Design Musings

Buttermilk Shop wanted a fresh contemporary look for their Cornish fudge company, but essential in the brief was ensuring that their primary market was not alienated during the change. This is a challenge we face with many projects, as the years spent building up a customer base are not to be taken lightly. We came up with a clean typographic solution which could be placed onto different colours to reflect different flavours on the packaging. This is accompanied by a small line drawing, reflecting the Cornish coastline. The vector image is key to the connection between old and new, a crisp modern style of illustration representing the long tradition of Cornish fishing ports where the Buttermilk shops are located.

Every time we receive the North Cornwall Advertiser, we cannot help but check through to see what businesses we recognise and see how they are marketing themselves, and it is always enjoyable to add something to the range of companies featured. The Waterfront Cafe Bar in Polzeath recently contacted us wanting to try a different approach to their existing advertising campaign. We worked with the images and logo that they already had and presented them in a new way, focusing on pitching them to their target market of diners looking for somewhere with personality and class. This advert was designed on a very tight deadline, meaning that we saw it in print very quickly, as the new edition was dropped onto our doormat. Another reason for us to pore through the paper...

"Buttermilk Shop is a Cornish fudge company with shops in Padstow and Port Isaac. We recently designed them a new logo, representing them with a fresh, contemporary and colourful brand. We also created a line drawing to reflect their seaside location. The packaging combined Emma's illustration of a Cornish port with the new logo and clear text on bold backgrounds. The packaging was designed for three different types of products: fudge in a bag, slim box and multi-tiered boxes in different sizes. The whole collection works well together with each flavour having its own identity by having its own designated colour." Marie Lawley This was a project which involved the whole creative team, and the finished result took in the strengths of each member. We are working on a website to sell Buttermilk's products, the design will reflect and extend the brand. Keep an eye out to see when it is launched, as the fudge is certainly not worth missing!

You may remember we recently wrote about some business cards we have created for new business, Camel Self-Storage, well, we just completed their stationery and leaflet design. Being a new company the clients had a lot they wanted to communicate, wanting to show the full extent of their potential. So with the DL leaflet we chose stock imagery that would visually point the viewer to all the different services they offer. The back of the leaflet was used to help explain the process and to show the location. I stuck clearly to the defined brand colours, and feel we created an eye catching design. I have also been working on some advertising for the company, so watch out for that in local publications. With their stationery, the clients wanted to keep the information's presentation traditional. I had presented them with some more contemporary options, but the simplicity of the designs included in this post worked better for their target market. I am pleased with the final resul...

Riding Out The Recession is a website we built for Sean Maher, who has already set out on his mammoth bike ride to Africa. We designed the logo to be clean and clear, but with an adventurous, youthful edge, with the handwritten letters and fresh colours. The playful image of a cyclist riding the letters 'e' and 'c', and the silhouette of the continent tell the story of the trip. The website has been created to be a functional vehicle for finding out information about Sean, his cause, and the people who are helping him do it. The site is also a link to find out what Sean is doing with up-to-date information from social networking sites, and his own blog. We hope this website is a useful tool for him to share his adventures with us and we look forward to reading his latest news! Written by Marie Lawley

I knew I was heading to Bude, but still forgot my camera, so my iPhone had to suffice. We had been meaning to take a shot of the new sign we designed for Bored Lizard Surf Shop for some weeks, and as the late Autumn sun slipped behind the shops, I made the most of the fading light. We created the brand for Laurent Calvez's surf shop a few years ago, and it was good to see it on Bude high street. He has steadily added the new logo and colours to different areas of his business including posters, advertising and website. Bored Lizard has become an established feature of the seaside town, and has expanded its stock available in the store and online.

It was enjoyable to recently revisit a brand we created a few years ago. J.Murray Homes is a construction firm located in Somerset who have a keen sense of design in their work and presentation to the public. Emma Julian designed the logo as one of her first branding exercises after joining Pickle Design. This was our first opportunity to design and print manage advertising information for them. They chose to stick to their brand colours and use strong images from their portfolio. Their service stretches from smaller jobs to imaginative renovations. The fireplace pictured is a project the are very proud of, showing off their interior design skills as well. The print options they selected was a satin finish printed full colour on 300gsm stock. Durable and professional, able to stand being posted and displayed for extended periods of time.

Brand design has moved in new directions in recent years, and with the advent of mobile internet, promises to develop into ever new unexpected formats. Twitter has snowballed in recent months, and continuing our clients' visual identity here is also important. Above is the custom Twitter background that we created for Sean Maher's Twitter feed. It carries his brand for the charity bike ride, Riding Out The Recession, where he will be heading from Cornwall to Cape Town. It carries artwork from the website we are currently putting the finishing touches on, and his new logo. Make sure you keep an eye on his progress, we will put updates on our blogs and Sean will be both twittering and blogging as he travels.

