We are a group of friendly Digital and Tech runners who go for a social jog around Bristol’s wonderful harbour each Wednesday lunchtime at 12.30 from the Lloyd’s amphitheatre. It’s an opportunity to get away from our desks, get some air, and get to know some other people in the tech industry in Bristol.
We’re a super friendly bunch and everyone is welcome, whatever aspect of digital and tech you work in and wherever you work.
Our pace is gentle, it normally takes around 30 minutes to do the 5km loop around the harbour. Nobody gets left behind – ever! It’s totally free and we go for a coffee afterwards at the Society café.
Sarson’s has been hard at work creating a fresh brand identity that launched in the spring of 2023, and with this, they’ve enlisted our help yet again for a fresh new website.
The new website design reflects the new style for Sarson with a bold, contemporary, and sleek designs. We’ve also taken a reductive approach to content and wording, which simplifies the overall experience, whilst also bringing freshness and clarity to the design. We’ve used interactive animation, interesting build loads, and a new colour-blocking design scheme To increase engagement levels across the site.
We’ve enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Sarson’s, so it’s been a joy to watch the brand develop and once again collaborate closely with the Sarson’s team on the project.
Even if we do say so ourselves, the result is fantastic! However, don’t just take our word for it; visit the new site and see for yourself.
The good, the bad and the ugly. 1+ Year in Bristol.
Every now and then we get itchy feet. Want to move, see new places, new people, new scenarios. Because things are never perfect, at least not long term. When the idea of perfection fades away, we leave, we run, we chase it. In new places, new people.
Just over a year ago I made a bold move to move back to England but to a new City; Vibrant Bristol. But why leave Sunny Cyprus after building a good network? Well, I felt stuck in a comfort zone.
There was a lack of healthy competition and opportunities to collaborate and learn. Sure, it’s comfortable being a big fish in a small pond, but my dreams were bigger than that.
This lesson I didn’t know I needed..
Success is not all about big clients and shiny projects. Instead, it is found in the unbounded exploration of self change and growth. It has been a wild and often lonely ride. A beautiful chaos which through I’ve discovered the excitement of stepping into the unknown, the growth that comes from new unexpected challenges.
I had become overly fixated on achieving success in a business context, forgetting that at my core, I am an artist, a designer, and a curious soul. I’m on a journey to reconnect with my inner child—the one filled with boundless curiosity and a hunger for exploration. I am embracing my individuality and breaking free from the stereotypical definition of success in the creative industry. Now, I am pursuing work that I genuinely love and attracting clients who appreciate my unique style and vision.
It hasn’t been easy. Building a new client base, making connections, and stepping into the unknown—it often felt like navigating without a map. But there’s beauty in being lost and embracing the journey. I realised we create our own opportunities.
Being in Bristol has had a ripple effect, immersing in a vibrant design community, meeting amazing people who shaped my journey. Bagging local clients and a recent London collaboration opened new doors.
To keep it real.. I haven’t figured it all out. Life still throws curveballs, and self-doubt can creep in from time to time. But after all it’s all about the unknown, in being open to new adventures and experiences, rather than having all the answers.
Looking forward to seeing where life takes me next. Focusing less on success and more on the most unique and creative version of me.
Today at 6pm I’ll be giving a talk on Creative Confidence by Right Aligned. Where I will talk about my journey, challenges and ways to overcome them.
Get your tickets at https://lnkd.in/eVrAbDPE
From dance floor to studio – the team behind Rhombus have a long history with the venue, from their first-ever club experience to running multiple high-profile events at Lakota in later years.
The rebrand took them on a dive into the club’s 90s golden era, combining their passion for music and design into a euphoric exploration of rave culture.
As a nod to Lakota’s immense heritage, part of the venue lives in the new identity, which draws inspiration from the club’s original logo, building architecture, and rebellious, 30-year history at the heart of Bristol’s underground scene.
Trip-hop & Massive Attack. Acid house & Carl Cox. Drum and bass & Goldie. There’s no doubt about it: Lakota is truly the beating heart of Bristol’s rich and longstanding music scene. Sitting proudly on Moon St. in the city’s historic St Paul’s area, the venue represents one of Bristol’s only black-owned venues.
Free-spirited and fiercely independent, Lakota has always promoted progressive programming and ethereal dance floor moments.
Now, after 30 years as the heart of the city’s underground music scene, Lakota needed a modern brand for their new chapter. One that acknowledged their past, set the tone for their future, and represented the increasingly diverse events they’re putting on: from club nights to live music, circus, drag, pop-up food and more across three spaces within the venue, the original Lakota club, Lakota Gardens and Coroners Court.
