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HOME - BACKGROUND - PEOPLE - CONTACT - ARCHIVE - FLINT EDGE - AYRTON SAUNDERS - MIR SKINCARE - GREEN BABY - VICTORIA MOORE - YESS ESSENTIALS
SKILLS INTRODUCTION - GRAPHIC DESIGN - MOTION GRAPHICS - WEB DESIGN - STRUCTURAL FORM
SERVICES INTRODUCTION - RESOURCING - DESIGN MANAGEMENT - PROJECT MANAGEMENT
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There is a point that we have all experienced, when wherever you are, no matter how crowded or noisy, you suddenly engage with an object and give it your complete attention. For you, at that precise moment, time has stopped.
The projects showcased here are designed to do exactly that, to draw the consumer into the product story and hold their attention. We can’t guarantee to always stop time, but we might get it to hold its breath for a moment or two...
PBD are designers producing branded design, physical packaging and digital media solutions. We have a solid eleven year track record designing packaging for the premium skin care and natural toiletries industries.
Our branding experience is extensive: from skin care to consumer electronics, architecture, entertainment, finance, higher education, healthcare and the corporate sector.
We design web sites that are quick, elegant and standards compliant.
Genius, someone once said, is 10 percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. Modesty precludes any claims to the former, but we know a lot about the latter. Great design engages with the consumer by exceeding their expectation and results from paying careful attention to the audience, the story and the detail.
PBD's reputation for producing outstanding work for small companies on tight budgets has been earned by sheer hard work.
PBD was formed in 1991 and started life as a general design studio. Having exhausted the creative potential of corporate brochures and annual reports, we started looking for a new challenge and discovered the emerging natural products sector at the same time as the Apple Mac revolution took off. Suddenly we had clients passionate about their products, a new marketplace without visual rules where we could experiment endlessly, and a new technology that was starting to liberate the way designers worked. We discovered that the best way to learn about anything is to start by questioning what you think you already know. Something we are still doing today.
At the core of the studio are Tom Lamont and Peter Burgess, supported by a small army of loyal freelancers.
Our staffing changes to suit what we are doing. Working in small groups with very focused people produces better results and helps to keep our clients costs down.
Design is a team game, and in recognition of that fact we have provided links to all the remarkably skilled and knowledgeable companies that we work with in the Services section. But several people deserve a particular mention because of their unique contribution to what PBD do, they are: Mike Knight who writes rock solid php, perl and javascript for us; Tina Smale who brings high energy and humour into everything that she does and will one day be Prime Minister; Adrian Barclay for being a brilliant illustrator and Sue Hayes for her steadying influence, colour sense and her ability to spell.
The best way to determine if you can work with someone is to meet them and talk about what you want. That works for us to. Things usually start with an initial telephone conversation, followed by an informal meeting either at the studio where you can see more of what we do and discuss your needs in unhurried comfort, or at your premises if you prefer.
Meanwhile if you would like a copy of our brochure, either a PDF download or a printed version through the post, click on the icon opposite.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch. There is an enquiry form HERE or just give us a call. If we can't help you we generally know someone who can.
Our postal address is: PBD, 15 West Avenue, Worthing, West Sussex, England BN11 5LU.
Telephone 44 (0)1903 246575
This section is still under construction
Flint Edge was launched in January 1997 by Virgin Vie co-founder Ratan Daryani. Ratan’s extensive knowledge of cosmetics retailing enabled him to give us a very accurate brief for the range, which was to be an English mens range that appealed to the stylish, masculine man who cared about his overall appearance, but who didn’t have time to mess around with too many lotions and potions.
The combination of strong, stylish packaging, premium ingredients and sensitive pricing led to a fast and very successful launch, establishing the brand in major London department stores within the first six months. Flint Edge can now be found in House of Fraser, Fortnum and Mason, Fenwick in Bond Street and Brent Cross, Whole Foods Markets, Mankind, Salon Skincare, Look Mantastic, Errol Douglas, Fordham Soho, Claudio Contrasti and is listed amongst the designer brands on the UnderU web site. The range has featured in Zoo, The Sunday Times, Men's Health, The Daily Express, Daily Mail, Stuff and GT. Flint Edge now has major distribution agreements across the World.
Tubes
Not all white tubes are the same. These were chosen for their depth of whitness, soft touch finish and sculpted caps.
Moisturising Lotion
The hallmark of all Flint cartons is their level of detail, surface finish and tactility. The combined effect communicates precision and quality, very positive attributes in a mens range.
