Plus. Minus. Equals
I read at work regularly. Articles mostly, many online. Recently, a Brain Food article (the blog from Shane Parrish’s Farnham Street) covered a system which Frank Shamrock (four-time undefeated MMA champion and coach) created to develop fighters quickly and effectively. Plus, minus, equals. His idea is this; To improve and internalise the form and technique you […]
Explore the future
I’ve been fortunate today. I’ve spent most of my day with people who want to explore their future, and understand that brand is a key element in shaping and making possible their vision. Listening and learning about what motivates people (their why), alongside the audience they want to serve (who), always provides real insight into […]
A new year. The same you.
I think we all start this month with high hopes for the year ahead. A brand new year. A fresh start. A clean slate. Nothing to stop you. Except you. Unless the new year has caused a massive transformation in you (think teen wolf) then you are still you. The same one as last year. […]
Fortune favours the brave
Whatever your plans for the next 12 months, if when you look at them, they don’t scare you then you need to be brave. Re-write them. Push yourself to imagine a better version of you, and your company. If your plan doesn’t scare you, then there is every chance that it’s too easy to achieve […]
Supporting young talent
There’s a lot of talent out there. And we’ve just had the pleasure of meeting some. Recently Charlotte – a photography student – spent a month with us learning, practicing, and improving her skills. Charlotte’s focus was on portraits but wanted to explore and develop her skills in other areas. As a brand and design business, with […]
Know your purpose and act on it.
Wonderstuff has always had purpose, but now more than ever, I believe it’s important that we’re clear about it. Having worked in the design and advertising industry for over 20 years, I have witnessed many times the challenges clients face when they buy design. There is a problem in how clients buy and how agencies […]
A Good Business
Can a business doing good, be good business? The Wonderstuff team went to a ‘Design Event’ talk recently where a design agency founder recounted enthusiastically how as a child in the 1970s and 80s, it was the famous logos, films and adverts of the time that encouraged him into a design career. As a child, […]
Effective Design in the Food and Drink Sector
Our founder, Paul Alderson, delivered a talk on effective design on Friday 20th April 2018 for Rise & Design: Design in the Food and Drink sector, with our client Liam Sherriff, Managing Director of Natural Nutrients. Together with Liam and his team we’ve helped them transform from a small scale supplements business to a significantly […]
You talkin’ to me?
A Wonderstuff 365 article. Make them count. When Robert De Niro delivered those words in Taxi Driver over 30 years ago it made such a huge impact on the audience that his performance still echoes on their lips today. De Niro wasn’t expressing his opinion on organisations communicating to their audiences, but his message is […]
On Purpose
We have delivered a series of brand sprints this January to different size businesses in a range of sectors. What we have heard loud and clear from the people we have met in these sessions, is their desire to find ways of not just stating their purpose and values, but demonstrating them in experiences that […]
Design improves sales
Effective design has purpose. To improve communication between your organisation and your audience. Jess (Durham’s Head Distiller) knew that the landscape for gin had changed and knew that to improve the sales of Durham Distillery’s Summer Fruit Cup, they needed a new label – with a name that suited the market. As their long-term brand partner we worked with […]
Why I do this
Growing, pruning, and running a design business After 8 years growing, pruning, and running a design business I want to help other founders find their purpose, and move towards it. For most organisations to achieve their goals they have to align their business and brand – for all their audiences – to create the best […]
Brand Sprints at Entrepreneurial Spark
We had an inspirational morning running a Brand Sprint at Entrepreneurial Spark last week. On one of the hottest days of the year, we kicked away with 3 hours of fast and focussed thinking, talking and writing. Working with 6 distinct business entrepreneurs who are part of Entrepreneurial Spark’s business accelerator programme, we ran through vision mapping, the importance […]
Design Means Business
Yesterday’s Design Means Business conference at the Northern Design Centre was excellent. A day full of insight and inspiration from from a range of excellent speakers, from futurologists to experts in serious play. There was so much to take away – instilling purpose in the workplace, collaboration and contemplation, letting your hands do the […]
Realise your vision. Every day.
A Wonderstuff 365 article. Make them count. 8 years in, and every day is still the first. For 8 years I’ve worked to build an organisation that looked after its people and helped its clients use their brand to their advantage. When I started Wonderstuff my personal experience had been projects such as branding an […]
On the same page
A Wonderstuff 365 article. Make them count Stories. A beginning, a middle, and sometimes – but not always – an end. Stories are human. We think in narrative form. They resonate and are remembered by devotees who can quote lines, thrill in the details, and enthusiastically share with others. Whether the story is visual, written […]
