recently.
Our latest news and a sampler of recent efforts. Bear in mind that we’ve signed various heavy non-disclosure agreements and that some clients don’t like to let on that they’ve used a copywriter, so this is just a small percentage of the overall job sheet. If you click on the thumbnails to the left of the text, all being well you should get a larger, readable version of the image (where appropriate).
so near and yet...
25/06/2010-
We had an email today from Tim O’Kennedy, the CEO of D&AD no less. He passed on his congratulations and told us that henceforth we were allowed to use these exclusive ‘pencil marks’ on our website and so forth.
So what do they mean exactly? Well, that totalcontent fared pretty well at this year’s D&AD awards (the ‘design and advertising Oscars’, in tabloid parlance). In fact, in the Writing for Design section, we were the only people to get two separate entries into the prestigious D&AD annual – including our self-promotional monkey posters, piles of which are still cluttering up the studio.
‘Feed Your Mind – A Great British Miscellany’, the book Jim wrote on the 2009 Royal Mail stamp programme, went one better in snaffling a rare nomination (hence the silver pencil... you don't actually get one, but hey). Designed by the estimable hat-trick, this gargantuan project was a real labour of love, so the recognition was deeply appreciated.
Jim duly donned his best bib and tucker and headed off for the glittering awards do at the Roundhouse earlier this month, with high hopes of adding to his D&AD pencil collection. Unfortunately this time he walked away empty handed – although he was positively relieved there were no cameras to film his ‘dignified’ reaction when the category winner was announced.
And what of the eventual winner? Well put it this way, if yet another client asks us for a tone of voice like Innocent’s, we’ll be less than amused.
Cubic’s guide to branding.
15/03/2010-
In our time we’ve written dozens of mission statements, ‘about us’ sections, and promo materials for design companies. There’s no getting away from it, these are tricky beasts. Branding specialists spend so much time defining, positioning and articulating other folk, that more often than not they neglect themselves. While some have a very strong idea of who they are and what they stand for, others need to have something thrust in front of their noses before deciding perhaps that’s not really them.
Either way, there tends to be a lot of self-analysis, head scratching and soul searching involved. And invariably plenty of drafts after every last person in the company has had their say. One particular consultancy who commissioned us took six months to agree a single (short) paragraph. There were ten rewrites. In the end they felt it lacked bite, but they were prepared to live with it.
Clearly, it doesn’t have to be like that. Working with Nottingham-based Cubic went like a breeze. They wanted a series of three books – the first one a teaser, followed by two chunkier volumes. They encouraged Jim to develop his own tone and never took themselves too seriously. They created their own charming illustrations to support the writing. And for a short-but-sweet overview piece, the results are – we think – really lively and have plenty of bite.
So thanks Cubic for asking us to help out… and being prepared to stick their necks out a bit. Oh, and you can download the whole book here if you're so inclined.
totalcontent’s monkey business.
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At last. After several false starts and many months in the making, here's totalcontent’s very first mailshot. more...
Design Week jury service.
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Gown… check. Wig… check. Nose for a winner… check. Jim will once again be taking his place as one of the judges more...
our new home.
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A new chapter in the totalcontent story. After months of chaos, mess, electricians, decorators, trips to the tip and furniture deliveries, we have more...