That was our week, that was… #9

This week sees the second anniversary of our relocation to Macclesfield from City Centre Manchester. It’s been a great move for us in all sorts of ways, and we’re genuinely thrilled to mark the occasion by announcing our partnership with Macclesfield’s Barnaby Festival, as we’ll be working on the promotion of the 2012 event. Why Barnaby? Well, it’s named after St. Barnabus. And why does St. Barnabus (the patron saint of Cyprus, dontchaknow) have such a prominent place in the history of a small Cheshire town? Find out here…

The 2011 Barnaby Festival

The week began with our glorious leader introducing his kids to the Blackpool experience. The poor things… Amidst the usual ‘delights’ on offer, he discovered some really nice type, executed in the style of music hall posters, applied to the floor opposite the tower. Who would have thought? Typographic excellence in amongst the hotdogs and donkeys…

Top type from the top of the Tower

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in the studio, we’ve been working away on a number of new projects, but also taking advantage of a slightly quieter week (by our recent standards!) and helping our mate Damien Maguire move into the Jordangate House busom. Well, that’s not strictly true, he brought his own busom with him. No, honestly, he did. Perspex breasts to photograph sports bras. He reckons… ;-)

Damien's studio. Plastic cleavage not pictured...

 

 

Thursday saw the first ever Digital Edge meetup at the ever lovely Snow Goose Cafe on Sunderland Street. Louise was our disciple for the evening, and was pleased to meet up with some top people. Great to see such as vibrant creative community in Macc. Long may it continue!

And continuing the town and community feeling, this weekend sees another Treacle Market, where the cobbles of the historic old market place and Chestergate in the town centre hosts a quality Arts, Antiques and Crafts, and Food and Drink market. Why treacle? Another history lesson…Macclesfield is sometimes known as Treacle Town, because many many years ago a horse drawn wagon overturned, spilling its cargo of Treacle onto the cobbles. The Treacle Market is a chance to find gorgeous things on Macclesfield’s streets once again. Just less sticky…

Sweeeeeeet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, we’d just like to give a little shout out to a very funny spoof motoring / motor racing website, that’s been a favorite of ‘our leader’ for some years now. Lots of ‘re-imagined’ ads and so on, plus some very funny stories (even if you don’t like cars)

Give www.sniffpetrol.com a go…

One of the 'worksafe' examples...

 

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Ingenious
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That was our week, that was… #8

And what a week it was. Client visits, new projects, the arrival of a new neighbour, the departure of a hamster and a trigger happy designer. Where do we start???

Tinkerbell Hartley. The scamp...

Monday…
The week began with a missing hamster in the Hartley household. Tinkerbell, (apparently it’s not Paul’s hamster, but we have our doubts…) was last seen in her pink, duplex hamster home on Sunday evening, but was conspicuous by her absence on Monday morning. Cue much panic, pandemonium and exchanges of views immediately before the school run! However, the story has a happy ending. The intrepid Mr Hartley hurled himself into the fray and conducted an exhaustive search of the lounge, eventually tracking the errant beast down hiding in a home cinema speaker. ‘Tinks’ was returned to her rightful accommodation and has remained there ever since. Phew! So it’s not just clients that keep our glorious leader on his toes…

Tuesday
A routine visit to Cheadle Hulme School to discuss implementing new signage across the site turned into an ‘early bath’ for Paul, when monsoon weather conditions promptly arrived, drenching our glorious leader. Oh, how we laughed. Not his week, was it?
Precipitation issues aside, we made progress on our latest project for People’s History Museum, plus a couple of other projects that you’ll be able to read about here in a couple of weeks. Hopefully…

Yeah. Err, No... Err, yeah, I think so. Errr, oh NO!!!!!!

Wednesday
Not a great start to the day. A designer who shall remain nameless was a bit keen / clumsy / downright daft (delete as applicable) and managed to delete some work off our server. D’oh! Just goes to show, all the processes in the world, and it still happens. Anyway, a nervous call to ‘the glorious leader’ ensued, who was remarkably relaxed and philosophical about the entire episode. It says here…

The day got better, however, and also saw our good mate and photographer Damien Maguire move some of his stuff into a spare office. He’s a busy boy at the moment, and we’re happy to be able to offer him some space as he sorts the Cheshire division of his empire out. Remember us when you’re famous, eh mate?!

Thursday
A relatively quiet and simple day at Jordangate House. Projects ticking along nicely, plus we’re always happy to see clients and friends pay us a visit, like our celebrity builder (well, he builds things for celebrities – it’s almost the same) Mike Fairhurst, plus the ever present @JamesPickford1, who has regular ‘can you just…’ type meetings with us. 2012 is looking positive for James, and as ever we’re pleased to be able to help.

