Cog newspaper by Cog Design

arts marketing assoCiation ConferenCe 2011

19â&#x20AC;&#x201C;21 July 2011

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produCed By Cog design www.cogdesign.com

ORIGINAL PIRATE MATERIAL What makes a successful poster campaign? PAGE 6

we are Cog design...

Brand strategy & identity Working with our clients, we distil their complex messages and, using stunning visual cues, we remind people how great those clients are.

Campaigns & promotions

Working with our clients, we produce campaigns that canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be ignored, and inspire audiences to take action, buy tickets and attend events.

weBsites & digital

Working with our clients, we create accessible, integrated digital design that delivers detail, sells tickets, encourages interaction and builds loyalty.

editorial & puBliCations Working with our clients, we design and create journals, brochures and reports and we love to keep producing them, issue after issue.

michael smith cReative DiRectoR, cog Design michael@cogdesign.com @cog_design

This is what we do. We design effective pieces of communication to deliver speciﬁc messages to speciﬁc audiences.

es, you’re absolutely right, this is a marketing tool. It’s got the pretensions of a newspaper but really it’s a way for the Cog Design team to convey messages, about what we do and how we do it, in the hope that you’ll commission us to work with you. This is what we do. We design effective pieces of communication to deliver specific messages to specific audiences. We use whatever medium is the most appropriate: sometimes it’s an App or a social media platform; sometimes it’s a comprehensive website or a targeted email campaign; sometimes we use old-fashioned printed posters, brochures and leaflets. Most of the time we use a combination

of them all and supplement it with face-to-face contact and more subtle means of communication (a house-style of writing, the layout of a letter, the colour of an envelope etc). In this case, we thought there would be times when you’d be at a loose-end, between sessions, when you’d be reaching for something to occupy you. We’ve written a few articles that focus on areas that know are of interest to our clients; hopefully there’s something in here that will pique your interest too. Between the articles we’ve peppered lots of examples of work, sales messages and details about how great your peers think we are. As with all good communica-

tion, this isn’t supposed to be a one-off exercise; we don’t seriously believe that you’ll be so impressed by this paper that you’ll immediately commission us to rebrand your organisation (although we’re open to the possibility). This is a layer that we’ll build upon through other media, word-of-mouth and recommendations but mostly through increased recognition; now you’ve seen the name Cog Design, you’ll notice it more and associate it with this experience. If you do think we’d make good partners for your organisation, or you have a specific project in mind, (or you’d just like to chat), do email me, tweet me or come and find me, I’ll be here throughout the conference.

Contents setting our sites

identity Crisis

poster rationalisation

Ocky Murray explains why we’d rather convey personality than design a brand. page 3

How do you make sure your poster stands out? John Burton looks at the principles behind effective design. page 6

Some agencies are addicted to a formula for designing websites. Rigid formulas may bring quick hits but the results are formulaic. Simon Leadbetter guides us through our five-step programme to recovery. page 12

anatomy of tHe printed page

Commission impossiBle

Commercial, lithographic printing is like a conjuring trick. Mike Davies lets you into his magic circle of knowledge.

Most normal people get through life without having to talk to designers. But arts marketing people aren’t ‘normal’...

page 9

page 16

site lines We’ve been designing and building websites since the mid ‘90s. Here’s a small selection of sites we’ve produced recently. page 14

a word in your eye Marketing doesn’t always have to be picture-led. In the right context, judicious wordplay can paint layers of meaning that can’t be described in a thousand pictures. page 19

Brand strategy & identity

Case study the MaRloWe theatRe

Working with many stakeholders to deliver a world class brand for one of the UK’s largest theatres – a challenging, new building in the heart of historic Canterbury. right: The first piece of communication to feature the new identity. A leaflet targeted at existing Friends. far right: The launch season brochure, produced many months before the completion of the building.

The interval is over…

identity Crisis ocky murray explains why we’d rather convey personality than design a brand.

Brand = personality We’re really uncomfortable using the expression ‘branding’. It’s all a bit icky, isn’t it? Branding conjures up images of middleaged men in red socks and braces, giving cod-Latin names to huge multi-nationals to increase their market-penetration. Sometimes it’s important to use the word ‘brand’ but usually we try to talk about an organisation’s ‘personality’. Our job is to use visual cues and communications to help our clients project their personality. Perhaps the most telling aspect of this analogy is when we consider that our personality is how other people perceive us (based on the sum total of their experience, much of which is beyond our control). Branding is therefore a way of conveying personality so that every encounter is consistent, and every encounter is true to that personality. You can’t make people like you but you can be consistent so that, at the very least, people will understand you enough to make up their own minds. Branding, not Badging Most people, including designers, confuse the meaning of the words brand, visual identity and logo. It’s impor-

tant to create a distinction between them because they serve distinct purposes and, of course, they require varying levels of thinking, implementation and budgets. In this context, your brand is the way others feel about you. It is influenced by all the ways that you

Your brand is the way others feel about you. interact with them (including the way you write press release, your toilet facilities, the quality of food in your café, the speed of online ticket booking… (everything). We all feel differently about Calvin Klein pants than we do about Primark pants – that’s the difference between their brands; it is their personality. A visual identity is your palette of visual cues. It is the set of instructions that ensures that your visual output always reflects the values of your personality. It is the way that you apply your logo and all of the elements that go along with that logo (type, colours, shapes, sizes, space between elements etc). Continued oVerLeaf

Brand strategy & identity

Left: Press ad in The Stage, an industry announcement about the wonderful new facilities.

Continued from page 3

Literally speaking, a logo(type) is a mark created only from type, but common usage now encapsulates all visual ‘badges’ used to represent an organisation. It is just one tool in the visual identity toolbox. Why is it important? You want to make every penny count. Every time you invest in a press ad, or need to send an eflyer, you want to make sure that communication is adding to the layers of messages about your personality. If you have a clear and consistent set of guidelines to work from then you will be more efficient and more effective at every level. Consultancy There are huge agencies who just do branding. They often have a trademark, one-size-fits-all process that they work through with multi-national concerns. With the exception of some major venues, arts organisations usually use a different type of consultant. Most arts branding is done by agencies with a range of skills; most designers will offer that service and lots of arts marketing agencies do too. Our projects can be as simple as providing a logo to a specific brief (that we write with the client) to a full-

on, programme of research, public consultation, stakeholder workshops, testing and launch. The majority of the work is facilitating, listening, and thinking; the pictures are the sexy bit at the end or, most often, a staging post to work from during the process. The most important role of the consultant is to bring everyone on the journey. People are naturally cynical about spending money on a pretty badge but, through consultation, (almost) everyone understands the need for consistent communication that will reap tangible rewards. Our job is to facilitate the discussions between stakeholders so they all become advocates of the process and

Brand, new? The word ‘brand’ shares its origins with Germanic words for fire. It was, and still is, used to mean the mark that cattle owners sear into their cows to mark their ownership. At the turn of the 20th century, food distributors used wooden barrels to distribute their products across the vast new settlements of the US. They realised that they could distinguish their barrels by searing a mark into

Above & above right: The visual identity applied sensitively to other people’s design aesthetics.

