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from idioms to idiots 2014 calendar.

It all started with a slightly skewed phrase that popped into my head one day for no reason... ‘A leopard never changes his spats’. This conjured a comical image of a dapper feline with an immaculate top hat and cane but inexplicably dirty footwear. A children's illustrator could have a field day, I thought.

Building on the theme, I racked my brain for more well-known sayings, and made a rule for myself... each idiom could only be changed by a single letter. And then I came up with a title that explained the concept by almost acting it out — ‘From Idioms to Idiots — How One Letter Can Make All The Difference’.

Read on...

new work – Haileybury College prospectus.

Much of the summer of 2013 was spent working on the prospectus for Haileybury (or more properly Haileybury Imperial and Service College), a leading co-ed private school in Hertfordshire. Its alumni include former Prime Minister Clement Atlee, author Rudyard Kipling, and more recently, Batman film director Christopher Nolan.

We were drafted in by design company hat-trick to provide words around the theme of a 'day in the life' of the college, quite a radical approach for an institution of this kind. In reality, the times of the day became pegs on which to hang different aspects of the school, from its emphasis on 'co-curricular' activities, to the benefits of boarding, to its impressive facilities. Underlying all this was the idea of promoting a broad, joined-up education, which offered more than just academic excellence.

Read on...

wired for words.

What a 17-year-old book on the language of technology means today.

On Saturday mornings, I’ll often be found in Leamington’s Oxfam Books and Music on Regent Street. It’s a great place to pick up second-hand vinyl and old Penguin paperbacks, and you never quite know what you’re going to find.

The other day I snaffled ‘Wired Style — Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age’ for a couple of quid, which got me thinking not only how rapidly English is evolving now, but how technology is constantly changing the way we write and speak. It was ever thus, I suppose, but these days it’s happening at warp speed. Doing what I do, I’m a bit of a sucker for style guides, and own everything from the Economist and the Guardian, to Oxford and Fowler’s. But ‘Wired Style’ has a different agenda, proclaiming itself a celebration of writing that “jacks us into the soul of a new society”.

Read on...

pick a (Christmas) card.

At this time of year, when the print edition of Design Week was still around, I’d often be found rounding up the best and the worst of the Christmas cards on offer. I would have been checking out the goods for personal consumption anyway, so this was the perfect way to kill two partridges with one stone.

But rather than beat around the holly bush over 350 words here, I’ll reveal my chosen designs for 2012 without the sound of drummers drumming or pipers piping. The chosen are from Oxfam, who’ve come up with the ingenious idea of not only recycling paper, but recycling designs too. Taking a dip back into their seasonal archive, they’ve plucked out some old favourites, which they’ve branded ‘vintage’ cards.

The two that particularly caught my festive eye were an illustration of the Magi by Douglas Hart from 1972, and a graphic star with some nifty blind embossing by an uncredited designer from 1987. These, we’re informed on the back, have been re-released to celebrate 50 years of Oxfam Christmas cards.

Last year alone, Christmas card sales helped the charity raise the equivalent of a two-year programme in Bangladesh, helping over 11,000 people to earn a better living and protect themselves during emergencies. So delete the impersonal e-cards, dust off your old fountain pen, and help Oxfam celebrate half a century of graphics and good works.

If you are looking for a seasonal round-up of 2012 Christmas cards, you could try this one from Red magazine. The retro family card from the V&A gets my vote.

new work – Reeve wood flooring rebrand.

We’re delighted to have played a part in the recent relaunch of Reeve. They’re wood flooring and fittings specialists based in Norfolk, who work extensively with architects and designers.

That’s how they fell in with the good folks at Felt Branding, who duly persuaded them to undertake a complete brand overhaul that would chime better with their main client base. Felt created a light, contemporary identity system, making it easier for clients to understand the Reeve range and specify accordingly. The rebrand included an ingenious ‘r’ logo that also manages to look like a tree.

It fell to totalcontent to develop Reeve’s tone of voice and write website and sample book copy. We wanted to put over the company’s deep appreciation of wood as a material, as well as their knowledge and experience. All wrapped up in a friendly accessible style, of course. The website was developed by Mesh London, while the sample book was immaculately printed by Generation Press, the go-to printers for the design cognoscenti.

It was great to get a write up and name check on the CreativeReview blog too.

word of the week – ‘legacy’ (ˈlegəsiː)

When I was around 17, I had the best pair of jeans. I wore them virtually every day for three years, and by the end of that time, there was more patchwork repair than original material. To this day I remember my mother compaining they ‘gave her the pip’, as she spent so much time sewing them up. Which sounded hilarious in her Dutch accent.

I remember they were Wrangler drainpipes, but I have no idea where they were bought or made. I liked the Ws stitched on to the back pockets — maybe it was a latent appreciation of typography which was to kick in properly a few years later. But the point is, I truly loved them, and they were always with me whatever I happened to be doing.

Read on...

today’s the day.

I’ve just received a rather beautiful hardback diary in the post. A little late in the day, I grant you, but I’m sure it will be put to good use. The diary is a showcase for the printing prowess of Kingsbury Press in Doncaster, and they’ve really gone to town with foil blocking, perforations, cuts, embossing, graduated colour – though not in a showy, look-at-me kind of way. There’s a handy guide to print and production at the front, and a page-per-day diary that’s just perfect for daily jottings. Not bad at all for a freebie. Hats off to Leeds-based Thompson Brand Partners for the design, and of course all those hard-working printers at Kingsbury.

new work – Square.

Earlier in the year, totalcontent hopped onboard Eurostar to Brussels. This was to get the lowdown on Square, a massive, state-of-the-art international conference centre, which will be opening in 2009. Even in its unfinished state, there’s no mistaking that Square will become a major-league meetings place – the location, space and architectural ambition are quite something. We were charged with announcing and explaining the ambitious scheme in a brochure and series of ads designed by our friends at Why Not Associates. And we’ve since helped Square with naming its many auditoria and facilities rooms.

new work – BDO Stoy Hayward.

Storytelling, quite literally. This was a direct mail piece for accountancy firm BDO Stoy Hayward to alert clients to the range of useful publications it produces and to ask them which ones they’d like to receive in future. It was a chance to update BDO’s mailing lists and save on unnecessary paper and postage. totalcontent played fast and loose with the Jack and the Beanstalk story to create an enchanting business case for reading your way to the top. And it worked like a fairy tale too, with what the client described as ‘a fantastic response’ of 3000 replies to the mailshot.