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    Logo design and brand development

    Typeface is a brand-led creative agency. This means that the approach at Typeface aims to keep focus on the overall feel, message and tone of the client offering. Each piece of creative, whether it’s a logo, website or a brochure should feel on brand.

    Typeface will guide you through a creative process that combines classic techniques with digital perfection. Typeface involves clients in the creative process because it doesn’t have to be dressed up, it’s already exciting.

    Find out more

    Archive for the ‘In the Studio’ Category

    Business photography services from Typeface

    Posted by typeface

    Introducing Photography for
    Businesses from Typeface

    A strong brand is more than a logo. Its how a company presents itself at every touchpoint. From first click to first meeting, visual consistency shapes perception. Typeface has always focused on building brands with clarity and intent. Strategy, identity, graphic design and web development all work together to create a cohesive, enduring presence, and now photography joins as a natural extension to Typeface’ service.

    Photography for businesses is now part of the Typeface offering. The goal is simple; to help companies move from brand strategy to launch with imagery that reflects who they are and how they operate.

    No stock placeholders. No disconnected visuals. No compromise on quality. Just aligned, professional photography built around your brand.

    Why photography matters

    Most companies invest time and budget into branding and web design. Photography becomes an afterthought. Outdated headshots. Inconsistent lighting. Casual phone images. Generic stock photography that could belong to anyone, the result is a disconnect. It doesn’t highlight your employees and it doesn’t break through the noise of similar looking, equally presented companies.

    When the visual language of your company website does not match the brand identity, credibility suffers. Potential clients notice when something feels off. They may not be able to name it, but they feel it.

    Professional business photography does more than make a website look good. It builds trust. It communicates professionalism. It reinforces positioning and it shows the people behind the brand.

    In a digital-first world, imagery often forms the first impression. Strong photography ensures that impression reflects the true quality of the business.

    Professional headshots for PR Agency One

    Photography built around your brand

    Typeface approaches photography the same way it approaches branding and web development.

    Every shoot is informed by:

    • The companies brand identity
    • Target audience
    • Website structure and layout
    • Marketing objectives
    • Desired perception
    • Real-world use

    Whether your brand aims to feel premium, approachable, corporate, creative or technical, photography is planned accordingly. The outcome is cohesive. Photography that feels intentional; because it is.

    Candid photography for PR Agency One

    Corporate and Business Photography

    Corporate photography goes beyond staged boardroom shots. It captures how a business operates, collaborates and delivers value.

    This can include:

    • Team collaboration in real working environments
    • Leadership portraits in context
    • Workplace atmosphere
    • Behind-the-scenes processes
    • Brand storytelling imagery for marketing

    For service-based businesses, professional photography adds depth to messaging. It shows expertise in action. It humanises the brand. It helps potential clients imagine working with the team.

    For startups and growing companies, it establishes credibility early. Professional imagery signals seriousness and investment in quality.

    For established organisations, refreshed photography ensures the brand remains current and aligned with its evolving identity.

    Every image has a purpose. Hero banners, case studies, team pages, social content and proposals all benefit from having tailored visuals instead of generic placeholders.

    Website Photography for Vistar Learning

    Professional headshots

    Headshots are often the most visible form of business photography. They appear on websites, LinkedIn profiles, press releases and internal communications.

    Inconsistent headshots weaken brand presentation. Different backgrounds, lighting styles and framing can make a team look fragmented. Typeface provides consistent, on-brand headshots that present a unified image across the company.

    Options include:

    • Executive portraits
    • Full team sessions
    • Individual profile images
    • Environmental headshots within the workplace
    • Studio-style portraits for a clean, minimal look

    The aim is to capture personality while maintaining professionalism. People want to see who they are working with. Strong headshots create approachability without sacrificing authority.

    Consistency builds trust. When every team member is presented in the same visual style, the brand feels organised and established.

    Professional headshots for Pr Agency One

    Photography designed for the web

    Because Typeface develops websites, photography is planned with digital performance in mind.

    Images are not simply delivered and left to fit wherever possible. They are considered in relation to layout, user experience and responsive design.

