Out of office. I escaped the city for a few days to celebrate my friend’s wedding. The day was beautiful, every choice they made had meaning and represented them, just like good brand design. The wedding reminded me how important it is to make the time to celebrate relationships and milestones.

One of the best things about designing for business is that I’m always learning from my clients and work. Plus an inspiration mission to see the Cybertruck.

A friend recently asked me ‘When do you help a business?’ A simple question that I’m working on creating a simple answer to.
To start I brainstormed the type of questions I’m often asked and focused them down to the real design and brand challenges my clients have. I then created a timeline of key stages of the journey of a business.

One of our clients gifted us a set of Diary of a CEO conversation cards this week. It gave Vicki and I a great opportunity to reflect on our design business together. The first card we chose asked ‘What is one belief or behaviour that has positively impacted your life in the last 12 months?’

Life has been full lately so I’ve been finding it hard to prioritise time for writing. The past two weeks have been challenging. I have had highs, I climbed the UK’s tallest mountain - Ben Nevis, I celebrated 500 days alcohol-free and I met some amazing new people through VS+YO. And then the lows, someone I love is on life support.
I didn’t know if I should write any of this here, this is supposed to be about my work but being a designer all of my experiences feed directly into what I create.

‘I’ve been told my logo is $#*! How do I make it better?’ Great question VS+YO explored with a new client recently. How do you know if your logo works if you don’t know what makes a logo work? Five questions to reflect on… Plus an update on ALAN

Out of office. I escaped the studio for nine days to experience the stunning Scilly Isles. The two days of travel to get there from Glasgow was worth it. Island air, exploring, and scones with clotted cream, happiness!

Do you believe in work-life balance? This question came up in conversation with two clients this week and I’ve been reflecting on what work-life balance really looks like.

Fashion brand Massimo Dutti recently changed their logo as part of their rebrand and it’s being met with mixed feelings. Spoiler: I’m not a fan and have an idea. Plus what happened in the studio and a Yoshan update.

Do you want to write? Me too. For the past 12 weeks, I have been working on establishing a weekly habit and as part of that, I have been experimenting, designing, and refining a process that works for me.

Reflecting on the recent Willy Wonka event in Glasgow made me think of a time early in my career when I worked for a National newspaper designing adverts for small businesses like plumbers, furniture stores, and restaurants…

One of my work goals for this year is to meet more people. A certain person kept catching my attention on LinkedIn and I thought to myself it’s either the Universe giving me a sign or great marketing, either way, if I meet them I will learn something. I checked their bio and website for the umpteenth time and followed a link to book a call that evening.

This week I said something at work that I thought I would never say, “I love Ai!”

For the past year I have been experimenting with Ai for imagery for Yoshan projects. I have used an algorithm to generate a collection of over 10,000 pieces of art and used Midjourney to help me create imagery for prototype designs for a card game. While the imagery was generated quickly and it produced visuals that I couldn’t imagine or execute on my own, the results didn’t communicate what I wanted, they didn’t feel right. And some were just plain weird.

One of my favourite design projects to work on is an event. I love bringing brand design into the real world and the energy of events. It’s not just about the visual identity and the look, I care about what the event feels like. What will happen? What will make it memorable? What will make it a success?

A work hard, rest hard kind of week.

If I was to describe this week in one word it would be rollercoaster. Collaborated with new clients, said goodbye to an old client, worked on marketing, had new business conversations, made time for account handling, mentored a junior designer, and celebrated turning 44.

I’m noticing a trend, our clients want support with the same thing at the moment, presentation decks and diagrams. Plus, a note to self on the importance of getting out of the studio.

It’s been a focused week working on PowerPoint design for VS+YO clients to help them secure new business. Plus an inspiration mission to London.

One of the most exciting parts of being a designer is seeing ideas come to life in the real world. This week I was on site to oversee the installation and fit of graphics and signage VS+YO created as part of a rebrand.

First week back in the VS+YO Design Studio after the holidays, we have been designing:
• A re-brand for a 20-year-old B2B company
• Graphics for the interior of a new nursery
• Process diagrams as part of a client’s PowerPoint pitch deck to win new business