Hoffi: Branding, Brand Communications and Digital.

We are moving???!!!

2011-02-24T15:13:00.003Z

We have moved our blog from here to here http://www.hoffi.com/blog

We will leave this blog live so you can look through our old articles however check out our new blog on our brand new site.

Have you seen it?

2011-02-11T09:34:00.003Z

So, as we saw it, it would be a good idea to look back at how we started so for a limited time only we will be showing our first piece of print on our brand new website. We are really happy with the new site, but what do you think? let us know your thoughts. We will be adding more projects in the coming weeks so keep your eyes peeled.

We are five today

2011-02-10T11:23:00.006Z

Well it seems a day ago that we setup. However five years have passed by and we have moved from a bedroom, to a small office, to our current studio based in Cardiff Bay. We have employed Elin who has been with us for well over two years now and we have had many students come for work experience.

We have learnt loads in the last five years, Some things we didn't really want to learn (TAX returns), through to developing new ways of working and improving our knowledge and skills within design. For us though, we think that the best thing about our five years has been the people we have met and become friends with. We hope that the next five years will be even better.

So thank you to everyone who has been part of our last five years.

P.S. Look out for a new development in the next few hours.

Lighting the candles...

2011-02-03T16:23:00.001Z

As Hoffi's fifth birthday is coming up very soon, we have been working really hard on a little gift to send out to all of our lovely clients!...Keep checking the post in the next couple of weeks!!

Hoffi Seminar - 2011

2011-01-19T12:43:00.001Z

Hoffi announces more FREE seminars for Welsh Businesses

Following the success of our last two seminars, which covered branding and online strategies, we have been working on the arrangements for our third seminar and have a date confirmed. In this seminar you will discover why your brand is the most valuable part of your business, and why a good brand can benefit you.

Taking place on Thursday 14th of April, at Enterprise House, Cardiff Bay *.

We will be there from 8:30am where you will be able to get a coffee and a bit of breakfast, before we start at 9:00am.

The initial seminar will run through some examples of what branding is and what it is not. After a short break we will then continue to look at why having good branding is valuable for your business and what the key ingredients of a good brand is, we will be particularly concentrating on how to use your brand to position itself in the marketplace.

This will take us up to 12pm, when there will be around an hour or so for networking (we will be around afterwards should any of you wish to chat about any particular issues you have.)

We hope you are interested in attending the event and look forward to seeing you all there. Please note places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

For your place at the seminar please email elin.williams@hoffi.com quoting reference: brandemail

* Enterprise House is located opposite the train station on Bute St, Cardiff Bay.

The Training Room, Enterprise House,
127 Bute Street, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff CF10 5LE.

Look forward to hearing from you

Swamping markets with multiple brands

2011-01-18T12:44:00.009Z

Image for illustrative purposes only and does not include whole market.

We have had a number of conversations in the office recently about the development of branding and the products and services it offers. There seem to be a number of branding and business ventures that are coming together to create a rather different type of output.

Firstly lets look at some history. In the Western brand scape it has been quite rare for a brand to move to different markets or sectors. There are probably two that spring to mind that have challenged this view. Virgin and in a similar way EasyJet. These brands have managed to create a strong brand over a range of sectors yet kept their core values in these new ventures. However if we look further afield to the Asia market and in particular the Japanese market. Which for years has had companies that diversify from it's initial product/service to encompass many other products or services. Some examples would be Mitsubishi (air conditioning through to Cars), Or MUJI (electronics right through to the food market). Another line of branding and business strategy is the well publicised Starbuck's strategy of opening as many coffee shops as it can in the area to then drive out other competitors. So for a short term loss per shop there would be a long term gain for the brand and company.

So if we look at companies are combining these two strategies and using this within one market sector. The theory being swamp the market with different brands offering the same product but in a different way, whether that be different through look, age range, values etc. An example close to home is Admiral. A Welsh based company that has a huge protfolio of insurance options. for example Admiral themselves provide car insurance, then there is confused.com that also provide car insurance then there is also elephant who also provide car insurance, Diamond who also provide car insurance, I think you get the message. So each brand is targeted at a specific area of the marketplace, and all of them owned by Admiral.

In the same way, but with a slightly different approach is Ariel who have for many years developed their washing powder range to be the next best thing for cleaning your clothes. Recently they have stretched their brand to Stain removal products. So extending their product range within the same market.

So what is happening?

This scatter gun approach to business seems to be at first highly self defeating (being expensive to develop a brand, and setup an infrastructure for a new company), yet if we look at it another way these companies are already very established within their market they are invariably one of the leaders in their marketplace and they are vigilant about threats and other companies challenging their market share. So instead of fighting through just one offering why not make the offerings multiple and make the offers niche or bespoke to markets within markets?

The rule seems to almost feel (in the Case of Admiral at least) become large and dominant through a wide brand offering (Admiral) then diversify into smaller conversation offerings for smaller groups and niches (confused.com, Elephant etc). This can also be seen in other companies such as Google who have grown into the largest company in the world and now they are refining and developing new ventures that are aiding in the development of niche responses to their market, and also fending off other companies which maybe trying to break into these markets.

R+I Creative - Influencers Film

2011-01-14T16:27:00.003Z

INFLUENCERS FULL VERSION from R+I creative on Vimeo.

For those of you who have read Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping Point you are going to be familiar with some of the thoughts that come out in the film. It is also a lovely piece film and as I am going to New York next week it's nice to see snippets of the city.

Truly Scrummy Organic in Sainsbury's

2011-01-13T15:36:00.003Z

Andrew and Carwyn, went to visit Sainsbury's today to take some shots of Truly Scrummy Organic in-situ. It was great for the guys to see them on the shelves after all the work that was put into them from us and the Truly Scrummy team.

A bit of filming

2011-01-13T15:22:00.002Z

Filming in the CIty Centre from Hoffi on Vimeo.

We have been working hard since we got back on new projects and this year we are going to be showing them in different ways. This was a small clip of a piece we are working on at the minute for one of our clients. More to come soon.

What's new in 2011? - Number 5

2011-01-11T13:41:00.004Z

Well when we started back in the day we had loads of experiments on the go. Playing with materials and looking to use them within projects. Recently we have been working flat out and the experimenting has reduced so this year we will be resurrecting this. This is El putting one of our first concepts to the test. Keep your fingers crossed for us. As IDEO say Fail Early Succeed sooner.

What's new in 2011? - Number 4

2011-01-06T11:42:00.002Z

More of this in 2011, only takes a bit of innovation and loads of work.

10 business models that rocked 2010 - by @nickdemey

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

10 business models that rocked 2010 - by @nickdemey

View more presentations from Board of Innovation (BOI).

What's new in 2011? - Number 3

2011-01-06T10:42:00.002Z

This is not really a new thing but something we are going to see a lot more over the next few years. Ever since the Wii came out in 2006, the games console world had been changed. Now with the likes of Microsoft, launching it's kinect add-on to the XBOX games and the physicality of these games consoles are going to be more and more influential in day to day life. Combine this to the development of Augmented Reality and it looks like we are going to have a very different experience of computers of the past.

What's new in 2011? - Number 2

2011-01-05T14:31:00.003Z

Our second what's new for 2011 is an internal development. Hoffi has been going now for nearly five years (birthday in February, and we welcome cake). Over that time we have gone to see a few exhibitions and visited a number of events.