Friday
And on the fifth day, it was pretty quiet. Just in time for weekend. Hope you enjoy yours!

 

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Ingenious
Weekly Update Leave a comment

Account Manager wanted!

We’re looking for an Account Manager to join the team. Ideally you’ll have three-four years experience of agency life, will be organised, proactive and have the ability to develop strong and enduring client relationships. If you’ve got some experience or knowledge of the education sector that’d be an advantage, but not crucial.

You'd be working here...

In return you’ll be joining a small yet perfectly formed design-led agency with a varied and interesting client base. You’ll get involved in a broad range of clients and projects, working alongside our Director, and in the fullness of time you will be encouraged to take ownership of these clients as the business develops further.

Interested? Know someone that might be? Get in touch either via the website or Twitter and we’ll take things from there…

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Ingenious
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That was our week, that was… #7

It’s been a good week here at Ingenious. First of all, we were able to celebrate the arrival of the largest piece of print we’ve done for a while, the mighty 144 page ‘Waconian’ for Cheadle Hulme School.

1 School. 12 Months. 144 Pages...

As mentioned last week, the Waconian is effectively a yearbook, written entirely by the pupils of CHS, and it tells the story of the academic year from their perspective, in their words, with their images. It’s full of student art, photography, creative writing, and it’s a very interesting read. It’s been a pleasure to work on, and it certainly sets the bar high for the 2012 edition. And if you weren’t paying attention last week, shame on you. The term ‘Waconian’ comes from the original name of Cheadle Hulme School – The Warehousemen and Clerks School. Established in 1855 for the education of ‘necessitous children’. A fascinating story, and one we’ll cover off more fully in a future blog…

This week also saw Paul venture off ‘dahn sarf’ to London, to oversee the installation of an exhibition stand for Manchester Business School. We say oversee, but tend to think this means just standing around, drinking coffee and looking important with his iPad. The venue was the QE2 Conference Centre, right in the heart of Westminster and opposite the Abbey, so our intrepid Manc got to see some of the sights whilst he was down there.

The view from the venue

Like Macc Town Hall. But bigger...

We also had a visit from our friends at Eclectic Hotels this week. They dragged themselves away from five star, boutique hotel luxury in Manchester and Didsbury, and checked in at Jordangate House to have a look at how their new brochures are coming along. Very well, is the honest answer, so look out for those appearing on the site soon.

On another note, it’s almost two years since we arrived in Macclesfield from the bright lights of Manchester! It’s been a great move for us on all sorts of levels, and we’re really loving life in ‘the sticks’. We’ve more clients in Manchester now than we ever did whilst we were there, but hey-ho, it keeps us busy and Paul on the train and out of the office!

Here’s a couple of shots we took this week – one of the picturesque 108 steps (yeah, we’ve been up them. Once…) and another of Macc’s only (as far as we know) unicyclist. How cool is that? Come and see us and see the varied sights and sounds of our (not so) new home…

One hundred and eight-eeeeee.....

Wheely cool...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, congratulations to our mate @jamespickford1 and his team mate Simon Atkinson for winning their class in the British GT Championship at Silverstone last Sunday. Here they are in action. Any excuse for a cool car on the blog…

Fast. Handsome. Rich. One out of three ain't bad, eh James? ;-)

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Ingenious
Corporate Identity, Design for Print, Exhibition Design, Uncategorized, Weekly Update Leave a comment

That was our week, that was… #6

Well, a week ago we were basking in an unexpectedly tropical Macclesfield. Now, as we sum up another busy week in the world of Ingenious Creative, the rain’s hammering down and we’ve fired the trusty Jordangate House boiler into life to put the heating on. Work that one out, eh?

Despite the unique micro climate of this part of Cheshire, we’ve been hard at work recently on all sorts of stuff. We did a day’s photography at Cheadle Hulme School with our good friend Damien Maguire from Contact Digital, who as ever came up with some great shots. Here he is hard at work. It’s a collector’s item, this one…

Working away...

We had no specific shot list, and the only brief as such was to capture the essence of this wonderful School – the character of the place and the people within it. You’ll start to see these shots come through in the work we’re doing for CHS over the coming weeks, but we’re really happy with what we’ve come up with.

