totalcontent - the blog.

new work – Exposure.

Fashion-led communications agency exposure’s new web site is an all-singing, all dancing affair that reflects the vibrancy of the company’s people. Populated by quirky robots and toys, and featuring cartoon-like sound effects and animation, it’s a tour de force in young-at-heart online design. totalcontent provided the necessary balance with accessible, yet business-like summaries of the agency’s vision, credentials and short descriptions of its different departments. Random, lateral quotes from staff, culled from their business cards (a previous totalcontent commission), pop up when you least expect them.

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.

pure gold.

Wow.

I’ve just been honoured with the most prestigious award you can get in the creative industries. An extraordinarily rare D&AD Gold. This once-in-a-lifetime accolade was awarded in the Advertising Posters category.

It was for my part in the National Gallery’s ‘Grand Tour’, an astonishingly inventive campaign masterminded by The Partners. This took framed, life-sized reproductions of Old Masters and hung them on walls across central London in the summer of 2007. I wrote copy for over 40 plaques to give context to each of the paintings. These needed to explain often complex allegorical scenes in just 100 words. And a no-nonsense style that would connect with the ‘man in the street’. Literally.

Hearty congratulations to everyone involved. Now where shall I park that precious black pencil?

new work – Royal Mail.

The Royal Mail Year Pack is a whistle-stop tour through all the sets of British picture stamps published in the course of the year. You get a full set of all the stamps, plus a pull-out guide on the subject matter that inspired them.

totalcontent was asked to provide the commentary for the True North-designed pack, which meant delving into all sorts of arcane areas, from marine life and astronomy, to army uniforms and endangered species. Taking in Grand Prix and the Beatles along the way.

It looks like we did a reasonable job – we’ve just been commissioned to write another Year Pack for 2008. Bring it on.

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.

new work – Harrison Pursey.

Blast created the D&AD award-winning identity and literature for leading media recruitment specialists Harrison Pursey back in 2004, and this year were charged with creating a suitably spectacular corporate brochure to follow-up. They didn’t disappoint. Their ‘search and seek’ doggie theme was taken to the max, with a plump orange rosette on the front and a binding based on a studded dog collar – plus plenty of canine capers inside. With the design so ‘out there’, totalcontent’s role was to keep the writing light and elegant, and to go easy on the dog puns. The balance works well – an easy-flowing read with plenty of compelling visual gags.

new work – Thomas Pink.

The 2008 Thomas Pink ‘look book’ takes the brand back to its roots, focusing firmly on the retailer’s expertise in shirts. The new approach and introduction of the discerning ‘Mr Thomas Pink’ character was the brainchild ofYellowdoor, Mary Portas’ fashion/retail agency. totalcontent developed a tone of voice to complement the new direction, supplying descriptions of Pink’s different styles and cuts of shirt, and highlighting the fine details that set them apart. Our words sat alongside a lyrical passage on the delights of Jermyn Street by author and screenwriter William Boyd.

new work – Fabric.

When IT companies Open Business Systems and Psychosis merged recently, they became Fabric. Which required a clean sweep – new identity, new tone of voice, a suite of corporate literature and a web site. While AIG provided the new look and feel, totalcontent took care of all the necessary words.

Jim enjoyed working alongside long-time friends and collaborators Kasper de Graaf and Malcolm Garrett – he’d previously hung out with them at Assorted Images, the iconic 1980s design company. Together we found a way in that was distinctly human and non-techie, just the kind of bright, approachable and reassuring outlook that Fabric was after.

new work – Neal’s Yard Remedies.

totalcontent has spruced up the pack copy for Neal’s Yard Remedies’ Christmas gift sets. Each of the dozen packs was given an appropriate title based on the benefits of the goodies inside, along with a more expansive description of the ingredients and general efficacy on the back.

Designed and art directed by Aboud Creative, the range features striking ‘photogram’ pictures of live plants by Richard Green. Plants and herbs, sourced from all over the UK, were painstakingly laid on to photographic paper, and then exposed to light. Now almost a fine art process, this harks back to the earliest days of photography, which literally means ‘painting with light’. Shimmering out of a deep blue background, the photograms perfectly reflect the brand’s heritage, natural qualities and iconic blue bottles.