A little job for me

Producing my new mailer has proved something of a tortuous process, as self-promotional jobs often are.

Initially, the idea was to do something for Christmas '07, and my erstwhile design clients at 300million very kindly offered to help. But when I saw their ideas, I had a feeling this could take a while.

They gave me some options, but there was only ever one real contender. And it was fiendishly complicated to produce.



The idea began as a bit of fun. I've lost track of the number of times clients (and others) have told me you can't start a sentence with 'And'. (Usually because they were told so at school.) This is a fallacy, but it's incredibly persistent.

What amazes me is that clients will often accept all manner of challenges from me on their tones of voice, and on other issues of style or grammar, but become quite intractable on this one point.

So I decided to produce a booklet full of quotes on the subject, from revered authorities on written English. And 300million thought it would be nice to produce a booklet that somehow opened up again and again, in active reflection of the conjunctive theme.



Their most ingenious solution meant folding strips of paper in such a miraculous way that what appeared to be a four-page booklet would keep opening along the spine to reveal new, hidden spreads. They managed to do it, and gave Gavin Martin Associates the hugely complex task of printing it.

Both designers and printers worked like Trojans. Gavin Martin actually ran their presses on this four times, having found that the only way to check it properly was to actually print the damned thing. To me, they described it as 'a labour of love'. I suspect they used less polite language in private.



Nevertheless, we got there. And I'm incredibly proud of the result. It's turned from a bit of fun into something surprising, unique and memorable. That's what I reckon anyway, and I'm delighted to say the responses (look here and here) seem to bear me out.

If you haven't had a copy, I'm very sorry. Please drop me a line, and if there are any left I'll get one off to you. (I'm not made of money, and only printed 300.)

(To see the mailer in action, have a look at the video clip here.)

New Reed words now on sale in Waitrose

Selected Waitrose stores are now stocking a completely new word, created by yours truly.

Papura is the name I developed for a new brand of tissue paper, made almost entirely from 'bagasse', a by-product of sugar production. This left-over sugar cane would normally be dumped, but can instead be transformed into paper.

Not only that, but you don't have to bleach and disinfect it like normal recycled paper - a process that usually demands some pretty harsh chemicals.

This environmental quality, plus of course its lovely soft feel, makes it a purer sort of recycled tissue than most. Hence Papura.


I also wrote the copy for the packaging, designed by Carrow Design. We decided to create a statement about Papura's qualities that would sit facing out of the shelves for customers to scan.


And I don't think Peter Carrow will mind if I crow about the fact that the original idea for the logo also came from Reed Words.

Peter, of course, is a proper designer, and he took my initial thought about a sort of 'infinite loop' in the A and P of the name (which also looks rather like spools of paper), and made it actually work as an elegant piece of type. He had useful things to add to the copy too. Exactly the sort of unselfish writer/designer collaboration I am continually stamping my soapbox about.

New website for the City Property Association

Here's the website I wrote for the City Property Association, which (as you might expect) represents those who own or lease commercial property in the City of London.

The CPA's elegant new identity is by Purpose, who also designed the site in conjunction with Sennep.

The whole project was managed by the redoubtable Liz Lockwood, formerly Head of Marketing at Land Securities and now her own woman, doing great things under the banner of Infanta Creative.

The best retail address in London?

It's got to be up there: the huge space directly underneath Piccadilly Circus's famous illuminated advertising hoardings. A space currently occupied by Burger King, but which is soon to become vacant.

This whole building, Piccadilly Lights, is owned, almost inevitably, by my client Land Securities. With Burger King's lease up, they're looking to let this unique location to a leading international brand. So, naturally enough, they turned to Hat-trick - and me.


Together, we've created a brochure and a website (beautifully realised, as ever, by Bounce) that reflect the location's glitz and gloss. In fact, the brochure's so incredibly glossy, slipping it out of its clear envelope for the first time released a pungent bouquet of ink and varnish: an unexpected, but rather wonderful, olfactory bonus. Mind you, I'm one of those people who loves the smell of creosote.


In this location, retailers have a real shopfront on the world, not just London. So the copy focuses on the site's potential to enhance any international brand, tying it to one of the globe's great city icons.


The images, reminiscent of the towering billboards themselves, are pixelated with tiny little shopping bag pixels, which tie in to the numbers of people seeing, passing and visiting the site.


You can read all the copy, and see more of the imagery, at the One Piccadilly Lights website.

Croydon College posters and postcards

Yet another Croydon-based project, this time for Croydon College. Working with Mark Studio - a welcome new addition to the client list - I wrote a campaign of posters and accompanying postcards, encouraging people to sign up for further education. 

The target audience, fairly obviously, is those who've been through the education system without necessarily gaining all the qualifications they need. Finding themselves somewhat stymied in life, they're offered the chance of a fresh start with a qualification from Croydon.

