When’s the right time for a new identity?

We’ve created new brand identities for many organisations over the past fifteen years and each of them had different reasons for commissioning a redesign.

The Queen’s Nursing Institute
In 2010 we launched the new Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) identity. QNI was established in 1887 by Royal Charter to train district nurses to treat the sick poor in their own homes. One of the reasons QNI cited for an identity overhaul was that the current logo was ‘dated’.

But how do you know if a logo is dated? Is the Boots logo dated? Is the CocaCola logo dated? Of course they are – they’re both virtually unchanged since they were conceived in the 19th century. But you can’t just throw away this heritage – the Coke script is one of the most recognisable logos on the planet, and stands for much more than just the tooth-rotting drink that it is.

However, QNI didn’t have this issue of being a globally recognised brand, so the decision to replace their ageing logo, which had evolved into a blue and orange hotchpotch of a VRI (Victoria Regina Imperatrix) crest, was a little more straightforward. That, and the fact that QNI’s ‘raison d’être’ has shifted over the years. They no longer train district nurses, but campaign for the improvement of nursing care of people in their own homes. The new QNI has a broader audience, from politicians to nurses and the general public and is very much focussed on the future of district nursing. It’s new identity needed to reflect this change.

We also had the issue of designing a system that could be easily implemented by an inexperienced in-house team at QNI. Here is the result, and the original logo.

The Combined Heat and Power Association
The brief to redesign the Combined Heat and Power Association’s (CHPA) new identity came about after this trade association had conducted extensive research amongst its members. This research highlighted that the existing, weak and poorly implemented, identity wasn’t helping CHPA promote itself and its members as forward thinking, dynamic, organisations.

Our job was to help present Combined Heat and Power as a relevant cutting edge technology and enable it to compete against ‘sexier’ renewable energy sources such as wind and wave power for government support. With their new identity, website and literature, CHPA had the tools to communicate the benefits of CHP to government and the general public. Here are the new and old logos. Don’t ask which one’s which.

St Martin-in-the-Fields
It was a more physical change that was the catalyst for St Martin-in-the-Fields to change their identity. They had just come through a lengthy renovation and rebuilding exercise and decided that a new identity could help reflect the physical changes. They also felt a new look could help re-emphasise their core values of being vibrant, forward thinking, and at the heart of the community. They had a rather nice Brian Grimwood illustrated logo that they felt had run its course.

Again, this was an identity that was going to be implemented in-house, so it needed to be simple, with uncomplicated guidelines. Our solution was based on the story of St Martin and his ‘torn cloak’, an idea that communicated St Martins’ mission to support those whose lives may be similarly frayed. Here’s the new logo, and the original.

The Howdy guide to bikes

Spring is here, Howdy’s bike is out of the shed, and there’s even a few cycle tours in the diary. If you’re thinking of taking up cycling, either to work off a few pounds, reduce your carbon footprint, or to get nicely tanned knees and a calloused backside, then this guide is for you. It lists common bike types and the sort of people you can expect to find riding them*. If you’re after serious advice you’d be better off speaking to someone at Evans (Evans Cycles, not Evans Outsize). This hasn’t got much to do with graphic design either, although it does contain the words ‘logo’ and ‘Helvetica’.

1. The Hybrid
A sort of default bike, for people that aren’t really into cycling but feel they ought to own a bike. Found mostly in sheds. It’s called a hybrid because it’s poor at both going fast on roads and going up and down mountains. Most bike manufacturers produce hybrids, most bike shops are full of them.
What to wear: normal day wear, a high-vis tabard and trousers tucked in socks.

2. The Vintage
Traditionally associated with war-time vicars, the vintage, which is either a lady’s bike with a basket on the front, a Dutch bike, or a fifties ‘gentlemans’ racer’ converted to a fixie (see below), is now back in vogue thanks to beardy East London art students who use them as fashion accessories. Pashley will sell you a brand new vintage bike, or you can get a proper one from Ebay and renovate it yourself. Check out the gorgeous Hetchins with its famous curly chain stays and ornate lugs.
What to wear: brogues.