Merchandising Tower
A 1.6 M tall free standing tower gives 2.5 square meters of product display from an 0.64 square meter foot print.
Airline Amenity Pack
A complimentary gift when flying business class should express the airlines appreciation for your custom. Flint Amenity packs are loaded via a discrete locking panel at the back. The passenger must break a perforated seal along the front of the pack to open it. The message that the pack is just for them is clearly communicated.
"Working with PBD is a delight. Unlike other design agencies I've worked with in the past, PBD has a strong commercial focus to the way that they design. My brief for Flint Edge was to create a range that would stand out on the shelf but at the same time say quality and innovation. I believe that PBD achieved this with Flint Edge which is why I continue to work with them to develop the brand as it grows." Ratan Daryani, Managing Director.
LINK TO FLINT EDGE PROJECT PAGE
Ayrton Saunders has been supplying pharmacy specialities to the world since the company was established in Liverpool in 1868. In 1998 Ayrton Saunders were acquired by the O’Brien’s Group, a privately owned pharmaceutical company with 40+ retail pharmacies and a wholesale division.
Late in 2005 we were recommended to the O'Brien's Board and asked to evaluate the existing brand identity with a view to modernising the mark and retail packaging. Ayrtons retail distribution focused on Manchester, Liverpool, Northern Ireland and Éire. Our research showed that whilst Ayrtons loyal customer base saw the brand as part of their regional heritage younger people saw it as old fashioned and out dated. The board were keen to sweep away all the existing collateral but agreed to our proposal to keep a thread of history running through the new mark by evolving it out of the original and retaining the "Family Healthcare Since 1868" strap line on specific product groups. New retail packaging was designed for three core groups, the existing Family Health Care plus two new ranges: Women's Healthcare and Toddler and Baby.
The Original Mark
Whilst the original 1940's mark was looking it's age, it did have certain qualities that we wanted to retain.
The New Branding
The new mark was designed to evolve from the original. The new shape is softer, the typography crisper and more legible. The mark is more distinctive.
Women's Healthcare Packaging
For this new range we wanted to break away from any preconceptions of what Ayrtons had been and appeal to a younger female audience.
Family Healthcare Packaging
The original Ayrtons product group required a root and branch redesign. They now have a crisp, mainstream look that can be applied to any packaging form without losing the key visual cues.
"I think that it is very encouraging that the Chairman actually wants to use the new design to such an extent that he is actively hassling me for daily progress reports." Antony Wakeford, O'Brien Project Manager.
LINK TO AYRTON SAUNDERS PROJECT PAGE
Mir was created by holistic skin care expert Gisèle Mir, a former London lawyer turned cosmetic scientist. Blending beneficial botanicals with enlightened cosmetic science, Mir is designed to balance and soothe sensitive or blemish-prone skin without clogging pores. It is the only range free from fragrance, essential oils, soap, sulphates, fatty alcohols and comedogenic substances.
We designed the original Mir range back in 2000 as a no nonsense natural skin care range sold exclusively on the internet. In 2007 we were asked to review the brand and packaging as a retail range. The essential point of difference between Mir and other skincare products is its honesty and efficacy, something that is relatively easy to convey on a web site. For the range to work in retail and still appeal to its loyal internet customer base we had to keep the simple qualities of the original but make the packaging much more visible, desirable and tactile.
Original Packaging
Based on the premise that simple is honest and less is more these natural HDPE bottles and caps are silk screened.
New Branding
The mir letterforms were originally drawn to suggest the human form in free movement and rest. The challenge with the redesign was to keep the hand drawn qualities whilst strengthening it graphically.
New Packaging
Glass and plastic bottles were carefully matched to make the range. An important criteria was the use of common neck threads so that one size pump would work on all glass bottles and one size on all plastic bottles.
Web Site
This latest version of the site uses flash modules embedded into the CSS on each product page and a wickedly simpleand very secure javascript system for the merchandising functions.
"PBD are not only talented artists and designers, they are also blessed with the ability to listen to what you want, read between the lines and design in a way that exceeds all expectations. These are like little pieces of fine art." Gisèle Mir, Managing Director
LINK TO MIR SKINCARE PROJECT PAGE
We started working with Green Baby several years ago when they wanted to understand why their mother and baby skincare products were not selling as well as their clothing. The packaging solution was relatively simple and involved rationalising what was already there and sourcing one single supplier for the green glass bottles.
They were prepared to ditch their branding if we considered it to be unworkable, but it was the essential lack of contrivance of the mark that gave it such a strong appeal amongst the customer base. Our response was to find ways of supporting it with a clear graphic structure, a colour pallet that contrasted the dark green glass and the signature shape of the labels. Subsequent work for Green Baby has included clothing and accessory packaging, hangers and POS material.
