The report pointed out that whilst some big hitters are marketing themselves very well and have created strong brands, they don’t actually deliver on assets - they are basically overselling themselves. Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol fell into this category.

Conversely, some lesser known regional cities are “hidden gems” - quieter brands and lower profiles, but really delivering the goods as far as assets go - things like history, culture, food/drink, tourist attractions etc.

Implicitly, the conclusion would be that the ideal city would balance a strong brand with the ability to deliver on its promises. The essential thing we need to grasp as Preston finds itself as a city, is that designers and creatives are essential to both sides of this process. Design isn’t just about communicating clever marketing concepts and making the leaflets look good. In order to properly unlock the potential that design thinking has to make a difference, it needs to be understood and incorporated in its widest sense - architecture, service design, wayfaring, place making, community cohesion, crime reduction…

See the Saffron report here: http://www.saffron-consultants.com/News.aspx

Sent to me by one of our programmers this evening (seen on ffffound.com), after the event (which he had no knowledge of, as he’s been in Italy) but I found rather amusing and apt!

I’ll have a think and see if I can whiz across a question or two beforehand.

If you’re wondering whether to go or not, I’d like to take this opportunity to say GO! The speakers are out there making a genuine difference and are engaged in exploring the true potential (and need) of creative intervention. Designing a genuine difference. Go, for me….

and have a great night everyone : )

thomas.matthews is a communication design agency with a diverse team delivering creative, innovative and sustainable solutions across a spectrum of areas.

Our design approach creates solutions that tackle issues in interesting and surprising ways and which demonstrate respect and understanding of the subject and its audience. We have a commitment to high quality
design built on humour, fresh ways to communicate, sustainable and innovative use of materials and production processes, and actively engaging clients and audience.

thomas.matthews specialise in:
• conceptual and creative thinking
• consultation and interaction
• design for exhibitions
• design for media including print and digital
• brand design and development
• wayfinding and signage strategies

thomas.matthews runs a carbon neutral studio, aiming to become ‘carbon positive’ by developing active relationships with our identified ‘sphere of influence’, the clients and suppliers.

Over the past ten years we have developed an extensive knowledge in sustainable practice, delivering a vast range of projects from printed leaflets through to large scale
exhibitions and international identities.
Each project is developed to have minimal environmental impact at each stage of the process with maximum communicative impact.

thomas.matthews are recognised as one of the leading sustainable creative design studios in the UK.

Read more about their work at thomas.matthews.com

Here are my efforts:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25410765@N06/

From the Northern Lights Business Support team in UCLan, we would like to congratulate grouphub on a very successful event last night.

A great blend and mix on the panel and an excellent turnout.

Northern Lights are about to launch awards of their own very soon, so it was great to get a better insight into how the creative industries view them.

Well done.