    This includes:

    • Hero images designed for impact above the fold
    • Banner imagery that aligns with typography and colour systems
    • Cropping and composition suited to multiple screen sizes
    • Visual hierarchy that guides attention

    Photography becomes part of the design system rather than a separate asset.

    For businesses launching a new website, this integration saves time and reduces compromise. Instead of retrofitting stock imagery into a finished layout, the imagery supports the structure from the beginning.

    The result is a website that feels complete and intentional.

    Website Photography for Vistar Learning

    A complete creative offering

    Many businesses work with separate providers for branding, web development and photography. Each supplier may deliver quality work, but alignment can suffer; Typeface offers a streamlined approach.

    Brand identity is developed with clear visual direction. The website is built to reflect that identity. Photography is then created to strengthen and complete the brand presence.

    This approach offers several advantages:

    • Consistency across all touchpoints
    • Clear creative direction from start to finish
    • Efficient communication and decision-making
    • A cohesive brand experience for clients

    Instead of coordinating multiple vendors, businesses can rely on a single creative partner that understands the full picture.

    From concept to launch, your brand remains aligned.

    The complete Brand experience

    Typeface has always focused on building brands with intention. Photography completes that process. From strategy to identity to website, businesses can now present themselves with clarity at every level. No gaps. No visual inconsistencies. No reliance on stock imagery that doesn’t reflect reality. Just cohesive branding supported by professional, purpose-built imagery.

    For businesses ready to elevate their positioning, business photography by Typeface is now available. Contact Typeface today.

    Branding and website development for Vintners Lanes

    Posted by typeface

    As Typeface settles in to its 8th year I’ve found that many of the principles I started with have stuck. Some I still have to fight for and others, they just fit and a project just works. Vintners Lanes was one of those projects where the creative, the marketing and the team behind the venue all came together to make something really special.

    I’ve worked with some great hospitality clients over the last 8 years. From website design, development and ongoing support for the likes of The Fighting Cocks, OLR Cafe and Bacchus in Kingston to branding and brand development for Tap Select, the Hangar and Urbanite Coffee. It’s been great to see clients grow and to join them on their journeys.

    Recently Typeface finished a branding and website development project for Vintners Lanes, a boutique bowling alley with a very special creative vision in Greenwich, London.

    Vintners Lanes

    Starting with a blank slate is every graphic designers dream with a project like this. The team at Vintners built their 7-lane boutique bowling alley and bar from scratch and they had a vision for the end product. The brief? A cosy snapshot of Victoriana in an inspired space with a modern twist, this is classy stuff and Typeface was happy to oblige.

    The logo

    It was clear from the offset that the logo itself had to be hand drawn. While there are some great fonts out there that replicate the look and feel of modern Victorian design, I wanted this to feel like the evolution of an original handmade logo. Crisp and modern but with obvious heritage. To get to that point, you’re going to need to start with a hand drawn logo.

    A huge inspiration for me as a graphic designer comes from hand drawn lettering. Subtle connectivity between the letters, a little flourish here, a deliberate mistake there. It all fits together to create something thats unmistakably human-made.

    I worked in an off-license back in the late 90s while I was in college and one of the regulars was a classic sign writer. He’d spend 4 months of the year producing beautifully painted lettering for canal boats and the rest of the year day drinking. Probably not something to aim for but to me, he was a wizard.

    With the Vintners lanes brand I took inspiration from canal boats, signwriting and old pre-billboard advertisements. That beautiful hand painted lettering that used to adorn the sides of corner shops, cheeky cigar advertisements. Throw in some Americana for good measure and you have a modern brand that screams heritage. A pastiche of Victorian style for the modern audience.

    An online presence to match

    Of course, Typeface doesn’t just produce branding for the physical space. Translating a physical brand in to the online space is somewhat of a speciality here and so Vintners Lanes benefits from a bespoke design and custom WordPress build. The Vintners Lanes website is easy to use, informative and helps to reinforce the brand outside its physical space. A bespoke WordPress build that showcases the Lanes’ extensive food and drinks menus, with an upcoming events system and targeted booking pages for private hire and parties. Visit the Vintners Lanes website here.