Now a hugely successful eco friendly children and baby brand, Green Baby have three stores in central London, a mail order catalogue and an online store.
Toiletries
The soluton was relatively simple. Rationalise the range into as few sizes as possible, source one reliable supplier for green glass bottles and with the savings invest in custom coloured caps. Who said pink and green doesn't work!
Original Mark
The client was prepard to ditch their branding if we considered it to be unworkable. It was the essential lack of contrivance of the mark that gave it such a strong appeal amongst the customer base. Our response was to find ways of supporting it with a clear graphic structure.
Cardboard Hanger
Plastic and wire hangers did not fit the Green Baby ethos, so we designed a cardboard alternative. There are four versions each suited to a specific clothing group.
Feeding
Bottle Carrier
A glass bottle carrier that works with two sizes of bottle in any variant of three. Flat packed for point of purchase, it pops open in seconds and carries the bottles safely and securely.
"Great people to work with. Took a lot of trouble to really understand our ethos. It is great when they push us with ideas for improving our brand profile." Jill Barker, Managing Director
LINK TO GREEN BABY PROJECT PAGE
Victoria Moore has spent her life travelling the world. Her fascination with the natural benefits of plants and her experiences with distant cultures are brought together within her own products which are subtle and natural. In London, Victoria has joined forces with G.Baldwin and Co the capitals oldest, most established herbalist to create her Tropical Collection skincare range.
Victoria found us through a recommendation from a formulation house and since then we have developed everything for her from brandmark to gift collections, skincare and web sites. It is too soon to know how well the company will do but we know that Barbara Broccoli, producer of Casino Royale is already a fan of Victoria's gift sets, so the signs look good, although we don't know if she was shaken or just a bit stirred.
Tropical Collection Skincare
The principal behind all Victoria Moore's products is subtlty, so Italian glass bottle and jars by Eurovetrocap were chosen for the quality of their finish. These are invisibly labeled and cartoned in soft white, blind embossed felt board.
Brandmark
Victoria's brandmark had to be very English and quite decorative without being over fussy or too retro.
Gift Range
The sleeve and tray are simple forms, but the soap and candles required some original thinking to engineer a different look and feel to the assembled units, the candle carton base is the only glued component. The satin ribbon is an exact match to the brand colour.
Web Site
Style, content and a lot of functionality in this deceptively simple site.
"Everything is absolutely wonderful. Thank you." Victoria Moore, Victoria Moore Limited
LINK TO VICTORIA MOORE PROJECT PAGE
Yess Essentials products are very unusual and sit between conventional European skincare and traditional African remedies. We had to find a way of presenting the brand that would be familiar to the African diaspora and at the same time appealing to Europeans who may never have encountered this type of product before.
After extensive research into competing brands in the UK and the United States we realised that no other company was attempting to do what Yess Essentials was planning and that to succeed we would have to create something very different that at the same time was familiar. A cornucopic illustration is woven into the brand and packaging, to conveying the fact that the products are packed full of fruit, nut oils and herbs.
Brandmark
The core brandmark is quite fine and will be used on very differentranges in the future. Wrapping the illustration around it gives the mark greater strength and visibility in this product context.
Packaging
Pearlescent tubes and caps are wrapped with graphics that convey the cornucopia of natural ingredients inside.
Point of Sale
The best way to persuade a retailer to take your POS is to make it easy for them to use. This unit is also the transit case, so all the retailer has to do is tear a couple of panels and fold out some flaps. The products are preloaded into a fitted tray so it couldn't be easier.
Web Site
A pure Flash site, wrapped in html, making it searchable and very interactive.
"The design is a winner." Dr Yemi Shode, Managing Director
LINK TO YESS ESSENTIALS PROJECT PAGE
Macs don’t draw, they don’t paint, write edgy copy or think strategically. What they do incredibly well is run the software that enables us to test and then render an idea faster than ever before. The technology is liberating, because it reduces processes that would have taken a couple of days to render with marker pens to a few hours digitally, freeing us to think further into an idea and to experiment more.
Our work crosses from traditional graphic skills in brand and packaging design to the internet and moving graphics, so the ability to test an idea across several applications in parallel produces coherent solutions that are richer in content and more flexible in execution.
Photorealistic visualisation, 3D prototyping and digital photography can deliver pre-production presentation material to our clients for pre-selling and the internet before manufacturing has begun.