Well this year we have decided to make it a bit more structured in what we do. So we have developed trip days that will work hand in conjunction with our knowledge transfer monthlies. The trip days will be anything from going to see and exhibition to taking part in a fun run!!!!. We are aiming to get the planning book out this month to plan around three of them for 2011. More than likely we will be putting the plans on the blog before we go so if it sounds interesting we might even see you there.

So What's new in 2011, take time out to experience new things that re-inspire and invigorate you. That's the plan.

What's new in 2011? - Number 1

2011-01-05T13:40:00.003Z

So in our first What's new for 2011 we thought we would go straight to eating. Thinking you still want more we came across the top ten trends that we should see in 2011 according to Leatherheads food research.

TOP FOOD TRENDS IN 2011

Reformulations and stealthy reductions. (Initiatives such as the removal of artificial additives and ingredients will continue into 2011).
Sustainability high on the agenda
Health and wellness
Riding out the recession
Ever-expanding tastes. (Cuisines from regions around the world).

Provenance. (British will be the core focus for consumers when demanding provenance).

Small indulgences ( Consumers to forgo large expenses in favour of 'treats' in inexpensive forms).
Frozen foods market beginning to thaw?
Less is more/convenience. (Consumers will continue to demand convenience to fit in with ever-busy lives).
Obesity to get bigger. (innovations within the ingredients sector will allow companies to explore the addition of fibres and proteins and their effects on satiety).

You can see a larger article here

what we have learnt in 2010 - Number 6

2010-12-17T11:53:00.003Z

Five down this is number six. for many companies this is so hard to do and it is so tempting to do other things. This is what we have learnt in the last five years but slowly been introducing in 2010. Be excellent in one aspect of business (in our case design).

Niche is key to the future development of your business. If you can identify your key beliefs and values and only approach projects that fit this then in the long term you are going to be better off. Your projects will be more enjoyable and fulfilling, because you believe in it. They will also be of a better standard.

What we have learnt in 2010 - Number 5

2010-12-17T11:23:00.003Z

This is very appropriate given the weather today. With the ease of communications both on and offline, it is almost impossible not to get to the people who want to listen and talk to you. I have been trying to find out what the trains are like for the last 30 minutes no luck. Surely there is a good channel to access for this?

However what we would say is that it is very important to provision this aspect of your strategy. Do not set up a twitter account or facebook page if you are not going to have time to use it and respond to people's queries. It's not yellow pages where you put your advert in, because everyone else has one. It is about what you can offer and how your offer is unique and authentic. It has to be integrated within the whole brand and business strategy.

Things we have learnt in 2010 - Number 4

2010-12-16T14:12:00.002Z

Number 4 in our what we have learnt is about guardianship and confidence. Brands are more and more being moulded and created by the user whether that be a customer of the brand or an employee as we learnt in a previous post. But what is key is to have ownership of your brand so you can develop it with confidence and without having to constantly be asking for assistance.

This ownership is key if a brand and brand strategy is to be embedded within a company. It was great to see this christmas card from the people of menter a busnes and to see how already within a month or so they are feeling confident enough to play and evolve the brand. They know we are always on the end of the phone so they are happy to play and experiment with their new brand.

Things we have learnt in 2010 - Number 3

2010-12-16T11:55:00.003Z

Our third instalment in what we have learnt this year. Transparency and openess. In the social media scene it is no longer possible to hide behind a door. Brands have to be person and have opinions. The more open and candid you are the better.

By being personal you can react and evolve inline with your listeners.

This years biggest none listener was Steve Jobs and the infamous 'hold it differently' for the signal problems of the new iPhone 4

Things we have learnt in 2010 - Number 2

2010-12-15T15:06:00.004Z

During this year we have been involved in a variety of projects. Some big, some small. Some print, some digital. Some brand, some not. But the main thing we kept on coming back to again and again was that branding is about people. And people are shaping your brand. From the employee of the brand to the user. It has to start from a person perspective.

Things we have learnt in 2010 - Number 1

2010-12-15T11:06:00.004Z

Our first thing we have learnt this year is more like what we have introduced in 2010 and hope to continue into 2011 and hope to expand to involve other companies.

What we have learnt - Number 1
Introduce a time for skill transfer and knowledge exchange. We have played with a few versions of this in 2010, and are getting there. It's all about keeping on going and experimenting until it's right. So in 2010 we have introduced a monthly workshop or presentation where a member of Hoffi exchanges knowledge to the rest.

The video above is a very quick film created through a workshop this morning using After Affects. A bit festive snow for everyone.

On to 2011

2010-12-10T14:35:00.000Z

Risk averse Wales?

2010-12-07T21:04:00.004Z

I wrote an article recently on my blog about the Ryder Cup and whether a different marketing/advertising model should be looked at. And whether there are other ways of delivering uniqueness through niche as opposed 'big hitting' one off events? Having recently returned from an interesting discussion regarding the development of sustainable places in Wales, and also learning of the failing education system in Wales. There seems to be two words that have been repeated over and over again.

The words are RISK AVERSE, and a lack of confidence in Wales that seems to be hindering us from really developing new innovative structures, systems and companies for the future.

The concept of not being confident is a new thing for me. When we started Hoffi I was of the opinion that Wales was confident and had some great future prospects, and in fact a growing confidence. In some cases this was the confidence of youth and perhaps even a naivety on my part. Over the years however this has slowly been changed and eroded. The incremental change within Welsh companies seems unbreakable. Innovation and direction changes within companies being few and far between.

Internally we have created a number of self initiated projects that have been hugely successful, but not in the terms people would gauge success. We created a Creative hub called Naked Wales which brought together creatives to chat and get to know each other. We also produced a magazine which we managed to get people to write for and send in illustrations that we could add. So why did we do it? well firstly it wasn't about money. It was about helping people make connections, opening new collaborations. It also allowed us to test ideas and ways of working fundamentally it allowed us to FAIL. So we might SUCCEED earlier the next time.

So back to the risk averse. In the last ten years a certain company has become the richest in the world, and another being part of most peoples daily routine. While it most definitely about the technology making it possible it does seem that it is also the environment these companies came from. Silicone Valley has for years now been the epicentre of technology development.

IDEO - designed apples' first mouse

Apple

Microsoft

Google

Facebook

Sun systems

To name but a few. So are their ways we can bring this thinking and belief into Wales?? Would love to hear what people think.

Like buses

2010-11-26T12:17:00.006Z

This week we have mostly been overdosing on workshops. At the beginning of the week I attended a workshop with the Travelling Pantry. The workshop is part of a RSA research project designed by Tessy Britton and David Gauntlett. I was invited to attend due to the work I have been involved in with ARK LAB, but above that it is always good to experience workshop approaches, to see how they can be developed into branding and research workshops for Hoffi. The great thing about the workshop is it was an open workshop which means that you can take the theory and practical of the workshop and try them out in your work.

The half day workshop had some fun activities/exercises and there was a great knowledge transfer section where we learnt about some of the latest community based projects from around the world. For those of you in the community arena and looking at bottom up enterprises there is a few listed below that are really interesting:

- PIE LAB
- Mensheds
- Learning Dreams

As well as that I got to play with LEGO which is always a bonus. I think the idea of SERIOUS PLAY is crucial as a concept to future creative thinking and developments.

