This is a classic example of the importance of brand conveying a single, clear message.  On the one hand we have Subway – a company with very focused branding designed to sell subs.  Subway do slightly deviate but only within the category, for example, the Breakfast Sub and with sides, for example, meat balls.  If you were to ask a consumer what Subway exists to sell they would be able to tell you straight away.

It’s competitor next door was not so clear- an Indian Takeaway that had resorted to crossing into completely different categories, for example, English breakfasts, diluting the brand and sending a mixed message.

With so many brands targeting consumers every day, brand focus is essential to creating a proposition that has longevity and clearly differentiates itself from the competition.

Food and drink menus express the personality of an organization. They’re an open invitation to examine brand imagery and are often the branding collateral that customers spend the most time looking at.

At the Pixel8 Design and Branding Agency, we knew that the Hotel Indigo menus had to be constant in their appeal to customers worldwide. We also had to encourage customer appreciation of the boutique hotels’ feel, whilst providing the consistency expected from a global brand.

So, Pixel8 created a portfolio of on brand imagery for 13 different hotels across the Americas and in the UK. We developed a range of creative images that reflect Hotel Indigos’ values, reiterating the local, neighborhood story and inspired service that lie at the core of the Hotel Indigo brand design refresh.

For more information watch our animated video of our Hotel Indigo brand development journal or contact Pixel8 today. From the USA dial 011 44 161 228 6489, in the UK call 0845 230 1336 or contact us by e-mail.

Also see our ‘Powered by Smart Pixels’ animation at www.Pixel8ltd.com

In 2010, Pixel8 refreshed the Hotel Indigo brand for InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), beating a pitch list which included three US branding giants.

Pixel8 is now carrying out a brand refresh for Crowne Plaza, the world’s fourth largest upscale hotel brand. The contract win has led to Pixel8 taking on five new members of staff at its northern quarter offices.

Pixel8 will once again report to Ed Thorne, Director Global Brand Management, Upscale Brands based at IHG in Atlanta. On selecting Pixel8 for a second time, Ed said, “Pixel8 did a fantastic job and really helped to define and create consistency across the Hotel Indigo brand. Having proved they can really push the boundaries, they were the obvious choice for our next major refresh.”

Pixel8 Director Jamie Watson said, “Once again our corporate branding and graphic design services have been picked ahead of our international competitors. This is great news for Manchester and of course for Pixel8.  Our relationship with IHG continues to go from strength to strength.”

Nigel Daws, Pixel8’s Creative Director added, “Making brands work is at the heart of what we do.  We’ve been able to demonstrate that we can develop an effective and consistent brand and create meaningful marketing collateral that works.”

Originally branded as Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza, the first US hotel opened in Rockville, Maryland, in 1983. Today, there are over 400 Crowne Plaza hotels in 52 countries. In July 2009, Crowne Plaza was recognised by US magazine Lodging Hospitality as one of the industry’s top growing brands.

IHG is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms with over 4,500 hotels, more than 650,000 guest rooms in over 100 countries and territories worldwide. IHG Brands include InterContinental Hotels, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites.

IHG also operates the world’s largest hotel loyalty programme, Priority Club Rewards, with over 52 million members worldwide.

For more information about Pixel8 please visit www.Pixel8ltd.com or call us direct. From the USA dial 011 44 161 228 6489, in the UK call 0845 230 1336 or contact us by e-mail

Shared Solutions is a forum to promote academic partnerships, and Back On Course is a service for people that have withdrawn from higher education before completing their studies, and offers support for returning into education.

Pixel8 provided logo design, web design and content management systems for both projects.

The websites are now live at www.sharedsolutions.ac.uk and www.backoncourse.ac.uk

Jamie Watson, Account Director at Pixel8 said, “It’s great to be working with such a progressive organisation on these exciting projects. We look forward to opening up this relationship further in the future”.

The graphic design wizzards at Pixel8 in Manchester created the official Merlin 2011 Calendar, which is now available online and in shops everywhere.

The spellbinding BBC TV drama Merlin is now into its third series. It follows the legend of a young Merlin and Arthur and the adventures they encounter in the kingdom of Camelot.

Complying to a strict design style guide, Pixel8 worked its graphic design magic and combined all the brand elements including picture frames, shields and textured backgrounds, with character images and photographs from the third series.

