As you can probably gather from the title of this post it has been a busy few months in the studio and we haven’t stopped since the beginning of the New Year. So given that we’re now well into April means a lot of new clients, plenty of exciting projects and a lot of travelling.
To give you a bit more detail on why you haven’t heard from anyone us for a while here is a round up of where we have been and some of what we’ve been up to.

University of Huddersfield

After a successful pitch to the University of Huddersfield we have been awarded a place as one of 3 suppliers of Graphic Design & Print services. Winning our place on the framework was only the beginning though and in the first few weeks we have so far won 3 out of 3 briefs.
Since the award we have also won and completed 5 projects for various departments within the University.

Stonehenge & Avebury

Our work in the South West continues with the award of our latest contract to develop a new website for Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site. This project is one of more recent awards and kicked off with a visit to Salisbury in March for 3 of the team to talk concepts and deadlines.
With visual concepts and site plans now well under way you can expect to see the site being launched in the coming weeks.

Cornish Mining & South West World Heritage

Tom and the web development guys have been pressing on with the development of their custom widget for Cornish Mining and a range of other South-West World Heritage Sites. This project is fast approaching its launch and we’re looking forward to being able to unveil the finished article which will feature on a number of websites including all of the project partners.

The Courtyard Hereford

The Courtyard are beginning a new and exciting project for their website which are fortunate enough to be developing for them. With the venue being such a diverse and vibrant hive of activity we have started the development journey with two focus groups involving the staff of each department to really get to the heart of what this new online presence needs to deliver. After finishing the second focus group last month its now full steam ahead.
We’ve taken the initial concepts along with all the feedback and comments from the staff and have been developing the look and functions of the new website to really capture what the venue has to offer.

Bransby Horses

Bransby Horses are yet another new client to have joined our ever growing list. This is set to be a big one after commissioning a complete rebrand covering everything from merchandise, newsletters and signage. With the new brand now agreed we are now pressing on with the range of other jobs that need to be done as part of the rollout. One of which is the new visitor centre which opened a couple of weeks ago so if you’re in the area pop along and pay them a visit.
Luckily they’re a little more local being only a few miles down the road.

Sheffield City Council

As the latest organisation to join our growing list of design and print framework agreements we are looking forward to sharing our wealth of public sector experience with their communications team. Once again we are proud to have fought off competition from over 20 other agencies and take our place as an approved supplier of quality graphic design services.

St.Helens First Magazine

Read all about it! We are in the process of designing the first issue of a new look St.Helens resident’s newsletter after a successful pitch at the end of last year. With over 70,000 readers the contract proved popular when it was put out to tender and we had to compete with over 40 other agencies for its award.

These are just a small selection of what we’ve been doing these last few months and we don’t like to go on. So for those clients we’ve missed out don’t worry we’ll be doing another project update in the next couple of weeks to let you know what else we’re keeping busy with.

Tom Clark (left) from Design by Distraction & Jo Small from Optima Training (centre) recieving the Innovation in Business Award at the recent Newark Business Awards 2012

Distraction are delighted to be have contributed to Optima Training‘s success at the recent 2012 Newark Business Awards.

Optima Training won the ‘Innovation through Technology’ category at the awards, held at Kelham Hall on Tuesday 4th December.

The award was received for their ground-breaking online Learning Zone and Virtual Classroom, which Distraction recently developed as part of a major refresh of the website. The Learning Zone provides easy access for language learners to access course materials  including audio & video clips, quizzes, cultural tips and interactive learning experiences.

Distraction look forward to continuing our relationship as a strategic partner with Optima Training and contributing to the continued success of their innovative and award winning  business.

Design by Distraction are now officially a RAR Top 100 agency

Having been a member of the Recommended Agency Register since 2011 we decided for the first time to enter ourselves for the Top 100 Agencies outside of London list this year.

Each year the RAR Top 100 Agencies Outside London raises the profile of some of the best design, digital and marketing companies to be found outside of the M25. The list is made up of companies across the UK that have been highly recommended by their clients for delivering high levels of customer satisfaction and excellent service. As the DRUM explains The Top 100 is all about highlighting the abundance of regional businesses who are growing revenues, handling good business and ultimately stimulating growth in the marketing industries – all essential considerations for clients considering committing their budgets.