As well as the Pantry workshop we also held our own workshop for a potential new venture in Wales. At the moment it is under wraps but the workshop went down well, with a number of outcomes and possibilities identified. The workshop in question is called 'Climbing Everest', it generally takes around half a day and we recommend using it at the beginning of projects to either be used as design research and identify new directions, or to create a brief for a project. At the start of next year we will also be starting a mini version of this for people to try out so if you want to get some creative directions explored in your company let us know.

The localness of Christmas markets

2010-11-21T00:30:00.000Z

For many years now Cardiff has seen a variety of markets take over various parts of the city. With the development of High street into a pedestrianised zone the markets have been spreading to these areas. Craft Folk who have been organizing and running the markets have introduced wooden sheds for the stall holders. Which is alot better than the old metal frames with plastic walls that they had previously. When I say previously I think they have been doing it now for over ten years. In fact about seven years ago I took over one of the stalls with a friend to sell one off t-shirts, jewelry and ceramics.

It was a great although sometimes cold experience. We managed to sell some things and it was great to meet the people who were actually going to use the things we were selling. I remember the people we were next too as well. There was a person selling crystal ornaments and a family from London selling a balaclava/scarf thing. So more recently I have become much more aware of the community of Cardiff and it's shop owners and the big chains that have been introduced to an ever greater degree with the recent developments in places like St. David's 2 and this anonymity of place has been bugging me for a while now with regards to these markets.

My thinking is a follows:

- The markets create a novel experience for the holiday periods for people who come to visit Cardiff, but are they Cardiff?

- I wonder how this affects local shops. Does it help them? Or does it take from them?

- is the quality of these markets good enough? I mean should anything be allowed to be sold?

- should we look more at foreign markets coming to Cardiff to educate and experience new things? Similar to the French market in Cardiff bay that has been coming back year after year.

It would be great to find out how much impact they do put into the local economy, and to know how much they pay the council for the privilege.

The future of Sell2Wales

2010-11-17T19:16:00.008Z

Over the last year Andrew has attended a few meetings surrounding the redevelopment of the Sell2Wales website. Each meeting was chaired by Richard Gaunt, acting as an independent research consultant, in order to gauge opinions from users of the Sell2Wales website.

Tuesday saw the last of the user-group meetings, where a representative of Sequence attended to run through the proposed redevelopment including the changes made from the users feedback. Lots of emphasis was placed on the search facilities, by providing a much more user-friendly approach to the core functionality of the website. CPV codes have been pushed to the background to be replaced by a much more intuitive keyword based system of searching.

Andrew and the others attending the final meeting had a quick walk through of initial visual concepts proposed for the website and it was out with the red and blue and in with the lime green and black, with a beta version of the site proposed for March 2011.

With many if not all SMEs relying on the website for information on public sector contracts, it will be interesting to see what impact the changes will make.

Public opinion grows strong for this years Best of Welsh Design

2010-11-07T21:04:00.004Z

Since 2007 we've been working with Cardiff Design Festival, producing printed materials and developing their website, providing tools to allow agencies and individuals to submit their work to the Best of Welsh Design Awards.

This year was much the same, until we decided to try something a little different. As well as a fabulous illustration produced by Matt Joyce to really make this year standout, we introduced a five star voting system to the Best of Welsh Design online showcase.

Perhaps its not ground breaking, but it did generate both new and return visitors to the website. In the two months leading up we saw 10,000 visitors to the website and another 5,000 during the festival, with the online voting system logging over 1,700 individual votes.

The Best of Welsh Design is presently shown in order of the highest vote, so congratulations should go out to Kutcibok for being the most popular with their work for Gower Cottage Brownies.

service design and permission marketing

2010-11-03T11:52:00.001Z

Over the last few years we have been working in branding and branding strategy and have followed the thinkers of the day as to how to approach this. People such as Malcolm Gladwell and Seth Godin have been hugely influential in our thinking. Indeed Seth's notion of permission marketing is a great concept and one we have used to great success on a company level. More recently with the depth of our branding project's becoming more and more about the strategy and how people interact with the brand. It has become interesting to see the marriage between permission marketing and service design. While they are indeed different there are a number of elements that are the same. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the future. Particularly in terms of developments such as apple's app store.

These new platforms are allow for companies such as MUJI to develop new offerings. But what I question is this NPD? is it permission marketing? is it service design? is it branding strategy? in a way it is a bit of all of these. It seems that more and more people/brands will be extending their offer through things such as these apps to give better service that transpires into permission marketing that then transpire into branding values being represented.

Hoffi's Julian Sykes chats to LS:N global

2010-11-03T11:37:00.004Z

A few weeks ago our very own Director Julian Sykes was interviewed by LS:N Global about his involvement in a new local development called thinkARK. The article unfortunately is on their paid section but here is one of the quotes taken from the piece.

‘Urban squares have got to come back to being community spaces,’ Sykes says, ‘where you’re not going to always be pushed to buy.’

Dot Cym reserved for the Cayman Islands

2010-11-02T11:53:00.006Z

Disappointingly, ICANN announced that the .cym has been reserved for the Cayman Islands.

Since Hoffi began in 2006 we've been quietly behind the campaign having signed and got others to sign the petition to get a Welsh TLD (Top Level Domain); something that would define welsh businesses on the internet and extend the Wales brand overall.

We've now got to be patient and wait once again, whilst supporting the guys over at dotCYM Cyf. in the proposal for an alternative name. Suggestions at present being .Cymru .Cwl (Quite amusing) and .Wales

I just wonder if the Cayman Islands have a little more persuasive power over Wales, being a tax haven to the rich and famous...?

Cardiff Design Festival - 2010

2010-10-09T18:15:00.006+01:00

The First week is almost over. While I would have liked to have visited a few more events, the ones I have got to have been really interesting.

Pecha Kucha ran another evening. This time the people I think were the most diverse yet. From a scientist who is planning/designing the fastest car ever right through to a fun packed talk about 'crapestry' which as the names suggests is basically crap tapestry.

Last evening was Momentum's open night highlighting some of the new spanish designs that have been launching in the furniture market recently. It was nice to have a look at the new lines and ranges. The food was great as well. And for my entertainment what do you think about the man in the back with the boller hat.

@cardiffdesfest 2010 - come and join in.

2010-09-27T10:28:00.005+01:00

At the end of this week the Cardiff Design Festival will be once again upon us. This year a two week jam packed event with more things going on than hours in the day. You can pick your highlights on the website and also by downloading the pdf of the poster. So if you fancy going to see what architects are thinking about, or what the latest thinking about eco design is there is something for you.

We normally arrange something during the festival but due to the amount of events and workload getting the design work produced for it. It seems like we missed the boat this time but perhaps next year... For us it seems like it's the first year that the public will be in touch with the festival particularly through the use of the empty shops within Morgan and Royal Arcade which should bring a wider audience. Well hope everyone involved has a fantastic time and the events go without a hitch:

Events to watch out for:

The Launch

ARK in the PARK - games day

Pecha Kucha

WonderCulture Market

E:DN Futures Seminar

Save the Arts animation

2010-09-22T14:55:00.001+01:00

Bringing a commercial view of the Arts and what it brings to our economy.