Hey presto, one Merlin 2011 Calendar!

Branding can do several useful things, all of which help to ensure the success of the product or service. In essence, a good brand aims to fulfil the following hallmarks:

Reinforcement of a good reputation

Encourage customer loyalty

Assure quality

Convey a perception of greater worth

Bring about a sense of affirmation

Brand reputations are often synonymous with how they reside in the customers mind.

How do we use visual tools to enhance a brand?

In the successful brand development, we look to a few key areas to determine whether their strategy is easily recognisable and also succinct within their target market. When we look to refresh a brand, we consider the brand positioning, i.e. defining where the brand is most relevant in terms of colour, tone of voice, product/service and age range.

We also look to how we visually tell the story of the brand, whether it’s a complete revamp, or just an evolution of an established brand, making the appropriate design decisions can be the difference between taking the brand forward, adding value and credibility, or not doing the brand justice.

In design terms, we look to incorporate every aspect of research that we undertake so that we can make informed decisions about how to approach the design process.

Being able to associate and distinguish brands by visual impact is of key relevance in any brand awareness exercise, ultimately, we familiarise ourselves with brand identity in visual terms more than we do any other way, therefore communicating the right message by the use of subtle colour combinations and form is perhaps the core importance to any successful brand development process.

Why is colour so important in the branding process?

One of the most important and perhaps impacting factors of branding is colour. Colour is a sensation, produced by the brain, by the light which enters the eye; and that while a sensation of a particular colour is usually triggered by our eyes, receiving light of a particular composition, many other psychological and physiological factors also contribute. Understanding the complexities of colour is an essential influencing factor when assigning colour themes to a brand based on their hallmarks and guiding principles.

Taking this into consideration, we have developed a study whereby we are able to utilize the theory of past colour experts, along with brand placement in order to assign colour themes that are appropriate for their requirements and the role they will inevitably undertake within a brand. In acknowledging our perceptions and emotional interactions with colour we are able to influenced by its psychological properties, our own experience is based primarily on how receptive we are to changing colour environments and/or colour schemes, coding, visual and verbal communication.

Case Study – Evolution of Coca Cola brand design

Coca Cola is a great example of how the established elements of the brand have been echoed in their current brand aesthetic. Derived from a solely black typographic logo, the diagram above demonstrates how the Coca Cola brand has gone from minimal tweaks and changes to complete movement away from traditional serif font, almost performing a full circle before arriving at their present day design, which ironically, is more or less identical in form to the logo in use in the 40’s.

Here we are able to see that the introduction of colour enhances the brand, the red has been chosen carefully to depict the appropriate emotional connotations with the brand, also with the font style being revived from 60 years ago, this helps to reinforce the long established successful nature of the Coca Cola brand. It’s easily recognisable down to the fact that it has gone through an evolutionary process as opposed to a revolutionary one. A nod to the past whilst maintaining the core hallmarks of a brand moving towards the future.

Overview

The study of colour is complex, made difficult by its variety of attributes, which include the aesthetic, psychological, physiological, associative and symbolic nature of our own personal interactions with it. When the eyes see’s colour it is immediately stimulated, the spontaneous nature of this reaction instinctively seeks to reproduce another, alongside the original, this infinite process aids us in the comprehension of the whole chromatic scale.

Our practice is supported by the integration of colour theory, based on pioneers of their field, we are able to structure our colour navigation using the processes outlined by Isaac Newton and Goethe, both of whom studied colour extensively and are responsible for outlining the correct use of colour alongside its complementaries.

Johannes Itten, a pioneer of colour strategies, devised 7 simple methodologies for coordinating colours by utilising the hue’s contrasting properties. Using the basic principles outlined by these, we are able to determine the relationships between appropriate colour applications, which will make the process of identifying a new accent colour(s) as accurate as possible.

In many ways, colour drives our decisions within the context of brand development, enabling us to create a brand that resonates with the hallmarks and guiding principles. Having re-organised the priorities of the colours and made distinctions between their application, we are able to develop an informed guide as to how best to implement new/revised colours into the brand process going forward.

By exploring the theoretical implications of colour and combining it with the brand hallmarks we are able to make an informed decision on the appropriation of the revised colour palette. The ability to identify the specific colour groups that will work successfully is perhaps one of the most pivotal elements in defining a brand.