The software that we use also takes the guess work out of the print production processes. Carton blanks are produced using a CAD/CAM system that generates an artwork mesh which is imported directly into the artwork file. We work on colour managed systems with ICC profiles that are exported with the artwork; the data enables a reprographics house anywhere in the world to match our colour profiles exactly.
LINK TO SKILLS INTRODUCTION PAGE
When you talk to the eyes the brain listens.
If you have ever tried to explain in words, to someone small, the process of tying a shoe lace, given up and tried drawing diagrams, given up and just shown by practical example, then you will appreciate just how useful moving graphics can be. They can also be emotive, funny and interactive, a use that we put them too regularly when building sales presentations and web sites.
We use visual development tools like Fireworks, Flash and Dreamweaver to design and build sites and web applications that are visually interesting, easy to navigate, fully optimised and W3C compliant. We can help you find the right domain and hosting package, design a merchandising and database system that fits your business model or provide a content management system that gives you as much editorial control as you want.
We have a reputation for designing ingenious and elegant soloutions in cardboard and plastic.
The object is always to combine functionality and economy with style. The example on the left shows how a single sheet of carton material, printed on one side only, can easily be formed into a rigid, hinged gift box without glue. The resulting pack is cheap to produce, wastes very little material and adds considerable value to the product presentation.
We work long term with our clients helping them to develop, evolve and guard their brand property. Alongside the strategic work that we do for them we also provide a fast response service for sudden extras, afterthoughts and other crises as they happen; together with a rapid mock-up service to test new range ideas and for last minute sales presentations.
We have split services into three sections so that we can give a little more detail to the important issues. If you are a new business then Resourcing will be useful as it has a longish list of industry links. Longer when we have the time to update it. Design Management explains why designers are always so obsessive about detail and Project Management should be obvious.
As always, if you need more information or clarification of anything please get in touch. There are email buttons on the Contact page, along with an enquiry form or give us a call on the number below.
LINK TO SERVICES INTRODUCTION PAGE
We provide as much or as little support as our clients think they need. An initial meeting usually determines who is going to do what and if we are managing the project, the details are included in our proposal. Below is a short list of links to companies that we work with regularly and below is a list of services and resources that we regularly get asked for within the context of a project: Range feasibility and total project costing.
As usual, if you don't see what you need in the list, please ask.
LINKS
Boxes & Cartons: Falconer Print and Packaging Bell Packaging Pendragon Presentation & Packaging Offset Productions
Decorative Labels: Royston Labels
Plastic and Metal Tube Manufacturers: Adelphi Tubes M&H Plastics Torpak Lageen Tubolast
Glass and Plastic Containers and Components: Eurovetrocap Lumson Neville & Moore Raepak Baralan International Colorlites
Skincare Formulators and Manufacturers: Advantis Laboratories Circaroma Jasan Cosmetic Laboratories G Baldwin & Co Perfect Solutions Peter Jarvis Cosmetic Developments Hanworth Laboratories Standard Soap Company
Point of Sale Equipment: GPX Gemini
Public Relations Consultants: Fuse Communications
Design management is all about continuity and detail. It ensures that brand colours are as consistent as possible across all media, that the correct secondary typeface is being used, that the right version of the brandmark is used in black and white - not just a greyscale version of the colour one. Seems pretty obvious, but surprisingly difficult to get some people to understand.
Your brandmark will have been a big investment in time and resources. As your business grows and more people get to handle the brand, you have to ring-fence it from well meaning, but damaging, interpretation. Which is where the design manual comes in very handy. A digital design manual, in the form of a CD or even as a section on your web site, provides a central resource for all instances of your brand and brand related material and ensures that anyone working with your brand, in the future, will understand how to use it. Unless you are only ever going to work with us of course, well why wouldn't you?
"The secret of all effective originality in design is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships."
LINK TO DESIGN MANAGEMENT PAGE
Project management makes things happen. Hopefully the right things in the right order. For a project to arrive on time, on budget and exactly as it has been designed, a great deal more day to day management is required than most people could possibly imagine.
It makes sense, well it does to us, to let the people who are making the decisions about form, content and budget manage the project. However, we have also worked with clients who, whilst they knew nothing of the technical issues, were a joy to work with because they had the courage to ask questions, learn, listen to advice and then make clear, well informed, decisions. In the end, no amount of critical path analysis can plan for the completely unexpected. The skill is in knowing how to deal with the left of field events without disrupting the long term trajectory of the project.
"A Scout is never taken by surprise; he knows exactly what to do when anything unexpected happens." Sir Robert Baden-Powell
LINK TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT PAGE