seymourpowell newsletter spring 2011

OUR NEWSNEWSLETTER SPRING 2011

This award is testament to a lifetime of drive and hard work.

OUR NEWS

Seymourpowell is proud to announce details of its design work for Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, a new restaurant created by the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and the Fat Duck Group. The new restaurant is Chef Heston Blumenthal’s first London restaurant, opened at the award winning Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London, with Ashley Palmer-Watts, group executive chef of the Fat Duck, as head of kitchen.

Seymourpowell worked closely with the Dinner by Heston Blumenthal team to create the

restaurant name, brand identity and key touch-point items including menus, wine list and corporate stationary. As well as creating the 2D designs for all menus,

“The Dinner by Heston Blumenthal team are a joy to work with”, said Richard Seymour.

Seymourpowell also carefully selected all materials and finishes to ensure consistency and quality. Alice Boardman, designer at Seymourpowell, was responsible for the development of the

graphic identity, and design work for all collateral materials.

All these design elements are sympathetic to the overall spirit of the restaurant, whilst simultaneously maintaining their own distinct identity.

Richard Seymour added, ‘We were thrilled to be invited to work with the Mandarin Oriental’s interior designers to help convey some of Heston’s delight in the mysterious, ephemeral and mechanical...”

For more information go to http://www.seymourpowell.

Seymourpowell cook up delectable designs...

INTRODUCTION

As the Spring fast approaches, 2011 is already showing the signs of a year of great design work, exciting collaborations and humbling accolades. You may have seen the news of the landmark YouGov survey earlier this year in which top-end clients voted Seymourpowell the UK’s most creative UK design consultancy and number one UK design company overall. This incredible recognition was accompanied by a special award for ‘Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Design’ at the FX International Interior Design Award. We’ve also been proud to be involved in the design work for Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Heston’s highly acclaimed latest excursion, for which we worked closely with the Dinner team to create the restaurant name, brand identity and key touch-point items.

Read on for more information on these and our other recent designs and collaborations including the EcoManager for EDF, an innovative device that can help people reduce their carbon emission and cut their household energy bills.

If you have any questions or comments about anything in the newsletter please contact:

Nichola Rinks for New Business: [email protected] +44 (0)207 381 6433

Tim Duncan for PR: [email protected] +44 (0)207 381 6433

We were thrilled to be invited to work with the Mandarin Oriental’s interior designers to help convey some of Heston’s delight in the mysterious, ephemeral and mechanical...

OUR NEWS

EcoManager is an innovative device that can help people reduce their carbon emissions and cut their household energy bills.

The EcoManager is an innovative wireless appliance controller which transforms the way consumers both monitor and control the amount of electricity they use in their homes.

The EcoManager allows consumers to see and control the energy consumption of appliances from wherever the device is plugged in, helping people to reduce their monthly energy bills. Users plug appliances they want to monitor and control into transmitter plugs.

Seymourpowell worked with the team at EDF Energy to design the EcoManager handheld controller unit with which the transmitter plugs communicate. The monitor then displays the relative running costs* and CO2 emissions** of each appliance in real time. Appliances can be turned completely off, so they are not on standby.

Ben Watson, senior designer at Seymourpowell commented, “We’re thrilled to have been involved with the design of the EDF Energy EcoManager. As a company, Seymourpowell has experience of working with a variety of clients on ‘green’ and/or sustainable design projects, which naturally compliments out work for EDF Energy”.

Noeleen Keane, product manager at EDF Energy, added, “The EcoManager is an innovative device that can help people reduce their carbon emissions and cut their household energy bills. Seymourpowell was a natural choice of partner to work with on the design, and we’re very pleased with the reaction the new device is receiving”.

For more information go to http://www.seymourpowell.com/#/news_and_press/

Seymourpowell designs the EcoManager for EDF Energy...

ONLINE COVERAGE FOR ECOMANAGER

OUR NEWS

A ten year relationship continues...

Seymourpowell helps expand Dove brand into the male grooming market with iconic design for new Dove ‘Men+Care’ range.