A sneak preview of some CHS work

In fact, Cheadle Hulme School has been a bit part of our work this year. It’s the largest client we’ve brought into the agency for a year or so, and we’re delighted with how things are going. We’ve recently completed several large projects for them, namely a School magazine and also a lovely 144 page PUR bound yearbook, known as ‘The Waconian’ (CHS was originally the WArehousemen and Clerks School, hence the term ‘WAC’).

In other news, we’ve been working on a new exhibition identity for People’s History Museum, a range of new brochures for Manchester Business School, and also, seeing as the festive season is approaching, our third Christmas interactive for MBS. Coming hot on the heels (well, almost a year later, actually) of 2010′s “Carrots for Questions” we’re looking forward to getting this one out, and will share the development of the project here, so keep your eye on the blog for more info.

Whilst we’re on the digital front, we’ve just finished JP Motorsport’s new website. Those of you who follow Ingenious will know the JP in question is our mate and uber-quick racing driver, James Pickford. You can see the site here, so go have a look and let us know what you think.

Next week promises to be another busy one, with a trip to “that” London for Paul on behalf of MBS, and a number of client visits to the office. Which is still sporting a half-painted exterior. It’s a long story…

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Ingenious
Design for Print, Digital, Uncategorized, Weekly Update Leave a comment

That was our week, that was… #5

Well, what a hectic week! It’s all going on here, our glorious leader’s been out most of the week (yay!) spinning a number of plates (more of that later!) but most importantly we’ve been making real progress with our workload, which includes magazines and a lovely yearbook for the increasingly busy Cheadle Hulme School, plus exhibition and brochure design for Manchester Business School and a mixture of other little gems…

The week began a little early for Paul, who headed over to IWM North to catch up with our contractors as they started work on the installation of ‘In the Spotlight’.

As mentioned on previous ‘TWOWTW’ blog entries, this is the third iteration of the spotlight concept, which focuses annually on an object from the museum’s collection, and the story behind it. Poignantly, on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, this

year’s is all about a Union Flag recovered from the wreckage of the Twin Towers, and how it came back ‘home’. Here are a few ‘in progress’ shots of the installation as it neared completion.

Of course, being an annual exhibition, the current display will be around until next September, but please do go and have a look. We’ve got more of our work on display at IWM North, namely the TimeStacks, which like In the Spotlight, are in the main exhibition space, and also ‘Oceans Apart’ an exhibition all about overseas evacuees in World War Two, which resides in the Waterway. There’s also the fantastic ‘War Correspondent’ exhibition on at the moment, which although we didn’t design it, we kind of wish we had. Another great job by one of our peers Hemisphere…

In other news, also exhibition related, we met with our friends at People’s History Museum this week, to discuss a new project. Obviously we can’t say too much at the moment, but as ever, we’re delighted to be asked to work on such interesting and rewarding work, and are greatly looking forward to getting started. So watch this space for more information over the coming weeks…

You wait ages for a flag to turn up in your work...

Our work for classic car parts business Leacy Classics has started to roll out. Here’s a little thumbnail of one of our new ‘brand’ ads, which are running in some key trade and consumer press over the next few months. The striking Union flag illustration will be used across a range of collateral in the weeks to come, such as packaging for their ‘premium’ range of brightwork (“chrome stuff” to the non automotive mind…)

Millie hard at work...

 

 

 

 

 

 

As mentioned earlier, ‘the boss’ (we mean Paul, not Springsteen) has had a bit of a nightmare this week. Earlier in the summer his children’s school had a fire, which has meant a delay in it reopening. So, a couple of little Hartley’s have occasionally been spending some time at Jordangate House this week, keeping us all entertained on their visits, with the elder H (Millie) showing some creative flair, making picture books, whilst Master Harry, most definitely a ‘digital native’ if ever there was, contented himself by watching assorted cartoons on YouTube. Daddy is thrilled, however, that the school’s open on Monday…

We’ve also just started work on a new exhibition project for Manchester Business School. This one’s taking place in London next month, and will be based on the stand we designed for them earlier in the year. The venue’s a stone’s throw from Westminster (never sure about that phrase – a stone’s throw. Depends how far you can throw, doesn’t it?) Not that we’ll be throwing any stones near Westminster. There’s bound to be lots of police around, and anyway it’s just not a good idea.

