Album cover nostalgia

Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton

Album daydreaming

So welcome to the lockdown #3 at the start of the New Year!

Not the start to a year that anybody wants – but the one everyone is getting on with. To divert my attention away from proper work I’ve pulled together a few songs and album covers I love. First the music and then the artwork. I tend to think a great cover will always make the music sound better.

I’d love to hear your preferences and thoughts – so do get in touch if you have a moment. These covers need no further introduction – enjoy!

Mark Irving

Fleetwood Mac
The Clash
David Bowie
Lou Reed
Miles Davis
Nirvana
Eric Clapton

Our marketing campaign shows early shoots of promise

Marketing campaign diagram design

Our marketing campaign shows early shoots of promise

We’ve been working closely with Milieu, an MEP Engineer over the past year, firstly on a rebrand and now we are engaging them in a marketing campaign into 2021.

As the Covid-19 lockdown from March 2020 and its current second incarnation have pressed into our business normal, companies of all sizes have been pushed out of shape. Face-to-face meetings are out, social engagements and sporting activities – once a more personal way to bring in new business – are on hold. In these circumstances it’s imperative for companies to keep their name and services in front of existing clients and to reach new customers through building a brand presence and authority in their space.

This was our task for Milieu.

We have put together a highly focussed marketing campaign centered around topical and informative content. We distribute a press release to over 200 industry online and print publications. We publish the article on their website and push this through social media and LinkedIn campaigns to push up engagements and click-throughs to the article. And at this early stage we are seeing success, an increase in the number of publications publishing the articles and new potential clients reaching their website for the first time.

If you think we can be of help to your business please do get in contact with Mark.

Email signature design
Email signature with link through to the latest article

Email campaign example – to existing client list and new subscribers

Marketing campaign diagram design

Infographics and diagrams created by Finch Studio to support the articles

Marketing press coverage

PR take-up online of our November campaign

Back in our refurbished studio

Winchester office - new interior

It feels good to be back in the studio

We are now back in our little studio at the top end of Winchester high street. And this is a good thing. Like you, I joined in the office-exodus back in March along with most of the working world. Initially, I enjoyed the change of view but as the weeks and then the months went by…

So it’s good to be back. In the meantime we’ve brightened up the studio – a repaint, new carpet and artwork on the wall. Jon, who sits opposite me here had the idea of these glowing LED lights you can see. They change colour and even pulsate at different speeds! A dream come true, then.

During the lock-down we’ve been working on some exciting projects, updating the Twilight Trees logo and launching a new e-commerce website (twilight-trees.com), along with launching a financial technology site (www.corfinancialgroup.com). We’ve got the next edition of the NSPKU members magazine coming along and a branding project for a store in the new Town Centre in Elephant and Castle, London.

To name a few. We do hope that you are well and keeping safe, drop us a line if we can be of help to you in marketing your business.

Mark
Finch Studio

Social distancing by design

Social distancing screens

Social distancing by design

Twilight Trees are a premium faux-foliage and LED trees Winchester-based business Finch have had the pleasure to work with this year.

During the lock-down Susie and her enthusiastic team have been innovating new products for our ‘new normal’ in which health and safety are now central to operating a business. Their thoughtful solution in this fight was to develop a series of screens to help us all socially distant ourselves. This is a natural extension of their faux-foliage and LED trees used for weddings and corporate events.

Specifically designed for hotels, restaurants, spas, salons, retail and offices, Twilight Trees has curated a series of screens to fit perfectly alongside these safety concerns whilst allowing businesses to restart with style.

These Living Screens are available to order visit Twilight Trees here.

covid-social-distancing-screen-design
Social distancing screens
Social distancing screens
Social distancing screens

Our recommendations for a great place to work and meet in London

Arcade

Our recommendations for a great place to work and meet in London

I find myself up and around in London fairly often and am always on the look out for places to meet new clients or friends after work. Sometimes between meetings you need a place to bring out a laptop and get some work done. If this can all be achieved while drinking and having a slice of cake in pleasant surroundings then work… well, can feel less like work and more like work-life balance.

Below are a few places we can happily recommend.

Arcade Food Theatre, Centre Point
This food arcade is a smart find beneath the revamped, London icon, Centre Point. Centre Point itself is 36 floors that tower over St Giles Circus, on the corner of New Oxford Street. It’s a perfect central London location for a freelancer to catch up with your email, or have a client meeting.

During the day the large Arcade is a fantastic space to relax with a coffee, login to the free WiFi, chat with friends and hangout.

The Arcade features seven independent kitchens, a coffee and bakery counter, along with bars and some cool digital art. What I particularly liked was grabbing something to eat from one place but then sitting wherever I wanted in the open plan space. There are plenty of comfy chairs and corners to choose from to get the perfect view. Oh, and if you don’t mind a queue, the British Museum is a few minutes walk away.

See: www.arcade-london.com

Photographer Paul Winch-Furness

Cafe interior

Ambrose Café at Heal’s, Tottenham Court Road
This is a real gem of a find. And of course, no longer a great secret. I stumbled across it myself after an afternoon slow-browsing the furniture stores along Tottenham Court Road. After instagraming the spectacular staircase in Heal’s I almost fell into their chic cafe backwards. Thankfully – my fall was cushioned by one of the comfortable, green velvet designer sofas that are ready and waiting to take the weight off some weary feet.

Well worth popping into for a pastry or sneaky afternoon beer. With the friendly staff and a relaxed vibe you can reply to that pitch deck you’re still to get round to.

See: www.heals.com

Royal Festival Hall, South Bank
Travelling to London from Winchester means we come to a stop just south of the river – into busy London Waterloo station. A short walk north lands us at the incredible South Bank – a well known creative hub for the arts. A place for skateboarders, tourists and creatives to mix. Being near the station makes it a good place to meet clients and level two of the Royal Festival Hall has open planned seating, electrical points to charge your mobile and free WiFi. Now, it does get a little busy and noisy in the foyer but there are some quieter corners and they even lay on regular exhibitions and events. After your meeting you can hop over to the 60’s juggernaut of a concrete building in which the Hayward Gallery hides, and get your fix of some edgy contemporary art.

www.southbankcentre.co.uk

Ooh, look at us

Finch design

Ooh, look at us

We have finally launched this new website!

We are pretty excited here at the Studio to be getting the site live. The last one served us well but after a number of years was starting to creak a little at the seams. As a small design studio we always put our client’s work first – and our own has had to take a back seat for too long.

We’ve been helping small to national busineses since 2002. Keeping nimble and alert, curious with the world and engaging in culture. We care. We try hard. And maybe that’s the reason we’re still around.

We would love the opportunity to discuss the future of your business or organisation to see if we would be a good fit to help. Do give me a call or email, we make sure it’s as simple as possible to get started on your project.

Thanks again to all our fantastic clients and collaborations over the past years, we don’t take you for granted.

Mark Irving
Art Director