As you’ve probably guessed after submitting all of the required information we’re pleased to announce we made it. With the full list published on the DRUM last Friday we debuted at a respectable 89th which we are quite please with given the quality and calibre of some of the other agencies that have made the list.

Having now taken our place as a Top 100 agency our aim for the future is to maintain our respected status and move up the rankings by continuing to work with the clients who have rated us so highly and hopefully offer the same great service to new clients over the next year.

After recently been re-awarded the NHS Lincolnshire design services framework for the next three years, we have successfully secured our first project under the new mini competition. The project will involve the design of a suite of posters for an upcoming CCG conference.

We have also been awarded a coveted place on the marketing and communications framework for NHS City Health Care Partnership in Hull as a prefered supplier for design and print. The tendering procedure saw us compete against a host of other suppliers on quality, service and financial stability. After a detailed and thorough evaluation process, and with impressive scores across the board, we were added to a select list of approved suppliers.

With a successful history of tendering for working with NHS Trusts and organisations, including Lincolnshire, Nottingham City, Leeds, Derbyshire and East Essex, we look forward to providing NHS Hull with the full range of design and print services.

The huge success off the London 2012 Olympics provided a great year for sport not only for Great Britain, but also for Lincolnshire. Thursday 8^th November brought the Distracts team to the 2012 Lincolnshire Sports Awards at the Lincolnshire’s EPIC centre, to celebrate the counties finest athletes and the people who help make sport enjoyable and accessible for all.

After the amazing experience of the London 2012 Olympics, it was great to celebrate the involvement of Lincolnshire people through the event. The sheer dedication of these Lincolnshire born, London 2012 athletes, Torchbearers and Game Makers, was greatly admired.

With London 2012 being such a high profile event, it was also important to reflect on sport throughout Lincolnshire itself. A host of awards were given to honor the dedication and hard work of those who not only compete but also those who work so hard to improve the health and well being of the Lincolnshire Community. To see the winners of the awards see the Lincolnite article by clicking here.

BBC and Olympic Games presenter John Inverdale hosted the Lincolnshire Sports Awards with great compassion and flair. His experience and appreciation for sport provided great support and entertainment. Distracts thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to participate in congratulating the talent of Lincolnshire and are very proud to sponsor and support the event by designing and producing the programme, print materials and sponsoring the Young Disabled Sportperson of the Year.

Design by Distraction would like to congratulate all of the winners, runners-up and nominees of the awards, and also thank the organisers and other supporters of the event for a superb evening.

With the debut of the ‘Traditionally Smoked Fish’ campaign that started in October, the Distracts team has been busy organising, designing and managing exhibitions in both Lincoln & London to support the campaign that aims to raise awareness and appreciation for Traditionally Smoked Fish. Distracts have been working on the campaign with the Grimsby Fish Merchants Association, who have had the combined support of U.K traditional fish smokers in promoting how versatile their quality produce is, as well as educating the public on the health benefits that derive from eating fish, the heritage and its environmentally friendly production.

In creating the design work for the campaign, it was important that the graphic design reflected a new and fresh approach to using such a traditional piece of produce, whilst creating a greater connection with the youth market. With vintage/retro styles being revived and utilised in current designs, it was a great opportunity to put a modern twist on vintage styling within the design work. The result was a youthful, modern approach to a retro style, which celebrates the traditional routes.

It was decided that the best platform to launch the campaign would be a series of exhibitions and events. These events would provide the opportunity for industry experts and traditional fish smokers to meet the general public and trade professionals from the catering, hospitality and restaurant industries. The preparation for these events included the design and production of a configurable exhibition system and giveaway materials including leaflets, recipe cards, promotional bags and branded toothpicks.

An engaging and educational website was also created to support the brand and campaign, that would provide a vital information source to buyers, suppliers and consumers. To view the website and find out more please go to: www.traditionallysmoked.co.uk

The Distracts team enjoyed their busy trip to London, and it was all made better when our senior designer managed to get a photo with Marco Pierre White!

The first exhibition was in London’s Earls Court, the host to ‘The Restaurant Show’. Alongside our full service design solution for the exhibition space, the Distracts team also organised the set-up and installation for the stand, as well as organising cooking demonstrations from two high profile chefs: Valentina Harris & John Quilter. Valentina Harris, an award winning author and TV chef, cooked up a selection of delicious, easy recipes an express how versatile the product is.  John Quilter, an award winning restaurateur and chef, provided simple dishes with a contemporary twist, which created a great interest to the stand.