The postcards follow the theme of the posters, but introduce case studies of people who've already made this journey - like the man who used to flog washing machines, but now runs his own recruitment agency. It's an education in education.

If you'd like to read the copy on the posters, download one here as a PDF (137k).

Ruskin Square billboards

As promised, and with thanks to Ruby at Figtree, here are some pictures of my billboards for the Ruskin Square development in Croydon. Look quite smart, don't they?
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Ruskin Square website

Ruskin Square is a major new mixed-use development in the heart of Croydon, designed by Foster+Partners and FaulknerBrowns.

The development is remarkable in that it accommodates an entire community, with homes, offices, shops, restaurants, bars and even a GP surgery. It is also providing a stunning new home for Croydon's famous Warehouse Theatre.

As its name suggests, the development has been inspired by the ideas of John Ruskin, who believed passionately in the power of architecture to transform lives.

I worked with design consultancy Figtree on the development website, as well as a brochure and a selection of hoardings and billboards around the construction site.

You can see the website here, and watch this space for some more images of the work as soon as I get hold of some copies...

Bowers & Wilkins advertising

In recent weeks I've written my first two ads for Bowers & Wilkins, makers of the world's most advanced loudspeakers. The first (left) was produced to announce the company's first foray into in-car audio - an amazing system for the Jaguar C-XF concept car.

The second announces the launch of the Signature Diamond, designed by the legendary Kenneth Grange to celebrate B&W's 40th anniversary. It's an extraordinary thing, with a diamond-domed tweeter housed in a beautiful marble oval on the top of the speaker. This ad is also one of the first to promote the Society of Sound, a community of artists, technicians and music aficionados established by Bowers & Wilkins.

You can download a PDF showing both ads in higher resolution by clicking here.

Hunt Dobson Stringer website

The new website for redevelopment consultants Hunt Dobson Stringer is now up and running. The site was designed by the good people at 300million, who were kind enough to ask me to write the words. So I did.

Check out the results here.

D&AD Xchange 2007

I recently worked with Hat-trick on my first D&AD project, which was nice. It was a booklet to promote D&AD Xchange - the annual two-day event for educators in design, advertising and communications.

As ever, D&AD had assembled a stellar line-up of speakers. So the concept for the materials was 'Mix with some big names'. The cover of the booklet (left) is a playful interpretation of that idea.

If you'd like to read what I wrote, click here to download a PDF of the booklet.

A crisis in communication

There couldn't be a cause much closer to my heart than language. So it's a shock to learn that in some areas of the UK, over half the children starting school do so without the basic speech and language skills they need.

Yes, half. 50%. And 'basic' means 'basic': things like recognising your own name, or counting to five. That figure again: 50%.

I made this terrifying discovery while working on I CAN's new report (left). I CAN is the children's communication charity. For 20 years, it's been developing practical solutions to children's communication problems. Now it needs dramatically to expand its scope, if we're to turn the tide of a crisis in language that's engulfing the nation.

The charity had already produced an authoritative report on the economic impact of this crisis. Language is the fundamental skill, underpinning all the others we ever learn. Without it, children grow up with few skills and few qualifications - with obvious implications for the national economy.

I CAN wanted an accompanying report, aimed at major donors, to expose the human cost of this crisis. Because unless these problems are spotted and addressed early, they can decimate people's lives, and leave whole families struggling at the margins of society.

I CAN asked me in to make the report as emotionally engaging and compelling as possible, in order to secure the considerable donations they so urgently need. Hopefully I've achieved that, because this is a campaign that really cannot afford to fail.

You can read the full report as a PDF - just click here (2.2MB). And you don't have to be a major donor to make a donation.

Capital Commitment book

The latest version of Land Securities' Capital Commitment book is hot off the presses, designed by 300million, with copy by - well, you can imagine who wrote the copy.

This new book updates the original, produced in 2004, and details Land Securities' entire London property portfolio - worth some £7 billion (and counting).

Over 100 pages, this hardback tome shows off both existing properties, and those in development, as well as providing a platform to expound Land Securities' long-standing commitment to the capital. (They've been in London for over 60 years.)

The front cover presented one of those little writing challenges that so enthuse us wordsmiths. I had to create a paragraph that would sum up the book, and use the words 'capital' and 'commitment' in such a way that they could be picked out in silver. As you can see, it worked out rather nicely.

Land Securities brand values book

As part of the launch of its new identity, Land Securities produced this little book explaining its core values.

The book, designed by Hat-trick and written by yours truly, sets out and illustrates the philosophy that sets the company apart. It's also a good demonstration of the flexibility built into Hat-trick's deceptively simple identity.

The little corner marks have a life of their own, picking out the relevant elements in visuals, type and just about anything. It's very neat - suitably corporate, but with a wit and charm that lifts it well above the run-of-the-mill.