The most important role of the consultant is to bring everyone on the journey. champions of the brand. It’s a great feeling when we can see previously cynical people proudly explaining their new visual identity to their colleagues and friends. We relish the challenge. The process is different each time; we learn new things from every client and we can bring that experience into the mix to inform the next project. them. If they had a consistently good product people would look out for their mark and that brand would add value. One of the first companies to realise this was Kellogg’s who developed their distinctive K as a branding mark. Through the 20th century as packaging became prevalent and advertisers sought new ways to sell a wider range of products, designs were applied to give greater recognition and ‘branding’ was adopted as the term for adding value through design.

More examples on our website

Visual identity

Logo/mark

Brand

It was the commercial boom of the 1980s that saw branding reach its zenith, with big business employing branding consultants to add value to failing businesses. Suddenly everything had to have a logo and a brand identity and those consultants exploited the situation. By the start of the 21st century we were all a bit more cynical but that doesn’t make the process any less valid. A consistent brand is a vital communications tool.

Brand strategy & identity

Left: Pages from the brand guidelines, a user-guide and a statement of intent. right (top to bottom): Workshop with the team at Canterbury City Council; initial thinking (pared down to three tables full of visual approaches); Design press interest in this innovative visual identity.

“Many people have commented on the new brand. it’s clearly very effective. i’m delighted both with it, and the highly positive reaction that people have given to it.” MaRk eveRett, theatRe DiRectoR, the MaRloWe

Case study i value the aRts

Case study isM

A campaign that we’re proud to have had a hand in.

Award-winning branding that opened the doors to a previously closed members’ club.

We first met with people from National Campaign for the Arts, and Audiences UK, on 4th August last year. They’d hatched a great idea that they wanted to make real: a national campaign of awareness about the imminent public-sector cuts, building a postcode-based database of supporters. They would then be able to target specific local regions and mobilise appropriate local action. Within five weeks, working very closely with their team, we’d designed the visual identity for the campaign, created a full suite of materials that could be downloaded from the site, built and launched the site (with a database from specialists, Purple Seven) and created a hugely successful and highprofile Twibbon campaign. We’re very proud to have played our part in that campaign. We felt so strongly about it that we did it all for free.

A members’ society, founded in 1882, the Incorporated Society of Musicians (ISM) had amazing heritage but was convoluted in its structure and tired in its operation. Membership numbers had been stagnant for many years and the age demographic was rising at unsustainable levels. We worked with their team to transform the way they perceived themselves. Then we helped to reposition them and alter the perception of their members, potential members and industry peers. We brought the whole organisation on the journey, ensuring that no one was scared of the change. We launched a new visual identity with a serious, professional aesthetic, and redesigned all of their communications. Within a year new membership in-

“working with Cog was a dream. they understood our needs instinctively and came up with some excellent designs first time around. they’re always around when we need them and happy to help and in my opinion go above and beyond the call of duty.” louise De WinteR, DiRectoR, nca

creased to 260% with unprecedented increases in younger members. Their members’ journal became a credible opinion forum and their website transformed the interaction with members. The work has catapulted them into industry consciousness, positioning them as an authoritative voice of professional musicians. They’ve attracted the kinds of new members that would not previously have considered joining. Staff and volunteers have new a sense of vigour and rigour, making them advocates for change. Huge savings have been made in the use of print (this, alone, repaid their investment in branding). Together we have kickstarted the process that will secure their future.

“we were all a little sceptical; we just wanted our logo to be tidied up and our magazine to be slicker. but now we get it. we constantly think about our brand and personality; it’s inseparable from what we do.” kiM DavenpoRt gee, heaD of publications & events

above: We were awarded a prestigious Design Effectiveness Award in recognition of our contribution to The ISM’s success.

campaigns & promotions

Post, er... rationalisation Posters are part of the wallpaper of our lives. So how do you make sure yours stands out? John Burton looks at the principles behind effective design.

esigning a stunning poster is easy. Designing an effective (and stunning) poster that will convey specific messages requires a little more thought and care. We’ve written this article to give you some insight into how we think about the process. The principles are common sense (it’s just piece of communication like any other) but creating designs at large sizes requires some understanding of design software and image sizing. We’d always advise working with a professional designer if you can. The main difference between a poster and any other communication is the need to grab attention and tell your story in the split-second it takes to pass it. You are the best person to decide what the main message should be and to choose the best image to sum it up. As marketing people, you want to convince people to come to your show (or sponsor a seat, or join your mailing list, or volunteer on a Saturday afternoon), that’s the most important message. But you’ll have many other concurrent messages and lots of stakeholders with other, more complicated agendas and stories they’ll want to tell. For instance, if you ask a museum curator to choose an artefact to sum up a roman exhibition, they’ll always choose the significant fragment of a pot over the plumed helmet. People really do judge a book by the cover. As marketing people, it’s your job to take other people’s enthusiastic stories and insights, and distil them into messages that will resonate with specific audiences. Those messages can be complex and subtle but for a poster they have to be conveyed quickly and simply. Next, you need to think about audiences. The key is to produce a poster that is appropriate to your target audience. There’s no point producing a beautiful, clever poster that is too sophisticated for the audience. Equally if the messages are too dumbed-down

and simplistic your audience will ignore it (or be actively dissuaded from taking notice). Location is going to be a major factor when thinking about audiences. If your poster is only going to be displayed in your venue then your audiences (and the messages) are going to be very different to those on the high-street or on public transport. If your poster is going on the outside of a bus shelter then your main audience are walking or driving past, if it’s going on a train station then your audience is more likely to have the time to stop and study it and you can afford to build layers of messages.

