Dingle Brewing Company were aiming for the first brew to be ready mid July and it was. As if fated, Tom Creans birthday is on the 21st of July so after putting our heads together with the client we decided that the only place in the world that this lager should be launched is in the South Pole Inn Annascaul. So on 21st of July 2011 the first pint of tom Crean’s premium Irish lager was poured from the taps in the South Pole Inn, once owned by the great man himself, and the time of the first pour.. well that was twenty five to seven of course i.e 18.35.

Dingle Brewing Company are now supplying numerous pubs in Dingle, Kildare and Dublin where it is being received with great response. It recently won the top prize in the Inaugural Golden Hot Press Bottle-Opener Award, a judging competition carried out by Hot Press magazine with judges Michelin-starred chef and restauranteur Kevin Thornton, Fair City star Ciara O’Calaghan, singer Mal Tuohy, guitarist Gavin Glass and journalist Staurt Clark.  Kevin Thornton said “Excellent! I’d happily have this in Thornton’s”.  Ciara said “Light but full of flavour, love it!”.  Mal said “I’m normally a Heineken or Carlsberg man, but I’d happily have this on a night out”.

We have loved working on this project and the team in Dingle Brewing Company and we are very proud of what we have created so far. The future looks very promising for the lager and the brewery with lots more developments in the pipeline.  We look forward to being part of the continuing growth of this brand.

Development
Since it’s Launch, Tom Crean’s lager has gone from strength to strength.  It is contiuously being installed in pubs all over the country.  More recently Dingle Brewing Company launched the Tom Crean’s bottles.  It will be available in off-licences and resaturants nationwide and plans are in place to start exporting to the US and Europe.  We hope to be working with the team in Dingle for a long time to come in seeing the worldwide growth of the lager and being part of the Irish success story.

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Here is a brochure we produced for the beautiful 5 star hotel The Brehon in Killarney.   They offer a huge range of different types of breaks away and asked us to design their seasonal promotional brochure.  It was primarily to promote their seasonal packages for stays at the hotel, but also to highlight the spa and wedding facilities at the hotel.  They produced 40,000 of these and they were included in national newspapers as an insert.  We aimed to make this very ‘Autumny’ and used a slightly magical Autumn forest image for the cover which represents how Killarney can really be at this time of year.  There is also a focus on the Christmas season so we kept the ‘christmassy’ design in purple which is the hotel’s brand identity primary colour. We just added a bit of sparkle! We kept the colour palette very simple in just the hotel’s brand colours, purple and taupe, which creates a consistent flow throughout, and doesn’t clash with the images.  There was a lot of information to display in this brochure but we think the finished product strikes the right balance between being highly informative and being visually attractive … which is what good design is all about.