Hoffi visit igfest 2010

2010-09-20T12:47:00.006+01:00

This weekend myself and Carwyn visited Bristol for the annual games festival igfest. We got there a bit late for the earlier games but did manage to get to take part in The Running of the Bull and also Pleasure Hunt, after spraining my ankle in The Running of the Bull I was a bit concerned by the game we were about to play through the dark streets of Bristol, 2.8 hours later is a zombie chase game that was simply amazing.

One of the most engrossing experiences in terms of pervasive games I have come across so far. There are already a number of video's up on the internet covering the game such as the one below by Will Ablett. We were too busy running to do any filming.

Student professional project - UWIC

2010-09-17T11:34:00.002+01:00

On Wednesday I attended the briefing for this years professional development project for the third year graphic students in UWIC. It's the third year we have been involved in the project and every year it is always interesting to get an idea of the people that will be graduating in around 9 months or so.

This year the project is a very challenging one. UWIC have managed to arrange a joint project with Cardiff Airport to look into how people experience Wales for the first time. How on arrival, do passengers perceive Cardiff and what it has to offer? For a graphic project it is going to be interesting to see how the project develops as it could quite easily be an, interior design/product design/service design, even architecture brief. So I think their initial issues will be how BIG do they go?

Around Rhoose.

The format for the project is very interesting as well with the meeting/workshop being attended by members of Visit Wales, airport staff, stakeholders, and a number of design agencies. Thinking back to when I was a student this would be a huge deal for me as these people have taken time out of their schedule to help out on the brief, and it is a great chance to get noticed.

The initial workshop being delivered by elmwood design agency, who will be delivering the brief to the students in the next week or so. We are looking forward to seeing who we get for the project and to see what they come up with, in response to the challenges.

Work Experience at Hoffi

2010-09-16T14:53:00.002+01:00

This last month we have had Andrew Hong joining us for a spot of work experience. We asked him to write a piece for the blog almost as an advise to others who go on Work experience in a design company. This is what he had to say.

Ten helpful tips for being a successful intern within Hoffi by Andrew Hong

1. Have fun at work, and work hard at everything you do, even if the task's do not require design. This shows motivation and that your willing to do any task to the best of your ability that contributes to the studio.

2. Home in on the skills you already possess, refine the process that you prefer to work in, and your work will improve also.

3. Constantly question all the design choices your trying making and find reasons to justify them, this will give your work depth and will be better understood by others.

4. Do not be afraid to ask all your colleagues the same question, normally this is how you can piece together information you are looking for rather than relying on one source.

5. Do not be afraid to make mistakes, your an intern. You do not have all the correct answers, making mistakes is often the best route to finding the right solution to a piece of design your trying to achieve.

6. Be prepared to manage your own work flow, this is not university anymore. Expect to be working on 2-3 different things at once, where often short notice tasks will be given also.

7. Immerse yourself in the studio culture, banter with others and get to know them. Interpersonal relationships are just as important as the work your trying to achieve.

8. Take breaks and have lunch when this suite you, often coming away from a piece of work for a moment lets you reflect and come back with improvements to better your ideas, which is essential in combating creative block.

9. Broaden your interests during your time at the studio, find new sources of interests such as books or magazines that you would never have though of looking at before. These are often the best sources to relate back to design for inspiration.

10. Finally avoid all invitations to play Wii tennis or bowling by Julian, you just know its just another invitation to be beaten by him again this week.

UWIC MA show

2010-09-14T09:39:00.003+01:00

At the end of last week we managed to get to UWIC's / CSAD MA show at Howard Gardens. The graduate show covered ceramics right through to new media. As with everything there were pieces I really liked and others that I didn't get. There were a number, however that I will remember for a while longer such as the above image and also me and Carwyn playing around in the piece below. If you are in Cardiff city centre and half an hour to play with I would definitely recommend you having a look around. It is on until the 17th September, go see.

Where in Cardiff? - A prize for the lot.

2010-09-08T11:20:00.003+01:00

Match them to locations in the city and we will give you a prize.

Just found the video of yesterday

2010-09-02T22:18:00.001+01:00

Film workshop and the digital revolution

2010-09-02T12:00:00.004+01:00

Yesterday saw me visiting Wales Millenium Centre for a Crossover workshop. The workshop was held as part of a short film competition based around the Sheffield Documentary Festival, with the brief around how digital has effected our lives over the last few years. As someone with an interest in film it was interesting to see how they used the workshop to create ideas and a mini script for a prospective film.

It was also great to see a workshop that worked well and you never thought about how long it was taking. Below are some wise words about how workshops should be run.

Carwyn talks Photomarathon on Gofod

2010-09-01T16:26:00.004+01:00

On June 12th, the cameras from S4C magazine show Gofod followed Carwyn around for a few hours to catch him taking part in this years Photomarathon and to find out a little more about why so many people take part in the annual event.

You can view the full clip at http://www.s4c.co.uk/clic/e_level2.shtml?programme_id=368306450 or find out a little more about Photomarathon on http://www.photomarathon.co.uk

Bank Holiday

2010-08-31T14:56:00.002+01:00

We managed to get to a showing of Mnemonic on friday. The piece is by Jorge and is a step back in time for the participants. Recalling your last memory. Very enjoyable.

Cardiff Design Festival Voting

2010-08-20T09:32:00.002+01:00

The submissions for the Cardiff Design festival are in and this year their is a public vote. We have a few projects on the site that we have been involved in over the last year so if you think any are worthy give us some love...

you can find all of the projects here, and ours are listed below:

Truly Scrummy
Menter a Busnes
National Theatre Wales

E:DN website

As you can see Carwyn has already voted, hope everyone else gets some good votes and good luck to them all. There is also ARK LAB's empty shop project so don't forget that as well.

puma love

2010-08-16T16:31:00.002+01:00

It's refreshing to have something about real people, and it not being about space age technology. There is something about the advert that gives you energy. Similar to the old movies that you watched and then wanted to be one of the characters. Very well pitched piece by Droga5. Courtesy of Creative Review.

Interactive playtime

2010-08-16T15:05:00.001+01:00

Floating Forecaster from Richard Harvey on Vimeo.

I came across this while searching for some recent interactive projects we have been playing with. While ours are mostly web based I thought this was a very interesting mix of physical and digital. Hope you enjoy

Mad Men - You decide?

2010-08-15T20:29:00.006+01:00

I recently wrote about how choice, power, involvement and basically being ASKED are key to being cool and a genuinely nice brand. While this is a slight departure from this I came across the following ebay listing via the infinite knowledge that it twitter.

The item in question is for a walk on part in the very famous Mad Men tv show. Once again it is opening doors and breaking down barriers like the membership to the National Museum, or the Tesco Clubcard. Yet there is an interesting thought that came into my head about the idea in general. I think the money goes to charity which is great, but then it does rely on rich and by the bids so far very rich people to bid. which kind of seems to defeat the idea of the project? I mean for me the idea was for a genuine fan to get on and meet the people they had walked hours on end, yet this is unlikely to happen now?

I wonder what people think?

ADDITION TO ORIGINAL POST:
As i sit in one of the most vibrant arts centres in Europe (CHAPTER) I also thought about other issues that have come to mind. Walk on parts are normally the preserve of the struggling actor waiting for his big break. The walk on parts are normally paid and so form a fairly good part of young actors finding their way. If the actor was never to be seen again then perhaps no big loss but what if that person was a Marlon Brando or De Niro for the next generation? and it was the walk on that was the catalyst?

