We are delighted that our friends at Switcher.ie have been acquired by Mediahuis. Our work with Switcher.ie to reposition, rename, and rebrand from U-Switch highlighted the importance of creating an accessible identity that embodied the company’s mission and unique positioning. Much like our collaborations with Openet, 4Site, Dubray, and TDS to name a few, this acquisition demonstrates the long-lasting value of a strong brand persona. Switcher director Carl Gaywood notes in the Independent “the quality of the Switcher platform and brand is truly outstanding”. Well done Switcher.ie on this achievement.
Tag: Brand
RD Rewind – October
At RichardsDee, the team are working across a diverse range of branding programmes so we’ve created RD Rewinds; a way to showcase the projects we’ve been proud to lead over the month. First up, October!
SEAI Energy Awards
The SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards recognise and reward excellence in all aspects of energy efficiency and renewable energy. As proud brand partners to SEAI, we’ve worked on this critical showcase of energy innovation and sustainable energy for over five years. From event branding and stage design, to signage and presentation development, we were delighted to support on this year’s event which saw Veolia, Bus Éireann, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Ireland and Wren Urban Nest amongst the worthy winners. A huge congratulations again to all those who were nominated, and to all of this year’s winners!
Furthr Festival
October 21st saw over 1,600 ambitious founders, investors and enterprises gather at Furthr Festival to explore global challenges and the role of tech in finding the solutions. With over 100 speakers across five stages it was a high octane day focused on big topics like opportunity drivers, scaling businesses, sustainable innovation and emerging tech. Having led the rename and rebrand of Dublin BIC to Furthr, we were delighted to develop the name, proposition, identity, architecture and experience for Furthr Festival. A destination that really celebrates where Innovation, Tech and Sustainability collide.
Read more about the rebrand here.
Socialise Presents: The Studio Edition
Socialise hosted their Studio Edition at the Sugar Club on Wednesday night and we were delighted to be one of the agencies invited to present. The line-up was all about nine – 9 of Dublin’s top branding and design studios with 9 minutes each to present.
With an audience of almost 200 people, we presented the work we have completed on the re-brand of Bewley’s, telling the story from initial brand strategy through to the development of the brands assets and applications – such as packaging. Seeing a full house of designers, brand agencies, creatives, etc. was, in itself, inspiring and exciting. Being able to share our work with Bewley’s was a great way to reflect on a project that started over three years ago and is still a work in progress.
Dublin Sightseeing Rebrand
Challenge
Dublin Sightseeing has a great product portfolio and a solid reputation for providing tours and travel services in and around Dublin. However, the market has become more competitive, audiences purchasing behaviours are changing, and Dublin Sightseeing’s image had become fragmented and did not reflect either the quality of the product or the level of experience provided. While known and identified as the Green Bus, the brand, its key point of difference and its portfolio of tours and associated services were not well known.
Through a process of staff engagement, competitive benchmarking and customer research, we clearly identified and built on the strengths of the business and established the direction, which would lead to a more competitive and confident positioning and visual expression for the brand and its portfolio of products.
The challenge was to relook at the brand and how it engages with its many audiences, helping to grow market share, and regain its position as the “authentic Dublin” sightseeing company. We also needed to leverage the positive experience of the ‘Green bus city tour’ across the entire portfolio and clearly communicate the different tours and services on offer. An essential part of the process was ensuring that the brand and products were future proofed and could adapt to accommodate changes in technology, visitor expectations and possible category extensions, highlighting the need to challenge the naming and presentation of the brand.
Insight
Aligning with Destination Brand Dublin, the two key audience segments for Dublin Sightseeing are the Social Energisers and Culturally Curious, who are seeking experiences that provide a real sense of place, along with an insightful and entertaining experience. It was important for us to show that Dublin Sightseeing is not a faceless multinational, but a team passionate and proud of their city and eager to share that with the world. Building on the company’s core USP – the best and most knowledgable drivers and guides in the city, and the inimitable Dublin personality, combined with our audience’s desire for fun, authentic experiences, we defined the positioning as “the Dubliners Guide to Dublin”.
The name of the brand needed to change to become more active, iconic and memorable – less about a generic sightseeing service, and more about what it can enable travellers to do. The name DoDublin emerged as a clear favourite from the naming process, and resonated well with local and international audiences when tested.
Opportunity
Our opportunity lay in creating a brand that could house a wide portfolio of distinct but related products that would be the authority on all transport and guided tours for national and international visitors alike. A confident masterbrand approach provides credibility, confidence and makes the most of all cross-selling opportunities, enabling the brand to maximise marketing efficiencies. It also establishes a brand architecture that is simple and strong, delivering impact and establishing a family style for all products.
The new identity created with Dublin, travel and sightseeing at its core – is visually represented by a ‘D’ with the symbol of an eye and a travel route combined.
