SERVICES

We provide a full spectrum of business services including strategy, consultancy, mentoring, automation, brand development and design.

We have produced solutions for fashion houses, film, galleries, tech and sports giants through to tv channels and national museums.

Experience

Over the last 25 years, the founders of Institute, have worked on thousands of projects that includes work for the following brands:

Adidas, Barclays, BBC, Bench, The Body Shop, Boots, The British Museum, The Carphone Warehouse, Cartoon Network, Cath Kidston, Clarins, Conde Naste, Daks, The Design Museum, Diesel, Disney Stores, EMI, Esquire Sport Magazine, Exposure, Fate Face, Fred Perry, Givenchy, Gieves & Hawkes, Godiva, Habitat, Halifax, Haribo, Harrods, House of Fraser, Hedkayse, HMV, The Independent, Kookai, Levis, Marks & Spencer, MGA, National Gallery, Procter and Gamble, Royal Court Theatre, Selfridges, Schuh, Sony, Superdry, TATE Enterprises, Ted Baker, Three Mobile, Tower Records, TKMaxx, UNIQLO, United International Pictures, Virgin, Vodaphone and Zoological Society of London.

We bring this experience of the design and delivery of a diversity of projects to Institute.

Business Development

We provide mentoring in business practice and development. We cover the progression of practice, the nuts and bolts of running a business through to brand strategy and development. We provide consultancy and think-tank style services for creative businesses, organisations and initiatives. We cover strategy, identity frameworks and business development. We are used to thinking outside the box and asking the right questions that result in the right frameworks for success.

Consultancy

We tend to focus on SMEs, as they are the collective powerhouse of the UK Economy and often do not receive the support they require. An external support structure characterised by objective analysis and targeted support is often a key mechanism for the success for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Our business consultancy is run by Steve Barradell. Steve is an approved business mentor for Enterprise Nation on the Help to Grow initiative.

Enterprise Nation exists to shortcut the route to trusted business support. Founded by Emma Jones CBE in 2005, Enterprise Nation has grown to a community of over 120,000 people. They support people to start and grow their own successful businesses and represent their views to the government and media: www.enterprisenation.com.

Steve is also a member of The Association of Business Mentors: www.associationofbusinessmentors.org and a Creative Business Mentor on the EMC2 Create Growth Programme: www.eastmidlandscreategrowth.co.uk

Our recent work includes the running of an incubator Course for Phoenix Arts (the REAL Initiative). We supported 25 Digital Artists and Documentary Film Makers in getting them business ready, providing them with strategic advice, support and mentoring and to create a platform for growth. We are about to start a short series of courses for East Midlands Creative Consortium: Conversations with a Machine

We have extensive experience in Branding , Business Planning , E-commerce, Communication, Freelancing, B2B Marketing, Data & Analysis, Problem solving, Strategy - both business and creative, Sales.

The Benefits of Mentoring

Gaining new perspectives

Since mentors, by definition, have more experience than their mentees, they look at the world with a different perspective. As each decision is considered, the mentor will bring an informed opinion to bear as it is likely that they have seen the pros and cons of this situation before.

Improved leadership abilities

A mentor often performs many leadership duties, such as inspiring their mentees, providing guidance, and even solving taxing problems. They may also give constructive feedback to their mentees. Developing these skills will help you become a better leader in the future.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs tend to like ‘going alone’. Business owners will often state that If I had their time again, they would have worked with several mentors to learn valuable lessons from each. From not making certain business decisions to fostering certain partnerships, a mentor can help guide you through your entrepreneurial journey.

Networks and contacts

Your mentor has already acquired a variety of valuable contacts that could be out of reach to you. Your mentor can facilitate access and open doors, giving you the opportunity to develop your business and grow your network. Networking opportunities are often the key to business growth.

Confidence building

Confidence grows through the mentoring process. You will have a guide for the ups and downs of business and develop the ability to succeed.

The Benefits of Consultancy

You need an outside / objective opinion

Sometimes it’s difficult to solve your own problems because you’re just too involved. You might just be so close to the problem that you’re missing an obvious solution. When there are tough decisions to be made, sometimes it’s easier to leave it to an expert who isn’t personally involved or emotionally invested.

