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Tag / Scottish design agency

26th April 2019

Will we get the Nod?

The Nods award ceremony is right around the corner and we’re pretty chuffed to say that StudioLR and our clients have been shortlisted for six awards.

This is the second year of The Nods. They were set up with the support of the creative community, for the benefit of the creative community in Scotland – aiming to recognise and celebrate great work, organisations and people. At last year’s inaugural ceremony we scooped the grand prix, The Big Nod, for our work with Terex Trucks. (Does that make us the Noddy Holder? Sorry.)

This year we’re up for:

  • Best Brand Experience (Your New Rigid Hauler Global Launch – Volvo CE)
  • Best Out of Home (The D-Day Story – Portsmouth City Council)
  • Best Client (Jacqueline Reid – Volvo CE)
  • Best Print Design (Gathering by Alec Finlay – Hauser & Wirth)
  • Best Creative (Mark Wheeler & Dave King – StudioLR)
  • SME Creative Agency of the Year (StudioLR)

Looking forward to the big bash at Brewhemia on Thursday. 

We’ve got our fingers crossed…

24th April 2019

If you want people to visit you, visit us first.

The Museums + Heritage Show takes place in London this May – aiming to share insights, hints and tips that you can put into practice in your own destination organisation.

We’re hosting a session in the ‘Engaging New Visitors’ theatre alongside the National Trust for Scotland. Our design director, Dave King, will be joined by NTS Head of Commercial Enterprises and Estates, Connie Lovel, to share what we learned from our work together at Inverewe.

How can you stay true to your heritage and attract a wider range of visitors? We’ll take you behind the scenery at Inverewe, and show you how we unlocked the eccentricity of the garden’s founder Osgood, and developed a new creative positioning and visitor experience. 

A Marketing Society Gold Award Winner, the project led to a 28% increase in family visits. Join us to discover new ways of working and top tips to help you welcome more visitors.

Welcoming the world: How to build brands and experiences that people love

Museums + Heritage Show

Wednesday 15th May, 3.15pm

Engaging New Visitors (Theatre 2)

Register for your free ticket here

24th April 2019

Fortune favours the brave.

We’re leading the next session of the Marketing Society’s Inspiring Minds series. Bravery in marketing and design is the topic – a subject close to our design director Dave’s heart (Dave leads the D&AD’s Bravery masterclass). 

But commissioning and creating brave creative work isn’t easy. It goes against a lot of natural instincts. 

During the session, Dave will make the case for bravery in marketing and design and share lessons learnt from past failures and triumphs. How to make work personal without taking it personally. How to get out of a rut. Why bravado isn’t brave. Why we should all enjoy ourselves a lot more. How to get the best out of your creative team. And, most importantly, how to spark something in people.

Expect to leave the session loaded with practical tips and techniques that you can put to use in your own work, and a better understanding of how to overcome obstacles that are thrown in your way.

The Marketing Society’s Inspiring Minds

The Lighthouse, Glasgow

16 May 2019, 3.30pm

Tickets available here

Campervan in the Hebrides for a StudioLR meeting
27th February 2019

A worthwhale trip to the Hebrides…

[5 min read]

StudioLR is working with the Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust to create the Hebridean Whale Trail. On the surface this is a somewhat counter intuitive proposition – creating a land based trail to watch sealife.

Scotland is one of the best places in the world to see whales. There are many places they can be spotted from shore and with 2020 being the Year of Coast and Water the brilliance of this project is that it will encourage people to go and see these magnificent creatures, and if they don’t they’ll have a wonderful time anyway. So with excitement I set off to the west coast to find out more.

As a city boy at heart, I only took the stereotypical essentials. Insufficient clothing and footwear, laptop & smartphone (with selection of ill fitting cabling) and of course my dog and campervan. I was fully aware these items would almost certainly attract ridicule from all on my trip – putting people at ease is a big part of the collaborative process.

After many hours on the road, and two ferry trips, I found myself with the client at Ardnamurchan lighthouse. A stunning location, particularly on a wild day in January.