Our tagline, ‘Don’t just sightsee, explore’ repositions DoDublin versus their competitors and speaks directly to visitors’ desire to get under the skin of the city they are visiting. The visual expression and messaging provides a distinct insight into the city, the culture and the people providing an experience that is real, unique and never scripted.
Branding For The Better
The power in your pocket to change the world.
In 1996, in partnership with the newly established Fairtrade Mark Ireland, Bewley’s were the first company to bring Fairtrade Certified coffee to Ireland. Now in 2016, Bewley’s are celebrating 20 Years of Fairtrade in Ireland and over 175 Years of great coffee and tea.
Inspired by Bewley’s 20 year relationship with Fairtrade we looked to the country that these first coffee beans originated from… Costa Rica.
Taking inspiration from Costa Rican and Central American traditional art and patterns we created a brand identity and look and feel that reflects this first pioneering move. The colour palette is rich yet natural and the system is flexible enough to work cross platform.
The campaign has been primarily activated across Bewley’s cafes, their HQ and social media channels.
Are You Our New Creative?
RichardsDee is Ireland’s leading brand and design agency and we are looking for senior and mid-weight creative and conceptual brand designers to join our growing team. The ideal candidates will be self-starters, ambitious, articulate, upbeat and have a strong understanding of brand and corporate identity. The candidates will work in teams that are fun, hardworking and love what they do. You will work alongside the Creative Director and Client teams in developing and building brands that are changing categories and evolving industries.
Senior Designer- Brand Identity
Experience- 6 years +
Responsibilities:
•Create impactful and memorable visual experiences for a range of ambitious clients
•Generate and produce great ideas and design executions that are underpinned by brand and business strategy
•Execute and produce design communications for diverse media
•Collaborate and coordinate with all internal agency disciplines from strategy, creative, project management and implementation
•Work passionately with our external partners, from photographers to illustrators and typographers, ensuring we deliver world class responses to briefs
•Continuously develop and participate in external activities on an ongoing basis for personal development and as a source of inspiration
Skills and Experience:
•Exceptional creative talent
•Strong written and verbal communication skills
•Strong organisational and time management skills
•Strong presentation skills and leadership qualities
•Experienced in all current design software
•BA degree in graphic design plus 6+ years of related experience
•Experience with motion graphics and a working knowledge of digital design
Mid-weight Designer- Brand & Packaging
Experience- 3 years +
Responsibilities:
•Be confident in brand and packaging and in presenting your work, both internally and to clients
•Be able to excite and inspire people around you – both colleagues and clients – while earning their respect and confidence
•Be able to make bold, clever design decisions and bring others with you
•Be great at organising and prioritising your workload
•Bring a strong creative point of view to the agency
Skills and Experience:
•A brilliant creative thinker, with the ability to challenge and push comfort
•Obsessed with both craft and detail
•Comfortable engaging with the strategic dimension of our work, able to get under the skin of clients’ issues
•Articulate, confident and assertive in presenting work
•Highly collaborative, able to build strong relationships within design and across the business
•Excellent typography and brief taking skills
•A good awareness and keen interest of packaging in the market today.
•Print and new media exposure and good knowledge of print and various print processes.
•Experienced in all current design software
Please submit CV and a low-res PDF of work to simon@richardsdee.com before March 10th.
Revisiting the past for gifting inspiration
Bewley’s has a long and proud association supporting Irish artists and recently appointed Irish illustrator and pattern designer, Paula McGloin to develop illustrations that could be used across a brand new Bewley’s limited edition coffee mug and gift set. The illustration draws inspiration from the exquisite Harry Clarke stained glass windows in the Grafton Street Cafe which features lavish details of oriental birds and decorative flowers. Paula used these references as the basis for her illustration to create an intricate pattern of teapots, cups, cup cakes, oriental fans, birds and butterflies.
As Bewley’s brand partners, we worked from the outset with Paula to develop the packaging and activations materials for launch and are looking forward to seeing it in store very soon.
Rebranding an international professional coaching consultancy
The Coaching Equation is an international professional coaching and mentoring consultancy that works with people at all levels to improve and transform their leadership and management skills. We were appointed develop an identity for The Coaching Equation that was approachable and modern, yet structured enough to support the proven methodologies employed to deliver results. It was important that the new identity reflected both the founder’s personality (positive and results driven) and style (classic with an edge), whilst positioning the company as a credible alternative to the primary competitive set who have advocated for very corporate identities.
The Coaching Equation is about discovering each individual’s happiness / success formula. As every individual is different, The Coaching Equation takes a holistic approach to uncovering the right combination and balance for that individual. To that end, the central idea around the logo is the ‘Power of Balance’. A script font is used to add a personal touch, reinforcing the approachability of the consultants. The lettering in the main word mark has been manipulated to play on symbols derived from mathematical equations and primary shapes, and elevates the results-driven nature of the advice on offer. The divider line reinforces the idea of the ultimate success formula and plays to the holistic approach taken by the company when working with the individual (professional and personal, happiness and success). The result is an identity that is precise and to the point, but with a very distinct and differentiated personality.
