Studio Scrapbook
June 2024

We were thrilled to sponsor the exhibition of Towards Change: Rethinking Representation in Advertising, a project launched by Rika Holden, an experienced advertising consultant with the WPP group. This project aimed to challenge stereotypes and promote diversity in advertising through civic engagement.

A series of workshops were conducted, during which community members analysed and reimagined problematic adverts. The project culminated in an exhibition that showcased alternative ads reimagined by participants to replace those banned by the ASA for perpetuating stereotypes or inappropriate representations of gender.

This month, we’ve been working on three separate branding projects simultaneously. As a design team, these are some of the most enjoyable projects we get to work on, as we get to learn all about a brand-new client while collaborating to develop creative concepts that fit the brief.

Across the team, we usually approach each brief with our own styles, which then merge together as the project progresses. This means that even the simplest of logos (like the brand we created for AMT over a year ago) has passed through the hands of the whole team.

We can’t show exactly what we’re working on just yet, but here are some snippets of shapes and typography that we’ve enjoyed creating over the last month.

Recently, the Dev team has been bringing some of our new website projects to life by using subtle and engaging animation.

The team has been using GSAP, a powerful tool for creating stunning website animations. Imagine scrolling through a webpage and seeing images smoothly slide in, text gracefully fade into view, or buttons that come to life with a little bounce when you hover over them. GSAP makes it possible to add these kinds of engaging effects efficiently, turning ordinary websites into interactive experiences that capture visitors’ attention.

Website animations do more than just look good; they also enhance the user experience. For instance, they can guide the eye to important information, making it easier to understand and navigate a page. Subtle animations can provide feedback, like showing a spinner while content is loading, which helps users know that the website is working and reduces frustration. Overall, well-designed animations make websites feel more dynamic and enjoyable, encouraging visitors to stay longer and explore more.

Harley took a day out at the end of April to attend K:LDN in London, where he learned about new features from Klaviyo. One of the highlights was their industry-specific benchmarks, which allow you to compare your email performance against similar brands, helping you uncover new opportunities. They also showcased their AI-driven form display optimisation, which determines the best time to show forms to visitors on your site, thus supporting submission rates. They presented many new impressive features, and it was great to learn more about these tools and see live examples. Harley is looking forward to testing these new features to support our clients’ growth at Fanatic.

I recently went to Compiègne, France, to commentate on a tournament for the video game Trackmania. The event was a huge success, with 32 players competing over the course of two days for the title of Champion. I was part of the English-language broadcast, working alongside the French production team to put on a great show.

The weather was incredible and the city itself was lovely. My French was a little rusty (having not studied it since I was 14) so I stumbled through most interactions with a handy phrase, “Tres Bien!” Luckily, most things were in fact tres bien.