ith your audience in mind, it’s time to think about how to convey your messages to them. It’s most likely that the main visual element of the poster will be a photograph or a graphic image. Do you have the perfect image that will tell your story and convey the complexities of your messages? If not, then you’ll need to find one and, yes, we do mean one – it takes a great deal of skill and experience to make a successful poster that has more than one key image. There will be times when a supplied photograph isn’t the right approach. Don’t be afraid to commission your own image or buy one from an image library (but do be prepared

to properly license its use). Sometimes, type can be the perfect ‘image’ without the need for extra embellishments. There are few posters more powerful than those that use simple typography. With messages and audience in mind, and image to hand, it’s time to start thinking about how to design the poster. Your needs won’t be the only design consideration. Your venue, or organisation, wants to convey consistency through a visual identity - logo, colours, typeface and possibly the level of detail that each poster should carry. You might need to consider the competing visual identity of the show’s producer or touring company. You’ll also need to consider the demands of sponsors, funders and other stakeholders. Hierarchy is key. A good poster makes an impact within a fraction of a second. You need one clear focal point; there is no point having multiple messages competing for visual attention because they will cancel each other out. At Cog, we stick poster designs on the wall at one end of the studio and walk to the other – if the key message isn’t clear or we can’t read the main title of the show then we rework the design. It’s likely that your one key message is all that most people will take in, at least at first glance. If it’s a powerful enough message they will take it with them (consciously or subconsciously) and it will resonate when they see a supporting press ad, leaflet, email, web presence, news article etc. But if the poster will be in a place where people will have time to examine it more closely, you can afford to use more layers of information, as long as they are complementary, not competing for attention.

The main difference between a poster and any other communication is the need for immediacy.

Are posters still relevant? Here are five reasons why posters are still worth the investment, even in this digital age. 1/ High profile Posters are as much about profile as selling a particular show. The higher your venue’s profile, the more people will consider it as an option for their time and money. 2/ Adaptable With digital printing, different designs can be produced for specific sites or purposes, cost effectively. You might try targeting a local youth-club with specific messages about your music nights, or the bingo hall with messages about tea-dances and music hall shows. 3/ Big and impressive There’s no getting away from the fact that people are impressed by size. Rightly or wrongly, people take a show more seriously if it has a large poster in the foyer or they’ve seen one elsewhere. The bigger the poster, the more impressed they’ll be. 4/ Other audiences Not everyone reads the culture blogs. Positioned correctly, a poster can reach people in ways that other media can’t. A poster in your high street will be seen by every local shopper; no other medium can reach them as cost-effectively. 5/ kudos for artists Posters can be an inexpensive way of showing a visiting artist that they are valued. We once worked with an event producer who produced a poster for every touring artist and pasted it on the route from their hotel to the venue.

Three words of caution... Is your poster acceptable? Some poster sites have strict rules of taste and decency, others (like London Transport) won’t allow graffiti or torn paper effects. Of course, some people set out to have their poster banned, for the publicity, but we’d never advocate that. Flyposting is illegal You can’t just stick them up wherever you want. However there are many options for hiring sites or making an in-kind sponsorship deal with those who have them. You can’t trust the feedback If you ask your audiences how they heard about your show, they are disproportionately likely to say ‘poster’ (especially if you ask them at the venue where a poster is in their line of sight).

campaigns & promotions

anatomy of: an event posteR

the baRe bones of a posteR Design

Branding Venue’s visual identity, serves as branding and to locate the event/exhibition. Their typeface is used for all venue information to retain consistency detailing Subtle detail of ‘mast’, rope and nail to add context and authenticity main title Positioned at ‘eye-level’ in normal poster placement. Typography mirrors the typeface used in the exhibition ClearanCe For when posters are placed in frames Contrast Dark background with light foreground so the image ‘pops’ Commissioned illustration Photographed in a setting to give it context. All elements are historically authentic, to satisfy specific audiences suB-Heading Important because it completes the full title of the show, but is not a primary message to all audiences. Colour and shape used to emphasise the key words Visual referenCes London and gibbet cage included in the illustration, to give clear cues to specific audiences

Clear Call to aCtion Bold type used for emphasis transport message Important to this venue as they are perceived as difficult to get to dates Serves many purposes, including the ‘limited run’ messages sponsor’s logo Clearly positioned in unclutterred space

Book tickets on 020 7001 9844 or at www.museumoflondon.org.uk/pirates Discover the true story of the infamous Captain Kidd in this family exhibition!

20 May – 30 Oct 2011 Timed entry and booking fee apply

West India Quay (14 minutes from Bank on the DLR) Canary Wharf (11 minutes from Waterloo on the Jubilee line) Canary Wharf Pier (13 minutes from London Bridge Pier) West India Quay, London E14 4AL Media partner

campaigns & promotions

Using a powerful, single campaign image is the simplest way to provide cohesion across a multitude of media.

aVast! above: Captain Kidd’s pirate taxi ship, distributed freeentry doubloons across the capital. Left: Venue banners produced by the in-house design team. Below: One of many press ads.

“Cog really embraced the challenge of creating a family-friendly marketing creative. the final image gave us ﬂexibility across our entire campaign, giving us fantastic stand out. we’re delighted with the results.” ViCky Lee, marketing manager, museum of London

Creating tHe pirate poster

initial sketCHes A good rule of thumb: if you can sketch it on the back of an envelope, it’ll be a great poster.

finisHed illustration Bringing the idea to life required proper craft skills, a mastery of the medium and patience.

produCing tHe poster To add authenticity, we stained prints of the poster and dried them on our washing line.

makesHift ligHting We prepared a ‘professional’ lighting-rig using a torch and sweet-wrappers as gels.

tHe set up Nailing our message to the mast (actually a telegraph pole, within yards of our studio).

campaigns & promotions

anatomy of: the pRinteD page

pRinting: the Meaning of layeRs Commercial, lithographic printing is like a conjuring trick. mike davies lets you into his magic circle of knowledge.