The Traditionally Smoked Fish Stand at the Celebration of Lincolnshire Food & Farming

Our second exhibition was at the ‘Celebration of Lincolnshire Food and Farming Festival’ in Lincoln Cathedral. The versatile and portable stand system that we created for the Earls Court Launch allowed us to create the same eye catching space within the Cathedral quickly and easily. After the success and popularity of the samples at the Restaurant Show we felt it was important to give visitors the chance to taste the product again. With this in mind local Grimsby smoke house Keith Grahams and Sealord stepped in to provide samples of their traditional smoked haddock. To make the most of the product Sealord were kind enough to lend the services of their New Product Development Manger, Kevin Archer, who treated visitors to a taste of cheesy baked smoked haddock. Industry experts Angela Ashby-King and Steve Norton provided technical expertise and industry knowledge. With over 5000 visitors passing through the cathedral doors over 500 promotional bags were handed out containing recipe cards and information on the heritage and benefits of traditionally smoked fish.

Boyes Newark before the new Invest Newark & Sherwood graphics

Boyes Newark after the new Invest Newark & Sherwood graphics

Design by Distraction are pleased to be playing their part in the development of Invest Newark & Sherwood with these new eye catching window graphics for Newark town centre.

As well as providing an injection of colour and vibrancy these graphics highlight why Newark and Sherwood is an attractive option for trade and investment. The graphics feature a number of messages showcasing the benefits of the area such as the excellent distribution and transport links that serve the region.

First up were trips to Cornwall & Exeter for recent contract awards in the South West to discuss the on-going work with a number of leading tourism and heritage organisations. One of our latest projects will involve the design and construction of a centralising web server, APIs and website widgets to facilitate data sharing across World Heritage Sites and Protected Landscape websites in the region.

The project includes the aggregation of data from the individual sites onto a central server, a REST-based API to allow manipulation and extraction of the data to registered websites, as well as a set of website widgets to make it possible for visitors to easily access details of walk/bike trails, areas of outstanding natural beauty, historical landmarks, and other points of interest – in short, everything a visitor will need to fully appreciate the South West English landscape.

The sites we will be developing for include world heritage sites such as the Jurassic Coast, Cornish Mining, North Devon Biosphere, English Riviera Geopark, as well as the South West Coast Path, 1 South West and Tamar Valley.

We are delighted to be given the chance to work alongside the organisations listed, and look forward to developing and branding this exciting project.

The second trip out involved two of the Distracts team heading down to London for 4 days to set up, man and manage the stand for the kick-start of the ‘Traditionally Smoked Fish’ campaign at the Earls Court Restaurant Show. The show was a big success with the campaign being well received and supported by two excellent chefs and suppliers of some of the finest traditionally smoked fish products.

More information and pictures for this event will be featuring on our blog shortly, so check back to find out which member of our staff had her picture snapped with a very famous chef.

To date we have designed and developed the brand, product packaging, business stationery and www.scrubbys.co.uk website. With the product off to a flying start, having featured in the regional press and now being stocked in a number of locations, Scrubbys embarked on a busy summer schedule of generating even more awareness for their brand of low fat vegetable crisps. With places secured at Chris Evans’ Carfest North & South, and a feature on the Tastes of Lincolnshire stand at the Specialty & Fine Food Fayre in London, a host of exhibition materials were required.

So with a set of dimensions and a few ideas from an initial meeting, we went to town on putting together an exhibition space that really summed up what the Scrubbbys brand is all about. Claire and John, Scrubbys founders, didn’t want to just tell people about the product but also about where they are from and what they aim to achieve with their new healthy snack food. With all of this in mind we produced a whole package that included pull up banners, balloons, bunting, shelving, tablecloths, z-cards and a branded chalkboard and easel.

The end result was an eye catching exhibition that showcased Scrubbys fantastic product to the busy crowds and even caught the eye of the man himself, Chris Evans, who dropped by for a chat and a photograph.

With a new flavour on the horizon we’re looking forward to working with Claire and John in continuing to develop the Scrubbys brand as one of the tastiest and healthiest brands of vegetable crisps on the market.