    Award-winning design

    Looking the part has been Typeface’s mantra since day one, so it’s no surprise that shortly after launching to an excited public response, Vintners Lanes went on to win the “Best in the World” award at the 40th Annual Bowling Centre Architecture and Design Awards. Read more about that on Time Out.

    Working alongside hospitality experts and Typeface client IH Solutions, we’ve created menus, staff uniforms, print ads, screens and signage for Vintners Lanes. Each piece of creative has built on the Lanes brand, creating a brand language that screams heritage.

    Complete brand and digital design for the hospitality sector, from menus to management systems. Typeface partners with clients like IH Solutions to deliver cohesive, end-to-end experiences.

    Whether you’re launching a new venue or elevating an established brand, Typeface can design every touchpoint to reflect your identity and meet the demands of the modern hospitality landscape. From strategic branding and websites to point-of-sale design and operational tools, our collaborative work with partners like IH Solutions means everything works, and looks, as it should. Ready to create something your customers will remember? Contact Typeface today.

    Design influences, LS Lowry

    Posted by admin

    I had my professional headshots taken by Chris Ball. He’s a fantastic portrait and advertising photographer with a very distinct style; he balances technical quality with the artistic knowledge it takes to get the best out of his client.

    Being a great photographer isn’t about having all the best kit or knowing how to use every feature on the camera. On the other extreme it’s not about having an encyclopaedic knowledge of composition or a library of Ansel Adams landscapes. It’s about knowing what needs to be communicated and understanding the process needed to achieve that result. Great photographers craft images by manipulating their environment and showing the audience what they see.

    Chris has produced beautifully-lit, technically brilliant automotive work for the likes of Mercedes Benz and shot numerous commercial lifestyle and advertising campaigns for the likes of Network Rail and Petronas. You should definitely check his work out.

    So, why is a graphic designer talking about headshots in an article about a painter?

    Because I chose Chris for two reasons:

    One, I understand how he works and the care he puts in to his work. He brings his canvas with him and plans his tools for each shoot.

    Two, I wanted a particular style of image.

    I wrote about the differences between artists, stylists and designers from a design perspective in the ‘What’s your aesthetic‘ post. I’ve also written about the creatives who influenced me over the years, including Tracey Emin, Andy Warhol, The Designer’s Republic. And at some point I’ll finish that article about my biggest influence, Paul Rand.

    But this is about local working class hero, artist Laurence Stephen Lowry.

    Technically, brilliant

    Like Picasso, Lowry was an accomplished artist who later developed his own style. There’s a theme with creative people; they quickly learn the rules, then they spend the rest of their time either trying to bend those rules, or subvert and repurpose them.

    Blurring the lines

    I see Lowry as an illustrator who used urgency and texture in his images. His pencil drawings look quick and rushed, the closer you look at them the more you’re drawn in and the longer you spend with one of his images the more you realise how layered and careful they are. Made up from small flicks and careful strokes that look fast and messy from a distance, yet have too much detail and commitment behind them to be thoughtless.

    Canvas and paint have a very special relationship, Lowry embraced this in his paintings. He knew how his tools worked and he produced simple but effortlessly detailed images with careful, layered pencil and brush strokes using the texture of his canvas and paper to add weight. That connection to his canvas especially comes through when he chooses to use oils, it helps give movement and life to his work.

    Lowry understood his tools and he used them in sympathetic ways.

    His method makes sense if you compare him to painters like Jackson Pollock. Both Lowry and Pollock used knowledge and mastery of paint to add depth, texture and a sense of movement to their work in a way that nobody else could. Like a Pollock, a quick glance at a Lowry and you might think ‘I could do that’. That’s a fair assumption for a lot of people to make, but it comes from a place of seeing the end product and that simplicity coming forward from chaos and complexity. That effortless child-like element to Lowry’s works is not a simple thing to achieve, it takes decades of experience.

    “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” – Pablo Picasso.

    Some of Lowry’s paintings use colour and texture that can’t be replicated on a screen, you have to see Head of a Man in person to appreciate the contrast between the tired reds of the eyes, those rough white highlights, flat skin and that deep blue opulent background.