early all commercial printing is either digital (for small amounts) or lithographic. Digital printing uses the same kind of technology as your laser printer; it’s exceptionally complicated but we’re all used to seeing it work. Lithographic printing is a completely different and almost unbelievable way of transferring ink from one surface to another. Lithography uses the principle that oil and water repel each other. The process is: 1/ An oil-based substance is applied to a surface (the plate) in the areas that are to be printed. 2/ Water is applied across the surface and is repelled by the printing area. 3/ Ink is floated onto the surface and sticks to those areas without water. 4/ The surface is then offered up to paper and the ink is transferred. 5/ In the commercial process, an extra (off-setting) process is introduced so that the image is printed onto a rubber ‘blanket’ and then transferred onto the paper. Originally the printing surface was a polished stone (lithos being Greek for stone) but now it is either metal or paper; modern techniques use a combination of chemical processes and digital kit to get the image onto the plate. Although there are different standards for colour printing inks and processes, the vast majority of commercial printing uses four standard colours, cyan, magenta, yellow and black, CMYK, to create the illusion of a ‘fullcolour’ range. Only one colour can be printed at a time (although they are printed in quick succession

on a kind of conveyor belt). Only solid areas of colour can be printed, not graduations or light and dark areas. Any area that looks like a lighter colour is actually a series of varying sized dots of solid colour that fool your eye. The same trick is employed with photographs which are recreated as a series of dots to form the shape and shading. The four inks are printed on top of each other and combine to create a visual mix. The coloured inks are translucent and can be printed in any order but the black is always last. A fullcolour photograph is recreated by combing a grid of varying sized dots of each colour, printed next to and on top of each other.

Originally the printing surface was a polished stone (lithos being Greek for stone) but now it is either metal or paper. The CMYK system (like all pigment-based systems) is additive; when the three primaries cyan, magenta, and yellow are mixed they make (nearly) black. Due to the impurities of the pigments used in printing, a separate black is always printed which acts as a key (hence K). Note: the CMYK printing process can only reproduce a small fraction of the visible spectrum (it can’t match bright oranges, deep greens, fluorescents, metallics etc) but we’ve trained our brains to be fooled into thinking we’re seeing full-colour images. This fraction of colour is known as the gamut. Every device, screen and printing technique works within a gamut (as do our eyes compared to the full light spectrum).

C (cyan)

m (magenta)

y (yellow)

k (black)

Cmyk (full-colour)

How to buy print The web is wonderful, social media is essential, guerilla marketing is fun, but most of us still find print to be a useful medium for conveying messages to specific audiences. Very few people (including most designers) have had any formal training in how printing works or how to get the most out of print suppliers so we’ve used our experience to put together these 10 tips to help you buy print, efficiently and cost-effectively. 1/ use different suppliers for different scales of work. You wouldn’t ask a sandwich shop to cater a wedding, or a Michelin-star chef to run your barbeque: buying print is the same principle.Printing presses range from tiny, one-colour

machines to huge 12-colour monsters; the companies behind them vary just as much. And there are dozens of online operations where economies of scale can give great value for some work. 2/ partnership is essential. A good working relationship with a printer can save you huge amounts of time and money. You can tap into their experience and seek suggestions of ways to maximize your budgets and make efficiencies at every page. You’ll make much bigger savings by buying efficiently rather than just seeking the cheapest option. 3/ you get what you pay for. If you cut corners and want the cheapest job possible, then things can go wrong. This is especially true of the proofing stage. There are many

things that can go awry during the ‘pre-press’ stages so it’s essential to invest in a proper proof to ensure that you will get what you expect. 4/ don’t expect miracles. There is no such thing as the perfect print job – printing is a business of compromise between cost, time and ability. 5/ Be clear about who’s doing what. If you are using a third-party (design company or print farmer) to buy your print, then be clear what you are paying for. Your supplier will be charging a handling fee, so use their expertise and take their advice. 6/ don’t be afraid to ask questions. 7/ every process takes time and money. Printing is a consecutive

process of specific stages. The more you can get done by the same supplier, the less you’ll have to invest in transporting the paper around and paying different ‘set-up’ charges. 8/ prepare a realistic timetable, and allow for mistakes. Tell your suppliers when your key deadlines are (but build in a couple of day’s leeway). Remember that the printer won’t care as much as you do about your mailing date or that the concert programme has to be at the concert. 9/ smaller jobs take just as much management as bigger jobs. Don’t misjudge the work involved in looking after the printing of your 200 Xmas cards, the numbers might be smaller but each process

is the same as any larger job. 10/ make decisions from an informed position. Armed with a thorough understanding of how the processes work, it is much easier to make informed judgements on how to achieve the best results. Of course, you could just ask your designers to manage the print on your behalf. But do understand that they will charge for the service. You are paying for their expertise and experience. You are paying them to choose the right supplier, sort out the right specification, set-up the artwork, liaise with the printer and manage the process, anticipate problems and put right mistakes, early.

editorial & pUBlications

sPread out Producing consistently clever publications, issue after issue, requires design stamina and great client relationships; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably what we are best at.

ď&#x201A;

watford palaCe tHeatre season BroCHure A brochure that encapsulates the social diversity and programming reach of this great regional theatre. And we get to produce the event publicity for many of their shows.

editorial & pUBlications

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spotligHt magaZine New-launch magazine: a backstage treat for existing Friends and a vehicle to impress potential new members.



musiCal futures A completely new, 100+ pages music-teaching syllabus (and DVD) for Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

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CommonwealtH foundation annual reView and BroCHure Taking the traditional annual review and splitting its functions into separate marketing and money documents.

WeBsites & digital

Some agencies are addicted to a formula for designing websites. Rigid formulas may bring quick hits but the results are formulaic. simon leadbetter guides us through our five-step programme to recovery.

settinG our sites

1/ Research stage faCe-to-faCe meeting The first stage of any site (or any large design project) is a face-to-face chat with the client’s team. We firmly believe that a collaborative approach always gives results. We want to talk to real people and hear from them, in their own words. We’ve tried Skype and other remote-meeting approaches but we prefer to meet so we can get to know the personalities of the people that we will be working with. If that means a trip across the country (or cross-countries) then that’s an investment worth making. We regard the early stages of any web design as a funnelling exercise. The more information, background, data, text, imagery etc, we can add into the process, the better we can respond with a fully thoughtthrough set of conclusions and plan for the site. The more we can understand about the way that this medium will work within the wider communication framework, the more appropriate our proposed solutions will be. We have a questionnaire that can help this process and ensure that we don’t miss anything but not everyone feels comfortable with filling out forms; we adapt to find the most appropriate way to gather the level of information and detail that would be useful to get us to the best result for each client. The main thing we are seeking to avoid is just designing a site based on our preconceptions of what the site should do, how it should work and what it should achieve. We want to provide the perfect communication tool not just a slick looking site that matches current expectations and performs to a technical specification.