3. The Fixie
Started life on the track, became the cycle couriers’ favourite, then the graphic designers’ favourite. Called a fixie because it has a fixed wheel hub, which means you can’t stop pedalling. On a fixed wheel bike you only need a front brake as the back wheel can be slowed by reducing your pedalling speed. All the big bike manufacturers will now sell you a fixie, usually with fluorescent green wheel rims, a yellow chain and a bit of lower case helvetica somewhere on the frame. Riders of these bikes don’t stop at red lights or zebra crossings, mainly because they can’t. The Charge Plug is one of the most popular off-the-shelf fixies.
What to wear: neck brace and sling.

4. The Carbon Fibre Racer With Lots Of Numbers And Italian Words On It.
These are the Formula one cars of the bike world. Light and fast, these bikes can be seen tearing round Richmond Park on Sunday mornings ridden by Mamils (Google it). A carbon framed Colnago, Pinarello or Wilier can set you back anything up to £10,000, which is an absurd amount of money to spend on a bicycle. These bikes are generally owned by well paid corporates working off their business lunches.
What to wear: head to toe lycra printed with the logo of a French bank.

5. The Mountain Bike 
A top end mountain bike such as a Turner Five Spot is a beautifully designed and engineered bit of kit and can cost £4000 plus. A Halfords’ full suspension Trax (see BSO below) isn’t, and will set you back £89.99. Buy something in between, in both quality and price, by Kona or Trek. A good mountain bike is designed specifically for riding off-road and going up and down mountains and is brilliant at it, provided you’ve got the lungs and the nerve. Just don’t try going down the shops on one, all that knobbly rubber means they’re as good as useless on tarmac.
What to wear: baggy shorts and an expression of terror.

6. The BSO
The Bike Shaped Object. It looks like a bike, but handles and rattles like a shopping trolley. Built in the far east with poor quality components and delivered flat-packed most bikes under £150 fall into this category. Buy one from Asda or Halfords if you want to be put off cycling for life.
What to wear: tattoos, no shirt.

7. The Folder
At my local railway station folding bikes are used exclusively by late middle-aged men (never women) in slightly shabby suits, cardigans and identity lanyards. (Ok, so there’s only one person at my local station with a folding bike). Who wouldn’t want a bike you could fold up and take on the train? Saves all that exhausting cycling nonsense. Buy a quirky British Brompton, or an American Dahon.
What to wear: bicycle clips.

8. The Recumbant
A sort of deckchair on wheels, often sporting a flag on a stick so that the rider can be seen by passing cement mixers. To be honest, if you’re thinking of buying a bike you probably won’t be considering one of these unless you enjoy people pointing and laughing at you in the street.
What to wear: Beard and thick skin.

* Note: these people are just convenient stereotypes.

Is bigger always better?

Since setting up Howdy in 1999 we have worked for a wide variety of clients of all types and sizes, from global multi nationals through to lone entrepreneurs. During that time we have never had more than six staff at any one time, yet we have met many crazy deadlines, developed global brand strategies and identities, and produced suites of literature, exhibitions and signage programmes. We have delivered each job within the timescales and budgets agreed at the outset.

We previously worked at some large global branding companies, where we worked in equally small teams. It often appeared to the clients that the entire design department were working on their job, therefore justifying high fees from seemingly endless hours of work having been spent their jobs. Sadly, that often didn’t accurately reflect the reality.

Before client meetings and presentations we would spend an hour updating an extended team of people on the project’s progress since the last meeting so that they could all turn up and appear to have been fully engaged and a productive part of the process throughout. We would then negotiate a tricky path throughout those meetings as the peripheral team agreed to unrealistic deadlines and unachievable deliverables, while we tried to rein in expectations and agree appropriate and realistic goals while still meeting key client deadlines and budgets.