Business consultants are experts in their field. They’ve helped numerous other companies to work through similar issues and they know what’s worked in the past. This experience means that they can bring new and innovative ideas that you might not have thought of yourself.

When you hire a business consultant, you’ll get a new perspective on whatever problems you’re facing, from an outsider’s point of view.

You lack time or resources

No matter how important the problem is, sometimes you just don’t have the time to dedicate to solving it. You’ve still got your day-to-day business to focus on and finding the time to resolve your challenges just feels impossible.

You could hire a new employee to give you the time to focus on the issue at hand, but you know it’ll only be temporary and training a new employee can be time-consuming.

Hiring a business consultant is a great way to outsource your problems to a professional. They’re used to moving around different companies, which means they’ll get to know your business quickly with minimal training required. And most importantly – you can continue with your day-to-day operations so your business doesn’t suffer either.

You have a tactical project you are struggling to complete our to resource or expertise.

Design

We help creatives, brands and organisations to develop their ideas and to design solutions that communicate these ideas to their chosen audiences.

We believe in the maxim, Form follows function. The solutions that we produce should look, feel and essentially, be, the answer to your problem. Each problem requires a unique solution that emerges out of the design process. By going through the discovery stage to define the core problems to solve, we are then free to develop a solution that solves these unique problems and is fit for your purpose. This is a formula for success. It encourages clarity in the way we think about the project objectives. That aids communication with each other. This clarity allows us to get from A to B in an understandable way but allows us the freedom to produce dynamic solutions.

Projects Portfolio

Graffio Arts 9/18/23 Graffio Arts 9/18/23

Here There Be Monsters. An Identity System for Rendah Films

We were asked to create an identity system for the production company, Rendah Films.

Rendah Films wanted an identity system that would express their creativity and work as a street tag while projecting their technical expertise and professionalism. It all kicked off with the creation of ‘Monstah’, a mascot created from the letter R.

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

We met Emily and Rob from Rendah Films when we were running the REAL incubation programme at Phoenix in Leicester. Rendah went on to produce a documentary focusing on creative practice at Institute. We were delighted to work with them again to develop an identity package.

APPROPRIATE BACKGROUND MUSIC

Rob produces original music for each Rendah project and we thought this this should play a role in the visual design. We developed typography grids from sheet music layouts and templates to produce square promotional materials that follow the visual tropes of music EPs or albums.

EMERGING FROM THE MIDLANDS

Rendah is colloquial version of render, a nod to local pronunciation and digital production techniques. When overlayed and rotated, the R from Rendah forms a shape like a camera aperture. We added an eye and a graphic mascot was born. When the mascot became the obvious way forward, Rob followed the same naming logic and called it ‘Monstah’.

MID CENTURY MONSTERS

As we were researching the history of film promotion including posters, titles, company logos and a wide spread of film marketing collateral it was a reminder that we were in a headspace that was producing work more in-line with Saul Bass in the 1950s/60s than something more contemporary. This work was simple, flat, iconic and unpolished and we were happy with that!

FILM QUOTES

We used a spread of film quotes throughout the identity to highlight certain ways of thinking about the construction of the identity. The way things end up looking is a by product of ideas and goals. We might use typography to convey X but we might use a colour to convey something else. This had to convey Rob and Emily’s lively personalities as well as their professionalism and integrity.

IT’S ALIVE!

We designed a very simple, clean wordmark logo. This would contrast with the motif and bold colours that felt quite tribal. When Rob said that he once had a skateboard with a motif that felt similar, we knew we were in the right place.

CREATIVITY AND DISCIPLINE

The identity system has to work in a variety of ways. It has to support video material at times but also stand on its own as a graphic language when text is the main form of communication. It has to be fun but it also has to do a variety of jobs.

A CATALOGUE OF MONSTERS

To future-proof the identity we created a colour system with a set visual contrast that could be reproduced in colours from around the spectrum. The fact that some colours are lighter and have to remain light to be identified as that colour (yellow for example) was factored in. The system would produce multiple Monstah motifs but the least successful could be discarded while the best would be retained.