We see the early stages of any web design as a funnelling exercise – the more information we can add into the process, the better. persona doCuments A tool that we find helpful for almost all clients is to create written ‘personas’ for a few typical users to the site. In most cases, we’d suggest creating six to ten, to cover the breadth of the typical visitor. Giving a tangible ‘face’ to a visitor allows us to examine the ways that they’ll want to access the site, what information they want quickly and where we can ‘cross-sell’ messages to them. Lots of this kind of information can be gleaned from Googleanalytics but that data only relates to existing visitors to a site that is being replaced.

Websites & Digital

2/ Planning stages

3/ Implementation stages

4/ Launch

5/ Ongoing relationship

With all of the information and data gathered, we are ready to think about how to structure the information, to decide what we need to push to the front, what would benefit from cross-referencing, what needs to be highlighted etc. We tend to produce two documented stages of planning. We find it useful to use the jargon terms (site plan and wireframes) because that’s how other web people refer to them. They aren’t complicated, just common sense steps to get us from thinking to implementation as efficiently as possible.

visuals – front-end The look and feel of a site is crucial to its success as a communications tool. Producing visually stunning sites with no compromise to function, usability and accessibility is why people work with us. We will have discussed aesthetics, in broad terms (often with idea pages or mood-boards) as early as possible but we don’t like to produce page visuals until this stage. This helps everyone to focus on the key issues at appropriate times rather than becoming overwhelmed by the scale and the detail of the challenge. By this stage we should know what aesthetic approach is appropriate for the site (if we don’t then we haven’t been paying attention). It might be appropriate to just present one route with some attention to different aesthetic flourishes, but we usually show two or three approaches to the design of the pages (a home page and some content/context pages). We prefer to do this, face-to-face with the main client contact so we can explain how to imagine the static pictures as functioning pages, and they can brief others in their team. We present designs as hard-copy print-outs because most of our clients prefer it that way. We show full pages and we show the way the pages will appear in different screen sizes and orientations.

Checklist There are many elements that need to be put in place to launch a site. We work through a clear checklist of items to ensure that nothing is missed – changing DNS records, setting up email accounts properly, testing in multiple browser formats, ensuring that Google Analytics is properly configured and our clients are trained in using its tools etc.

We aren’t the kind of company that wants to build sites and walk away; we want to form ongoing relationships with all of our clients (from a pragmatic perspective it makes good business sense because they are more likely to recommend us for other projects). We build sites to give our clients full control over content, there is therefore no particular need to involve us. Many clients do call upon our resources or expertise to provide additional support (such as uploading time-consuming amounts of data), and some realise that, as their organisation evolves, the site needs the occasional tweak or amend. We are on hand to provide whatever support is needed beyond the scope of the original brief. And, of course, we charge for our time to do so.

Site plan Before we start to apply any aesthetics or to make any significant decisions about the detail of content, we create a ‘site-plan’. This is a flow-chart that provides a graphical explanation about how the pages will link together, what links to a database, where there are external links (pulling in and jumping out) etc. These are used to get a sense of the scale of the whole site rather than being bogged-down in the detail of the pages. This is a key document to discuss and adapt. It usually goes through several iterations during the process, it’s a great starting point that everything else will lead from. We’ll often prepare some kind of user-flow document alongside the site plan, so we can test how different users will interact with the site. Using flow diagrams we can identify bottlenecks or areas that need expanding or reducing, to direct people to the detail they need. Wireframe Using visual representations of each element (drop-down menus, search fields, header bars, calendars, twitter feeds, RSS feeds etc) a wireframe is a simple look at the hierarchy of information and the level of functionality on individual pages. Wireframes examine the structure of the pages before any aesthetics are applied. It’s a useful tool to be able to say – ‘we’ll have several pictures, a calendar, embedded video and a Twitter feed on this page’ without getting distracted about the look of the images or worrying about the use of particular typefaces.

A wireframe is a simple look at the hierarchy of information and the level of functionality on individual pages.

Prototype – back-end Working concurrently to the visual designs, our web developers build a prototype of the site (a fully functional version with no visual styling). The prototype is built using the Content Management System (CMS). This stage streamlines the process when we come to applying the design to the front-end. The developers build the ‘backend’ of the site, putting content in place and ‘marking it up’ so that big headings, small type and picture captions etc are all ready to have individual styling applied to them. From the prototype we can test the functionality of the site, ensure the robustness of the code and its adherence to standards, begin accessibility testing etc. Working alongside the developers, our designers will be putting together the look and feel, the colour palettes and the styling of each element. Integration of other systems Nearly all websites require some integration with third party systems (for arts sector clients it’s usually box office system, donations function, social media, video and media players etc). We tackle these areas as early as possible to ensure that they are fully considered and properly integrated into the design and build, rather than bolted on at the end.

Training We provide full CMS training, handover notes and access to online help to each member of our client’s team – usually through a half-day session at our studio. We also provide specific training to at least one person to ensure they are fully conversant with how any external functions work (ecommerce, bulk email, webmaster tools etc).

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persona documents

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Site plan Structure of the site

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wireframes Structure of the pages

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visuals

Anatomy of a web page see over

Websites & Digital

Anatomy of: A festival site’s event page

Rearranging the page furniture Site format Dimensions: Content fits within standard screen display area (1024 pixels) and is centred in more space for larger screens (1280 pixels in this case) Structure: • 3 column layout • Main navigation on left • Show information in the middle • Booking info and offers on the right

Navigation All pages allow further navigation by genre or date Search Site-wide search available on every page ‘The Fold’ Line above which content is visible on most computer screens Secondary-level navigation Still highly visible as research showed need for each links.

Event information Hierarchy: Event details divided into clear levels of hierarchy that can be consistently applied throughout the site Image size: Big picture in same proportion to all images on the site (to keep the upload of information as easy as possible for our client) Videos: Included on all events pages (where available)

Top section Contains all key messages. Important for those who’ve come directly to this page Brochure download This is the most popular link on the site so it is in the top section Calendar Highlighted calendar describes scope of festival and allows information to be filtered by date Ticket information Clearly displayed, lots of space for varied content Expandable details Further information about ticket offers for those who are interested

Sponsor logo Event sponsor logo, different for each event Social Media Social media and other interaction is encouraged in different areas of every page

Feedback Audience comments about this show. These are then fed through other, generic pages to encourage click-throughs

Alternative navigation Full navigation in simple lists for those that prefer this method

Detailed information Overall festival info, obligations and legal requirements

Websites & Digital

◀ artscatalyst.org Visually rich portfolio of activity for a company that commissions art in the crossover between art and science.