    It’s also fair to say that you’ll never get the best out of a physical image when viewing it on a screen. Pollock’s work is impossibly complex, layered, huge and intimidating. It should never be judged as a thumbnail on a screen. Lowry is similar. His seascapes will swallow you up, some images are small and humble and invite you to move closer, some are funny, most are honest but they all have to be seen in context to be appreciated.

    A product of his time

    Using bold contrasting colours to pick out features that other portrait painters wouldn’t usually draw attention to. Dark shadows, gaunt faces, tired eyes. The end result could be honest, sometimes grotesque and sometimes difficult to enjoy; but always interesting and often endearing.

    You really have to see his work in context. While there are many private collections, Lowry created some 1,000 paintings and 8,000 drawings so you shouldn’t have to go far to see a Lowry for yourself. The Tate, London has 23 Lowry drawings and paintings in their collection, you can view them by appointment here.

    The very best way to experience his work is by visiting the largest collection of LS Lowry works, owned by Salford City Council.

    Previously it was housed at Salford Museum & Art Gallery, but now The Lowry collection lives in a custom built art gallery and theatre; The Lowry in Salford. The Lowry is home to a collection of over 400 paintings and drawings, as well as video, photos and very knowledgeable, friendly staff.

    A visit to the Lowry is always recommended if you’re in Manchester. If you are in the area then speak to Typeface, I’ll be more than happy to take you around the gallery and share my own experiences of LS Lowry and his work.

    If you’d like to support the Lowry centre by keeping our cultural heritage alive and accessible for the next generation of creatives to enjoy and be inspired by, then you should check out the pieces of work available via the adopt a Lowry programme.

    Typeface and Face Equality

    Posted by admin

    I wrote a manifesto of sorts when I was setting up Typeface. It helped me to get my thoughts down and clarify my goals for the business. It’s important to make notes, it’s easy to be idealistic when you’re working things out but much less so five years on. It’s also easy to be idealistic when you’re working for somebody else, and they’re dealing with payroll each month.

    One of those early goals was to nurture a significant percentage of charity based clients. These could be NGOs, registered charities, or community projects.

    I’ve been lucky to work with some great charities over the past five years; including Face Equality International, the Brooke, Freedom From Torture and CIMSPA.

    Because work has been consistent and happy clients retained, Typeface can offer a reduced rate for great causes.

    As a client, when you choose to work with Typeface you allow me to offer the same level of support, structure, care and attention to detail a corporate client would expect, that charitable causes otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

    House charity

    Now that Typeface is able to support a house charity, I’m proud to welcome Face Equality International as the first. Working with charitable organisations like FEI has always been a goal, and I’m pleased that Typeface can continue to support FEI without diverting budget away from important projects and outreach.

    Face Equality and Typeface

    FEI was formed in 2018 by Dr James Partridge OBE. The Alliance was formed to mobilise the many groups and organisations, big and small, national and international, which support and represent people with facial differences and disfigurements, and to to create that critical mass and solidarity needed to gain global attention for the campaign for face equality. 

    Designed and built by Typeface in 2021, the FEI website is a hub of information, content, news and resources.

    You can visit Face Equality International, show your support by signing the pledge, check out the extensive education hub or donate here.

    Building businesses

    Posted by admin

    I think I’ve worked with Stuart for the best part of a decade now.

    I gave his website a bit of a tidy-up just after setting up Typeface and he asked why he wasn’t a case study. Sorry Stu, I did talk about the work here though.

    I’d originally built his website while employed at my previous studio so although I was proud of the work; it didn’t feel like it was Typeface’ work to show.

    Over the last month I’ve been working with Stu on the design and build for his new project Endurance Mind Coaching, a specialist performance psychology consultancy that develops athlete mental fitness for athletes of all levels. Now we have some Typeface work to share.

    I have always tried to continue to support clients from my previous agency, It’s not the quickest way of building a business being honest but I enjoy the client journey. I appreciate being involved in the various growth stages of business and it has lead to some rewarding relationships.