"We are in the process of branding the new company 'Camel Self-Storage' and these are their business cards. We settled on a logo using Cornish colours and applied this to the business card. I wanted to keep one side very simple and impactive, so simply used the golden yellow and the logo. The back is all about communicating their details so it is all very self explanatory. There is a line drawing of a box visually reinforcing the brand. I have applied this same visual language to the website which is now online and we are currently working on the rest of the company stationery. This is a good clear brand, easy to recognise and communicative," Emma Julian.

We sometimes find that smaller businesses will avoid coming to a design studio for web or print design, but the website shown above is a good example of a simple site for a traditional trade. J and R Window Cleaning Services Ltd wanted an online presence, but the owner of the business, Norman Greaves, was concerned that there was not a great deal to say about his business. We created a basic three page website that showed clearly what he does, and why the new pole system is effective and worthwhile. He takes pride in providing a professional service, and felt that his website should reflect that.

Marie Lawley has recently completed a new website for Camel Fish Ltd, she had this to say on the project: "Camel Fish wanted a website to show simply who they are, what they do and how to contact them. I did this by using the existing logo to create a banner at the top of the page to feature the toolbar. The grid structure provided a good way to display their images of the shell fish, taking the viewer on a journey of how they are freshly caught, stored in tanks and distributed in their temperature controlled vans. We wanted the colour scheme and clean lines to reflect a fresh and professional service, the blue and white hints of the sea reflecting their situation in Cornwall," Marie Lawley.

There are some new additions to the Pickle Design Shop, a range of poster designs available to order. The images on this page are taken from the posters, but take a look at the shop to see the full range. Emma has created the majority of the designs in the shop, so we asked her what her thoughts were: "We have produced a selection of posters for you all to purchase! Marie and I often go for a stroll down the country lane near Pickle to break up the computer dominated day, and this is what inspired me. I titled this collection 'Summer Stroll' so expect spindly wild flowers, twisted branches and warm throbbing hues. The posters are available in A4 or A3 and are the perfect accompaniment to any wall. Marie has also designed a beautiful poster with her sweet style of cut-out illustration, 'tea party' in pink and grey."

After completing the design and print of Minear Engineering's leaflets in the Spring, we were approached to design their website. The leaflet leant itself well to being transferred across and applied to the web, so Emma took on the task of working with Marie's print design. "I was given the task of transforming Marie's design for the Minear Engineering leaflet into a five page website, and really liked working with the existing style, wanting to communicate the industrial nature of the business. The main purpose of the site was to present the company as a professional business, explain the wide range of services they provide and make clear how someone can contact them. I kept the same strong and minimal colour palette as I felt this was quite striking, and made sure the design was simple, clear and easy to navigate."

We have just completed work on the new identity of Riding Out The Recession, a fund raising bike ride from Cornwall to Cape Town by Sean Maher. Marie has been working on the project, and wrote the following about the process so far: “Sean came to us to see if we could help him with branding and a website for his bike expedition. We thought his plan to 'ride out the recession' was a great idea and wanted to help so he can get the maximum support for his charities. We started by creating a logo for him, looking for something that tells the story of his journey. We choose a hand-drawn style that reflects a personal feel, whilst the colours suggest the action and adventure of his quest. We are looking forward to keeping up with Sean's progress as we work on other elements of the project, such as his website, which will feature a blog and image gallery so everyone can keep up to date with his latest movements. We are very excited to be involved, and hope Sean will raise lots of ...

Pickle Design passed the three year milestone at the end of August, and we could not let it go by without marking the occasion. So Emma and Marie had the idea of taking advantage of the Camel Trail. We hired some bikes and rode the trail from Wadebridge to Padstow, remarkably between showers, although the wind did make the outward journey slightly more challenging (especially to our hair...). But we were spurred on by the thought of fish and chips when we got to our destination, and chose to sample some of Stein's. Marie brought her husband, Jai (above), along for the ride, and Emma invited her brother, Paul (below). The conversation was lively and ranged from our ubiquitous movie chat, a few moments contemplating Spurs' currently good progress in the league, and the astonishing scenery right on our doorstep. So that was three years and the fourth one looks to be even more interesting. We are just as keen to find challenging projects to work on, so feel free to contact us with ...

The new showcase on the Pickle Design features work we have completed for an exceptional international artist, John O'Carroll. The project involved all of our creative team, below, Emma Julian talks a little about the design that she and Marie developed, bringing John O'Carroll into the process as well. The book contained both a English and Dutch translation. “A favourite of our portfolio is the book we designed for the Padstow based artist, John O'Carroll. This project involved both Marie and I, and was an enjoyable challenge. John O'Carroll is an exceptional artist who is inspired by the natural world around him. He draws influence from the rugged Cornish moors and coast, the gentle Dutch landscape and his time on archaeological digs in Egypt. Our task was to take this varied body of work and put together a book showcasing John's paintings, sculptures and installations. We worked with John to create a mark to represent him as an artist, influenced by his sketches ...