MERCHANDISING

Its all about the swag…

PRODUCTION LOGO

We produced an animated sting for the production logo. This is a very short sequence, usually used at the beginning of a film to highlight the production company. We wanted it to be bold but it cannot take away from the film so needs to end quickly. We took a section of the drums from Monster Mash and changed the tempo and distorted them to create something new. The sequence includes the wordmark logo and the motif. Emily came up with the idea that the eye could flash to represent a camera going into record mode.

Now that Rendah have the identity system templates and assets they are coming up with fresh ways to use the graphics and creating their own animated sequences.

THE SEQUENCE

THE VIDEO

THE FUTURE

Working with Rendah Films was fun. We’ve had such a positive experience from the mentoring on the REAL initiative where we could see their business developing in between sessions to the filming of their documentary at institute. It was a pleasure to be able to work with them again to develop their identity.

Rob and Emily- we wish you the very best for the future and we’re around if you need any help. This is also true for other creative businesses that want to get ahead. If you need some advice, then get in touch, we’d be happy to help.

Graffio Arts 1/31/23 Graffio Arts 1/31/23

Bringing the Frost to Frost Fair

We developed augmented reality experiences for Bankside’s Frostfair. During the Little Ice Age of the 17th to 19th centuries the river Thames completely froze over and the Frost Fairs began…

Graffio Arts provided the app and augmented reality experiences for Bankside’s Frostfair. Working with Phil Dawson (This Must Be The Place) and working in Loughborough and London, we had to design new ways to make the Fairs art trail come to life.

A MULTI-MEDIA TRAIL OF STREET ART MURALS, DIGITAL ART INSTALLATIONS AND EVENTS

This winter, Bankside celebrated one of the most extraordinary events in London’s history – the Frost Fair. From circa 1605 to 1814, the surface of the River Thames froze over 24 times, bringing all trade on the water to a standstill. So the people of Bankside took to the ice, creating ‘Frost Fairs’, with a sensational cornucopia of markets, amusement, food, drink, games, pubs, shops, entertainment and general revelry!

Inspired by the area’s rich heritage and lively characters, Bankside has reinvented the Frost Fair for the 21st century. You could immerse yourself in innovative augmented reality installations, follow street art trails, feast on special Frost Fair themed food and drink and enjoy inspired workshops.

NAVIGATING THE ART TRAIL

Visitors to the Frost Fair could pick up printed maps with the locations of all the AR work on display. A download version was also available on the website with simple instructions to find and download the AR app. At each location the public had to understand what they could do and short explainers were provided on posters and floor stickers.

AUGMENTED REALITY

Our goal was to increase the interaction available to the public at each point along the trail. This was accomplished in a variety of ways. The augmented reality aspects of the project could be broadly broken down into video and 3D. Looking through the AR app and while the viewer pointed at the right spot would reveal video playing within the space or pop up a 3D model that could be placed wherever the viewer decided. There was a film screening on one wall, graffiti work emerging from other wall sand people placing a 10ft high elephant outside of Tate Modern!

ART, DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

We designed the AR experiences but also supplied the technology for the project. The Graffio Arts AR app is available in iOS and Android versions and can be used as the basis for a brand’s own app. In this case, Bankside were happy to have Frost Fair as one of a variety of projects available on the app.

GATHERING THE ARTISTS

Lawless Studio brought a host of creatives to the project including film makers, graffiti artists and creative kids. You can find out about all of them here: Graffio Arts, Jason Slabber, Timba Smits, 3D Joe & Max & Frost Fair, Dreph, Everfresh, Peachzz, Mr Cenz, Julia Fullerton-Batten, Richard Kindersley, Nomad Clan, Alice Clarke and Charles Dickens Primary School

AR EXPERIENCES: JASON SLABER

Jason created an incredible video that pieced together frames of animation generated by ai. This piece played as augmented reality from a poster and was also used as a projection at the end of a shopping arcade.

AR EXPERIENCES: NOMAD CLAN

Nomad Clan’s paintings were carefully animated in a quirky style that enhanced their incredible work. The AR elements could be experienced by the viewer in front of each of their pieces.

AR EXPERIENCES: JULIA FULLERTON-BATTEN

Julia’s incredible film depicting an historic Frost Faire was projected at large scale onto a wall with AR.

