new work – Cubic.

In our time we’ve written dozens of mission statements, ‘about us’ sections, and promo materials for design companies. There’s no getting away from it, these are tricky beasts. Branding specialists spend so much time defining, positioning and articulating other folk, that more often than not they neglect themselves. While some have a very strong idea of who they are and what they stand for, others need to have something thrust in front of their noses before deciding perhaps that’s not really them. 

Either way, there tends to be a lot of self-analysis, head scratching and soul searching involved. And invariably plenty of drafts after every last person in the company has had their say. One particular consultancy who commissioned us took six months to agree a single (short) paragraph. There were ten rewrites. In the end they felt it lacked bite, but they were prepared to live with it. 

Clearly, it doesn’t have to be like that. Working with Nottingham-based Cubic went like a breeze. They wanted a series of three books – the first one a teaser, followed by two chunkier volumes. They encouraged Jim to develop his own tone and never took themselves too seriously. They created their own charming illustrations to support the writing. And for a short-but-sweet overview piece, the results are – we think – really lively and have plenty of bite. 

So thanks Cubic for asking us to help out… and being prepared to stick their necks out a bit. Oh, and you can download the whole book here if you're so inclined.