The Rhombus team are Bristol born and bred, and as regular ravers and promoters at Lakota since our younger years, the project took on a very personal approach. The deliverables were a brand identity and architecture, custom-built website, animation, brand launch and rollout, but getting there would start with hours and hours of research into the club’s history.
From poring over archive photography to studying old rave culture and multiple trips to the club exploring the architecture and original features, including the rough and ready floors and exposed walls, the team developed a modular brand system inspired by the venue’s heritage, ethos and vision. A language that could easily showcase a huge range of events, from underground club nights to immersive circus performances, and a brand that could flex into new ventures outside of the traditional club space.
Part of the venue lives in the identity. The primary logo uses shapes from the iconic original logo, constructed alongside geometric forms from the venue’s floor plan, to represent a symbol of culture, a frame for established and emerging artists and a window into the space.
The elements of the venue, the iconic sticky floors, worn walls and stonework are the background for a lot of the textures used in the new brand, while the wordmark was custom built using the same angles and shapes found in the emblem – which work in unison, but are strong enough to work independently too.
Encapsulating the energy of the DJs, artists, performers and dancers that make the venue was crucial, so the primary pattern is built using the venue’s motif. The secondary patterns are constructed from the motif and the feather, giving the brand further flexibility and nodding to the heritage.
The palette combines technology with history, taking aspects from the club lighting whilst also looking back at film photography of the venue. The colour system helps give each space its independence. Lakota club utilises the primary palette, Coroners Court is confidently black and white to compliment the nature of the space and the Gardens uses more vibrant colour combinations to showcase the culture and performances.
The new language and tone of voice centres around the idea of rebels with a cause – a nod to the rebellious past but with a purposeful new attitude underpinned by the venue’s focus on community and heritage. When it came to the type system, the rebrand puts Formula by Pangram Pangram front and centre, flexing between Condensed (loud) and extended (energetic) for contrast, combined with Apercu in the body copy for clarity and accessibility.
“With the Lakota mark and visual identity established for nearly 30 years, changing it was no easy feat. However, Rhombus understood our heritage, history and future vision.
Their past experience running their own events was an added bonus and gave them insight into the sector and its challenges. We are thrilled with our new identity. The motif and wordmark have real versatility and reflect our values; we hope they will see us through the next 30 years.”
Cassara Jackson – Lakota
Check out the full case study here
Istoria Group, the Bristol-based collective of creative agencies, has announced two new Group-level appointments. Silka Mitchell is the new Group Creative Director, whilst Bryn Isaac has been named Group Financial Director.
Istoria Group, which became a B Corp last autumn, is comprised of exhibition and events specialists Ignition, known for being sustainable pioneers and as recipients of The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development 2020-25; hospitality and retail designers Phoenix Wharf, known for their work for regional operators such as Yeo Valley, The Bristol Loaf, Better Food and Spicer + Cole, as well as for national retailer SpaceNK and Apprentice winner Harpreet Kaur – and purposeful digital transformation experts Tiny Spark, whose virtual exhibit expertise during the pandemic helped Istoria Group survive the period’s challenging business conditions.
Silka Mitchell
‘Creative Director at Group level was an important role to fill and it was proving difficult to find the right candidate’, Sam Rowe, Istoria Group’s CEO commented. ‘We were delighted therefore to be introduced to Silka Mitchell, who brings not only top London agency experience as a former Director of both Brinkworth and Neu Architects, but also broad international experience, delivering projects in the commercial and public realms across Europe, Western Asia and China. Silka is German-born and has lived and worked in both Germany and in the UK. Her languages and multi-disciplinary, cross-sector experience will bring fresh energy and a new level of design sophistication to our studio.’
‘My ambition is to help Istoria Group grow and develop an even stronger 3D identity’ Silka Mitchell commented, ‘becoming known for creative originality and excellence. I look forward to unlocking further potential from the talented studio and to bringing in the next generation of talent to complement my vision. I further hope to instil creative leadership, inspiration and motivation and improve processes and the working environment through creative intervention and dialogue. I’m really excited to be working with a business with such a wealth of knowledge, strong ethics and a truly sustainable ethos.’