AR EXPERIENCES: MR CENZ

Mr Cenz’s mural was above street level and animated in AR. The iOS version featured elements of the work emerging out of the mural onto the surrounding roof.

AR EXPERIENCES: PEACHZZ

Each piece of Peachzz’s work featured animated elements that brought each scene to life.

AR EXPERIENCES: GRAFFIO ARTS

We were invited to produce our own piece of work that was viewable beside the river Thames. You can out more here.

THE LAUNCH

The project had many components and really was a race against time. We like to extend a big thank-you to all those involved for working long hours, travelling to meet up to discuss the project and pulling results out of the bag. This project highlights the benefits of different agencies and creatives working together and shows what you can accomplish when you mix for the use of art, design and technology.

AR AND YOU

Are you interested in the ways that augmented reality could bring your event to life? Tell us about your ideas!

Graffio Arts 1/1/23 Graffio Arts 1/1/23

Documenting the War Widows Quilt

The War Widows’ Quilt is a beautiful and moving piece of collaborative art that relays the realities of war widowhood in Britain, past and present. We were asked to turn it into a book.

The book tells the moving stories that lie behind the squares of the War Widows’ Quilt, a collaborative piece of art made by more than 90 war widows.

Graffio Arts were honoured to be approached to design a book to document the War Widows’s quilt. The quilt, made in collaboration with arts company arthur+martha, is part of the War Widows’ Stories project, led by Dr Nadine Muller (Senior Lecturer in English Literature & Cultural History, Liverpool John Moores University) and the War Widows’ Association of Great Britain (WWA).

Part of the War Widows’ Stories project, led by LJMU’s Dr Nadine Muller (Reader in Women’s & Gender Studies) in collaboration with the War Widows’ Association of Great Britain, the War Widows’ Quilt is a beautiful and challenging piece of art that communicates the realities of war widowhood in the UK through quilting and poetry.

Released for Remembrance Sunday, allows people to discover the quilt and the stories that lie behind each of its squares, as well as the creative and research work that inspired this stunning piece of textile art.

Nadine said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to make a digital version of the book available for free as we mark Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday.

“The War Widows’ Quilt has provided a creative, therapeutic and immensely impactful way for the women to tell their life stories, and to process and share their love, loss and grief, as well as the social and economic challenges they have faced.

“The restrictions of the COVID pandemic have meant that we’ve not been able to exhibit the quilt since its display at the Queen’s House, Greenwich, in 2019. I’m so pleased that people can now discover the quilt and the stories behind it through this beautiful new edition of the exhibition book.

“The experiences so many women have shared through the War Widows’ Stories project are an incredibly important part of the history of war and conflict that must not be forgotten, and we have a duty to continue to hear and learn from all those affected and left behind by conflicts around the world to understand the real cost of war.”

The War Widows’ Quilt is a beautiful and moving piece of collaborative art that relays the realities of war widowhood in Britain, past and present. Made from second-hand armed forces shirts by over a hundred war widows and their families, its squares tell stories of love, loss and grief that connect women across generations, from the Second World War to the Falklands, Iraq, and peacetime.

In this event, we explore the power of creativity at the centre of the War Widows’ Stories project, asking how the meditative process of stitching and sewing can offer an outlet for the memories of those we have loved.

CREDITS

The War Widows’ Quilt was edited by Lois Blackburn (Lead Artist), Philip Davenport (Lead Writer), Nadine Muller (Project Lead), and designed by Graffio Arts.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE WAR WIDOW’S QUILT

THE BRITISH ACADEMY

Stitching Remembrance: The War Widows’ Quilt

The British Academy Summer Showcase ‘21

Speakers:
Lois Blackburn, artist, arthur+martha
Dr Nadine Muller, ‎Senior Lecturer in English Literature & Cultural History, Liverpool John Moores University
Mary Moreland MBE, War Widow and former Chair of the War Widows' Association

LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY

New book reveals lives, loves and losses behind War Widows’ Quilt

Article

WAR WIDOWS’ STORIES

War Widow's Stories

VIEWING THE BOOK

You can download a digital version of the book from the project’s website at www.warwidowsstories.org.uk or via this direct link.