    Creative Business

    When a company or business needs to recalibrate and re-communicate they come to the graphic designer, so that we can apply our creative frameworks and processes. Stu applies Sports Psychology methods to improve mindset and focus, so when a person needs to recalibrate or rediscover they come to Stu.

    He applies his frameworks to individuals and teams training for a sporting goal, as well as institutions like Asics, Team GB and Typeface client the Milestone Pursuit. What I really enjoy is that he also takes these frameworks and applies them to business.

    People are naturally creative and we all use that creative focus differently. Businesses are creative endeavours, so it’s no surprise that successful businesses are constantly readjusting and looking for creative ways of engagement via their audience and their employees.

    Building Success

    Instead of waiting for the ideal client to come through the door or chasing prospects, Typeface as a business relies on growing Typeface clients by elevating them to the level of the ideal client. Working with a good graphic designer will never be a one-off transaction, if a client is successful then there will be more to do in the future. Winning new business, landing a big web project or a large rebrand is always great; but nurturing and creating a brand is its own thing and from a creative’s perspective, the longer that client relationship continues the more rewarding it can become. From a business perspective, it just makes sense.

    Visit Endurance Mind Coaching

    Related article: An Argument for Online Staging

    Which System to use?

    Posted by admin

    This article is currently undergoing editing. This article talks about the four main systems and frameworks that Typeface uses to create client websites and why.

    Jump to:

    Typeface uses four main frameworks to deploy client websites; WordPress, Hubspot, WordPress & WooCommerce and Shopify. Each system has its pros and cons, which is something Typeface weighs up when suggesting technologies to clients.

    From a production perspective, the wireframe, design and front end build stages of a project stay the same regardless of CMS. Once we have a working HTML version of the design, files are split up and built in to a template for use with the client’s CMS of choice and any dynamic functionality is added.

    The basic coniderations:

    • How hands on does the client want to be?
    • How much time does the client have to invest?
    • Does the client work with a third party for content creation, social or SEO?
    • Are we creating an online shop or a digital storefront? i.e. does the website need to integrate with a physical space and track physical stock?
    • Bricks and mortar stores looking to move online have their own hurdles and challenges: Does the client have existing picking and packing systems to integrate? Do we need to limit target areas for online search because of existing delivery networks? Are your products sanctioned or restricted in certain countries, do any of your products violate the Ts and Cs of your platform of choice or payment gateway?

    The four main systems

    WordPress

    The Grandaddy of blogging systems, WordPress is one of the most powerful and easy to use CMS available. The most versatile off-the-shelf content management system and one of the most developer friendly, it has a passionate community driving development and it’s the platform that I’ve chosen to build the Typeface website on.

    WordPress is an example of how open source communities can create powerful easy to use tools that adapt with their user base. WordPress powers 43% of the internet including corporations and companies such as Disney, Sony, Vogue, Rolling stone, UNICEF and literally thousands more enterprise level websites. I’ve worked on projects in the past with clients who were adamant that they weren’t going to use WordPress because they wanted something completely bespoke. Using this system doesn’t mean you can’t have a bespoke website, it means you’re not spending thousands reinventing the wheel on a CMS that’s going to do less, will need more maintenance, will be more expensive to expand and will tie you in to a developer. For 90% of client projects, WordPress is an ideal framework to build on.

    I’ve been developing with WordPress for over a decade now at various studios because the number of features out of the box, scalability and sheer value that we could offer to clients was hard to ignore.

    Pros

    • WordPress websites can be self hosted, allowing the client to retain control of their data.
    • With such a huge community of developers and supporters, the platform is kept up-to-date and secure.
    • WordPress is PHP based which means the client isn’t tied in to one developer.
    • A simple template structure means that new page designs and styles can easily be added in to any well-built theme.
    • Scalability. A simple, standardised database structure means that entirely new website templates and designs can be built using existing content and new functions can be added by simply building a new theme, this is hugely beneficial for companies with large amounts of legacy content who need to upgrade their website and for companies going through rebrands who need to freshen up their look. It means that the current website can still be used and updated while the design and development phases of a project take place.