Doing our best to protect the Welsh language!

2010-08-13T09:57:00.002+01:00

During a recent visit to Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on the weekend, I came across the above sign, being a Welsh speaker I was shocked to see such bad Welsh translation, so I decided to twitter it. Lots of people picked up on this and the result is the council have decided to take the sign down!

Below is the article from the WalesOnline:

Council takes down poorly translated sign
Aug 12 2010 by Lisa Jones, Western Mail

RED-FACED officers at a local authority have been forced to take down an official sign because of a case of severe mangling of the Welsh language.

The sign at the car park at Sophia Gardens Caravan Park in Cardiff is the worst case of bad translation ever seen, according to the managing director of Cardiff design company Hoffi, Carwyn Lloyd Jones.

He was so dumbstruck he posted a photo of the offending article on social networking website Twitter and photo-sharing site Flickr.

Mr Jones, 28, of Cardiff Bay, said: “The sign caught my eye. I thought it was written in crazy language as it was quite hard to understand. I was confused as to what it was saying.

“We do quite a lot of bilingual work in my company, so we work with translators and the Welsh language a lot, trying to promote it in a positive light. We come across a lot of stuff that has been badly translated.

“It’s the worst case of bad translation I’ve ever seen. If you just read the Welsh, I don’t think you could translate it into English.”

Aran Jones, chief executive of Welsh language communities group Cymuned, said the council owed an apology to the Welsh-speakers of Cardiff.

He said: “There’s an individual who’s made an extremely poor decision. It’s a matter for the council to apologise.

“There has been a complete breakdown in internal communication. They have plenty of Welsh speakers and professional translators. It’s absolutely staggering. It looks as though someone has used a particularly bad online translator. They ought to be very embarrassed.”

Meirion Prys Jones, chief executive of the Welsh Language Board, said: “The board advises all public bodies not to use automatic translation unless they have access to a qualified translator to edit the text afterwards.

“With some types of automatic translation programs, there will be need for a lot of editing – as in this case, where the Welsh version makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.”

A Cardiff Council spokesman said: “Cardiff Council apologises for the wording on this sign, which was removed as soon as we were made aware of the mistakes.

“Unfortunately, on this occasion the normal checking procedure was not followed,” he admitted.

“We are currently investigating why this happened and will work to ensure any similar mistakes are not repeated in the future.”

Article Link

The brightest car around!

2010-08-12T11:23:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I went down to Wyeverne Electrical to see their car that we have just designed and had wrapped for them. It was originally a white Toyota IQ, but after a full wrap in yellow, it's now probably the brightest IQ on the road.

We have been working with Wyeverne Electrical for a while now, re-branding them, producing new signage for their shop and producing off site window displays in high traffic locations to attract people to the shop. The car is already working great for Wyeverne as people can't help but notice the little yellow car!

BT Advert - Adam & Jane

2010-08-06T15:48:00.004+01:00

I have been meaning to write about this for a while. For those who have not seen it, BT are running an advertising campaign where you can vote for what happens next. It's a bit like those adventure books where you used to turn to a certain page if you decided to turn right or left. It's an interesting premise and I am sure people will tell me its been done before. I wonder if this thinking could go further in the future with people actually broadcasting live? it is also a similar train of thought to the recent Old Spice campaign where the Old SPice man replied to people on twitter. You can see one of his videos below:

It is quite interesting how the two campaigns approached it. One has used social media to broadcast it's message and created their own community, while the other has used social media to talk with the people they are involving with no apparent private community. I can see advantages for both methods but I wonder the idea of creating yet another platform for people to login to might be a page too far?

Would be interested to hear what other people think?

Social Networks

2010-07-30T12:25:00.002+01:00

The Real Life Social Network v2

View more documents from Paul Adams.

A really great presentation about how we live and interact.

Hoffi - Cardiff Design Festival support and submissions

2010-07-30T11:31:00.002+01:00

It's come around again this year. Submission's for the Cardiff Design Festival that is. We are again helping out with the design work on the website and few other bits of brand communications. We are also going to be arranging some of the events through various other things we are involved in such as Creative Wales, and ThinkARK.

For us I think the great thing about the Cardiff Design Festival is that it has grown year on year. Sometimes through the sheer amount of events other times through networks and links created during the festival that turn into new projects/adventures.

What can retailers do?

2010-07-29T11:44:00.002+01:00

A lot of this is common sense but hopefully it gives you an idea of what people are expecting in the future (now).

Net Promoter and Social Media - A Strategy for Retailers

View more presentations from Paul Marsden.

New business models and ideas from Design Council and The Economist

2010-07-28T14:27:00.001+01:00

Challenges and Opportunities for Business from Design Council on Vimeo.

BBC developments in Roath Basin with Jana Bennett

2010-07-26T16:15:00.003+01:00

This morning I was lucky enough to go and listen to Jana Bennett Director of Television at the BBC. The talk took place in Cardiff Bay with the new BBC development in plain view across Roath Basin. Having previously attended an invitation from Igloo to help shape their Media Centre. Which is proposed to be built near the BBC site in a few years time. I s was interested in hearing why the BBC had started to move out of London. The talk covered a number of issues that seemed to link nicely into recent thinking about brands and businesses as a whole.

While business are becoming ever more global in terms of reach, these same channels are allowing for ever more intimate relationships to take place in a much closer proximity. Tools like twitter help you talk to people across the world yet they also help to make contacts with local people who have the same interests. So the BBC's recently commissioned research which found that people want to feel like the BBC represents them and this should be done through local programmes. That have a few attributes.

- Above all else they must be good stories
- Secondly they must have levels of information that are universal as well as strongly local. thus catering for the largest possible audience.

This kind of thinking reminded me of a theatre group called the Spirithouse Theatre Company, and their play Vigil. In the play they decided that people go to see people in a play because they know them. In the same way do you watch a TV show because you know the area?

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Game evenings

2010-07-22T16:02:00.003+01:00

Last night myself and Carwyn got out in Cardiff to play a quick little game with ARK LAB. It was the first time ARK LAB has held a game event and so it was interesting on a number of levels. I think the biggest thing that everyone found was the ease of which people slip into playing and ignoring the world around them. It's a very powerful aspect and something we are looking into for future workshops.

In a store near you - Truly Scrummy Organic

2010-07-20T12:46:00.004+01:00

Well it's been a few weeks now but we have got a few photo's through from Truly Scrummy Organic. They have been running a treasure hunt. Which you can see on their facebook page. We are going to be working with them over the next few months creating further content and journeys for people interested in Truly Scrummy Organic and nutritional information about babies and weaning.

So if you are walking around your local Sainsbury's store check them out. Also they should be launching in further stores later this year. Fingers crossed.

The most amazing stop frame

2010-07-14T15:23:00.000+01:00

BIG BANG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Has to be one fo the all time greats.

Hide & Seek - weekender 2010

2010-07-12T09:53:00.002+01:00

Got back from the Hide & Seek weekender and pretty exhausted. Never thought gameplay would be so tiring, looking forward to seeing if we can work some of these techniques into strategy and workshops.

game playing weekend

2010-07-09T15:22:00.002+01:00

It's going to be hot. This weekend, so I have decided to go and run around London all day??? Crazy I know didn't think it through at the time. Seriously I am going to London to find out more about pervasive games and the impact they may have on steering future BRanding strategies with Hoffi and community based projects with ARK LAB I think I have been interested in the idea of games being integral for a number of years but it only now seems like these maybe genuine journeys to look into.

