We have just had the packaging back from Mushroom and Co the ethical children’s toy retailer and have to say we are very pleased with the results. Foundry34 have been working on a complete rebrand for the company over the last few months and developed a wide range of branded material and digital work, including brand identity, packaging, presentation materials, advertising and ecommerce store. They have just returned from several trade shows and we think the 100% natural rubber, hand painted toys are going to go down very well. We will be getting more images of the work onto our folio pages over the coming weeks.

December sees the launch of one of the major projects we’ve been working on over the last few months – Jap-Central. Again, ‘content is king’ is the mantra for the project and the company are currently going through a soft launch of the site with trusted businesses and users.

The intention of the soft launch is twofold; one to build up real content on the site in a live environment and get some very useful usability data. We think with the right take up Jap-Central is going to be a huge success.

The guys behind the company are passionate about the product and completely understand their target market and know what makes them tick. The coming months are going to see this online brand really build into a major player in this market.

The new blackswan website designed by Foundry34 has been live for over two months now and is really beginning to take shape.

Content driven sites always seem to (naturally) seem empty until real content is added and users begin to engage with the site. Over the coming months the design and development built into the site should really pay off allowing non-technical users to easily add content to the site, helping users intuitively navigate some great business advice and discussions while linking up neatly to blackswan’s product range.

Like many creative agencies, Foundry34 did it’s fair share of free work in the early days, trying to build up our folio or simply trying to get our work out there. Unfortunately free work does usually generate more … requests for free work.

The problem tends to be that rather than clients having an appreciation for the service they are getting for free, the service becomes devalued and we guarantee if you are going to have client relationship problems, it is always with people who do not value your service.

Fast forward a few years and we don’t have to offer work for free but, as always, the team have discussions about the direction of the company and our ethical policy. Although we work with charities and social enterprises on a commercial basis and make donations to charity (our chosen charity is the British Red Cross) we have discussed the idea of helping an organisation out with their advertising on a pro bono basis.

Step forward James Hirst who is about to do a worldwide cycling tour in the aid of Cancer Research. James is a friend of one of the team who mentioned it in one of our discussions and the timing seems to be about right. So James will be off on his tour next year and Foundry34 are going to be helping him out with his website (The Ride Round) and marketing to raise the profile of his undertaking. It gives us a chance to do some experimental work, help out with some great causes and show advertising isn’t the root of all evil.

August sees the launch of management consultancy Ascend Twentyone’s new website design and branding. Foundry34 were approached by Director Mandy Sandhu to develop an umbrella brand for the company and sub brands for each of the company’s service areas; Strategic Management & Planning, People Management, Business Development and Public Funding and projects

The brief was to present a professional, competent persona for the company yet maintain an approachable and clear message through the corporate communications and language.

After research and discussions and in negotiation with the client, Foundy34 designed a crisp minimal brand using a strong colour scheme to differentiate the service areas.

Once the core branding was established the look and feel was carried through to the website design and direct communications.

Results? A very happy client and a start-up business that instantly has the professional look and feel to compete with the established competition.

Check out the ascend twentyone website here

Last and by no means least August sees a great client win in the shape of global consultancy blackswan. Foundry34 have been selected to design and develop their new online presence and work is already well underway. We see this client as a great coup for Foundry34 and shows that Foundry34 continue to go from strength to strength. More on this brief soon

Finally this month will be the last for the current Foundry34 website before we launch our new and improved site. To finish us off we have the ‘Foundry34 adventures in design’ homepage, next month will see a new site with a range of new features and a much improved client showcase area to show exactly what we have been up to. Keep checking back!

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March sees the launch of the Assure brand and website. Assure approached Foundry34 to handle their communications as they wanted to get away from the staid and inflexible image often associated with building control. With ‘respect for design’ as their mantra, Assure wanted to project a professional  and high quality image which could stand alongside the brands of their clients such as architects firms. The brief covered logo and brand development, design and build of the company website and graphic design for their company stationery and conference brochures and associated materials.

Check out their site here:
www.assurebuildingcontrol.co.uk