Sorry, we went off on a tangent a bit there, but it’s been a busy one. Not so busy, however, that we couldn’t sample the delights of another lovely bar in Macc! This week it was the turn of the very eclectic and charming Snow Goose on Sunderland Street (Macclesfield’s original High Street, apparently). We highly recommend it, so if you’re in the area, give it a try. If it’s a Friday come and see us first, and if you’re lucky Paul might take us all…

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Ingenious
Design for Print, Exhibition Design, Weekly Update Leave a comment

That was our week, that was… #4

At the moment, we’re working on a number of large projects, and when you’re doing that it sometimes feels like no sooner is it Monday morning then it’s Friday afternoon, and you’ve nothing to show for it. Other than tired eyes and a burning desire to get on with the weekend, that is…

That said, we’ve had our friendly printers in this week dropping off lots of file copies, so we’ve finally got to see the fruits of our recent labours. Some nice stuff (obviously!) mainly for Manchester Business School, but a few other bits and bobs as well. Here’s a wee sneak preview…

Foil blocking - always a favourite...

Another batch of nice work for MBS

The never ending update of Jordangate House continues, with a suspiciously MCFC inspired paint being applied to the external masonry. Our leader denies all knowledge, and claims “Grade 1 listed properties must be repainted in their previous colours to maintain consistency. Or something”. The less charitable (or accurate, come to that) amongst us suggest that the last time the building was painted was the last time City won anything, hence the long overdue refurb, but no-one’s actually put that to Paul. Strop-tastic… Here’s some shots of the building, the back in it’s new colour, the front about to be done, and the ‘gift’ one of Macclesfield’s finest saw fit to leave at our door. Errr, thanks…

Tradesman's entrance

Front of (Jordangate) House

Eeeeewwwwwww........

So what else has been going on? Well, our newest client, Cheadle Hulme School, had their new external signage (well, some of it) installed on Friday. The signage element of rebranding the entire school is a fairly major undertaking, with over 100 acres to cover, but the first steps on that phased introduction was completed when these fellas were pressed into service…


This weekend sees the start of our latest Imperial War Museum North installation. We’ll report back with some ‘in progress’ pics next week…

Where the magic happens ;

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Ingenious
Corporate Identity, Design for Print, Uncategorized, Weekly Update Leave a comment

That was our week, that was… #3

As we get to the end of another week, we’re quite enjoying updating our new blog, and hope you’re all enjoying reading it. So, what’s been going on this week?

Well as ever it’s been a busy week in the studio, as the workload from our recent pitch wins builds up. Nice “problem” to have though, and we’re very fortunate / lucky (delete as applicable) to be in this position. Most importantly our new starter, Louise, has fitted in perfectly. We’ll be looking for more people before too much longer, so if you’re interested, you know what to do…

Our glorious leader’s been out and about a fair bit this week, which is great for all concerned. Some of you may have seen the four pics below on our twitter feed @ingeniouscre8iv but for those who didn’t, Paul started the day with a coffee in Macclesfield (hard life, innit?!) before heading to the beautiful Cheadle Hulme School, over to see our photographer and good friend @DamienMaguire for lunch (see above!) and a briefing, before heading to Manchester Business School. Phew!

Macclesfield Town Square in the sunshine. Caffé Nero bound...

The beautiful Cheadle Hulme School...

On the way to meet Damien at The Banyan Tree...

Arriving at Manchester Business School to see the lovely Liz...

So, Paul’s trips out aside, what else has been going on? Well, it’s great to see that happily, everything we’re submitting to our various clients is being well received. We’ve always been very proud of our diverse client base and of our ability to consistently deliver for these very different businesses and sectors. Long may it continue!

On the exhibition front, we’ve got our 9/11 anniversary design being installed at Imperial War Museum North next weekend, so it’ll be great to see that finally open. Our branding work for Leacy Classics (classic car parts and accessories) is progressing well, and it’s also great to see some really nice design for print (thankfully people still like ‘old fashioned’ printing!) going through the agency..

Being the school holidays, we’ve had a few visits recently from Paul’s kids, Millie and Harry. Millie’s the arty one, whereas Harry is the techy one, so between them they’ve got the creative industry at their feet! Perhaps the second generation of Ingenious one day? They must take after their Mother…

Child labour in Jordangate House? Don't tell anyone...

Finally, we were sad this week to see the announcement that Steve Jobs was stepping down as CEO of Apple. Obviously, given the nature of what we do and what we work on, we’re Apple fans, but even so, it’s sad to see someone as creative, pioneering and charismatic as Jobs in such a situation. We wish him and his family well.