We have just added the stationery we completed for Brookfields Bed and Breakfast to the portfolio on our website. We designed a complete set of stationery for the comfortable and welcoming B&B accommodation. The business card was posted on this blog a little while ago. The letterhead and compliment slip were designed to work together and sit nicely alongside their website. They carry the branding we created for Ron and Robbie Caswell, and were printed on uncoated stock, giving them a pleasant feel when used. To see more of the work we have completed for Brookfields, take a look at the other posts from previous months here, Brookfields ...

Heritage Bespoke Joinery, based in Camelford, were looking for some hard wearing shirts for their employees recently, and so we laid out the shirts pictured above and sourced a reliable local firm to produce them. They chose to go for an embroidered design in black onto grey polo and T-shirts, and the result is very effective. The finished shirts carry their name on the chest, and a larger description on the back. They went for heavy duty garments, as working on construction sites will put the clothing through its paces. But, no matter how long they last, some warmer tops may be needed come Winter!

We recently finished designing and arranging the print of the leaflets pictured above for Penni and Paul of P&P Groundworks. The leaflets were part of a project that included website and stationery design. Penni and Paul would both admit that photographs of their work are difficult to make exciting, as they specialise in creating foundations with pin point accuracy. But they also create patios, an aspect of the business that is growing. They pride themselves in handling everything on the site that is required, taking all the work off the shoulders of the owner. They talk through the whole process, and make sure that the site is emmaculate once finished.

DL flyers seem to be becoming a speciality of ours; a lot of our clients have requested one after seeing some of our previous work, and this is one we are proud of. A new leaflet for Rooke Cottages, based just outside Chapel Amble near Wadebridge. Designed to be displayed in leaflet dispensers and show off how luxurious the accommodation is, we matched their existing brand and let the images do the talking. The print really finishes off the job. A heavy, environmentally friendly card was selected, printed uncoated to add texture to the flyer's feel. These self catering cottages in North Cornwall are five star gems, and have to be seen for themselves.

We have just released our first Twitter Backgrounds, available now to download on the Pickle Design website. Here are four examples of my favourites, but we have eight online to choose from. Anyone who uses Twitter will empathise, when I say that the standard backgrounds can become extremely tedious after a short while (or perhaps I am just awfully fickle...), and that is why so many create their own. But many Twitterers are looking for something individual and unique. So we set about coming up with some fresh backgrounds of our own. We will be adding new designs regularly, so keep checking back to see what we have created, and feel free to contact us with any requests.

We had a chance to produce a sneak preview of the new branding and design created for Buttermilk Shop. After working for quite some time to distil the separate elements of the business, we have completed the greater part of the project. But the new designs have yet to be printed. That was when the owner of the business had a little job that could queue jump and give us a chance to test out the brand. The images are of bag headers created for a new line Buttermilk Shop have started, a pasty made of their delicious fudge! This was obviously intended for a different market to the rest of our packaging work, so Emma came up with a style that focused on capturing the intrinsic Cornishness of both the fudge and the pasty itself. But we were still able to tie in the packaging to the new brand, and Marie helped apply the logo and layout that will be seen across the boxes of fudge and website. This was created in black and white to emphasise the Cornish location and product. So, somewh...

The Guadalupe Hills Holiday Apartments website has been one of the largest we have worked on for a while, but it needed to be, to reflect the region in Spain where the complex is situated. It also needed to represent a number of apartment owners both jointly and independently. We suggested creating the site in a way that would provide visitors a useful resource, while at the same time presenting the complex in a pleasing way. There are three different categories of self catering apartments, all luxurious with wonderful views. The Costa del Sol is packed full of activities, one of the most popular being golf, so we dedicated a large portion of the site to letting visitors know what was in store for them. The golfing page includes a map of the numerous clubs within walking and driving distance. Along with photographs and guides to the local region and the well furnished apartments themselves, we added an availability checker and booking facilities. Considering the amount of apartments an...

We have recently completed a website for The Crown Hotel in Lynton, North Devon - you can see a screen shot of the homepage above. The Crown Hotel is homely but they make an effort to give you a feeling of luxury as well. We chose an image to give the impression of wallpaper, and applied it to the background of each page. Similar elements were introduced to sit behind the title and overlay the inset images. This is a simple website, but the focus on the design ensures that it is an enjoyable experience for visitors.

Lorraine from Wadebridge Bathroom Studio popped into our studio today and volunteered to model one of our girls' fit t-shirts, and as it was such a lovely day we took a few shots outside. The shot above was the only one where Lorraine managed to behave herself and not pull a face! The graphics on the shirt have caused a lot of interest. Emma, who created the illustrative piece, was aiming for an abstract graphic based on recent projects and other scraps of inspiration throughout our studio. It took us a little longer to find a guy that would model the male shirt, but finally we nabbed Jonny who looks over the moon to be on the internet!