Both is better

The idea could be a word. Or it could be a graphic feature. Either way, it is the concept that writer and designers all have to work hard at to reinforce. The result is always better communication. There is far greater clarity for audiences about what they’re being told.

Where to start?

Usually the issue with internal communications is too much noise – a busy environment with too many messages going out.

Put designers on it

A design team could resolve how the interdependencies of social, environmental and financial performance are presented. It could determine how the calculations behind performance figures are laid out.

Visualisation has its catches

We’ve written a few times now about the benefits of visualisation as a process of summarising complexity and even defining a brief. Indeed, we’re big proponents of using images and icons to capture thinking rather than endless words – a…

The perfect visual brief

A number of conversations we’ve had with clients over recent weeks continue to highlight how team Zephyr’s visualisation skillset can usefully be applied to a whole number of different scenarios. They all work under the basic premise that visualisation done…

Design thinking

A recent post on the Fast Company Design site has got us worried.

www.fastcodesign.com/can-innovation-really-be-reduced-to-a-process

Have we missed the debate on the application of Design Thinking to business or was it a US concept that didn’t travel over here until…

Use me…surprise me…use me…surprise me

So I’m sat in the blue corner, sipping my coffee on Monday morning, eyeing my Twirl and perusing my ‘inspiration’ sites for cool stuff. Stuff that says ‘different’, stuff that says “we think in a new way – come have…

Cutting the clutter – governance reporting

Since our first blog on Cutting the Clutter, the report produced by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and Accounting Standards Board (ASB), to help companies de-stuff their annual reports, we’ve returned to look at one of their de-cluttering aids: Disclosure…

One Word Brief – not as simple as it sounds

One of our team (on Twitter as @WiseCreative) is part of the collective called One Word Brief putting on an exhibition of the same name at The Rag Factory’s Apricot Gallery from 10-12^th June, 2011.

Described as a not-for-profit LOVE…

Bob at McDonald’s blogs

I always really like the tone of Bob at McDonald’s blog posts. He’s the Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at the company. In his piece today he answers questions on the minds of business students at Washington University:

http://www.openfordiscussion.iupload-stage.com/default.asp?item=3047257

His…

Beautiful Information

This is a favourite. It has been around since October 2010 but – and TEDtalks do this so well – it really breathes life into the subject.

Whilst ‪David McCandless‬ (Information is Beautiful) is a confident and charming orator,…

Designing for business

In The Cox Review of 2005 design was described as linking creativity with innovation, as the process of shaping ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers.
Zephyr’s design process always combines consideration of both the…

Invest in your ROI?

We’re sorry to have to break the silence on this one but we don’t know many organisations that actively measure the impact of their communications. But particularly now economic times are tough, even greater emphasis is being placed on demonstrating…

Problem solving

Problem solving is a big part of job satisfaction for the Zephyr team, so it’s fortunate that each new project we work on brings its own particular challenges.
A brief can sometimes prescribe a solution but often we find…

Keep it brief

I’m not so bothered whether a brief is written down or not.  Ideally it is but I can work without a bit of paper in my hand as long as an effective conversation has been had. That is, a conversation…