    Cons

    • WordPress works best with a supportive developer. Security updates and core updates are as simple as pressing a button, sometimes these things can be overlooked or ignored.
    • The ability for clients to add in plugins for increased functionality can be too tempting for some. When possible Typeface will build extra functionality in to the website theme itself, this keeps things secure and fast.
    • WordPress can feel daunting at first. Clients usually only interact with posts and pages so there’s an argument for locking down installs and restricting access to areas of the back end, but we can do this using user profile levels. It’s always good for the client to have at least one account with full administrator access allowing them to add new users in to the system and so this is what Typeface provides by default.

    Hubspot

    First and foremost Hubspot is a CRM tool. It’s built around a set of powerful automation features and analytics tools and offers out of the box functions such as live web chat, email automation, user persona profiling, download management, form tracking and meeting scheduling. The list of features is already exhaustive and it continues to grow as Hubspot refine their systems.

    If you have a dedicated marketing team or you work with a PR Agency or content creation company, then Hubspot should be a serious consideration for your business.

    Hubspot treats landing pages, website pages and blogs as their own marketing areas with their own sets of tools and analytics. Websites are built with stackable, modular sections in mind. This isn’t as limiting as it sounds; most websites will contain anything from 12-18 individual layout sections, most of which will be combined to create enjoyable, engaging experiences. A well-built Hubspot theme can allow clients to quickly build and assemble pages by dragging and dropping components. It’s a great system to use if your goal is to measure user statistics and interactions and tweak content and calls to action to fine-tune your engagement and conversions.

    Pros

    • Hubspot is the most complete CRM tool on the market.
    • Content focused, making it a great tool for content teams to collaborate with.
    • In-depth tracking and analytics for each website page, blog and landing page.
    • Easy to create user groups and delegate notifications and access to sales, marketing and website teams.
    • Suite of marketing and remarking tools, including email automation, live chat, mailing lists and document sharing.
    • Ability to take payments.
    • Ability to create separate landing pages for marketing campaigns.

    Cons

    • Things can get expensive the more features you need.
    • Website files and data are stored on Hubspot’s servers.
    • Hubspot uses a proprietary templating langage called Hubl. Although based on Java, this does limit the number of Hubspot developers.

    Ecommerce

    WooCommerce and Shopify are two of the most popular eCommerce platforms. WooCommerce is the best solution if you want to integrate a shopping cart and products system directly in to your website. If you’re more interested in a focused eCommerce experience, have a large number of products or need something to integrate with your POS and stock system; Shopify is the answer.

    WooCommerce

    Because its so versatile there are various cost effective ways of building an online store using WordPress. We could create a custom post type and add in products, integrating a Stripe checkout directly, or adding in PayPal buttons. However, if you’re running a WordPress website and you are looking to set up an online store then WooCommerce should be your first consideration.

    One of the benefits of using a system like WooCommerce on a self hosted WordPress website is the vast assortment of payment gateways that can be integrated. Shopify has restrictions on the types of products that can be sold using their integrated checkout and while many payment gateways boast Shopify integration, some systems can be incomplete or rely on extra developer input to properly install. The costs of subscribing to a third party payment gateway can often offset profits for low margin products, which is why considering the costs of your payment system and the way it integrates with your platform early on is a good idea.

    While it lacks some of the stock management and POS options that Shopify has, WooCommerce benefits from integrating directly with WordPress and its theme/templating system. This gives the developer much more control over how and where the shop and products can be integrated in to a bespoke website design.

    Overloading a website with plugins is never recommended. That said WooCommerce is supported by a variety of extensions that can add flexibility and features if needed. Another benefit of running a WooCommerce store is easy integration with well-known WordPress SEO and optimisation plugins like Yoast.

    Shopify

    Shopify works best as a stand alone eCommerce solution.

    Can I run a full website via Shopify?

    Yes but it’s not something Typeface would recommend. Shopify excels in simplifying stock management, POS integration and product management with physical products, physical storage and the online space. It is not a publishing tool and as a full website CMS it falls short; but that isn’t the space that Shopify occupies. Shopify works best alongside a well built, well optimised website and offers a lot of tools as standard that would otherwise be costly or time consuming to implement.

