Black and White Friday
The world is not always black and white. But come Friday 23rd November you’ll be thrust into a world of black and white posters, emails, banners and adverts. The Black Friday Sales (and it’s younger sibling Cyber Monday) are soon to be upon us and with it brings a new…
November Brand Workshop
After the great success of our previous brand workshops in June and September, we’re helping businesses explore and discover themselves and what they can do to help their brand grow. The workshop will focus on what makes your brand tick and how you can change the way your brand looks,…
Dawn Amongst Iridescent Excellence
Our creative re-brand has landed us in the new Palette 08 Iridescent book by Victionary. We feature among some other brilliant studios, agencies and creatives such as Pentagram, Anagrama and Design Ranch. The eighth edition of the Palette series features a variety of work focusing on the use of holographic…
A day at D(isrupt)M Conference
On Friday 18th October, a few members of the Dawn team headed over to Bridgewater Hall, seeking further enlightenment into the world of design. Design Manchester‘s ever growing annual conference provides a platform for influential speakers to talk about their work, process and thoughts on the design world and our…
Carve something special into your Halloween
Halloween is looming ever closer. So we thought it’d be a good time to look at some of our favourite pumpkin carvings. This year we’re sure you’ll see a wide variety of pumpkins; some funny, some scary, some intricate, some a total mess! So feast your eyes on the creations…
Eagle take flight with Dawn Creative rebrand
We recently repositioned the brand of AAT course provider, Eagle Education. Set up as a small family run business in 2002, Eagle have grown to become one of the biggest AAT distance course providers in the world. Despite a global reach, they offer a level of trust and belonging unrivalled…
How should we be inspired? A look at modern inspiration
Inspiration can come from an almost infinite number of places, be it anything from nature to architecture. However, with the rise of sites such as Pinterest and Tumblr which are populated by content from the masses, are we all being coerced into the same trends and movements? As designers at…
A stylish new website for boutique luxury London spa
Angelica Retreat is an elegant Spa sanctuary located on the beautiful Islington High Street, just off the little cobbled street area of Camden Passage. They offer relaxation and pampering treatments ranging from body and facial massages to manicure and pedicure, waxing and beauty treatments. After noticing the strength of a…
A Great Advert For The Game
Mere are a family run business with over 20 years’ experience crafting beautiful bathrooms. Priding themselves on the quality and reliability of their products, small details and clever ideas are never amiss. They recently came to us to help promote their World Cup themed offer with a printed flyer and…
Cutting through the noise of GDPR for Amplifon
The worries surrounding data protection are on the rise. Pop ups seem to have appeared everywhere, imploring you to dredge through the terms and conditions or to accept cookies like a certain blue monster looking for his fix. We teamed up with global hearing specialists Amplifon to make GDPR a little…
Great North West Brands
The UK is currently going through a start up revolution. 2016’s record number of 608,000 new companies was topped by the 660,000 set up in 2017, and we’re on track to top that again this year. What’s more, a recent survey has found that the entrepreneurial spirit flows strongest here…
Reverting to stereotype: The pitfalls of clichés in stock photography
stereotype ˈstɛrɪə(ʊ)tʌɪp,ˈstɪərɪə(ʊ)tʌɪp/ noun 1. a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. “the stereotype of the woman as the carer” When it comes to sourcing stock imagery, it’s easy to go for a safe choice, that will likely get signed…
Why create a Brand Identity?
We live in a busy world full of different brands and marketing communications with 1000’s of messages hitting each of us everyday. So, how do you get your brand noticed? A clearly defined brand can certainly help, along with simple messaging, that not only talks to your audience in the…
Bramhall Duck Race 2018
Well we’ve spent the afternoon creating our duck for the Bramhall Park Duck Race on Sunday 20th June. Wish us luck for best dressed duck and in our race. We’re looking to mount a Go Pro on the back to film the enthralling action. Here’s how it all panned out….
How much does a website cost?
It’s a question we get asked a lot and we understand why you need to know. People like to know the cost of things before they buy them, and that’s the same for a website, it’s only natural. Everyday we’re all faced with products that come with a price tag,…
New personal best for Tough Tribe website
Needing a refreshed website that could market and generate leads, Life Leisure’s Tough Tribe OCR teamed up with us to get it delivered. Obstacle course races (OCRs) are enjoying a boom at the moment and are the fastest growing mass participation sport in the UK. Following a highly successful debut to the…
Digital distrust for Brands set to rise?
