What started your journey into the creative industry?

I think it was something that I always wanted to do as a kid. Whenever we got projects at school, I spent more time making them look good and designing what they looked like rather than focussing on the work itself. I was always trying to experiment with crazy simple programs we had on the computer, when I was younger; I remember this one called Sierra Print Artist and playing around with that a lot. It evolved from there and I wanted to get involved in TV motion graphics, so I did quite a lot of work experience in my local news rooms in the graphics departments and it was the bug from there where I did graphic design at Uni. After that I worked at various agencies then started up on my own eventually.

 

Could you share the pivotal career moments that have led you to your current success?

Taking the leap to go out on my own and set up was a big one. I guess Lantern wouldn’t be here without taking that leap. Before that, I worked with Unreal on a major global rollout for a client, taking on significant responsibilities. This project was a test and a showcase of my involvement in strategy and creativity, providing me with valuable experience that aided in starting my own business.

 

How were you instructed to work on this particular brand?

We were invited to tender for a project by the Norfolk Coast Partnership, who manage the protected Norfolk Coast landscape, including an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Marine Conservation Zones, and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. This area attracts many tourists and faces challenges from coastal erosion. The client aimed to create a brand promoting responsible exploration and protection of the coast, encouraging visitors to act responsibly, like keeping dogs leashed and supporting local businesses. They wanted to position it as a lifestyle brand, inspired by the outdoorsy and nostalgic style of U.S. national parks, in contrast to the usual council-style branding of UK natural spots. It was a lovely project to be invited to pitch for and eventually win.

 

“We focused on encouraging environmentally friendly behaviour through uplifting and emotional messaging.”

 

What core message did you aim to communicate through this brand’s identity?

Our goal was to promote sustainable exploration of the Norfolk Coast in a positive, non-preachy way. We focused on encouraging environmentally friendly behaviour through uplifting and emotional messaging. For instance, instead of simply telling visitors to keep their distance, we crafted headlines like “watch wildlife come alive when it’s given space to breathe.” Similarly, we suggested that sticking to the path enhances the experience with phrases like “Find you’ll really escape if you follow the path.”

Visually, the logo was an important part of the project and we aimed to capture the dynamic nature of the Norfolk Coast in a singular mark. The design integrates an “N” and a “C” to represent “Norfolk Coast” and mirrors the area’s tidal creeks and wave crests; it embodies the coastline’s constant motion, especially when animated, reinforcing the theme of being “alive with nature.”

The graphic system utilises this “N” shape as a super graphic, extensively across various media, from presentation slides, social media to website pages. We also collaborated with illustrator Benedikt Luft, whose unique style complemented our logo’s design through a series of drawings/stamps that highlight regional features like marine wildlife and sustainable tourism. These serve as versatile elements in our branding, enhancing merchandise and digital content, and emphasising the lifestyle aspect of the brand.

 

 

Where do you usually seek inspiration when crafting a brand’s message?

We do quite a lot of work in place / destination branding. We usually visit the area for a few days, talking to local residents / businesses and this time we were lucky to do some kayaking, cliff top walks and biking around the region. There’s also a lot of information you can get from online sites like Tripadvisor and Mumsnet where people talk about the lifestyle in the area. We also surveyed the local community to find out what makes the area special, to help define the strategy. A lot of that inspiration comes from a research and insight driven process and this gives us the starting point to the base the visual exploration on, e.g. we knew we had the strategy of it being ‘alive with nature’ so the question was “how do we express that visually?”.

 

Can you describe the client management and feedback process for this project?

We were lucky, they were great clients to work with and they never had too much in the way of feedback. They formed a steering group within the organisation to take on feedback from multiple stakeholders; there were lots of different protected landscapes involved and these were managed by different people so we needed to ensure everyone’s input was considered. We presented to the client and the steering group on occasions and took them on the journey without any big reveals; they were involved in the process along the way. The client had two routes to choose from in terms of visual identity and the same with strategy; we gave them options and worked with them on feedback and steered them in the right direction in terms of choosing the right route. We knew they were passionate about breaking the mould of traditional council brand style, so this really helped to manage the direction of the brand.

 

“From a visual execution point of view, the illustrations and having a photoshoot were things that we were passionate about”

 

What did you find most challenging about bringing this brand to life?

Capturing the Norfolk Coast, which seems obvious but when you’re working with places, they’re so diverse that it’s a challenge to make sure that you capture everything. That’s why it’s really important to have a core strategy and express that visually. Trying to come up with a strategy that encapsulates what makes this place special compared to other parts of the country, was a big challenge. From a visual execution point of view, the illustrations and having a photoshoot were things that we were passionate about and the client was on board with this as well but there was a challenge in convincing the client to invest in these things, as they were unforeseen.