We left that world to set up Howdy, knowing that we would be able to build honest and transparent relationships with our clients, without hidden fees or an illusion of extended teams of people behind the scenes.

Careful planning and preparation, in partnership with our clients, ensure that clear, achievable deadlines and fees are agreed and managed by the people directly involved in the projects. Maintaining a dialogue directly between the client and the designers throughout ensures that there are no chinese whispers, and reduces the risk of things getting missed or overlooked.

We do the work and discuss issues and suggestions directly with the clients, giving them the benefit of our design experience and training. We’re not ‘yes’ men. We explain why we’ve done things a certain way, say when we don’t think something will work, and then discuss the options to reach a mutually agreeable solution. We believe that this direct dialogue between clients and designers makes the process more efficient, less frustrating for both sides and ultimately more cost effective.

Howdy Christmas Charity Emporium

Howdy’s 2014 has been notable for two major events, one good, one not so good. We celebrated our fifteenth birthday this year, which was good – and Howdy partner, Sharon, was diagnosed with Epilepsy, which is not so good, although she sometimes refers to it as Leprosy*, which would’ve been worse.

So, we’ve decided to clear out 15 years worth of junk, flog it on Ebay and donate the cash to the Epilepsy Society. This also gives you the opportunity to bag some unique gifts, like a 15 year old packet of quick drying cement, a nearly-complete roll of Police incident tape or a copy of Labour’s 1997 Manifesto (which we helped design).

Boiler suit, Large, used
The last time this was worn was 15 years ago by Neil, when we painted our studio and it’s never been washed! Ideal gift for someone who may wish to give the impression (to a new partner, for instance) of being a somewhat messy decorator or an abstract impressionist painter.
Sold for £14.50

Set of 11 Creative Reviews from 2000, used
Design/Advertising journals including features on: Peter Saville, Designers’ Republic, Pentagram, Martin Parr and many more.
Sold for £2.99

Roll of Police Incident tape, partially used
We acquired this for a Design Council, Design Against Crime project. Could be used for guaranteeing a parking space outside your house, or for reserving a spot on a crowded beach, for instance.
Sold for £1.45

Eurotape 500 metres
This is ‘The world’s best barrier tape bar none’. Handy if you have a large crowd to marshall, or a sink hole to cordon off.
Sadly this didn’t sell!

Quick setting cement 2kg (nearly), opened
No idea why this is in the cupboard, but it’s an ideal gift for anyone who needs to repair any masonry surface – even underwater, according to the packet. Small amount used.
Amazingly this didn’t sell so contact us privately to negotiate a good price.

‘Cold Heaven’ exhibition catalogue signed by Don McCullin
A catalogue for the exhibition of Don McCullin’s photographs of the AIDs crisis in Africa. Designed by Howdy and commissioned by Christian Aid.
Sold for £25.00

1997 Labour Party Manifesto
Bag this historic political document. Howdy partners, Neil and Sharon, were part of the team that produced this document at Millbank Tower in 1997.
Sold for £1.99 

Cambridge Audio Atlantic interconnect cable
Whether you’re listening to Slade or Handel this Christmas, this interconnect will make your stereo sound fab.
Sold for £6.00

Spring door closers, unused
As it says on the pack, this is ‘The best way to close any door’. Despite the deceptive name, it’ll close doors all year round too.
Sold for £5.51

AVF Speaker Wall Mounts, boxed, unused
We can’t think of a more perfect gift for someone who needs to mount their speakers on the wall.
Sold for £7.55

Epson Stylus Pro 4000 inkjet A2 printer
We bought this for producing high quality printed presentations. These days we tend to project from PDF files and as a consequence this printer has sat idle for the past 2-3 years resulting in clogged nozzles. These will need cleaning or replacing. It comes with a selection of paper rolls too.
Sold for £155.00

100 Grip Seal bags, new
It’s gripped, it’s sorted, let’s off-road!
These remain unsold – anyone wanting any grip seal bags please get in touch – we have a lot!!!!