◀ Eea.org.uk

A vibrant celebration of this diverse street performance company. Taking them to a new level of professionalism in the eyes of funders and bookers.

We’ve been designing and building websites since the mid ‘90s. It’s a medium in constant flux so we’re always learning and pushing for the best solutions for our clients. Here’s a small selection of sites we’ve produced recently.

addressing the details As the name suggests, the URL uses a consistent convention to guide your web browser through the internet to each resource. The Uniform Resource Location is the address (or path) of each piece of information (resource) on the internet. Each URL is therefore unique. URLs used to include lots of gobbledegook and coding stuff (generated by database searches etc). More recently, there has been a move to URLs that are formatted to be search engine friendly, using a more logical hierarchy. A good web developer will ensure that all your web pages and resources have ‘SEO-friendly’ URLs. Here’s how it works...

The company site of one the UK’s most interesting event producers.

“Thank you very much for all the work you’ve done on the new site. It’s just what we specified at the outset: beautiful, elegant, functional. Best of all, we can update it at will. It’s great to have such a powerful tool at our disposal. I am really pleased with the result, and judging by all the positive feedback we’ve been receiving, so are lots of other people.”

Site lines

Anatomy of: a URL

▲ artichoke.uk.com

Nicky Webb, Director, Artichoke

http :// nnf11. nnfestival .org.uk /programme /detail /cantina #top 1

1 Protocol http is the (markup) language that the internet uses to convert digital code into the screen displays we see. 2 :// The colon and dashes are an affectation, introduced by the internet’s inventor, Tim Berners Lee. It serves no purpose other than signalling that you are about to begin a web address. 3 Subdomain You can divide your domain into different sections. You might do this to

keep everything feeling part of a family (even though they are actually different sites) or because you want different sections of a website to work with different types of server set-up (such as a secure payment system). 4 & 5 Domain name All devices on the internet have a unique IP (Internet Protocol) address; it’s a numeric code. You can register a (domain) name to point several names

to that number so people don’t have to remember it. You can point to the same device or server. The cataloguing of these names, against IP, addresses is done by allocated Domain Name Servers (DNS) across the internet.Your domain name is in two parts: ‘4’ is the unique bit, whereas ‘5’ is the top-level domain which dictates what type of domain name you have. 6 Folder or path Like all

computer paths, the slash tells you that the information is within a folder on that server. 7 Sub folder A second slash indicats a folder within a folder. 8 Page The ultimate destination, a file or a page of code. 9 Named anchor The hash symbol indicates a position within the code on that page, in this case it’s the top of the page but it could take you to any specified point in that page.

commissioning design

Commission impossible F

or most normal people, their only encounters with designers are through the press (when they are told how many millions of pounds have been wasted by charlatans in flashy suits, creating a ridiculous logo that nobody needs) or when they have to order some wedding invitations from a website or high-street shop. Normal people occasionally have a bit of a play with typefaces and clip-art in Microsoft Word and are perfectly happy with the results, and so they should be. However, arts marketing people aren’t ‘normal’, are they? Arts marketing people have to communicate with audiences and they have to persuade those audiences to do something: spend money, invest time, take a chance, recommend a friend, think differently etc. Most marketing people decide that they can’t do it all themselves and they need to turn to a designer to help them produce their communication materials. How does anyone learn how to buy design (apart from through an AMA course)? Buying stuff is easy. We all know how to buy stuff: there are websites with stuff on them and shops with stuff in them; we can see and/or touch the stuff; the stuff has a value and we can shop around to compare prices for similar stuff; we swap our money tokens for the stuff, and the stuff is ours to keep. Services are a little more tricky but, with a little research, we can find out how much a ticketing company charges in commission, or what the going hourly rate is for decent bar-staff. But design is all a bit of mystery, isn’t it? Where do you find the right designer, how much will it cost to commission them, how do you know they’ll do a good job, how do you know what a good job is, what is reasonable to ask of them? Where do you start? This article isn’t going to give you the answers; if it did, you wouldn’t trust it because it’s written by a designer. You’d be right to be suspicious; I make my living out of persuading people to do things (for our clients). This article is written to

give you some pointers so you know where to start your search for the perfect design partner, it’s written so you’ll know what to ask them during your search. What kind of designer are you looking for? Looking for the right designer needn’t be any different to any other service. You could just ask your friends, colleagues, peers who they use for similar types of work (assuming you think the work is any good), meet with that designer, agree on a brief, negotiate a fee and give them the work – job done. Assuming that life isn’t that simple and you have reasons for wanting to extend the search, you’ll need to decide what criteria to use to define your search. There are as many types of designer as there are types of arts. Designers come at their profession (or maybe as amateurs) from every angle; they span all skill levels, all abilities, all disciplines, all fee levels, and all scales, from one person working weekends in their kitchen to global super-agencies. Here are a few starting points for ways to narrow your search from that vast array. 1/ Geography It may seem a little old-fashioned but lots of people like to use local suppliers, either for peace of mind or to support the local economy. On a global scale, you need to think about time zones and maybe language barriers. It can be an advantage to have a designer who understands the national or local cultural landscape. Local insight can also be invaluable in spotting cost effective ways to exploit local media or think about sitespecific opportunities. And, if you are

It’s a truism that you usually get what you pay for.

the type of person who wants regular face-to-face meetings (and dislikes Skype) then a long-distance relationship can prove expensive. Do ensure that you are complying with any relevant guidelines and legislation. A large project with public money may need to be tendered through a Eurpoean-wide process.

an agency with industry insight, who works with your peers or do you want a fresh approach that only you work with? Are you prepared for the extra investment of time and budgets to bring them up to speed? 6/ Style specialism Many designers and agencies have a particular aesthetic approach. They use that visual style for any project regardless of the brief. Others adopt a completely different visual approach to every project, choosing the most appropriate visual cues for the specific challenge.

2/ Scale Think about the size of the provider you will need to give you the service you require for this project and perhaps an ongoing relationship. An individual is likely to be cheaper than an agency, they’ll be keen to impress and will work long and hard to meet deadlines. A large design company will usually come with a larger price tag but you will get the support of a team and you’ll be assigned a Project Manager (which can be a good thing or a bad thing). A medium-sized agency could be the best, or the worst, of both worlds.