Graffio Arts 5/23/20 Graffio Arts 5/23/20

Gallery Without Walls 04

Selected creatives from Design Season become part of the GWW umbrella and have their work displayed across venues within the city.

Gallery Without Walls project 4 launched as part of Leicester’s Design Season at LCB Hub. To increase exposure to the event the launch coincided with LCB’s Last Friday Street Food Night to a huge audience.

Following on the excellent open-call graphic design and illustration exhibition LOOP we collaborated with the organisers to bring the benefits of GWW to Design Season.

We selected a hand-full of the best creatives from the group that exhibited in the LOOP open-call exhibition. We got more information and more work from them and then matched them with venues throughout the city. We then printed, framed and installed their work across participating venues. We included GWW and personal information cards for the general public to buy their work or contact them in person.

After all the installations we had some cocktails and great street food and the launch night went down a storm. Thank you for the cooperation of all those involved and we hope that the extra exposure for the creatives involved helps on the road to their future careers.

GALLERY WITHOUT WALLS

Gallery Without Walls is a platform for the distribution of artworks across multiple traditional or untraditional spaces around Leicester. We curate exhibitions, collaborate on events and experiment with new ways of displaying art within the city. Our aim is to increase exposure to the arts for the benefit of creatives, venues and the wider community.

ORGANISING CULTURAL EVENTS

If you have an idea for an event and you’re not sure how to move forward or you’d like to collaborate with Institute, then get in touch here.

Graffio Arts 12/3/19 Graffio Arts 12/3/19

Alexander Jackson Collaboration

Alexander Jackson Interview talks to Graff.io Arts about his latest illustrated series, and what makes him tick.

Graffio Arts collaborated with Alexander to produce a series of art prints titled All Good Things, a selection of some of the most loved (or hated) characters from Game of Thrones. After the project launched, we sat him down for an interview.

GAME OF THRONES

All Good Things is a selection of some of the most loved (or hated) characters from Game of Thrones. Available exclusively on the Graffio Arts shop

You’re working in the Illustration field currently but originally studied art. I’d guess that there was a switch early on and the postgrad course helped you develop a way of working to respond to commercial briefs. Is that right or totally wrong? If that’s on the right track could you explain the change and how the courses helped you develop?

I started to become interested in illustration when I was still at school before going on to further education. I already knew that I wanted to pursue art and my background was more in fine art but I was looking for an outlet to use that in a more commercial context and illustration seemed like the most appealing way to go for me. However, back then I still didn’t feel like I’d really found my voice so I continued my further education in fine art, initially to broaden my skill set. I dabbled in sculpture, oil painting, textiles among other things before eventually going on to study illustration at Edinburgh College of Art.

Your characters couldn’t work unless you get a recognisable likeness but that’s only a fraction of the story of a piece - it’s about drawing- the line, the composition and all the things that make a good drawing. How does that work out? Do you often have to alter a good drawing to get a likeness?

There’s probably more work that goes on behind the scenes that thankfully doesn’t get seen. Occasionally it’s comes together straight away but every now and again I have to doodle someone’s face over and over again until I feel that I’m getting the likeness. I have a few subjects that are yet to be finished because I don’t feel like I’m quite there yet. If it’s a commission though there’s normally a deadline on that and you occasionally have to make amendments to meet the clients expectations, but they normally have something very specific in mind so in those cases I’m interpreting their vision as well.

How do you work? Is it all on a computer? Has that changed over time?

Most of the time my initial drawing work is done by hand and then scanned in. My colours are added digitally and a lot of the texture work (halftone effects, old paper, canvas etc) is created from a library hand-made textures that I’ve previously put together, which I digitally manipulate for the piece. I resisted digital stuff for a while because I like to get my hands dirty when I’m doing arty stuff and like keeping the human element in my work because I think that the way I draw is fairly expressive and is therefore the bread and butter of where most of the personality in my work comes from.That said I feel like way I’ve learnt to digitally process my images still allows me to keep that part of it still present.

Could you tell us about the set up with your work in venues? It sounds interesting- is it something you’d recommend?