We (me and Allie) are going to get involved in Hide & Seek's Weekender which looks really interesting and something I can't wait to get involved in. You can see some ideas of the games through this lovely video.

Playmakers from thinkpublic on Vimeo.

Design Week Second week in a row.

2010-07-05T12:44:00.002+01:00

It's the second week in a row that Hoffi has managed to get into Design Week. It's like buses. You wait for one and two come along at once. The piece is about this years Cardiff Design Festival and talks about the launch of the new website. This year we are aiming to align the festival slightly differently. So the website is more about attracting a wider audience to the festival events.

Climbing, Military, Video, Empty Shop, Kite Boarding = Lots of Photos!

2010-07-01T20:54:00.002+01:00

This last week I found myself doing allot of photography so I thought I would write a long overdue blog about it. Saturday I was with Julian helping him with a project for Ark, we were going out to video interview some people on the street. Seeing i was meeting him at an empty shop in the Castle Arcade (where the Ark project is being held) I thought I would have a look around the shop, and I found the basement!

Next stop was doing the video interviews, I was on video duty for half of it, then Julian took over and I managed to get some shots of him and Allie in action

Also on Saturday was the National Military Day, I was just in time to catch the parade and then pop down to Cardiff Bay to see all the Military goings on.

After all that I was done and sunburnt a bit I was knackered, roll on Sunday, the day of rest. Unfortunately i got a text off Andrew saying he was going kite boarding, if anyone hasn't read Andrews blog I suggest you check it out here as he has recently taken up kite boarding and has been blogging about it. So off I went down to Aberavaon to meet Andrew and have a go at his kite, really suprised of the power of the kite, when the wind picked up it was dragging me across the beach! and now he wants an even bigger one. Unfortunately while I was having a go on his buggy the lines of the kite frayed and the fun was over! gutted!, but here are some snaps:

Next was Monday and a trip up to North Wales, me and Julian and meeting on Tuesday morning, so after the meeting we took advantage of the situation and headed to Llanberis to do some road side bouldering. I have done some indoor climbing but have never been outside climbing, Julian thinks this is hilarious as I grew up a few miles from Llanberis, never climbed, moved away and now i'm back there climbing! Here are some shots, Julian looking skilled, me looking like i'm hanging on for my life!

After all that, the last few days I have been trying to get out to take some photos for my course, I think I have decided on my theme 'Unloved/Left Behind'. Here are some more shots:

That is all... for now!

Kiteboarding and sunburn

2010-06-28T09:16:00.006+01:00

I've been kiting and kiteboarding (ish) for a few weeks now and have started to get a good feel for the control of the kite. So after going on about my experiences in the studio, Carwyn decided to come along and have a go.

So Sunday morning we took to Aberavon beach and he was surprised at how fun standing with a kite is, and after a few hours flying managed to pluck up the courage to have a go at kite buggying.

Unfortunately my strings wore through when Carwyn was flying the kite, which disappointing him for drastically reducing flying time and I wasn't to pleased either. Not that I hold grudges, but he broke my kite.

So we're back in the studio this morning generally looking sun kissed, with a few stories to tell, and the odd patch of sunburn.

We are in this week's Design Week - twice!!! Well kind of

2010-06-24T12:31:00.004+01:00

As well as being on Design Weeks website we also managed to get into their printed version this week. Ok it's tiny but really happy to be in the publication. If you are a subscriber to Design Week you can find the full article at the below link.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/hoffi-brands-truly-scrummy-organic-baby-food/3014785.article

Finally congratulations to ARK LAB who also got a small piece about the ARKADE project they are working on. You can see their piece here:

http://www.designweek.co.uk/ark-lab-to-launch-cultural-space-in-cardiff/3014822.article

Irony of life - A good omen?

2010-06-18T11:15:00.002+01:00

Yesterday myself and Carwyn went to a meeting with a customer who is looking into Lactose free products. The meeting was very productive even if the drive was slightly warm due to the black car and the glorious sun shine. On the way back though we were confronted by this scene. For me it was a sign that the project is going to be a success. The cows giving us their blessing.

We will keep you up to date with the project.

The Greatest Explorer

2010-06-18T10:16:00.004+01:00

15 June 100 years ago, Captain Robert Falcon Scott sailed from Cardiff heading south to become the first person to reach the south pole. "and to secure for the British Empire the honour of this achievement". He travelled on a boat know to many, the Terra Nova. The ill fated expedition ended in tragedy with Scott and all his team dying on their way back from the pole. As well as this tragedy they had also been beaten by a Norwegian group who 33 days earlier had got to the South Pole.

And this seems to be a perfect place to introduce our evening with Sir Ranulph Fiennes. With the 100 year anniversary of Scott's expedition we attended the opening lecture by Ranulph Fiennes at Cardiff University. The event was packed and it was really interesting to see the different type of people that went to hear him speak. For me it was the just casual way of how he described his adventures that blew my mind. Really really inspiring. Thank you to Cardiff University for putting it on.

Truly Scrummy Organic in Design Week

2010-06-17T21:59:00.004+01:00

We were really happy to get onto the Design Week website this week with news of our recent design for Kealth Foods.

It's been a long time coming but we have finally managed to get it into the shops. The work included brand strategy right through to identity, packaging and website design. The initial product range is baby food and has already had a number of supermarkets showing interest with Sainsbury's agreeing to stock the range in nearly half of it's stores. The range will be launched in Sainsbury's this week, and it will be stocked in over 200 Sainsbury's stores initially. With other retailers stocking the range later in the year.

Coffee league

2010-06-15T10:29:00.002+01:00

The coffee machine that we bought a few months ago has been very well received. visitors to the studio have been very impressed by the coffee's we have dished out and within the team we have been slowly and quietly competing against each other for who in Hoffi makes the best coffee. We even now have a graph on our whiteboard to measure who is the best. At the moment Andrew is way out in front as he loves the machine and has got his technique down to a T.

So if anyone wants to test us there is an open invitation to come along and taste the coffee. To be honest we have to be good with a name like Hoffi.

World Cup results and scores

2010-06-11T15:01:00.002+01:00

The studio has obviously been in World Cup fever over the last week. Well if not fever then we think it should be a great spectacle (most of us like the rugby).

To this end we have set up a deadly rivalry in the studio. We have split 50 / 50 and we are going game for game against each other.

First up South Africa V's Mexico

team 1 believes a win for mexico 2-1

team 2 also believe mexico will win but 1-0

Looking through the identity

2010-06-11T14:28:00.004+01:00

After many months of work we have nearly completed the branding work for our menter a busnes. It has been a challenge branding such a well established company within Wales. So we have been keen to create a mark and language that brings a contemporary fresh feel to the business to involve future audiences. The work menter are involved in are diverse and so we had to produce a mark that and language that allowed for simple cross over depending on market and sector menter are operating in.

So the big question. IS the above image the logo or not? well you will have to wait and see when we post the full case study. Good luck figuring it out for now.

the second one - Pecha Kucha

2010-05-28T11:56:00.003+01:00

See slide 5 of the presentation for the reason of the hat.