For more information please visit brand design or call the Pixel8 Branding Agency in Manchester on 0161 228 6489 – 0845 230 1336 or contact us by e-mail today.

football4football.com is an educational website aimed at players and fans of all ages and offers exclusive video footage of interviews with top stars, who talk personally about their lives in football.

Pixel8, which has two former members of the Manchester United Merchandising creative team amongst its personnel, was appointed to create the football4football logo and branding, then to design and build a fully content managed website featuring media rich content.

Video clips on the website include Ryan Giggs talking about football boots and supplements, Manchester City’s Nigel de Jong encouraging kids to finish school and revealing his love of pasta, and Manchester United’s Darren Fletcher talking about the importance of his dad’s support.

The website will regularly be updated with new video content from big name footballers, coaches, sports dieticians and physios. football4football.com also features sections on nutrition, training, injuries and equipment.

Jamie Watson, joint managing director of Pixel8 said, “football4football.com offers young players, parents and fans a real insight into the professional sport. We have created a brand and built a website that is easily accessible to everyone from the six-year-old who plays for his primary school, up to parents and grandparents of footie mad teenagers.”

Former Ajax and Feyenoord midfielder Dean Gorré, who has been involved from the start of the website’s development, added, “football4football.com offers a unique platform for top players and other participants in the game to give something back. Visitors to the site will see the top names in football talking candidly in exclusive interviews about subjects important to young fans, players and their parents.”

football4football.com was launched at a star studded party at Hanson Hall in the footballer belt of Nether Alderley in Cheshire. In attendance were Everton forward Louis Saha, Stoke City midfielder Salif Diao, Gabriel Obertan from Manchester United along with Manchester United first team coach René Meulensteen and retired players Steve Watson (Newcastle United, Everton, Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion) and David Thompson (Liverpool, Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers etc).

Visit the new website now at www.football4football.com

Branding is thought of by some, as little more than a logo design but successful branding goes a lot further in defining the proposition; essentially what constitutes how a product or service is perceived by its intended market.

Think for example of Saga Holidays whose corporate image changed in recent years from unadventurous holidays for elderly people to exotic expeditions offering exciting diversions such as scuba diving and horse riding. The change in public perception has not been achieved solely by advertising but was the result of a complete commercial rebranding exercise. Rebranding properly undertaken can transform any company.

Business Review Europe asked Jamie Watson, joint Managing Director of Manchester Design and Branding agency Pixel8 about the value of a brand. With a varied international client list that includes InterContinental Hotels, Manchester United and Kellogg’s, Pixel8 is a branding agency that’s well placed to answer this question.

“Your brand is the key element that sets your company apart from all its competitors” explained Jamie. “It forms the non-tangible part of your offer; the ‘reasons to believe.’ ”

Jamie went on to observe that companies with correctly targeted branding can charge a premium over non-branded products because of their association with the target audience.

Business Review Europe was shown how, frequently, a company does not fully understand its own brand, with a gap forming between where the company wants their brand to be and how the customer perceives it. In addition to initial perception, it needs to be recognised that a brand is like a living organism, in that the ways of reaching the target audience will be constantly changing.

Sometimes, the personality of a brand may need to change and care must always be taken to ensure that the brand stays close to its customer base.  Jamie Watson emphasised the importance of this, pointing out that “Branding increases the emotional appeal of a product or service to a particular group of customers.” Agencies such as Pixle8 help companies to have a fuller and more effective understanding of their customers.

The article also explored how, depending on how well or not a company knows its target market, rebranding can work for or against a company. Jamie showed how using an experienced branding agency like Pixel8 can ensure that rebranding definitely works to a company’s advantage, and ensures that a brand is strong enough to adapt and survive in constantly changing market conditions, customer tastes and media opportunities.

To read the complete article, please visit Business Review Europe.

For more information please visit corporate branding, company rebranding Q & A or call Jamie Watson on 0161 228 6489 – 0845 230 1336 or contact him by e-mail

Art director Angelina McPherson has joined from Xerox and new Pixel8 office manager Susan Berkon was formerly employed in the same role at law firm Kennedys.

Angelina, who has 10 years agency experience, was previously lead creative designer for northern accounts at Xerox, with blue chip clients including Morrisons.

