Recently…

What we've been up to over the last few months

Nixon head to Martinhal

Martin says:

The area around Sagres in the very far western tip of the Algarve has much in common with Cornwall. It is after all quite literally the town at the Land’s End of Europe and shares the same rugged landscape and vast seascapes over the Atlantic Ocean. There is also a flourishing surf culture albeit with a lot more waves, secret surf spots, larger beaches and higher cliffs.

My family and I have enjoyed many holidays further east towards Faro, whilst we stay high up in the hills away from the crowds many Brits head for the busier and to some over developed coastal towns for their summer breaks.

Over the last few years Nixon have been closely involved with a new luxury resort project that hopes to bring something rather more sensitive and stylish to the market. Designed in a highly contemporary style and with a very unique offering- Martinhal will certainly stand out from the rest of the Algarve’s destinations.

Last month four of the team travelled out to see work in progress and conduct a series of branding workshops with around 40 members of the Martinhal team, across the board from director level to operational staff.  These workshops are always an insight and perhaps most importantly involve the very people who will ultimately make the Martinhal brand sing. The end result of all this work is a series of brand values that will clarify what the place stands for- to guests and to people who work within the resort.

Back home we’ve been relishing the creative challenge of creating the overall brand strategy, developing concepts for branding the entire resort and its facilities, not least the extraordinary Hotel Martinhal, a stunning spa, three restaurants, retail outlets, a home delivery food service-to name but a few! In all there is much work to do and with the Hotel opening in April and the rest of the resort a few weeks later not much time to do it all in, but a great opportunity and one which we are all relishing.

Future of Web Design

David says:

Future of Web Design London 17th - 19th May 2010 - Home_1266341272569

We’ve just booked our tickets for this years Future of Web Design event and to say the team is excited is a massive understatement! We’ll be learning from the best in the business about where they see the web going and how we can help it get there!

There will be more about this closer to the time, not that we’re counting the days (it’s 90 days away) or anything.

Amphibious Attack

Luke says:

Picture 1

This note landed on the desk of our creative director, Chris Holmes, recently who had to do a mercy dash to sort out this domestic emergency. The said toad was duly relocated to a more suitable habitat by our intrepid designer, but the mystery still remains as to exactly how the fearless amphibian managed to clamber into the rubbish bin in the first place. Did Toad have an aquatic accomplice and, if so, will they be back for another raid? Security remains on high alert in the Holmes household until further notice.

Marketing know-how

Dave says:

A lot of marketing is just common sense, but you’d be surprised how many people expect results to fall at their feet just by putting up a simple website. Every business has competition and needs to generate sales. This link is a great little find for explaining marketing and its components plus ideas to help your business grow.

There are also other links at the bottom of the page for the following:
* Marketing a small retail business
* Licensing for small business
* Leadership tips for any small business
* How to retain existing customers
* How to find new customers
* How to be a leader in the industry, even as a small business
* Cutting costs when operating a small business
* Creating a blog for your small business

The future belongs to the few of us still willing to get our hands dirty.

Darren says:

Beautiful poster and concept, designed by Reiner Tiangco, NYC.

DIRTposter2