The second presentation of the day this time by myself. Although I must say the six minutes felt like two seconds. I really enjoyed the challenge of talking about my passion of design and climbing in the constraints of Pecha Kucha's format. 20 slides each shown for 20 seconds, no stopping no going back. The cinema space in Chapter is a great place for the event and I thought the second one was even better than the first. For me there seemed to be a bit of a social theme. I spoke very quickly about ARK and it's recent work but there were also a number of other presentations centred around responsibility and the idea of society. Hope people enjoyed it and that you may have been inspired to go climbing :-)

Julian sykes-pk-slide-presentation

View more presentations from julian.

the first one - Digital Seminar

2010-05-27T15:28:00.006+01:00

After a few months of planning we have just hosted our second seminar. This time looking at the digital world and how your brand/company lives within it. After the first seminar about Branding strategy was presented by Julian he passed on the baton of responsibilities to Andrew. There were some really great conversations that came out at the end of the event, which was great but we have been thinking it may have been a bit too formal in setup? As you always get with these events their were a few cancellations so we could have probably done a bit more of a workshop based presentation, which may have been a bit more interactive. What did everyone who attend think? If you have any thoughts let us know. always interested to hear feedback.

Andrew discussing the 'social' world

Twitter is growing. 6 million people and counting.

We are aiming to make these events a bit more regular it's just trying to fit them in between work. If you are interested in attending future events then please drop us a line on 029 2048 7941 or tweet us @brandhoffi we look forward to hearing from you. Thanks to everyone who came and hope you got some insights into our thoughts on websites and the social media world and we look forward to seeing you at future events.

Rubicon Dance Workshop

2010-05-19T11:32:00.004+01:00

Following on from our ongoing work with Rubicon Dance, we are now deep into a branding process with them. Yesterday saw the chance for the full time courses to give us their thoughts of Rubicon and how it could be improved, but also what is good with Rubicon. We got some really interesting insights into their thoughts and through these exercises we will be able to gain a rounded view of Rubicon Dance. Thanks again for everyone who helped us out and contributed to the future of Rubicon.

Rubicon students telling us what they think about Rubicon Dance

Rubicon Students getting creative

One way of reusing our old design weeks and other magazines we have collected over the years

Hoffi go Go Karting

2010-05-16T18:18:00.008+01:00

Following on from my blog about Andrew turning 30 here, to try and recapture some of his youth a few of us went Go Karting for his birthday.

I love anything to do with racing so this was the perfect day out for me and I was there to win. Me and Andrew had the usual banter about who was going to win and who is going to get the quickest lap, so when we got there we were allowed a qualifying session to set our grid slot and then on with the race. I was lucky (probably more skill thank luck) to get pole position, with Andrew in 3rd, so on with the race where I led all the way through until the last few laps where Andrew cut me up, taking me off, pushing me down to 2nd and him to 3rd, ruining me race. I hope he is happy with himself, he has ruined what could of been a glittering racing career for me!

It was a brilliant day out though, the SupaKart track in Newport is the best I have been on, quick and with great corners. The only downside is that following on from a gym session, the climbing session and the go karting, i have wrecked my upper body, oh, and i'm also sporting a massive bruise on my back.

Look how happy (and wiped out) we look in the picture and strangly how small Andrew looks???, after the picture was taken i did kill Andrew.

Climbing Take 2

2010-05-13T21:02:00.006+01:00

After Julian took me and Andrew climbing for the first time a couple of months ago (see here), i decided to go again yesterday. Having just returned from my second climbing session, and even though I enjoyed it, I can honestly say it's the most frustrating thing I have done in a long time. Like Julian put it tonight, walking, swimming and climbing are the most basic things a human can or should be able to do, so the only way I can put it is - it's like learning to walk again.

At present I don't count myself as being unfit, I have been a regular at the gym for the past 15 months, going on average twice a week, and in that time I have lost weight, toned up a little and been able improve the amount of weight I can push and pull by 300%, but what good has this done me? The frustrating thing about climbing is it's a whole other kind of strength and easily puts you in your place, and that place is the mat in the middle of the bouldering section watching other climbers effortlessly get up a route that I cant. That is another thing about climbing, when you watch a skilled climber go up a route it's the most elegant things, there is no straining or forcing, just a fluid movement up the wall only using the energy you need, while i'm clambering for the holes like my life depends on it.

So I would like to thank a few people, firstly the small child who was climbing better than me (humbled me), secondly the woman who got up a route that I couldn't, came down, gave me a wink and that wink said - i'm smaller than you, twice your age and a woman, but I can do what you can't - (again humbled) and lastly thanks to Julian for taking me, that's him in the picture and if you are wondering why the picture is slightly blurred it's because my hands were shaking after trying to get up a route.

I still maintain I can beat Julian in an arm wrestle, but where it the skill in that?

National Theatre Wales - The Devil inside him

2010-05-13T13:04:00.004+01:00

After Andrew's visit to National Theatre Wales' first play A good night out in the Valleys a couple of months ago. Both myself and Carwyn managed to get out to see National Theatre Wales' first play in Cardiff, The Devil Inside Him. For me it is the first time I have been to the New Theatre since I was a little boy and my parents took me to see Superted, I think at christmas time. I found the play very interesting on a number of levels. Firstly just through thinking about what life was like years ago and also how a seventeen year old could have written something like this.

E:DN - network meet up

2010-05-13T11:35:00.004+01:00

As well as running around the Bay taking photo's, Carwyn managed to attend the E:DN network setup by ecodesign Wales yesterday. The event was one of the more diverse events so far with a number of designers and other interested groups. We were all asked to contribute to possible Design Camps (see the picture above to see some of the brain-storming), the design camps are planned so that they will co-inside with the Cardiff Design Festival this October.

Happy 30th Birthday Andrew!

2010-05-13T11:31:00.003+01:00

Today Andrew hit a milestone, a milestone with a big 30 on it! To celebrate (or console him) we bought him some whiskey glasses and some nice steaks. We also have some cake, muffins, doughnuts and some rubbish coffee.

Have you seen this man?

2010-05-13T11:22:00.002+01:00

He's dangerous, he's been out and about in the Bay. If you see him can you bring him back. Carwyn has been out and about with Elin taking photo's of the Bay for an up and coming project we have been working on. We have some other photo's of the project that we will be releasing once we get some feedback from our customers.

Attending ARK's creative network event

2010-05-04T16:03:00.003+01:00

Andrew reading out the questions for a previous NakedWales pub quiz for the designers in Cardiff, during last years Cardiff Design Festival.

Many of you will know over the last few years we have been working on a community site called Naked Wales which has recently been developed by Andrew into Creative Wales. This week Andrew has been asked along to ARK's creative network meet up, which aims to look into the creative networks in Cardiff and Wales to see if there are things that can be aided through collaboration.

Hoffi expand into photography

2010-05-04T15:52:00.003+01:00

A sample of Carwyn's recent photography.

Always wanting to keep you up to date with what is going on at Hoffi. Carwyn is about to start his new photography course with ffotogallery at the end of the week. The course is going to be for around 10 weeks and he is going to be blogging about his experience of the course on his blog. We all hope that we are not going to be his muse's for the next few months.

National Museum Wales

2010-04-30T13:05:00.006+01:00

We have been working with Museum Wales again last month to create their bilingual What's On brochure which includes all seven of their Museum's event's and exhibition's. National Waterfront Museum in Swansea was recently short listed as Best Free Venue in the First Rough Guide to Accessible Britain along with The National Gallery London, Horniman Museum & Gardens and The National Railway Museum.