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Ingenious
Uncategorized, Weekly Update Leave a comment

That was our week, that was… #2

Yup, it’s the end of another busy week at Ingenious. So what’s been going on? Well, we’ve been hard at work for Cheadle Hulme School mainly, a wonderful private school based just down the road from us here in leafy Cheshire, and an equally wonderful new client we were very fortunate to win in a four-way pitch earlier this year. We’ve been tasked with moving their brand forwards, both creatively and strategically, and our work is taking in everything from signage to website to advertising to prospectus to school magazines and yearbooks to…you get the idea. It’s a great opportunity for us, and one that we’re really enjoying. Early days, so visuals to follow…

Those of you who know us well will be aware of the work we do with our racing driver mate, James Pickford. At the time of writing, his planned outing in the GT Trophy at Brands Hatch this weekend is hanging by a thread due to car problems. So, if any of our loyal followers have a spare Lamborghini V10 race engine knocking about, get in touch. Looks like you might have the weekend off, Pikky…

Early days, but we're pretty pleased so far...

James came to see us this week to look at progress on his new website, of which you can see a sneak preview below. Having finally got him into the benefits of Twitter, you can follow him here so please jump on and learn all about what he gets up to on and off the track. Website will be up before the end of September, and will be a great help in our crusade to get James a full-time drive in the British GT Championship for 2012. If you think you can help, or are just interested in motor racing and want to get involved, drop us a line…

Still on the automotive front, we headed to Birmingham (just down the road from Villa Park) earlier this week for a great meeting with another new client. Leacy Classics are a manufacturer and distributor of car parts and accessories for classic marques such as MG, Austin Healey and Triumph, and we’ve been tasked with developing their corporate identity and press advertising. Great feedback to our initial ideas, so look out for more news as the work progresses. Special mention must go to Miles Garner at Cobra UK for referring us to Leacy. Thanks Miles!

"On the March" at People's History Museum, Manchester

Spoke to our friends at People’s History Museum this week, and following the success of our two previous exhibition design projects, ‘Death and the Working Class’ and ‘On the March’, we’ve been invited in to discuss the next one. Can’t wait!

 

 

Lastly, it must be said that an Ingenious night out this week produced sore heads this Friday. We had a little tour round the metropolis of Macclesfield, and as ever, stopped by the wonderful Treacle Tap, purveyor of quality Belgian beers. Qwak, a favourite due to it’s lovely taste and iconic presentation (see below) was taken by all, and whilst it was proclaimed as a triumph of brewing talent on the way down, it was branded ‘the work of the devil’ on Friday morning, as Nurofen and coffee were consumed in an attempt to restore heads to their usual state. Ah, it happens to us all…

Ooohh, you are awful. But we like you...

 

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Ingenious
Corporate Identity, Design for Print, Digital, Exhibition Design, Weekly Update, Work Leave a comment

That was our week, that was… #1

So, as we come to the end of another busy week, just what have Ingenious been up to this week? Well, as ever it’s been a mixed bag of work, most notably for Manchester Business School, Imperial War Museum North and Muse Developments, to name but a few.

A recent MBS 'Exec Ed' exhibition project

We’ve been working extensively with MBS’s ‘Executive Education’ function since the beginning of the year, and we’re pleased to report it’s going really well. This work typically involves design for print, with the odd exhibition project thrown in. Despite being part of a much larger organisation (The University of Manchester) MBS have a strong identity in their own right, so it’s always a pleasure to work on new projects for them. Added to the Exec Ed work, we’ve just finished a project for the central marketing function, this time a Undergraduate Welcome Guide, which as the title suggests, is a welcome guide for Undergraduate students…

The current 'in the spotlight' exhibit @ IWM North

Moving on, we’ve been working with our long-standing client IWM North on an ‘in the spotlight’ exhibition, which will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 when it opens later this year. Can’t say much about this one, other than it’s the third time we’ve done ‘ITS’ now, and each one has featured not only an incredibly interesting object from IWM’s collection, it has also revealed the fascinating story behind it. More news to follow…

We’ve also been tasked with working on a new brand identity for a prestigious classic car parts company. These craftsmen and women are responsible for designing, manufacturing and retailing parts that help keep some of the icons of Britain’s automotive heritage on the road, so for petrolheads like (a couple) of us, it’s a nice project to be involved in.

Some other cool mugs...

We’re really pleased to report our new starter, Louise Murphy, is settling in really well. Knows how to brew up, has brought a really cool Pantone mug with her and has immediately made an impact on our work. Keep it up, Lou!

 

 

 

We ARE really here (it's a Man City thing...)

And finally, our new office sign arrived today (Friday) causing a wave of excitement at Jordangate House. Well, a ripple of acknowledgment if we’re honest, but still, its nice to finally put our mark on the place…

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Ingenious
Corporate Identity, Design for Print, Exhibition Design, Weekly Update, Work Leave a comment