Identity blog

Identity’s copy writer Jen has just launched her new blog, Creative Bean. Don’t look at it if you are hungry!

Flower Delivery in the UK is a huge market and at the fore of this growing industry is Blooms, an independent online florist.

Blooms was brought to life over 25 years ago by Brian Sutherland and Elaine Minto whose dynamic relationship put their first two shops in Glasgow well and truly on the floral map. Elaine is the creative influence behind Blooms, producing beautiful arrangements for every occasion and constantly embracing new designs and styles. Brian has established the successful business and nationally recognised brand, and was one of the first retailers in the UK to embrace ECommerce in the late 1990s.

Now in a new era with the business, Brian and Elaine have come to Identity for a new and independent ECommerce solution. We are creating for them a bespoke system which will allow visitors from across the UK to purchase their flowers from Blooms with ease, comfortable in a secure purchasing environment. The new site will also offer the Elaine Minto Range, a new selection of arrangements exclusively available for delivery in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Corporate customers will be able to log in using a password protected area to order bespoke arrangements for delivery and an image gallery will showcase some of the personalised floristry projects that Elaine has undertaken for weddings, product launches and other large events.

Keep checking back for more updates on the progress of this new website.

No blog for a while which is bad on my part, but I’ve been so busy with new and existing clients that it’s hard to find the time these days!

A few weeks ago we brought on board a new start-up company called Reading One-To-One. An experienced teacher based in Stirlingshire has decided to go it alone with her new tutoring service which helps adults and children catch up with their reading. Identity are designing a new logo and brand, and a website to promote this new business.

Last week it was the turn of Cosmic Coppers Childcare who have two nurseries in Glasgow and Hamilton. Debbie and Ross Keenan asked Identity’s designers to redraw their already popular logo (aptly named “Buster”!) to allow them to use it properly across all their business branding. We are also designing a new website for them to promote their business online.

Last but by no means least Identity are designing a new website for The Flower Room in Dollar. Zoe MacLeod is using her theatre and set design experience to produce some beautiful flower arrangments for local delivery. Although her shop has only been open for 4 weeks Zoe is already busy with local deliveries including producing arrangements for the nearby Dollar Academy.

Once these sites launch into action I will update the blog with some more information about each business.

We are very pleased to announce the launch of a new website for Ice Cool Industries.

A product design company needs a truly innovative website that really stands them head and shoulders above their competitors, so Kieran at Ice Cool Industries came to us with a fairly specific brief. Kieran wanted Identity to create a flash introduction into an HTML website to give them the best of both worlds - an animated website that was accessible and easy to optimise.

The newest member of our team, Naomi, put together the flash introduction sequence using some of the blueprints for Quiver, the first of Ice Cool Industries‘ products to come to the market. Naomi finished the intro with an interactive map of the site’s main navigation. Our senior designer Colin then built the rest of the site using a MODx framework and some of the graphics provided by Kieran.

Visit the Ice Cool Industries website for more information and also to find out about the launch of Handycuff and Quiver!

Alan is Identity’s chief Search Engine Optmisation Analyst who also designs some of our websites.  He currently works in the Marketing Department at Caledonian University so is always brimming with ideas on how to take your website to the next level

Before pursuing his working career Alan studied in Art and Design.  He has held business analyst, design, digital media and management positions with the education sector, global financial services and a leading IT service company.   Now with over 20 yrs experience, Alan thinks he’s the ‘old yin’ in the team….  And he’s right!!

I’m Colin and web design is my game! Why you ask? There was nothing else I could think of doing, I had to choose something!! After leaving Uni with a degree in web technology in 1998, I dabbled in a few mundane jobs that never really offered me the excitement and drive I was looking for. I had became a dabbler and an unhappy one at that! Not content with dabbling and doing a bit of this and a bit of that, I decided to jump ship. I wanted more…

I soon realised the only way was my way and it is here in the land of freelance web design I have been for the last seven years creating, designing and building amazing looking websites in the hope my input is making a difference to the future generation of our country! (Whatever!)