Seymourpowell has created an iconic design for the body & face wash packs and the soap bar. The new range compliments existing Dove products whilst simultaneously providing clear on-shelf standout from existing competitors in the male grooming market. Working closely with the Dove team at Unilever during the design planning stage, Seymourpowell worked to create product offers that would appeal to the clearly defined target ‘Dove for Men’.

With masculinity in mind, the new pack design takes a strong, clear and uncomplicated form, with a unique silhouette provided by the peaked top to give the overall form more presence and on-shelf standout.

Similarly, the design of the new Dove Men+Care soap bar also has a distinctly masculine and modern appearance. Combining a good in-hand feel with an iconic shape, this represented a significant achievement, creating a design that appeals to men while maintaining the essence of the original Dove bar.

Seymourpowell also worked closely with design agency Raison Pure to co-develop the graphics across the new Dove Men+Care range. This has been successfully achieved through the masculine form, colour and graphics of the new packaging design – recognisable as Dove yet a move away from the traditional white coloured products for women.


Seymourpowell works with vaseline to consolidate an iconic design

Seymourpowell helps expand Dove brand into the male grooming market

The Vaseline Petroleum Jelly packaging had become a global icon, but as a result, had been copied by competition around the world. To counter this, the packaging evolved differently in each region, leading to a disparate range instead of one iconic product.

Working closely with brand managers from the Vaseline team at Unilever, Seymourpowell undertook a semiotic study to clarify the global requirements and level of change for the new Vaseline jar.

As part of this process, groups of individuals were surveyed on what they recognised as Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, the overall aim being to develop a design that remained clearly recognisable and iconic but delivered a modern, fresh interpretation.

A further requirement of the brief was to position Vaseline Petroleum Jelly as a product specific to skin, as opposed to a domestic household product.

The new core design introduces a flip top cap to increase engagement, convenience and further modernise the packaging.


OUR NEWS

A collection of accolades...Seymourpowell is bowled over by two recent accolades bestowed on the company by leading figures from design, business and marketing:

• Top-end clients vote Seymourpowell the UK’s most creative UK design consultancy, and number 1 UK design company overall in landmark YouGov survey.

• Seymourpowell wins special award for ‘Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Design’ at the FX International Interior Design Awards 2010

CENTAUR MEDIA & YOUGOV DESIGN REPUTATION SURVEY

The YouGov survey showcased a range of design companies across various disciplines including product, retail, packaging, branding and digital.

Results of the survey were used not only for the design reputation survey on Marketing Week’s Pitch Design, but also contributed directly to Centaur’s ‘Creative Survey 2010’ from sister media title and leading UK design trade magazine, DesignWeek.

FX AWARDS- OUTSTANDING LIFETIME CONTRIBUTION TO DESIGN

As part of this year’s FX awards, a number of special categories were opened up to a public online vote, including that of ‘Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Design’.

On winning the award Richard Seymour commented, “This award is testament to a lifetime of drive and hard work, and to all of the people, past and present, who have forged our culture of creative excellence - a passion for what we do and a commitment to delivering success”.

DBA DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS AWARD

Seymourpowell is also thrilled to announce the win of a silver DBA Design Effectiveness award.

In the category of packaging - branded non foods, Seymourpowell took home the silver award for work on PediTech ActiFreeze.


This award is testament to a lifetime of drive and hard work, and to all the people, past and present, who have forged our culture of creative excellence.

Seymourpowell number 1 UK design company overall in landmark YouGov survey...

OUR NEWS

Seymourpowell create the Bimbo ‘knot me’ pack for Sara Lee bakery brand BimboIn order to understand the Bimbo brand, Seymourpowell had to conduct foresight work (in Spain and the UK) which included ethnography and trend mapping. The design team then used their findings to create a paper based brand DNA model.

The foresight work fed into a pack and product workshop that looked into creating new product innovation for the BIMBO brand. The key imperatives of the workshop were to find new opportunities for bread and to discover ways of moving sliced packaged bread into the fresh bread arena.

Seymourpowell created the Bimbo ‘Knot me’ pack in light of their foresight work (pictured right).