Performance

2010-04-30T12:37:00.003+01:00

Once again we have completed Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama's Summer 2010 edition of Performance. The College have recently announced at a star-studded Royal Gala at Buckingham Palace that their new theatre currently under construction is to be named Richard Burton Theatre, the evening featured a series of performances showcasing the talent's of the colleges students. Pick up a copy of Performance or visit the website to find out all about this Summer's events.

Assembly

2010-04-30T11:25:00.009+01:00

We have been working with National Theatre Wales to create Assembly's promotional material, the programme is running alongside their main productions and will offer opportunities to experience theatre as a place for exploration, discussions and shared experiences. Working with various teams from local musicians, artists, hairdressers to dog owners. Assembly will be an evening of performances and discussions about what really matters in this particular place at this particular time. To get involved visit National Theatre Wales website to find where the nearest event is to you.

seed Factory insight workshop

2010-04-30T10:26:00.002+01:00

We got some images back from our photographer Jorge Lizalde today for the seed factory workshop that we have been working on with Ange from attic 2. Really happy with them as they capture the day really well. You can see more of them on my flickr account.

Digital Seminar

2010-04-29T15:45:00.004+01:00

Following the success of our first seminar, which covered brand and brand history, we have been working on the arrangements for our second seminar and finally have a date confirmed; Taking place on Thursday 27th of May, at Gwdihw, Cardiff, from 9am until 12pm. This seminar will cover things businesses should consider when communicating their brand online, good practice and future considerations.

If you are interested in attending this event please email elin.williams@hoffi.com for your place at the seminar quoting reference: gwdemail.

Pecha Kucha - Volume 2

2010-04-29T15:21:00.003+01:00

The next Pecha Kucha will be at Chapter on Thursday 27th of May and Hoffi's very own Creative Director Julian Sykes will be presenting!

hello - the seed factory

2010-04-28T16:55:00.001+01:00

The invitation for the seed factory that we have jointly been working on with attic 2.

Seed Factory insight workshop

2010-04-28T16:44:00.004+01:00

We have been working with attic 2 over the last few weeks in conjunction with WAG and Higher Education establishments. Today we went through some of the findings from this weeks workshop. It's great when there are such clear directions from a workshop. It makes things a lot easier.

Little Julian

2010-04-28T10:44:00.002+01:00

Flicking through some albums recently for a forthcoming presentation I found this picture of me. I am definitely going to include it in a forthcoming public event. Watch this space for more information.

TEDx Cardiff

2010-04-15T15:35:00.002+01:00

We all managed to get to the TEDx Cardiff event last night. Organised by Neil Cocker and Claire Scantlebury (of ignite fame). The event was the first TEDx in Wales and was an eclectic mix of speakers. From musicians, astrophysicists, geeks to television producers. there was also a good use of the TED archive with a great video of Dan Barber discussing the sustainability of food and farming in general. A big thank you to everyone who put the event on we had a great evening. Lot's to be inspired by.

National Theatre Wales - Passion library launched

2010-04-14T14:26:00.003+01:00

We have just launched a brand new section to the National Theatre Wales website. It is part of the bonus 13th show Passion which will involve Michael Sheen. The show is centred around location and place so there is a new facility for people to upload images in the Port Talbot area. You can find the page here and get involved.

Fontainebleau way finding

2010-04-14T13:58:00.003+01:00

I have just got back from a trip to Fontainebleau, which is just south of Paris. For those of you that do not know the area. It is one of the most amazing places in the world for climbing, walking and biking. The forest area is huge with one of the major challenges being not to get lost on the forest routes. There is however a fantastic system that is used for way finding, just follow the colour.

A colour marker indicating you are on the white and red route.

A colour marker indicating you are at a junction white goes right with the red going straight on.

Having used the way finding putting it to good use and actually doing a bit of climbing.

I am not the best cyclist

2010-03-30T11:44:00.003+01:00

Well it has been in Cardiff now for a number of months but last week I finally got around to joining oybike. Seeing I had told myself I was going to do this in January it is a bit late, but the trip to Barcelona reminded me to get it done. As I live in the centre and go to the bay most days. The 18 pounds a year for OYbike subscription seems good value to me. The weather hasn't helped really and I have not managed to use it as much as I would like but I am hoping once it picks up I will use it every day. I have always liked the idea of shared property and have never really understood the need to own things that cost so much money to maintain, all we need now is a good car system and think we will be laughing. Maybe 'Share Hoffi' might be an idea.

Pecha Kucha

2010-03-26T16:39:00.004Z

We all managed to get to the first Pecha Kucha event in Cardiff Last night. It was a great event so much so that I didn't even have time to take any photo's, but you can see the presentations here:

ECO Network event - Central Library number 4

2010-03-21T16:45:00.002Z

We have been really busy in Hoffi recently but Me and Carwyn managed to get out to take part in the Eco Network event at Central Library. All in all it is the fourth time we have been involved in it and try to get there whenever we can. Great to hear about chemistry and how they maybe the real designers of the new age.

Mapping new business models

2010-03-19T21:11:00.004Z

I was introduced to this a year or so ago and it's one of those games/exercises that you wonder how you did things before. We regularly use this both internally and externally with our customers in looking at current and potential futures. The great thing about it is that it's good fun and has the advantage of breaking down barriers. You can find out a bit more here.

Business Model Canvas Poster V.1.0

View more presentations from Alexander Osterwalder.

Barcelona 2010

2010-03-17T16:04:00.003Z

I managed to get to Barcelona for a few days at the end of last week. First time I have been there. Great place definitely go again. Some photos of the trip below.

A Great Night Out in the Valleys

2010-03-13T08:13:00.004Z

The second performance from National Theatre Wales took place last night - A Good Night Out in the Valleys, at Blackwood Miners Institute.

I was lucky and attended the show with my wife Rebekka. We're both from the Cynon Valley, which made the play really hit home; our personal experience of individuals within Valleys was evident within the play. Alan Harris' words, John's direction and the cast did a brilliant job and something I welcome others to see.

Take a look at the line up of great shows that National Theatre Wales has for the coming year on their website www.nationaltheatrewales.org

Ignite Cardiff

2010-03-05T09:47:00.003Z

Last night we went along to the Wales Millennium Centre to watch the 5th Ignite night. There was a paper plane making competition at the end to win a lovely box of chocolates, an opportunity to good to miss, above is Julian constructing his monster (which flew sideways by the way).

National Museum Wales Wedding Brochure

2010-03-03T13:43:00.004Z

We have just received some file copies of the a recent wedding brochure we designed for National Museum Wales. Designed to mirror the beautiful surroundings of the Museums, it is finished with a foil block and semi transparent paper.

National Theatre Wales - E-mail Newsletter

2010-03-01T17:18:00.005Z

Over the last few hours we've been putting the final touches together on an e-mail campaign for National Theatre Wales' first performace: A Good Night Out in the Valleys.

The send button has been pressed and the e-mail sent to their e-mail marketing list, with one date already sold out I'm sure it will not be long before the others follow. A Good Night Out in the Valleys will be performed at venues throught the South Wales Valleys.

You can view the e-flyer on their website:
http://nationaltheatrewales.org/eflyers/01032010/index.htm