After admiring the views and scoping out a load of exciting visitor experience interpretive ideas, my soft southern side started to notice I was wet and cold. But with no cafe open (it’s winter) we headed to my campervan for our follow up meeting, with me smugly making fresh coffee and sharing some hobnobs. It was the perfect site meeting.

Campervan meeting with StudioLR

From conversations with several members of the team in Tobermory my brief visit made me realise the brilliance of the trail intent. By encouraging people to visit amazing and remote locations across the west coast of Scotland, most of which you have to reach by ferry, you are forced to slow down while being constantly on the move. What better way to see these beautiful creatures than by doing as they do – steadily travelling through our Scottish waters.

Not only will attracting visitors to the trail encourage people to engage with our special sea-mammals but the project will also have many spin-off benefits. Not least economic – boosting local businesses and services.

I didn’t see any whales on my trip but I look forward to returning as we work on developing the trail over the next few months.

Mark Wheeler, Design Director

22nd August 2018

Bring on the trumpets for Brodie Castle

Our work with the National Trust for Scotland at Brodie Castle is nominated at this year’s Scottish Design Awards.

We created a site personality for the brand new Playful Garden – rolling it out across interpretation, experiential design in the café and retail spaces, merchandise, packaging and signage. 

As a family day out the key ingredient was fun. How do we use the Brodie family heritage to put a smile on people’s faces?

A list of adjectives could never capture the diverse personalities that make up the Brodie family. But luckily we had a secret weapon… Daffodils!

When Ian Brodie had to name and register the 414 different daffodils he developed at the Castle, he left behind a goldmine…  daffodil breeds with names like Cheerio, Pomp, Fortune’s Beauty, King of the North, and Laughing Water.

We allocated a number to each daffodil in the Brodie ‘family’ and used their unusual names as a springboard for playful interventions, interpretive stories, marketing and merchandise. With a cast of over 400 unique characters, there’s plenty to be playful with…

Project Team

Architecture: Hoskins Architects

Landscape Architecture: ERZ

Interactive Garden Design: Paragon Creative

Visitor Strategy & Planning: Scott Sherrard

To find out more about the award-winning work we do at StudioLR, please get in touch.

20th July 2018

Can you stay true to your heritage and attract a wider audience at the same time?

With a site personality bursting with colour and rich stories, the Playful Garden at Brodie Castle welcomes visitors of all ages.

[3 minute read]

The newly-opened Playful Garden at Brodie Castle is a place to have fun. A short hop from the castle’s front door, the garden puts a lively twist on Brodie’s long and colourful history. Digging for an idea that could bring centuries of stories to life, we unearthed a secret weapon…

Daffodils!

Ian Brodie developed and registered over 400 varieties of daffodil at the Castle – and he named each and every one. The weird and wonderful names were a springboard for stories that sprout up all around the site – from the origami boat tickets (Sailor #160) to merchandise, decor, interpretation and signage.

Staying true to your heritage doesn’t mean doing things the way they’ve always been done. We can help unearth what makes you different – and bring it to life creatively in campaigns and experiences that spark something in people.

The project is currently nominated at the Scottish Design Awards, along with five of our other projects.

Bring on the trumpets!

The tickets are fun for kids and big kids alike… the daffodil “Fortune’s Arrow” becomes a paper aeroplane, while “Sailor” becomes an origami boat.The daffodil names lent themselves to a huge range of merchandise. “Fortune’s Gift” was a gift for the swing tags. And the most tourist-friendly daffodil names made a great set of magnets and keyrings.

The café space was brought to life with hanging flags, painted tables and custom
packaging – each again highlighting a daffodil name – from “Lemonade” to the
soup bowl’s “Copper Bowl”.

Playful signs around the garden remind people to have a good time. Giant plant-marking lollipop sticks stick out in the garden – each one housing an interpretive panel, using the daffodils to tell a unique story.

 

Contact us at StudioLR to find out how brave design-thinking can help you reach more people.