Once again there are some great events happening during this years Cardiff Design Festival, among them is the Naked Wales Pub Quiz! It was great fun last time, so bring yourself and anyone else you can think of for a 'chin-wag' and a drink or two!! We will be taking over Gwdihw, which is located in Cardiff City Centre just off Churchill Way.
To confirm (RSVP) your place at this event, please email elin@hoffi.com
Gwdihw Cafe Bar | 10 October @ 7pm
£1 per person to participate with a cash prize!!!!
Posted by Julian Sykes
Recently I have been thinking about the impact of brand and the struggle large companies are facing with the idea of being universal or relevant to the local community. One of the most obvious responses to this is the Starbuck approach with their Roy Street franchise. Making a huge brand feel that bit more.... friendly?
In a previous blog I posted about the idea of companies creating brands/companies that respond to a particular demographic. So what is happening?
I have been struggling to put my finger on it. But I think I have a bit more of an idea as to what it maybe. I think the main reason for this growth in this type of business model is to do with the internet. The basis of fractal information and hyperlinks bringing these pots of information together. Each area being a small bespoke element of that information. It also seems like it is not just brands. Stories, games and education are all developing multiple threads into the same subject matter. This aspect is in the public eye recently with the advent of the word 'transmedia' which is a more recent incarnation of the Japanese 'media mix', in where narrative is told through various media channels.
Could this bring a new level of richness to things?
Or could (like the documentary below) it be a really good story no matter what the media is the real star?
The Mast Brothers from The Scout on Vimeo.
If you are interested in kind of discussion, myself and Alison have been organising an event called playARK. Day one will have a series of speakers discussing everything from games through to attention spans.
Presented by Julian Sykes, Hoffi's brand workshop is perfect for developing an understanding of branding and how it is integral to your company.
During the morning Julian will discuss examples of what branding is, what it is not and why having a good brand is valuable for your business. Covering what the key ingredients of a good brand are, concentrating on how to use your brand to position itself in the marketplace.
8.30 - 9.00 Networking and refreshments.
9.00 - 9.30 Understanding brands how they evolve within the marketplace.
9.30 - 10.00 Workshop: Develop a rich understanding of your customer and how they interact with your brand.
10.00 - 10.30 Networking and refreshments.
10.30 - 11.00 The Future: How brands are changing within the market place.
11.00 - 11.30 How trends affect your brand.
11.30 - 12.00 Networking and questions.
If you would like further information before you book, please contact Hoffi's brand director Julian on 029 2048 7941 or e-mail shwmai@hoffi.com
Last night Renato (follow him here @Kyanos)twittered a link to Yowayowacamera a Japanese photographer that takes pictures of herself levitating (and some cats). Amazed by how eerie her pictures looked (and egged on by Renato) we decided to have a go for ourselves
Above are her efforts, and below are ours :)
In preparation for the playARK - games festival and talks , I have been thinking about getting some new trainers. I have for years now had Converse and Puma and have never really seen myself buying NIKE, but after playing around with NIKEiD I have a number of choices (in ARK colours of course), to decide I have pasted them all together for people to vote let me know your thoughts.
It's Elin's birthday today and here she is blowing out the candles on her cake.
And here she is in a zen like state... Penblwydd hapus and have a fab day!
Posted by Andrew Thomas
Once again we were lucky to be asked to work on the Cardiff Design Festival's website, which promotes the festival's events and manages submissions to the 'Best of Welsh Design Awards'. This year we entered three projects including our work for The Proper Welsh Milk Company, Customising, Culture and Harley-Davidson exhibition, and The Grove - a luxury boutique hotel based in Narberth Pembrokeshire. Hoffi have also been nominated along with COIN, Cynnal Cymru and BWA by The Energy Saving Trust, for our work on the Nyth Nest, making Wales cosy brand.
In 2010 we enabled a star rating system for all submissions to the 'Best of Welsh Design Awards', and this year is back, but this time with a running chart to give it a real top of the pops feel. So... If you like our work, please take a moment to vote on Hoffi's submissions.
Posted by Carwyn Jones
We have probably mentioned it here before, but a couple of months ago we all went down to IGfest's games festival in Bristol. The festival is full of street games, outdoor spectacles, mass social interaction, the reclamation of public urban spaces for play and adventure.
The highlight of the festival is the 2.8 Hours Later game, 2.8 Hours Later is a chilling night-time street game with 300 players. We had to survive a night in Bristol, running between eight movie sets without becoming a zombie and save the city from apocalypse.
We just found the below pictures of us, stuck in the hell that was, Bristol shopping centre!
Oh and if you fancy trying something like this yourself, then why not try Cardiff's very own street game, Everwake
everwake the game trailer from playARK on Vimeo.