Cant see the glyphs for the trees

This week, we are working on a new brand identity for a new client.
All parties involved are excited, and after a discussion about what
the brand needs to represent, we have started researching, sketching,
making notes, waking up in the middle of the night and have to
jot something down so we remember in the morning!

Now i personally have got to the point where the main word
that will be used for the logo doesn't look like it makes sense
anymore! I have looked at so many font variations and so
many different ideas that none of them seem right.

So how do i take stock of this? Any good designer worth their
salt will know that hours glued to the mac is counter productive
when generating ideas. Most people will know this anyway
but im writing this post for my own sanity as well as to hopefully
give some guidance to less the experienced out there.

Getting away from the screen for a while for me is the best medicine.
A walk to the post office, a lunch hour spent around the shops, or
best is a post work trip to the local to discuss where we have got to
and what we need to achieve! Out of office 'work' is often where
the best ideas come from.

Or am i just making excuses to go to the pub? Pint anyone?

So Long Old Friend

To quote the great bard, Vinnie Jones. Its been emotional!

2011 has been a very busy and very fast year for us at Kancho.
We have have had to say goodbye to some old friends, made
some new friends. Our business model has come into fruition
this year with us working on both brand and interior projects.

We have continued to produce some hopefully great work
for existing clients, we have pitched and failed, then pitched
again, and won. We have took on new clients and lost a couple.
Importantly we have had 2 summer interns who hopefully gained
some agency experience that has helped them on their way and
they have helped us in seeing how we would cope with a third
person and a prospective member of staff.

Q. So what does 2012 hold?
A. Well apart from the end of the mayan calender –
Planning, this is the year we take control of our lives!
2011 seemed to flyby with weeks and months disappearing
without us noticing and then all of a sudden christmas was upon us.
So 2012, will be planned out in military precision, we will be setting
ourselves targets and goals throughout the year. First on the plans are
new business cards.

2011, so long old friend, 2012 is our new best mate

Time to Confess?

Another recently completed project - The Confession Box.
A city centre bar located in the Square Shopping centre in
Birmingham city centre. The concept behind our latest
project is driven by the name and the owners Roman
Catholic heritage. We used a luxurious palette of dark reds,
purples and eclectic patterns across the walls and furniture.

All the furniture is reclaimed from the owners other pubs
and has been given a new lease of life with the vibrant
palette. Located next to the new Birmingham Ballroom
The Confession box is the perfect 'pre ballroom' bar.


Kancho creative is an experienced, multi-disciplinary
agency providing comprehensive creative solutions across,
many disciplines. Specialising in branding, interior design,
design for print and web.

To find out how we could help your business
please email us at studio@kancho.co.uk

The Value of (good) Design

On completion of a recent project (see our last post) link here
on launch night, where everyone involved in the project has
a nervous energy and joe public is interacting with the space
we have considered and slaved over for the past month.
Our client came out with a gem that stuck with me through
dinner and copious amounts of wine.

He said, 'it's the best decision I've made...
to hire you guys as my designers'.

Now that's always nice to hear!

Our client, who is a very nice bloke and I'm sure he wont mind
me saying this, is a very stereotypical client, who also said that
he would have 'painted everything magnolia and put up some
pictures'. He has realised the benefits of hiring professionals
to consider the space and how it works as a public venue.

This client has now commissioned us for a fast food outlet
over in Aberystwyth, which we will be working on
in the new year.

Kancho creative is an experienced, multi-disciplinary

agency providing comprehensive creative solutions across,

many disciplines. Specialising in branding, interior design,

design for print and web.

To find out how we could help your business 

please email us at studio@kancho.co.uk

Orchid - Pan Asian Restaurant: Aberystwyth

Despite our website being moved to a new server & consequently
broke! Here's one of our latest projects which we completed mid
November. Orchid Pan Asian restaurant in Aberystwyth,
for the full project click here

In the mean time here are a few shots.

We created the brand and interior for Orchid, with a main focus
on lighting. We designed a dark walnut platform as a ceiling
installation, creating a dramatic main light feature for the pendants
to hang from. The collection of lanterns can also be seen from the
promenade outside, making the restaurant look cosy and inviting
to passers by.

Our main interpretation of the brief was 'fine dining with a hint
of Thai influence'. We achieved this with a predominantly subtle
colour palette, mixing a bold splash of red with textures, patterns
and paper lanterns.

We are pleased with the result & our client was so pleased
he has commissioned us for his next project!!

Infact, a conversation on the launch event with the client
has led me writing a new blog post - which will be here
very soon!

Predicting Trends

Design is a reciprocal cycle. As is fashion, this is an excuse for me

to keep hold of those dodgy checked trousers from the 90's ive

never worn in the hope they will be cool again one day!

Being an innovator and a good designer is tricky at the best of times,

so predicting trends is a key part of our job. We never follow trends,

but sometimes a client is influenced by something they have seen so

this will affect the outcome of a project. Whether its brand, print

or especially interior design, i see things that we have either done

or have seen done by people we admire that get replicated,

become mainstream and are blogged about.

What made me decide to write a blog post about this is,

elle decoration. We are launching a Thai Restaurant in

Aberystwyth that we actually designed a couple of months ago

- www.orchidaberystwyth.co.uk

For the main lighting feature, we specified a cluster of 17 bulbs

hanging from a centre wooden console all at different heights

all with different shaped white chinese paper lanterns.

Flicking through 'elle deco' the other day i see these are everywhere

now! So for the next few months our lighting installation will be

bang on trend! I believe the overall design is strong enough to

last longer than the trend will allow!

Of course we cant or wont discuss what concepts we are working

on for our next project, lets just hope we have predicted the trend

correctly again!

PS. Keep an eye out for 3 new projects on our main site soon!

Hairy Haloween

Had fun in the studio on monday, creating these haloween

characters for the Hairy Lemon Haloween promotional material.

One of the 'lemon heads' will be appearing on a flyer/poster near you soon!