I’ve exhibited work in various retail functions over the last few years. Some of them have been at public events that ran for a few days and others have a more permanent set up. I’ve just begun to display a range of prints at Dock Street Studios in Dundee. I’ve been displaying artwork to buy at the Scottish Design Exchange in Edinburgh for 3 years now and also in their Glasgow store since it opened last year. The Scottish Design Exchange is good because 100% of the sale goes to the artist (The artist just pays a monthly fee to exhibit there) so It’s quite helpful in supporting local up and coming creatives.There’s all kinds of handmade treasures in there too, jewellery, paintings, clothing, furniture, cosmetic/grooming products, photography and loads more.The good thing about it for me is the public engagement and seeing which of my designs are the most popular. It took me a few months to get a good grasp on what kinds of things people really want to buy and then to tailor my own products around that. But I’m still learning now.

We are always looking for better ways to help the creatives we work with- is there any advice you’d give to us?

For me personally, social media has played a substantial role in helping my work find an audience, even commissioned projects. Firstly, it’s a helpful way of receiving feedback and engaging with an audience but also it has proved helpful in motivating me to keep creating new work for the sake of maintaining people’s interests.As well as that, I follow mostly other artists on there and their work constantly inspires me to keep working. It can take time gain momentum though, not just on social media but generally, but it’s best just to keep working at it.

Who are you itching to draw next? Or any amazing commissions that you’d like to land?

I have a few portraits that I’m in the process of working on, although it’s still in the early stages and I usually like to surprise people with new work. I’d like to do more stuff that isn’t portrait work as well though, and I have a lot of fun doing music themed artwork, i.e., drawing people playing live music so working within the music industry could be fun.

Do you associate with social commentary illustrators like Skarf or even back to Hogarth? Have you ever had to make a tough decision in the way that you portrayed a person?

To an extent. That inspiration for me comes just as much from film, literature or comedy as it does from visual art. I occasionally create artwork that comes from a place of cynicism if I have something in particular to rant about but I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s central to the work that I do, I just enjoy it.

Can you tell us about your music? Is there a link between the two?

There’s probably a loose link between the two. At the moment my main focus is a project which is relatively new but is more driven by synths, where as the previous bands I’ve played in were traditionally rock based. I’d describe it as punk rock songs played on analogue synthesizers, with occasional 80’s style shred guitar.As far as there being a connection between that and my visual art I’d say that there is an underlying nod to nostalgia and pop-culture running throughout and I think both appear to be avoiding to appear too polished and clean. I would also say that I’m a very visual thinker, so when it comes to writing music I have specific shapes and colours in mind and I envision people moving in a certain way. It’s sort of like how I would create an oil painting, by filling the canvas with rough shapes straight away and just gradually adding layers until the important details pop through. But the composition and the overall mood and tone seems to manifest itself first.

Were you influenced by album covers? Any key influences?

Album covers were an early influence. I remember going to local art exhibition themed on artwork in heavy metal when I was 12. I was a total metal head as a kid so it was definitely my thing. They had a lot of original paintings there that were used in classic metal album covers as well as stage props, famous guitars and costumes for arena shows. It was mostly just imagery of skulls, flames and motorbikes, which is pretty much the only thing you want to draw when you’re 12. As for influences in my current work, a few album covers spring to mind. I like the drawing on the cover for Beastie Boys’ To The 5 Boroughs, Baroness seem to always have lovely looking artwork on their album covers, Seals and Crofts – Summer Breeze, Melvins – Stag, Tool’s 10 000 days album has some really interesting accompanying artwork, Mastodon – Leviathan, the Dub Trio album Another Sound is Dying is a nice vibrant one.

“For me personally, social media has played a substantial role in helping my work find an audience, even commissioned projects. ”

— Alexander Jackson

Where do you want to get to on the future with your work?

I’d like to do more editorial illustration. I think mainly because it’s regular periodical work with the same client and you get to build up a relationship with them, plus it can be exciting anticipating what the next project with them will be. I’ve also written a couple of children’s books that I need to find the right publisher for although I originally put out a children’s book a few years ago and in my personal experience it’s a competitive market that’s tricky to break and can also be quite time consuming so lately it’s been a little bit less of a priority for me. I’ll hopefully get back to it soon enough though.