Angelina said, “The office move went really well and I’m already working on several new accounts, including a brand redesign for a group of international hotels”.

The new Pixel8 offices are located on Little Lever Street in Manchester’s creative Northern Quarter, just a short walk from their old Houldsworth Street studio.

Joint managing director Jamie Watson said, “With so many new appointments over the past year, our old office was bursting at the seams. Although our clients loved it for its quirkiness, we think our new offices retain the charm, whilst adding plenty of room to expand even further.”

Watch Pixel8’s latest animation www.pixel8ltd.com

Pixel8 was the only UK agency on the four-strong pitch list, beating competition from top USA branding agencies for the six figure contract from InterContinental Hotels Group.

The contract is for a brand refresh for InterContinental Group’s international boutique brand Hotel Indigo, ahead of three UK hotel launches in 2010.

The six figure win has led to the appointment of three new members of staff for Pixel8, which was founded 11 years ago by joint managing director Nigel Daws, former lead graphic designer at Manchester United Merchandising Ltd.

Pixel8, which is based in Manchester’s creative Northern Quarter, will report to Ed Thorne, Director Global Brand Management for Hotel Indigo at InterContinental Hotels Group’s Atlanta offices.

Speaking about how a small Manchester agency ended up on a pitch list with three major US players, Pixel8 joint managing director Jamie Watson said, “Ed Thorne was previously a Global Brand Manager for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts based in London, he was impressed with our portfolio but at the time there was no immediate need for our services.

“Four years later, we got a call from Atlanta asking us to pitch. We didn’t know at the time that we would be the only UK agency on the pitch list.”

On selecting Pixel8, Ed said, “Hotel Indigo is an international brand and it was vital that the agency we chose could think globally. Pixel8 demonstrated a more outward looking focus than its US counterparts and gave us greater confidence that they could align our brand all over the world.

“Pixel8 has a proven track record in design and branding and was able to demonstrate a greater degree of flexibility than the larger agencies. Their ability to tell the brand story of Hotel Indigo through identity design was exemplary, and their reasoning for making the branding changes was a clear winner.

“I have a personal preference for smaller branding agencies as they offer better access to the senior figures. Once I showed Pixel8’s proposal to the Atlanta-based senior management team, I had no trouble convincing them that this Manchester agency would deliver the highest calibre of work.”

Pixel8 joint managing director Nigel Daws said, “Pixel8’s background in working for well known brands was integral to demonstrating that we fully understand the guiding principles behind brand development.

“Working with InterContinental Hotels Group gives us the credibility we need to engage with other global brands. This win has already led to more work from other US companies and will lead to other exciting opportunities within the InterContinental Hotels Group.”

In addition to defining the brand identity, Pixel8 has been contracted to prepare guidelines for all in-hotel materials and develop tool kits to help deliver the look and feel across the internationally franchised brand.

The other competing agencies on the pitch list were Boston and Los Angeles-based Design Continuum, San Francisco’s Marshall Strategy and Brand Logic, which has offices in New York and Los Angeles.

About Hotel Indigo and InterContinental Hotels

Worldwide 33 Hotel Indigos have opened since 2004 and most of the hotels are pet friendly. Several Hotel Indigos host Canine Cocktails events where local residents, hotel guests and their pets get together and enjoy treats for all! Cocktail selections for pet owners may include “Salty Dogs” and “Greyhounds”, whilst the four-legged visitors get to grips with canine bacon treats.

Hotel Indigo offers boutique accommodations in an unconventional and unpretentious setting. Cozy, airy and inviting guestrooms with oversized beds, plush bedding, pillow top mattresses, throw pillows, area rugs, signature murals and spa-inspired bathrooms with walk-in showers, vessel sink, hair dryer and Aveda products.

London’s Paddington is home of the UK’s first Hotel Indigo and three more UK hotels are scheduled to open in London, Glasgow and Liverpool in 2010. A further seven hotels launches are planned this year including Vancouver and Shanghai, and additional hotels in New York and Atlanta. One night’s stay in a Hotel Indigo costs between £110-£170.

InterContinental Hotel Group’s other brands include Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites. Its portfolio currently offers over 621,000 rooms worldwide.

For more information please visit Hotel Indigo on Facebook, twitter or at HotelIndigo.com