So…

[Jargon Rant On]
Specialising in User Interface Design and Development. I build clean, appealing, and functional interfaces which comply with the latest web standards. I design with Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash. I code sites with XHTML and CSS, using a little of JavaScript, Actionscript, and PHP, and pay a lot of attention to Usability, Accessibility, and Web Standards. I can cuild successful CMS sites using ModX and also build E-Commerce sites using Cubecart software.
[Jargon Rant Off]

Anyone still awake….?

But actually that’s just a part of it. I really enjoy it. It’s something I find myself doing late at night and gets me up in the morning. I’m constantly finding something bigger and better to build than what I did previous. It’s all good!

Please contact me if you have any questions!

What is Adam’s role in Identity? After much deliberation I think “Graphic Designer extrodinaire, photographer and lady charmer” covers it best!

Adam studied at Napier University for a BDes in Design Futures from 2002-05. He then worked from 2005-07 as a freelance graphic designer, a year of which was spent living in Sydney before returning to work in Glasgow. In August 2007 Adam began been working for Cameron Presentations multi media department focusing mainly on graphics with an eye on developing skills in web design, editing and flash.

When Identity begain in April 2007 Adam helped design and launch the brand. We developed this partnership into a part time Graphic Design and Photography role where Adam breathes life and vision into our clients’s branding. Visit our portfolio pages to see some examples of his logo design work and photography.

Many of us in Glasgow think of Edinburgh as a long way away - somwhere we couldn’t just go to for the day. In fact, less than 20% of tickets sold to the Edinburgh Festival are sold in Glasgow. The old war between the Weegies and the Edinburgers has even stopped us Westies from enjoying the fantastic performances on offer at the festival! Ridiculous!

Edinburgh has so much to offer, and where better to stay to explore the city than your very own serviced apartment at Pilrig House? Pilrig House Aparmtments offer a variety of self catering accomodation in the heart of the city. The Balfour, Park and Garden Apartments sleep 1-5 people and offer the kind of luxury you would expect in your own home. The apartments all boast luxurious living rooms and fully fitted kitchens so you can really call this your self catering base for exploring Endiburgh and the surrounding areas.

Debbie Martin, co-owner of Pilrig House Apartments has been writing an online diary - click here to keep up with all their news.

Hi, my name is Jen.

I graduated from Napier University in 2005 with an Honours degree in Communication. Since then I’ve been working as a Marketing Executive with Archibald Young and have been an experienced professional copywriter in practice since 2006 and I have been working with Identity since 2007.

I’ve had the opportunity to work on a number of exciting projects providing Communication solutions to a number of clients including Drake Music Scotland, Pentland Hills Rangers Service and (most excitingly!) TV Tonga. Due to my strong background in brand consultancy, public and media relations, visual communications, and strategic marketing I have a thorough commercial understanding and a deep knowledge of marketing as applicable to both smaller and large companies. I understand about brands and the inter-relationship between service/product and brand, and I take enormous care when writing to apply my understanding to the needs and expectations of your target readership. I try to be responsive and easy to work with, and I take a thoughtful, intelligent approach to understanding your business objectives. In addition to this I combine communication & listening skills with a wealth of experience of writing for the web in order to accurately interpret your ideas.

Should you need assistance in these areas, please do not hesitate to contact me.

We recently launched a website for The Park Nursery and Kindergarten in Glasgow’s West End. The Park Nursery and Kindergarten is situated a short walk from Kelvingrove Park and boasts a large private garden so much emphasis is placed on outdoor activities. With this in mind Identity wanted to create a website which really brought their images to life and provided visitors with a true insight into the way the nursery is operated.

Many nursery websites are presented in a way which appeals to children. The Park Nursery and Kindergarten wanted to approach their internet advertising in a different way with a strong belief that the parents should be the main target. Identity have produced a design in keeping with this idea, while still presenting all the required information to parents in manner which is easy to digest.

Visit the website for more information!