7/ A slick presenter Presenting ideas is an important part of the designer’s skill-set but it’s not usually what you are commissioning them to do. Some clients are reassured by a slick and sophisticated presentation, other people can find that a bit overwhelming and intimidating. We were lucky enough to win a big commission, through a tender process, last year. We pitched against several of the best known agencies in the industry. Our new clients said they selected us because we were ‘charmingly lacking in slick presentation skills’, we were chuffed that they thought so. Their work features on these pages but I’m not telling which client it was.

3/ Infrastructure Regardless of scale, some agencies are great at the paperwork and admin, others are only interested in creativity. Some have all of their due-diligence paperwork, computer back-ups, disaster recovery plan etc, in place, others have a more relaxed attitude. It’s likely that you’ll be paying a premium for that infrastructure; is that a wise investment? 4/ Skill specialism Most design agencies have a bias towards a particular type of design. Some specialise in branding, others are better at editorial work; some offer only design/layout, some have other in-house skills (writing, illustration, web development), others have well-established networks that can be called in for specific tasks. Do you want thinkers or just doers? 5/ Sector specialism Most design agencies work in specific sectors. Some specialise in design for the health sector, others are strictly business-to-business, a few specialise in the arts and culture. Do you want

Design pitching see over

8/ Price It’s a truism that you usually get what you pay for. It’s also true that some designers are horrible money-grabbers but most aren’t, most love what they do and just want to earn enough to be able to keep doing it. Most don’t publish their fee structure so a good leading question is to ask how much they charge by the day or hour; it’s not a great way of fixing a budget but it will give you a clue about where they sit against another designer/ agency. VAT is often a consideration for arts sector clients (who may struggle to reclaim it). If you do work with an individual they may not have to add VAT at all.

commissioning design

Most normal people get through life without having to talk to designers. But arts marketing people aren’t ‘normal’. Michael Smith shares his ideas on how to find the perfect partner.

What kind of client are you? Design buyers fall somewhere in the spectrum between those who dictate every detail (and just want an artworker to translate their ideas) and those who want to hand over all of the decisions about every aspect of

Please don’t ask the designer to present creative responses to your brief unless you have a budget set aside to pay them. the project (and want someone to do their thinking). We happen to work best at the latter end of that spectrum because we relish the freedom to be able to suggest ideas and new ways of approaching a challenge. Working in this way we can stretch budgets and exceed expectations. If you’re the type of person who has to retain control, that’s fine; you are the client, it’s your project and it’s much better to work from that starting point and find an agency that works best in that kind of relationship. Short term project or long term relationship? We produce our best work when we work in partnership with our clients; the better we know each other, the more we are able to anticipate needs and find creative ways to squeeze deadlines and stretch budgets. For some organisations, that partnership model doesn’t work. Large organisations often need to put projects out to tender, some use a range of different design suppliers, a few just like to keep things fresh by picking a new designer for every new project. Whatever your preference, do be aware that design is a business like any other, designers have to make a profit to pay their salaries; the more time they spend ‘winning’ work, the

more they have to charge for the time they spend doing design. Draw up a shortlist Once you’ve decided what kind of client you are and what kind of designer you are looking for, you can put together a shortlist of potential design partners. If you’ve got a specific project in mind, then you might want to start by sending a brief out to a small selection and asking for specific responses. Our plea is that you are mindful that any response takes an investment of time, money and emotion. If you want to open up the search to a wider pool of designers, let them know that’s what you are doing, and request a simple response (perhaps

a one-page summary of their credentials and three examples of past projects. This will make it much easier to narrow the choice down to those that you want to meet with. We’d suggest sending your brief to three designers/agencies, or a maximum of six. There will be one or two who aren’t interested or are too busy so keep a couple in reserve. Request for tender or a quick chat? All relationships have to start somewhere. Most designers and agencies are happy to respond to a ‘request for information’ or a formal ‘tender’; in recent years it’s become a necessary step for many projects, especially in the public and funded sectors. Some

processes ask the designer to present their credentials and portfolio, others require a lot more detail about the business. Do ask the pertinent questions but don’t waste their time with irrelevance, it’ll only create more work for you. If you aren’t required to hold a formal tender, and you’re not commissioning a huge project, you might consider a more informal process. Invite the designer/agency in to have a chat and talk through their work (and yours). Even better, visit them in their studio; you’ll quickly get a sense of whether they’re the right partners for you. Please don’t ask the designer/agency to present creative responses to your brief unless you have a budget set aside to pay them.

Our suggested way to commission design 1/ Decide to invest. Decide that you want to spend the time in finding the best supplier for the project. Commissioning a new supplier can be a rewarding process but it does require an investment from everyone involved; would you be better served by devoting time to your existing suppliers? 2/ Draw up a shortlist. For a nationwide search, try the Design Business Association* whose database is comprehensive and easy to access, online, or ask the AMA for a list of designers/agencies who are members. Your organisation may already have done the hard work for you; you may have a list of preferred suppliers from which to base your choice. Choose your list based on your knowledge of the work required. Narrow your list to include only those who best match your needs and ways of working. 3/ Provide a brief. This should indicate overall design objectives, budget** and time-scale for the project; the more detail you impart at this stage the more con-

sidered the process will be from all involved. Send the brief, along with an invitation to attend an interview, to each of your list. 4/ Be prepared to talk and meet people if they request it. Some designers like to do their research face-to-face to get a feel for the way you work and the scope of the project. Be fair to everyone. If you’ve provided specific new information to one, share it with all. 5/ Interview each consultancy/designer. Ask them to submit: • A presentation of their credentials • A methodology statement to indicate how they would approach the project • A proposal of work stages, timetables and fees required for carrying out the project, together with terms and conditions for an appointment. 6/ Be clear about what you expect. If you do want the designers to carry out specific preparatory work, then set aside a realistic budget to pay them for their time.

7/ Choose and appoint a consultancy/designer and notify them in writing. Inform all parties of your decision and, out of courtesy, take the time to explain to the ‘losers’ why you made the choice that you made. 8/ Review and evaluate. Assess the success of the process against your investment in it. Decide whether you need to do it next time.

*The Design Business Association (DBA) The Design Business Association is a professional trade body for designers. They have a free online Directory where potential clients can search for the right partners for their projects – dba.org.uk **Budget If you know how much you have to spend, tell people. If you’re not clear about the scale of the project, then it’s easy for the designer to misinterpret your expectations and to assume the project is much bigger or smaller than you’d intended. Ask the designers how they will manage that budget as efficiently as possible.