Bryn Isaac
New Group Financial Director Bryn Isaac is Bristol-born and bred and brings great expertise in and knowledge of regional markets and business to his role. Bryn joins Istoria Group after 8 years as Financial Director of We Are Fearless, an integrated marketing agency specialising in sports, culture and music sponsorship and partnerships. He has also worked with both start-up and group-owned agencies previously, including TBWA/Worldhealth, Momentum Worldwide and Given London. For Istoria Group, Bryn will provide the financial lead within the business across all the agencies in the Group and will manage financial planning covering both opportunity and risk.
‘I aim to use my experience of young and dynamic businesses to update processes and modernise systems at Istoria Group to help all parts of the business become more efficient and productive’ Bryn Isaac commented. ‘I’m looking forward to working alongside the leadership team to plan future strategic business growth, both operationally within the internal team and externally as the business grows in size.’
‘I am delighted that Bryn has joined us as Finance Director’ Sam Rowe added. ‘Bryn’s relevant knowledge and experience are vital as we continue our ambitious plans to grow and develop sustainable creative solutions for clients. As a B Corp, our ambition is to grow in the right way – with the right clients and the right team in place. These two new senior appointments are a huge leap in the right direction.’
When setting out to understand a little more about a brand, a visit to the company website is nearly always the first port-of-call for stakeholders. Often dubbed as the ‘shop window’ to an organisation, a website should clearly communicate your brand’s raison d’être, offer a clear user path, and most importantly, outline your company offerings in the best possible light. And while the process of delivering a gleaming new website is often an exciting one, the launch is only the beginning.
To guarantee that your website performs to its best ability, and to stay relevant among your site visitors, it’s crucial to view your website as an ongoing project. It’s not simply a question of UX/CX updates; reviewing CRO, your goal completion, tackling outdated content, dead backlinks, and poor SEO are all contributing factors to a poor online experience for customers, which can be detrimental to your sales drive and to your brand. The good news is that these are all easily avoidable consequences, assuming you tend to your site with care. To keep your website ticking over nicely, we’ve compiled our top 6 areas of focus for web optimisation…
You should always maintain clear strategic direction with your interface, mapping out the best possible user journeys. Without directing visitors to the right areas on your website, you’ll encourage high exit rates, U-turns, or rage clicks (Hotjar, 2022). Not only does this risk conversions or other goal completions, but it can devalue the brand that you’ve worked so hard to build. Put yourself in your users’ shoes and try to experience your website with a fresh pair of eyes. Is it hard to find key information about your brand? Does the site make checkouts, downloads and forms as easy as possible? Could you improve legibility?
Websites don’t just end at launch; they need to be maintained, optimised and tested. Having the correct analytics tools to visualise quantitative and qualitative data is important, but only when you are tracking the metrics relevant to your business. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to quantitative analytics platforms, but the key metrics that marketers should be tracking are:
While quantitative research is useful in identifying data patterns and numerical trends, it’s important for marketers to understand users’ attitudes, beliefs, and motivations. This is where qualitative data can help fill in the gaps to make more informed decisions with your quantitative data. Popular qualitative research methods include:
By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, it becomes much easier to understand your customer experience. Ultimately, this helps to highlight pain points and identify the content that resonates most with your brand’s audience.
A great way to ensure you’re optimising your website is by running A/B testing (sometimes called split testing) across variants. Before implementing significant updates, you might want to consider running an A/B test to justify your decision making. Netflix leads by example in this area. Unique to every user, they pool together data to produce a final homepage outcome based on behaviour and preferences. Todd Yellin, Vice President of Product at Netflix, confirms that the brand runs 250 A/B tests each year to test the different versions of the design. These tests also consider the ways in which users search for films and programs on the app (Wired, 2018). With a highly detailed level of tracking and various testing in place, Netflix’s success is entirely reliant upon data. Regularly implementing the variations from the results optimises the user experience.
It’s not uncommon for users to arrive at a website only to be deterred by complex language, over-stimulating features, or a lack of useful information. These websites tend to garner large drop off rates, with marketers left trying to figure out where they slipped up. This nearly always occurs when a website is built without a defined content strategy in place. Markets are ever-changing, and branded websites should reflect this. To stay top of mind, content needs to be relevant, useful, and findable. Marketers need to audit and refresh existing content on an ongoing basis, factoring in current trends and wider business objectives.
SEO is often an afterthought when it comes to website builds. This is usually down to the fact that organic search rankings can take time to bear fruit in contrast to paid activity. But with 53.3% of all website traffic acquired through organic search, SEO should be a core consideration during, and after, a website build.Regular SEO activity can elevate your brand and take you to the top of search engines, surpassing your competition. The key to successful performance and conversion of your website is a content strategy that considers a user-friendly experience, with digestible information for both the user as well as search engines. (Search Engine Journal, 2022).