4 x 60w daylight simulation light bulbs
Ideal for confusing moths. (Not recommended for vampires or badgers.}
Relisted so you can still snap these up – bid here.

Unopened box Singleweight Matte printer paper
From back in the days when we ordered in bulk, yet more excess stock, no longer required given we’re selling the printer – see above.
Sold for £5.60

Philips InfraPhil infrared heat lamp
Sore leg? Ingrowing toenail? Egg-bound? Buy this heat lamp – it’ll cure the lot.
Sold for £1.20

‘Greek lovers’ playing cards
Whist drive a little listless? Take inspiration from these pornographic playing cards and turn it into a full-blown Tuesday morning greek-style orgy.
Sold for £9.45

Maracas
We’ve no idea where these came from, but we found them in a magazine holder. Great balance and rich tone. Ideal for beginner to intermediate level maracas players.
Sold for 99p

G4 Powerbook
Our trusty ten year old Powerbook. It’s a bit dented and the Apple key is wobbly, but it still works and comes with the original system installer disks and charger cable.
Sold for £39.89

Sales currently total: £449.31 (updated 4.30pm 5 January 2015)

Some people have very generously expressed an interest in making a donation to the Epilepsy Society without having to buy any of our old tat – hard to believe I know. Consequently we have set up a Just Giving page so please click here if you would like to make a donation.
Donations currently total: £200.00 (updated4.30pm 5 January 2015)

*An unexpected side effect of Sharon’s epilepsy is that she frequently mixes her words up, often to humorous effect.

Howdy celebrates 15 years

On 1 June 1999 Neil and Sharon launched Howdy.

During those 15 years we have had the pleasure of working with many great clients and staff and we would like to thank them all for their support. Throughout June we’re going to be showcasing some of the great work that we’ve produced during that time so we hope you’ll enjoy our nostalgic trip down memory lane and check out our daily updates.

We moved into our freshly painted studio in Battersea and are still here today.

1999

Working on the Labour Party Centennial Report was particularly interesting as we researched and sourced all the archive material for inclusion in the report looking back over the past 100 years. We also directed a photoshoot with Tony Blair at Downing Street.

We worked with Camron PR on the design and branding for the Marks & Spencer, ‘Time to Celebrate’ roadshow celebrating the millennium. The Show travelled to different stores around the country showcasing products as well as featuring catwalks, food demonstrations and workshops. We produced signage, brochures, carrier bags and promotional materials for the event.

2000

So 2000 was upon us – the world hadn’t come to an end and our computers hadn’t ground to a halt – and we did the new corporate identity (as they were known in those days) and identity guidelines for the film company, United International Pictures, dragging their brutal dated 70’s logo into the noughties.

It was the dot com boom and we produced this identity for dig-it.co.uk, an online gardening company and implemented it across the website, marketing materials, ads, packaging and catalogues.

2001

We gave this Annual Report and Accounts for Christian Aid a magazine style showcasing the great pictures from their picture library.

In 2001 Reuters launched Kalends, a service that provided notice of future events covering finance, sports, society, conferences and market/public holidays aimed at business customers. Howdy designed their website and office interiors, promotional materials including advertising and Christmas cards.

2002

We designed this press pack promoting the Design Council’s Design Against Crime campaign. A set of case study sheets were sent out in an ‘evidence’ bag. We directed the photoshoots for the project and the photographer even smashed his own car window for one shot. Now that’s dedication!

The prints for these Black & Decker seasonal press packs were made using grass, leaves and flowers from our own gardens.

2003

We designed this exhibition for the Reuters Journalist of the Year awards ceremony showcasing the finalists.

This brochure for Ulster Carpets was to promote their custom made carpet service.

2004

These materials promoting Reuters’ Formula 1 sponsorship were based on the layouts of each F1 circuit.

This ‘talking’ logo for VegaStream had a warm friendly feel to introduce VoIP to a wider consumer audience rather than just business users.

2005

We redesigned the promotional literature for all Reuters products and produced extensive design guidelines and templates for implementation.