Pitching

Life’s a pitch

obody would phone three tailors, ask for a custom-made suit, try them on to see which they liked best, and then expect to pay for just one. For some people, that is how they treat designers (and some designers seem happy to work that way). We know it seems like we’re whinging (maybe we are, a little) but we do genuinely believe that asking any designer to give away their creativity is counter-productive. Here are some of the reasons why we think it’s the wrong thing to do.

1/ Professionalism An effective design response requires a deep understanding of the challenge; it takes time and hard work. Creative proposals, prepared without payment, can only ever be superficial reactions. If a designer has ‘spare’ time to work for ‘free’ they’re unlikely to offer the level of professional attention you deserve. 2/ Creativity and talent In advertising, fees are generated by charging a percentage on booking of space but, in design, there is no such structure; ideas and talent are everything. Creativity is how designers earn their living; it’s not a means to an end. It’s only fair that people are paid, fairly for the work they do, even if the work is ‘ideas’ rather than ‘things’. 3/ You end up paying, in the end The work can’t be truly free. If a creative team wins one in three pitches, then they are either charging three times as much for the one they win or they’ll go bust. You pay more for that service and the consultancy/designer suffers through unrealistic fee setting. It’s a no-win situation. 4/ Intellectual property Designers automatically own the rights to any original work produced. Some less experienced clients have been known to misunderstand this, some even suggest one designer’s ideas to another designer. Not only is this illegal, but it means that you will end up with a compromised solution.

A word in your eye Marketing doesn’t always have to be picture-led. In the right context, judicious wordplay can paint layers of meaning that describe a thousand pictures.

ast year we faced one of our most exciting challenges. We were selected to work with the British Library on their blockbuster exhibition, Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices. How do you represent an exhibition about spoken (and written) language; how do you convey such a complex subject in a simple, compelling message that will attract new audiences to an austere institution? We took the faintly terrifying step of presenting our word-based approach to some of the world’s leading authorities

in the English language. They embraced the ideas and, working with their inhouse marketing and curatorial teams, we created designs that were rolled-out across the months of the exhibition, on and offline. We did the copywriting in house. It was obviously essential to get the language right; it had to be clever enough to make audiences feel smart but accessible enough for the wide target demographic. We used a mixture of word-play, puns and idiotic idioms to give a sense of the full breadth of the exhibition.

5/ it’s just morally wrong, isn’t it?

Interview criteria By the time you are ready to meet with the designers, you will already have narrowed down the field to only those who match your ways of working and who you know can deliver the level of work that you need. This is the point where you have to be at your most objective. Remember,

you are looking for the most appropriate supplier based on all of the criteria (not just the cheapest, the one with the flashiest client list, or the one whose work matches your aesthetic tastes). Here’s a quick check-list that might be a useful start when judging one against another.

 Have they understood my brief?  Do they have a portfolio that

 Will they have the stamina to see

demonstrates abilities in the areas I need?  Will they adapt their process and approach to suit my needs (if that’s what I want)?  Are they backed by a team to provide the level of support and back-up I will need?  Are they sincere in their desire to work with me (not just for me)?  Do they understand my project, my organisation and the work we do?

my project through to completion?  Will they give me what I need, rather than just what I ask for?  Can they clearly articulate their thoughts and ideas and communicate with me?  Will they push us, creatively whilst meeting my exacting brief?  Will they surprise me with innovation and invention, if that’s what the brief requires?  Do they share my values of responsibility; are they ethically sound?

Above left: Happy to exploit his family, Michael’s mother-in-law produced the cross-stitch for us. Left: We worked with the British Library’s conservation department to gold deboss the leather.

Copywriting

Free exhibition 12 November 2010 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3 April 2011

www.bl.uk/evolvingenglish

The British Library 96 Euston Road London NW1 2DB Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cross St Pancras and Euston

Above & right: We delivered finished designs and layouts for the British Library team to adapt.

The y Bus a e R lly

£10

e lenG

CHal

“Sorry, I haven’t got time, I’m really busy”. How often do you hear that in a day?

Our theory is that ‘really busy’ is the default state of everyone we know. So we’ve set ourselves a challenge. On a pin-board in the Cog Design studio, we have a crisp ten-pound note. If any of us can find a client who says ‘actually, I’ve got a bit of spare time at the moment’ then they can claim that tenner. It’s been there for quite a few months. Have you got the time to help one of us claim the prize?

we are CoG desiGn

soCial media

Working with clients in the cultural and heritage sectors, we create stunning, engaging, intelligent design that inspires audiences, provokes action and delivers results. We are passionate about design but never precious. We do win awards but our favourite reward is a happy client who will recommend us to their friends and peers. We are a design agency, founded in 1991. We are a team of experienced designers and communicators. At our core, we are four, full-time designers, with a huge breadth of

design knowledge, able to turn our hand to just about any challenge. When a specialist is needed, we call on a broad selection of trusted Associates with expertise in key disciplines. If think we’d make good partners for your organisation, or you have a specific project in mind, do get in touch, anytime.

020 8269 1800 | mail@cogdesign.com | @cog_design | cogdesign.com

We do lots stuff that some people wouldn’t call work. We think it gives us more interesting perspectives on our projects for clients but that might just be an excuse. We are an agency obsessed by design and culture; that’s how we fill our days even when we’re not in the studio.

Cog Nights App

We have a monthly cultural outing that we call Cog Nights. We’ve built an App so you can follow our excursions or even make a suggestion. You can download the App from the Apple Store.

Visual blog

We own a wonderfully spacious studio (in Greenwich, South East London), equipped with all the usual computer kit, plenty of paper, pens and pinboards, an indoor garden, a kitchen with a well-used tea urn and an industrial coffee percolator. Take a peak at studio life, via our visual blog at everydaycog.tumblr.com

Twitter miCHael smitH

oCky murray

JoHn Burton

mike daVies

For a faster stream of consciousness, follow us on twitter.com/cog_design

Published by Cog Design Limited, 11 Greenwich Centre Business Park, 53 Norman Road, London SE10 9QF | Telephone: 020 8269 1800 Company Registration Number: 2911966 | VAT Registration Number: 597 1915 92 | Registered address: 1a High Street, Epsom, Surrey KT19 8DA We first had the idea to publish a newspaper on Thursday 16th June. We put the whole paper together and sent it to the printer seven days later. We produced it in our spare time, squeezing it amongst a dozen high-profile jobs during a very busy working week. We work long and hard because we love what we do and we’re well-used to working within the very tight deadlines and limited budgets of the arts sector.