Whilst they are undoubtedly two separate entities, marketers should make sure their SEO and PPC strategies are aligned, and both have high prominence on their marketing agenda and budgets. On average, 5-10% of your revenue should be spent on SEO activity. (Search Engine Land, 2022).
Read more about our top tips to optimise your organic search in our blog here.
Top performing websites don’t just need to look good, they need to be functional too. Ongoing website maintenance is required to keep your website running. This can be achieved by making sure your website is safe and secure, and that links and tools aren’t broken. It may seem simple but often brands focus on the launch of a new website and forget to check in on performance once it’s live. Some CMS updates can be relatively straight forward, but you’ll benefit from an experienced digital team to manage, monitor and prevent or react to any technical issues your website may encounter.
As a fully integrated agency, we build sites that talk the talk and walk the walk – from design to optimisation. If you’re looking to take your website to the next level, drop us a line today – we’d love to have a chat.
Discover more industry insights and opinions at saintnicks.uk.com/insights
What qualities should an app design company have? For every client, the response is different. It takes dedication, time, and talent to turn your concept into reality. Take into account the following advice to locate the ideal match for your objectives:
A reputable mobile app development company should have an extensive and detailed portfolio that showcases their expertise. You can evaluate a company’s design objectives and execution by looking at its previous projects. You can tell if they are compatible with the goals of your project by carefully analysing their portfolio.
For any reputable app design company, effective communication techniques are crucial. They should be able to offer insightful commentary and feedback while you should be able to communicate your needs and expectations effectively. A successful partnership requires a relaxed atmosphere and frank communication. Without good communication, the enterprise can face serious difficulties.
In addition to a portfolio, references from clients can shed light on an agency’s work ethics and prior experiences. Examine their former clientele and gauge how satisfied they were with them. This study will help us comprehend the agency’s dependability and expertise.
Identify the goals that you want your app to achieve. While some companies offer a more thorough strategy that encompasses the full development process, others offer aesthetics and visual design as their primary areas of expertise. Select a company that shares your requirements and vision.
Define your expectations and the needs of the project in a clear brief. Even if a firm has experience working with difficult design briefs, your project may have special requirements. Make sure the organisation has the resources, expertise, and knowledge to meet your unique requirements.
Think about the agency’s project management methodology. While some companies may use freelance designers or divide up jobs among their team, others may offer a more personalised service with a single point of contact. Select a company whose procedures fit your criteria.
While selecting the ideal app design company may seem difficult, it is essential for the success of your project. To find the perfect fit, do extensive study and thoroughly consider your options.
It is impossible to exaggerate the value of expert site design. Visitors to websites today make an impression about them in under a second, and 38% of them will quit if they don’t find the page visually appealing. If you try to build your website on your own, it can turn up poorly and fail to hold your audience’s transitory attention. For this reason, hiring a web design expert has become crucial for business owners. Let’s look at the benefits of employing a web design company as a top priority.
A professional web design firm can construct a website that is especially suited to your company and its particular needs because they have years of experience in the field. While there’s a chance that your marketing staff has some web development experience, it’s doubtful that they have the same level of experience and industry knowledge as a dedicated web design specialist. A well-designed website is an essential marketing tool that supports your sales and marketing objectives throughout time.
A web design company is knowledgeable about how to build a website that not only complies with design standards but also performs exceptionally well in SEO. Your website can gain more customers and outperform rivals on different search engines, including Google, by improving search engine rankings. A web design agency can help you achieve your goals if you want to create leads from several nations or target various languages. For foreign companies looking to compete on a global basis, this is especially important.
According to research, 47% of visitors will abandon a page that takes longer than two seconds to load. Customers increasingly expect rapid results in the fast-paced digital environment. A skilled site designer is essential in this situation. Even if your website has many features and high-resolution photos, they can make sure it stays lightweight and quick. Amateur or inexperienced developers lack the knowledge necessary to successfully optimise loading speed.
Numerous web design firms offer continuous monthly maintenance and assistance, sparing you the trouble of managing website downtime and the potential loss of clients or sales. These services also maintain your website current with the newest design fads and SEO guidelines that search engines like Google are always implementing.
In conclusion, consulting a web design expert is essential to the achievement of your website. They are equipped with the knowledge and expertise required to develop a highly functional and aesthetically pleasing website that supports your company’s goals. Contact us right away if you’re looking for a web design company in the UK. We are excited to make your ideas a reality and support the growth of your company in the digital sphere.