As the sagas surrounding Facebook and Cambridge Analytica continue to unfold, are brands losing faith with online digital platforms? Could brands turn increasingly to television, print or other media to ensure their positions of trust with their customers remains intact? Whether it be the harvesting of profiles or the spread…
Five Talks and Documentaries to Beat Creative Block
We round up some creative documentaries and design talks that have given us a bit of inspiration at some point. Some are fairly short and perfect for watching on the bus or train, and a couple are longer documentaries ideal for weekend watching. Nicer Tuesdays: Jon Burgerman (12 mins)…
Just the tonic for Manchester Gin
In the run up to Christmas last year, we were approached by Manchester Gin to design a range of packaging for their exclusive new gift sets. Once we heard how the brand came to life, and of course sampled the product(!), we immediately loved their story. After their meeting in…
Dawn Pick’s: Favourite Album Covers
We asked some of the team for their favourite album cover designs… Pulp Different Class The wedding photo is an insert, and loads of other images are included so you can play around and make your own cover. Josh Lone Galaxy Garden A talented guy called Tom Scholefield…
Branding Festivo Cheshire’s Finest Fiesta
Victoria Warehouse is a completely unique and entirely innovative events company in the heart of Manchester. Having already worked with brands such as Adidas, Audi, Facebook, Netflix and L’Oréal at their Trafford Road warehouse, they wanted to tread new ground for Christmas 2017, and set about hosting Festivo, ‘Cheshire’s finest…
The design history of Alexander Girard
Born in New York City in 1907, Alexander Girard was raised in Florence, went to school in Bedford, and later studied architecture in London and Rome. He seemed to design anything and everything, working on textiles, furniture, typography, interiors, crockery and even childrens’ toys. As he was such a prolific…
Providing focus
‘HACK GROWTH’ ‘OWN THE PROBLEM’ ‘FAIL HARDER’ ‘NEVER EAT ALONE’ etc etc… The world is awash with various formulas and catchy slogans on how to get rich quick. At Dawn we focus on one solid offer: making companies look and feel better, helping them speak to their target audience quicker…
Busy ‘Worker Bee’ Branding Identity
You may have spotted a new Manchester brand, Worker Bee, creating a buzz around town this week in a new crowdfunding campaign in partnership with Forever Manchester and We Love MCR. Worker Bee is a new Manchester start-up specialising in sourcing and selling premium tea and single origin coffee. They…
Creating a sensory brand for a worldwide kitchen, Globe
A direction of senses Globe is a World Kitchen & Cocktail Bar in Chorlton, with a menu lovingly curated by owner Lauren Addison’s travels far and wide. Putting the senses at the heart of our approach, flavours, textures and colours come together to create a world of vibrant, tactile…
Brand and design outside of London
Traditionally London may have been the be-all and end-all of the creative industries – however in recent years there has been fantastic growth in talent and output across the UK. In this post we take a look at how the design industry is decentralising and how the team at Dawn…
Christmas In The Year 2084
Christmas is coming! Now we’ve got Black Friday and Cyber Monday out the way it’s time for the Christmas themed blog posts… One thing that’s brought up every year is how Coca Cola created the modern day vision of St Nick himself. While a little digging shows this isn’t the…
A good fit for LE-AL, a luxury bespoke furniture rebrand
LE-AL was established in 1933 by Leah and Albert Viner initially as a retail shop located in Stoke. All LE-AL’s products are manufactured at their factory in the UK by some of the most skilled and experienced craftsmen in the industry. They select only the best materials to ensure their bespoke…
Branding a place
This month we take a look at the complex business of branding places. In recent years the bee has cemented itself as the symbol of Manchester – resilient, industrious with a nod to it’s industrial heritage. Most recently it became a powerful symbol that unified Mancunians in the wake of…
A nightmare on Hulme Hall Road
The best time of year (in my opinion 🎃 ) is nearly upon us. It’s time to stuff your face with treats, candy apples, carve pumpkins and scare yourself silly watching all your favourite scary movies! So for your petrifying pleasure, and to get you in the spirit of Halloween,…