We designed the identities for four Christian Aid Week campaigns from 2001-05. We implemented the designs across a wide range of materials in English and Welsh including posters, worship materials, information leaflets, collection envelopes and schools resources.

2006

This identity for food and drink PR specialists, Phipps, used playful food references chosen by each member of staff on the reverse of business cards as headlines.

We produced this identity for GuildHE following a name change. They campaign for distinction and diversity in Higher Education.

2007

A strong professional identity for executive search organisation, Hoggett Bowers.

This clean and simple identity for research company, Opinium, used a visual play on the periodic table reflecting their strapline, ‘the pure element of opinion’.

This trade catalogue for sports manufacturer, Mitre, focussed on grass roots sport and we directed the mood photography around that theme, as well as directing the product photography of over 300 boots, balls and accessories.

2008

UKCISA is the UK’s national advisory body serving the interests of international students and those who work with them. Our brief was to develop the logotype and branding to unify all publications and electronic media. We produced templates and guidelines so that all materials could be produced inhouse.

We first starting working with Green Alliance in 2008 and they are still a great client of ours today. One of the first projects that we did for them was to review and develop their identity and design guidelines developing a colour palette for each of their six work themes.

2009

This identity and branding project began with email and telephone research among IFF’s existing, lapsed and target clients, and staff workshops, to build a clear picture of IFF’s position within the marketplace and any barriers preventing their future growth. This formed the basis of the design brief.

We designed this book – Window On Teens (WoT) – for marketeers about teenagers based on extensive research conducted by Lowe Advertising. The pictures were all supplied by the teenage participants.

2010

We designed this identity and design guidelines for the trade association, Combined Heat and Power Association to help shift the name towards CHPA following a shift of membership to include other sustainable industry and district heating providers.

We designed this identity for a range of site tools and anciliaries for the building and construction industry. The brief called for an identity that shouts ‘strong, tough and reliable’.

We produced the identity and brand guidelines for St Martin-in-the Fields church in Trafalgar Square. The logo was based on the story of St Martin cutting his red cloak in two and giving half to a poor beggar on a snowy night. The logo launched at a special service on St Martin’s day and featured a hymn specially written about the new brand. The identity received a Highly Commended in the Third Sector Excellence Awards beaten by our identity for the QNI featured below.

The Queen’s Nursing Institute is a charity dedicated to improving the nursing care of people within their own homes. They wanted a new modern and distinctive identity to  engage a wider audience beyond the nursing community following a shift in mission and focus. This won best brand in the Third Sector Excellence Awards.

This droplet logo for Lifehouse – a spa in Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex – reflected both the beautiful gardens and lake as well as the significance of water within the spa. The droplets were then also used in a fun illustrative way throughout the signage and across the communications. Further examples of this can be seen on our website at http://www.howdy-pardners.com/portfolio_identity_lifehouse.php

2011

This marketing campaign for the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust was to promote their sexual health clinic, primarily to a younger audience. It appeared on buses, bus stops, tube posters and in doctors surgeries.

We have been working with London Business Forum since 2003 designing a wide range of marketing materials for them promoting their business events. In 2011 we redesigned their website. You can see more examples of our work for LBF at http://www.howdy-pardners.com/portfolio_print_lbf.php

2012

To celebrate their tenth birthday, the independent think tank, Reform produced this collection of essays. You can see more of our work for Reform at http://www.howdy-pardners.com/portfolio_print_reform.php

We produced this identity for the independent legal research institute, British Institute for International and Comparative Law (BIICL), and associate organisation, Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law delivering design guidelines and templates for inhouse implementation across all print materials. We designed all templates for the website http://www.biicl.org/

2013

We turn the raw data from Green Alliance research into infographics to help convey their research in a more immediate and engaging way. These work well both in printed form and online but are also extremely successful for use across social media.

2014

We worked with UCLH NHS Foundation Trust to create a unified brand that was implemented across all their communications, including phone and tablet apps.