As we announced earlier this year, Bristol Creative Industries has teamed up with Bristol-based social enterprise Babbasa and 14 creative businesses to launch a city-wide internship programme.
The programme is aimed at Bristol-based young people aged 18-24 from an ethnic minority and/or from a low-income background who want to gain insight and experience in the creative industry.
The scheme sees many of the city’s most well-known creative companies offering six-month full time paid placements to applicants in roles covering advertising, marketing, design, animation and digital.
We held interviews last month (see image above) and we were so impressed by the talent and skills on display from the young people who applied. It was a very hard decision but we are delighted to announced the successful interns.
Watch the videos below for some insights from three of the agencies about why they are involved in the programme and the need to improve diversity in the creative industries.
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See Aardman Animations’ Bristol Creative Industries profile here.
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See Halo’s Bristol Creative Industries profile here.
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See Newicon’s Bristol Creative Industries profile here.
Bristol-based digital marketing agency Noble Performs, has announced the return of its ‘Noble Deeds’ programme for South West charities and not-for-profits.
Launched in the city last year to mark the 10-year anniversary of its US predecessor run out of the company’s HQ in Nevada, once again the Noble Deeds initiative will provide one local charity with a package of digital performance marketing support.
With the prize fund increasing each year in line with Noble Performs’ own growth, this year the package of support will stand at £18,000, an increase of over 30% on last year’s inaugural programme.
Open to all Bristol and Bath based registered charities and not-for-profits who wish to enter themselves as potential recipients, the support package up for grabs includes upskilling of the existing marketing team ensuring a long-lasting impact for the winning organisation.
The first charity helped by Noble Deeds in 2022 was Heart of BS13, a south Bristol social enterprise which supports and promotes a healthy, thriving community for Hartcliffe and its surrounds.
Working in partnership with the Noble team, Georgina Perry, chief executive of Heart of BS13, speaks about the impact the Deeds programme has had on helping the social enterprise and its initiatives thrive.
“We have so many great streams to our work which generate valuable revenue, from event space to bouquets and wedding packages from our sustainable flower farm, to frozen ready meals to support our community freezer. It was just hard to know where to start when it came to getting the word out and invariably these days that means doing it online and via social media. There is always so much to do and time is limited across a small team, so having the Noble guys come in and work with us to focus in on where our efforts could be best spent has made a real step change.
“We’re reaching people we never would have before through our website and understand how our social media and online presence can be optimised to achieve this. Our comms manager and I have both massively benefitted from this newfound knowledge and learning these skills. It’s given us a real confidence boost and is already helping us in other areas of the business. The Noble team were great fun to work with too!”
Helping clients such as Adobe, Rolls Royce, Yosemite and Kerv with their international digital presence, Noble’s Nevada Deeds programme now donates over $200,000 to charitable causes each year. The Noble Bristol team hopes to replicate this as its UK footprint grows, helping more charities and not for profits in the local community each year.
Noble’s UK managing director, Kate Sikora, explains; “Bristol has welcomed us with open arms since we opened our first UK office here in 2018, it’s such a vibrant, collaborative environment to live and work in. We’ve always felt a real sense of community here which really gelled with the ‘Be Better Every day’ mantra Noble Nevada was built on. Another thing we wanted to bring across the pond was of course the Noble Deeds programme, after launching last year it’s really exciting to be bringing it back for 2023. Not to mention being able to increase the amount of support on offer.
“So many charities and not for profits are struggling with the rising cost of living so sadly still need help to keep going and doing the vital work they do. Working with Heart of BS13 our Deeds winners last year was a stark reminder of this, but with such a driven, hard-working group of people at the core we’re confident they’ll continue to do amazing things. We’ve loved working with them, being able to get out and about and work with grassroots local community organisations is enriching in so many ways for our team, while making a difference at the same time.”
To enter, registered charities or not-for-profits must be Bristol or Bath based and complete a simple application form, which will be live on the Noble Performs website from May 18th to May 31st. The entries will be judged by a panel made up of an internal committee of the UK Noble team, with the winner selected by mid-July.
The Bristol-based charity that wins a place on the programme will secure a package of digital marketing support and skills training tailored to suit its specific needs, however this could include; SEO, PPC, Analytics and Paid Social. The package of support is anticipated to run from September 2023 to February 2024.
To enter please visit https://nobleperforms.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2023-_-Noble-Digital-Deeds-Grant-Application-1.pdf
To find out more about Noble Deeds please visit https://nobleperforms.co.uk/deeds/
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