To download the full book as a PDF (1MB), click here.

Capital Commitment website

Capital Commitment is the name for Land Securities' London portfolio. This multi-billion pound collection of properties, both existing and in development, is described in a forthcoming book, which I've written, and the Capital Commitment website, which I also wrote. The book was designed by 300million, and the site by Bounce.

The site also shows off the new Capital Commitment ad campaign, which I created alongside the designers at Hat-trick. Watch out for samples of the campaign on this site soon.

SoCo poster

Following on from the last post, here's one of the posters inviting people to imagine the potential of the SoCo site.

SoCo: the big picture

This is one of the first pieces of literature for SoCo, the Edinburgh development between South Bridge and Cowgate.

The piece is an A3 introduction to the development, including CGIs and maps of the area.

It also shows off 300million's identity for the project very well, but at this size you don't get to read much of my copy.

However, the headline shows the 'riddle' campaign (see my previous post) developing nicely.

Helping create a new food brand

Pioneering Foods is a new brand, bringing together two frozen foods businesses under one inspiring umbrella. Elmwood were given the job of creating the new identity and launch materials, including this brochure. And I was delighted to be asked to help with the words.

Elmwood's identity includes a very nifty mark, in which a cap P tips on its side to create a creamy-topped mountain peak, and a bank of witty images in which food takes on a new, appropriately pioneering, appearance. On the cover (left), for example, some tasty chocolate desserts are transformed into the sort of place Captain Kirk would boldly go.

The brochure also introduces Pioneering Foods' two constituent businesses, Icefresh Foods and Heaven Made Desserts. Elmwood has created identities for these subsidiaries too, including the one shown (below) for Heaven Made, in which a plate becomes an ill-deserved halo for what are actually extremely naughty, but delicious, frozen desserts.

If you'd like to read some of the copy, you can download a PDF of the hot-air balloon spread and a PDF of the Heaven Made spread.

RAC Christmas cards

I know it's only August, but I thought you'd like these. They're for RAC Automotive Partnerships, the bit of the RAC that helps businesses with their fleets and so forth.

Elmwood came up with some lovely visuals, turning bits of motoring gear into appropriately festive imagery. Then they asked me to come up with some accompanying words.

So inside the top card, it says "What better time to celebrate lasting partnerships? (Or start some new ones.)"

The middle one says, "Like us, Santa knows the value of partnerships."

And the bottom one says, perhaps inevitably, "May your days be merry and bright."

Only 136 days to go - better get down the shops.

A box of delights for Land Securities

The latest of my work for Land Securities is hot off the press this week. It's a beautiful portfolio of images to promote New Street Square, in the City, to potential retail tenants.

It's an especially interesting development, turning what was a typically revolting 1960s office block into a collection of new buildings that reinstates the long-lost street plan. Instead of a monolithic lump of concrete, New Street Square is becoming a little hive of lanes and open space, surrounded by shops, cafes and restaurants.

All those establishments need tenants, of course, and that's where this piece comes in. Much more than a mere brochure, the box contains a selection of beautiful, aspirational images (which can be tailored to the audience) to tempt high-quality retailers into the Square. The minimal, straight-talking copy, which introduces the concept and accompanies each image, puts the powerful business case for setting up shop in New Street Square.

Teaching myself structural microbiology

A little while back, Asthma UK (AUK) asked me, along with freelance designer Piers Rutterford, to help them raise around £5 million. The money will secure the future of a prestigious new research centre, set up by AUK and the Medical Research Council (MRC).

The new centre will investigate the complex causes of asthma and allergy, which affect rapidly increasing numbers of people in the UK. Indeed, one of the horrifying statistics I learnt on this project is that someone dies from asthma every six hours.

Piers and I were asked to develop a brochure that would put the case for supporting the Centre to major donors - people with thousands, or even tens of thousands - to donate.

But as well as the brochure, we were also asked to give the entire appeal an identity of its own - one that would attract this level of donor, and make them feel involved in the work of the Centre.

Our answer was 'Partners Against Asthma' - a name that's both a description and a call to arms. It also gives these special supporters a name: Partners. The Centre is all about partnership - between institutions, scientists, Asthma UK and people with asthma. And those whose donations keep the Centre going are every bit as important.

We also gave the name a visual twist: the 't' of 'Partners' is truncated to form a plus sign - a graphic summation of the theme that we carried throughout the brochure.

Writing the appeal meant a crash course in medicine for me (majoring in structural microbiology), and the chance to interview some dauntingly eminent scientists. It was fascinating, and perhaps the toughest writing challenge I've ever faced. So I was especially chuffed when AUK's major donor consultant described the brochure as 'a joy to read'.

To see the brochure in all its glory, click here for a PDF (2MB).