Laurence Willmott, senior designer at Seymourpowell comments: ‘Ethnography highlighted how the plastic clip that came with the original bag was either lost or not used as it did not seal the bag correctly. Many Bimbo users would tie the knot in the bag but only half way round the loaf as there was not sufficient plastic to create the knot otherwise.

By perforating the bag down the center, users are able to tear the bag as they use the bread and create the knot even when there is a full loaf inside, which did the job of keeping their Bimbo fresh”.

By perforating the bag down the center, users are able to tear the bag as they use the bread and create the knot even when there is a full loaf inside

OUR NEWS

Seymourpowell visits...Here are some highlights of our trends teams recent visit to Paris. Seymourpowell’s team regularly conduct cross-cultural city visits to help our clients understand regional preferences and diversity, and to identify common global preferencesTheir thoughts and insights from their trips are regularly posted to our blog: http://blog.seymourpowell.com/ and shared on twitter: @seymourpowell

PARIS

Below are a few of our favorite finds from a recent research trip to the French capital:

CENTRE COMMERCIAL

One of the latest concept stores to open on Rue de Marseille, Centre Commercial is run by Sebastien Kopp and Ghislain Morillion, the duo behind the socially and environmentally conscious shoe brand Veja. The store’s express aim is to extend the conscious concerns of the Veja brand across an entire store. Housing pared down clothing brands, vintage furniture and bikes, an emphasis is placed on natural material beauty from the soft organic denims in the clothes sold, to revealed aged plasterwork on the shop walls. It’s great to see ethics and aesthetics working well together.

http://www.veja.fr/

MERCI

On a similar theme to Centre Commercial, Merci, houses three floors of clothing and homeware focusing on classic quality items with the added philanthropic attitude of donating some of their profits to charity. The products in the store’s atrium are curated around a rotating theme which is currently “Stack It”. From the French classic Duralex glasses to a unique chest of drawers assembled from reclaimed vintage office furniture, there’s an honest and modest approach to materiality at Merci. We hope to see their good cause donations continue to stack up.

http://www.merci-merci.com

Continued @ blog.seymourpowell.com

Image courtesy of http://www.ccsparis.com/fr/articles index/28

OUR NEWS

Events/ Collaborations V&A SCHOOLS TEAM UP WITH SEYMOURPOWELL

Back in September 2010 Seymourpowell announced its partnership with the V&A Schools team.

The collaboration has given students and teachers access to a unique perspectivae on design through specially devised workshops and events, with the aim of inspiring a new generation of world-class designers.

The V&A Schools programme for Secondary Design & Technology students and teachers, DesignLab, provides inspirational and innovative learning through

real-life insights into the creative industries.In February Design Director David Fisher and Associate Director Matt Tidnam attended the Teacher’s Symposium at the V&A’s Sackler Centre. The symposium invited D&T teachers to take part in hands-on design activities, supplying them with practical ideas and inspiration to take back to the classroom.

Seymourpowell also worked with V&A museum educators to develop Design Pro, a workshop for Secondary students.

The session challenges students to solve a design

brief through methods used by the designers in their day-to-day practice. This includes techniques such as ethnographic studies, product analysis, trend-forecasting and 3-D prototyping. The workshop meets key D&T curriculum objectives whilst offering students a stimulating learning experience outside the classroom. This unique experience is supported by access to a wealth of iconic design objects held within the Museum’s collections.

Seymourpowell Associate Director Matt Tidnam, Senior Designer Matt Cockerill and Design Director Paula Zuccotti will be leading the Design lab workshops.

OUT AND ABOUT – EVENTSMARCH C4DI Design Lecture Aberdeen Nick Talbot

APRIL Skoll World Forum Oxford Richard Seymour

Microsoft/ Stuff Magazine London David Fisher

Royal Aeronautical Society London Nick Talbot

MAY Product Design and Innovation Conference London ExCel Centre Richard Seymour

TEDSalon London Richard Seymour

JUNE Economist UK Energy Summit London Richard Seymour

LESi International Conference Richard Seymour

PACE Las Vegas USA Richard Seymour

THROUGHOUT 2011 World Innovation Convention Richard Seymour

FT Innovate Richard Seymour

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For more ormation go to http://www.vam.ac.uk/school_stdnts/schools/