    Running Shopify via a subdomain

    Maybe you already have a website and you’re weighing up the benefits of setting up a separate online store using Shopify’s system. Setting your shop up using a subdomain is a viable option which allows you to use the Shopify systems without sacrificing creativity when it comes to the look and feel of your main website.

    From a user perspective shop.websitename.com keeps things on brand and as expected, however optimising for a subdomain will have less impact on the main website’s URL as it may be considered a separate website. Its something to think about if SEO is a consideration, especially if you’re focusing on the main branded URL in your Optimisation and Search campaigns. Because profit margins from online sales rely on scale, SEO is an important factor in whether an online store succeeds or fails. On projects where SEO is important from day one, Typeface works with Manchester based SEO expert Matt Davies so that clients can be sure any Search considerations will be baked in to development from day one, giving fresh websites a much needed jumpstart

    The pitfalls of selling via a walled garden

    Like Hubspot, Shopify offer a walled garden approach. This comes with it’s own set of pros and cons. In Hubspot’s case, all that user data is sat on their servers; the pro being that they handle everything GDPR related. In Shopify’s case, you have an easy to use, easy to integrate storefront but the products that they allow you to sell using their payment gateways are tied in to their Ts and Cs, which are country specific.

    Tempting plug-ins and add-ons

    Like WooCommerce, Shopify offers paid and free plugins to increase functionality. Many of these plugins and features come with $2-4 per month subscriptions which can easily stack up, eating in to profits. Sometimes you might want to add what would otherwise feel like a standard shopping cart feature or something that would be two-three lines of PHP for a WooComerce website only to find it as a paid plugin with a subscription. It is important to remember that Shopify has two client bases; plugin developers and store owners so the subscription model is much more prevalent with Shopify than with a WordPress system. This translates to ease-of-use by scarifying a granular level of customisation, making Shopify a powerful tool for the client but less so for the developer.

    Year five

    Posted by admin

    I have a draft post from this time last year, which I didn’t have time to finish. Truth be told; I started writing this one in December and its now February. I’ve set this post live, so I can work on it over the next couple of weeks. There’s lots of new work to talk through so check back as new case studies and updates are posted.

    How are we celebrating year five?

    First of all, a new website. There are a few elements hidden in the CSS for tweaking later. Like all good websites, the Typeface website is always in a state of growth. This visual and structural refresh allows me to put client work front and centre, and like a good spring clean it lays the groundwork for focus and fresh thinking.

    Bonafide

    Now in its 5th year, the Typeface – sorry Typeface® – logo is celebrating by sporting a shiny new registered trademark. It’s a process I’ve taken clients through in the past and while it can take a few months for a mark to be approved, it’s not a very complex process. Contact Typeface if you need help registering your brand.

    New Clients

    This year, Typeface has been lucky to work with several new clients on some great creative projects, including:

    There’s lots of new work to talk through so check back as new case studies and updates are added throughout February.

    Face Equality International celebrate FEI Week with a new website

    Posted by admin

    Over the last couple of months Typeface has been working with Face Equality International, an alliance of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), charities and support groups which are working at national, regional or international levels to promote the campaign for ‘face equality’.

    International Face Equality Week

    The new FEI website has been launched to coincide with International Face Equality Week. The event runs from the 17th until the 24th of May, where the facial difference community will come together to run a series of activities focused on bringing greater awareness and understanding to the cause.

    The main goal of the FEI website is to bring together Information, educational materials and knowledge from FEI’s extensive network of partners and NGOs. The new website takes articles, downloads and video from across the Alliance and presents them in one, easy to use Resource Hub. Admins can upload and link to external resources, which are automatically categorised on the Resource Hub. To allow users to filter through relevant resources, a simple checkbox system was created; which allows admins to categorise resources by type, audience, topic and language.

    The Face Equality International website also features a member area which works in a similar way to the Resource Hub, allowing the FEI Alliance to share resources between its members.

    The FEI website is designed to be clean, easy to understand and enjoyable to use. It showcases the people behind the campaign for Face Equality and brings together stories, information and tools from across the charities extensive network of campaigners, advocates and supporters.

    FEI Week Instagram Filter

    Show your support on social.

