How to turn a 29 storey building in to a TV screen

So last night we caught a glimpse of exactly how the Olympics will be spectacularly changing the architecture of London with its events projections.

Last night the Millbank Tower was dramatically transformed in to a 118m high tv screen courteous of Nokia and Deadmau5. Ben Fender has once again used 4D technology to radically transform this building for 45 minutes as DJ Deadmau5 played an amazing set on the streets of the South Bank.

Rumours have it, that many iconic buildings along the river will have the same treatment throughout the Olympics. If so, then this will truly make the river a spectacular place to be!

You can see more by clicking here.

The Grey pound: How are you engaging them?

'The only growth market left in Britain is the mature market'.

The British Library Insider Trends highlighted this in their latest trend session as the one to watch out for. Now this trend has been talked about for the past decade but we are starting to really see the strength in this market place. With figures such as 'by 2020 the over 50's will form the majority of Britain's population' and 'the number of under 50's will remain or even fall whilst the over 50's will increase by 5 million' it's easy to see why.

As more and more brands go after the shrinking market of young consumers, the real opportunity lies with the older generation by creating products and services that are tailored to suit them. With an average spend of £202 each week (22% higher than 30-49 year olds) this market section is responbile for 45% of the UK's total consumer spending.

With brands such as M&S, John Lewis, Jacques Vert, N Brown, Bupa and even Apple all benefiting from this growth market, it's clear the opportunity is there but tapping in to this market place is no easy task. These consumers are astute and diverse with surprisingly different wants and needs. One size does not fit all.

As designers, marketers and brand leaders, knowledge is key. As part of our role and working process, this is where ethnographics, communities and interaction plays a massive role to help us understand different market sections.

Although a shift to a younger consumer was essential for the redesign of Clintons, the Grey Pound still represents a massive part of their customer base. By engaging with these customers to understand what was important to them, watching how they shop and identifying the growth categories we were able to create a space that was inclusive to all whilst ensuring the Grey Pound customers weren't alienated.

This approach to design has helped the new stores raise sales by up to 20.5% with some categories seeing increases of up to 35%.

This way of working has helped many of our clients connect with their customers on a personal level which in turn is helping to build their brand and helping them continue to grow, even in hard times. We are pleased this researched approach to design is proven and only helps back what we are doing as designers.

If you have a new challenge to understand your customers better, or even how to engage the Grey Pound consumer, then let's talk and see if we can help.

Olive Oil & Oregano

After several well-earned pints of ale in Tap East on Friday 14^th October to celebrate its official opening the TYC gang headed to the lower ground floor food court to sample some Mediterranean delights and check on progress four weeks after the Westfield opening.

Olive Oil and Oregano had had a busy month and were keen to pay thanks by feeding their hungry troops! The authentic fresh smell of charcoal grilled Mediterranean meat reminded me of a hot summer holiday in Greece, it was time to tuck in…

All the food is sourced directly from Greece and cooked over a large charcoal grill for a full flavoursome meal with authentic Mediterranean theatre. The honesty of the brand is reflected through the warm oak counter with large branded logos. Hanging herbs, garlic and olive trees show the brands fresh values, while black tiles contrast against the yellow branding to create a sophisticated design.

Olive Oil and Oregano aim to create a fresh approach to Mediterranean food in an attempt to change the British publics perception of Greek fast food. After a full mixed grill including tzatziki and grilled peppers, and getting stick from the guys for not being able to hide my Derbyshire accent when pronouncing the word gyro! (‘yeer-ros’ not ‘ji-roes!’) I felt like a changed man!

 

Jake Evans - Designer

Summer day out!

So after a busy and exciting few months at The Yard working on 6 brilliant units in Westfield Stratford City we rewarded ourselves with a, slightly late, summer day out!

After a full English on Northcote Road everyone suited up F1 style and took to the race track at Surbiton Raceway for a bit of healthy team competition. Not naming any names but at one point a certain racer (J.E) tried to run a fellow racer off the track (E.D)...luckily the driver in question managed to recover the situation with some excellent maneuvers. Various other incidents occurred with Tesh running head first into the wall of tyres, Caz spinning out several times, and Steve overtaking, at lot.

No need to mention who won, it's not about the winning it's about the taking part..

After heading back to the office in Clapham we toasted the race with a glass of Courvoisier (as you do), put on our glad rags and headed to town. Taking a stroll from Waterloo we stopped for a moment to take in David Chipperfields 'Two Lines' sculpture before popping to the The Trafalgar roof garden as the sun set across town.

This was followed by a bite to eat in Leon before heading to Barrio Central for happy hour and plenty more toasting. The 'DJ' was hit and miss but by that point we didn't seem to mind, one of the team even 'attempted' the moon walk much to the dismay of the surrounding party goers.

I'll leave it there before I say too much but all in all it was a great day, well deserved and now we're on the hunt for our next monster shopping centre! Milan... Sao Paulo...who knows?!

Anon
Designer

Quite possibly the best signage ever?

We stumbled upon this fascia sign the other day whilst planning a new 'What's New tour'. Click to play and watch what we think is quite possibly the best signage we've ever seen. It seems to be an LCD screen behind the fret-cut fascia panel and the electronics on the screen have been programmed to the exact size of the letters! Brilliant.

Posh Nosh

 The Great Eastern Market in Stratford has a great atmosphere with it's quirky mix of more independent style food outlets that all have their own unique style and food offer. The layout of the market encourages customers to weave in and out of the small units and browse away to their hearts content.

Always with a steady flow of customers is Noshers, a smoked salmon and champagne bar with a great traditional feel. A family business running for over 40 years, it's first store is based in Edgware but coming to Stratford it has taken on a whole new look... thanks to the team of course..!

 

Each of the projects we took on at Stratford developed a different style and this is no exception. It uses props like the Fisherman lights by TAF, minnow buckets and crayfish cages in a subtle way to promote the origin of the food. Overall it feels honest, fresh and welcoming.

It must say something about it the fact that on the opening day the big bosses of Westfield spent a good time perched on the Tractor stools celebrating by sampling the delicious fish..whilst we sipped on a well deserved glass of champers! Great day!

Emily De La Haye
Designer

Evening Standard review Rhythm Kitchen

 

Five lucky Londoners are enjoying five fantastic experiences at the new Westfield Stratford City in East London. Our creative couple Ruth and Liam, blog about their amazing day out...

Here is the section about Rhythm Kitchen....

'Moving upstairs to the Café Court we choose Rhythm Kitchen for dinner as there's a great vibe and something smells real good. There's a music area where we press a button and hear a Caribbean tune - and then press again and it's someone laughing. Weird but fun. The Jerk chicken is amazing - Delroy, a local guy who owns the place tells us he's spent seven months perfecting the sauce. It's definitely paid off.
There are a lot of family recipes in the dishes and it's nice to find personal touches that reflect his Caribbean and east London background. It's quite inspirational to hear Delroy's story. You always find you go back to restaurants that serve good food, but perhaps it's just as important for the restaurant to be a fun, welcoming and a happy space, which this is. Rhythm Kitchen has both the good vibes and great food.'

To read more click here