How do you and your team push past creative blocks or internal disagreements?

We were lucky that we had a small team on the project and we were all involved on design and strategy, so it was a very joined up approach. I’d say that we manage it by keeping everyone involved every step of the process. In terms of disagreements, it’s a case of trial and error for something like design, whereby we try both and see what looks right.

 

In your view, what elements make a brand’s identity stand out and stick in people’s memories?

An iconic logo is always a big part of this, but personally, I’m passionate about verbal identity—how a brand communicates through its key messages, tone of voice, and character. A distinctive tone and playful, character-driven messaging, especially when paired with a unique typeface, can significantly stand out. However, for end users, the logo often remains the most memorable element.

 

 

What benchmarks do you use to gauge the success of this and other branding project? 

There are different steps in the process. When we’re developing options, we always assess against the brief, does it fit with what the client signed off on. Does the client buy it, do they pick a route and go with it. When it’s launched, we get feedback from the client and do follow up health checks with them to see how it’s being implemented. When you launch on social media and in the press, you can gauge a reaction from people through that too.

 

How has the creative landscape changed throughout your time in the industry?

It’s getting much more rapid. The time you have to execute something has gone down there’s a challenge here in ensuring that the quality’s right and that you can test systems as much as you want to. I think clients are much more design savvy, as they’re exposed to it a lot more and there are a lot of systems available for them to use on their own, at home if they want to, so there’s an expectation of immediate results which has increased over time. I think the focus and execution on social is a big shift; when we visualised brands and the systems in the past, originally it was thinking about how it looked on letterhead, business cards, brochure and now it’s Instagram, TikTok. So I think it’s the applications and the pace at which people want to see the designs that has changed most.

 

If you had the opportunity to rebrand any global company, which would it be and for what reason?

Given that a large amount of what we do is to do with tourism, place and destination, I would love to rebrand my hometown of Stroud. It’s got a really nice story to tell; it’s where the first organic café was set up, it’s home to the founders of extinction rebellion and the first green energy company in the UK was founded there. So, it’s got a really special story around environmental credentials and they don’t necessarily talk about it in the way that they could. I think that would be a lovely one to do from an upbringing point of view.

 

“I think the biggest thing is to be proactive and pester gently.”

 

What advice would you offer to budding creatives aspiring to break into the industry?

I think the biggest thing is to be proactive and pester gently. We get a lot of applications of CV’s / portfolios and the ones that make the cut, say something that doesn’t sound like a generic email and they personalise it to us and our work. Often, it’s not even about jumping straight to a work placement or a job but they might just want to have a chat first and get some feedback on their portfolio. So my advice would be to build a relationship first and take smaller steps to stand out.

 

Is there a ritual you have before starting a project?

I always start on the strategy and the messaging side of things. I make pages and pages of ideas in the notes app on my phone, filled with creative messages, headlines, positioning ideas, even if it’s not been signed off by the client as it’s already going round in my head; quite often these make it through to the final step of messaging.

 

In an alternate universe where you weren’t in the creative industry, what profession would you work in and why?

There are three I think. I’d love to be a CSI because I watch so much of it and feel like I could do that job! I also wish I worked at the Met Office as a Meteorologist because I love the weather and everything about the weather and how it changes. My daughter is really into space and in turn, I’ve got into it now as well; I wouldn’t want to go in to space but to study it would be amazing. So, all very scientific stuff and probably none of the skills I have but they would all be really interesting to work in!

 

What’s the most off-the-wall idea you’ve ever had that never saw the light of day?

I don’t know if I’ve had many off the wall ideas to be honest, I’m a relatively safe designer. There’s one that stands out that actually did happen was years ago when the Chilean Miners got stuck in the mine for over two months. I had this idea that we should create the ‘Chilean Winers’ as client Christmas presents; we purchased over 30 bottles of nice Chilean wine, with labels printed to individually commemorate each of the miners that got rescued, with their story on the back and their name on the front and I designed some transfers for each of them. It was when I was at Unreal and my boss, Tim, backed it so we went for it. It got some press, even in Chile, the miners themselves heard about it and they thought it was a nice idea. However, I didn’t tell the story too well to the UK design press and people thought we were selling bottles of wine and making money out of the suffering of the miners; I even got direct emails from disgruntled people, branding me as a “monster” and various four lettered words! It was our way of doing a fun and novel celebration of the most positive news story of the year but got a little misunderstood here and there.

 

 

If you were a brand, what would your slogan be?

Clarity meets character

 

During a tea break, what are you dunking?

Probably a bourbon