    As well as a shiny new website, Typeface produced a 3D Instagram Filter so people can show their support and share their stories on social media.

    Get involved in IFEW 2021

    IFEW 2021 kicks off with a series of informal discussions on Facebook Live. Each session will be hosted on FEI’s Facebook page, apart from Monday 24th, which will be on Instagram.

    Tuesday 18th May: “Representation beyond the external” 14:00 BST/UTC +1, 9:00 EDT/UTC -4, 15:00 CEST/UTC +2

    Wednesday 19th May: “Representation in books” 18:00 BST/UTC +1, 13:00 EDT/UTC -4, 19:00 CEST/UTC +2

    Thursday 20th May: “Sharing your story to bring about change” 18:30 BST/UTC +1, 13:30 EDT/UTC -4, 19:30 CEST/UTC +2

    Saturday 22nd May: “Reflections on the May campaign from Moebius Syndrome Foundation” 17:00 BST/UTC +1, 12:00 EDT/UTC -4, 18:00 CEST/UTC +2

    Sunday 23rd May: “Face Equality in School” 12:00 BST/UTC +1, 7:00 EDT/UTC -4, 13:00 CEST/UTC +2

    Monday 24th May: “IG Live Open Mic – Come and talk to us about Face Equality” 18:00 BST/UTC +1, 13:00 EDT/UTC -4, 19:00 CEST/UTC +2

    From Sketchbook to Brand

    Posted by admin

    Typeface has been working with restaurant upstart Billy’s Burgers and Shakes since February. With a diner in Manchester and a larger restaurant opening in Bradford, there’s been lots of room for creative projects which have come together to create a solid, fun brand.

    The new retro

    Fashion moves in circles, so instead of looking directly to the 50s/60s for influence; Typeface has taken its inspiration from the 90s interpretation of 60s retro. After all, we’re as far away from the 90s as the 90s was from the 60s.

    Developing the brand

    Once the flow and shape of the letters was decided, they were redrawn in Illustrator and built in to a coherent icon. Because the logo is such a complex shape, Typeface created four variants ranging in simplicity.

    Beyond the logo

    Typeface created two custom 8x3ft wallpapers to dress a dividing wall in the new Bradford restaurant. The brief was to use modern, recognisable comic book characters, and to create something a little fun.

    To emulate that 90s comic book style, pannels were drawn in pen and ink, scanned in and then vectorised and coloured. Very little work was done to clean up the images themselves to keep the hand drawn look.

    Over the last 6 months, Typeface has created signage, posters, bags, window graphics and wallpapers. If you want to see the progress on the Bradford store, follow Billys Burgers and Shakes on Instagram.

    Ital Logistics Celebrates 20 years with a new website

    Posted by admin

    V6.0

    The new Ital Logistics website is a landmark project for me; while Typeface is about to celebrate its third year in December, the original Ital Logistics website was my first professional project back in 2000. I’ve been designing and developing their web presence ever since.

    Currently in its sixth iteration, ital-logistics.com has always aimed to be as informative as possible. Now the company enters its 20th year with a mature, informed online presence that reflects internal development, roots and confidence.

    The choice to put staff front and centre is something I’ve been eager for, as it adds a level of professionalism and personality which has allowed me to be as minimal and clean as possible with design choices without creating a clinical experience.

    Interesting times

    Over the years as the company has grown, it became more apparent to me that the quality of the company and service had sidestepped and moved past the message and tone projected by the website. In order to realign, we needed to open up Ital Logistics, from the warehouse to the office; and to show as many faces as possible and answer as many questions as we could.

    Having the opportunity to grow as a designer while a company like Ital Logistics grows in both scope and reach is quite unique. We both started at a special time where businesses were still trying to figure out how to use the internet. We’ve tried a lot and I’ve learned a lot with the Ital website, and I see this current version as the next stage in one 20-year-long project.

    A companies biggest asset is its employees and when your company is made up of people with over a decade’s experience working with you, you need to let your clients know who they are. As much as it is a celebration of 20 years in business, this new website is also a celebration of the Ital logistics team.

    Visit ital-logistics.com


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