The Year that was

Well it's that time of year again when people reflect on the year that is slowly losing it's grip. This year has been difficult for everyone. Financially the recession has hit and it's been all doom and gloom, if the media is anything to go by. For us experiencing a recession for the first time it was initially quite daunting. While we are not fully out of it, we seem to have weathered the storm.

I think what has been different from previous recessions has been access to information. People have been able to look historically to see what happened before and what brands came out stronger from these recessions. From our experiences. People seem to be looking at their businesses and brands ever so slightly differently. It's now seems to be a case of looking broadly as to how a business can contribute to society rather than only making money. It has been really exciting to explore this new way of working with people through the strategy and branding process. For us personally it has been something that has been integrated into Hoffi from the beginning.



Having setup NakedWales - a community space that allows for artists and designers to share information. We set it up with the idea of raising the overall profile of design in Wales. With this added awareness we hoped to raise the overall perceived importance of Design. With the idea of raising standards and exposure of design. In a similar way the recent work I have been involved in through ARK which has been set up to try and answer some of the current social issues.

Finally one thing I really need to remember is when attending launch events I need to take home the goodie bags.

Chapter subsidence

Had a great weekend which included a quick drink at Chapter Arts Centre. In the new Cwtch area I came across this small object. Not being a builder or surveyor I can only assume it has been setup to check that the walls are not moving too much. For me though it leads on from a talk I was involved in a few weeks ago at the unConference. The talk was about the possibility of building 'talking' or reacting to the user. While a very basic interpretation of this I loved the idea of what information the building is giving us as to how this particular wall is reacting to the world. I am sure sensors in buildings are not new but I wonder if they can be used in fun and interesting ways to aid understanding could be very interesting. It also reminds me of some similar work Andrew is working on with the development of the nakedwales site.

Chapter subsidence, originally uploaded by julian marshall sykes findings.

NakedWales Pub Quiz

NakedWales Pub Quiz, originally uploaded by julian marshall sykes findings.

The NakedWales quiz took place this week. We had a great turnout. Thanks to everyone who came. You can see some more pics on my flickr account.

Dont forget the NakedWales pub quiz

On the 19th October we will be arranging the annual pub quiz for the Cardiff Design Festival via our community website NakedWales. Hope you can all make it.

Do Lectures

I came across this flickr presentation about the Do Lectures via howies blog. Over the last few years with my involvement with Cardiff Design Festival it is so obviously about people who get things done and go beyond talking. Through our (Hoffi) work with the Design Festival we setup up www.nakedwales.com to try and drive art + design community and also bring exposure to those who want to put the effort in. It is still early days with the site but hopefully it will develop and grow. Ultimately though it is up to the community to make it what they want.

UWIC students visit the Hoffi office

Our newly designed studio got tested to the extreme yesterday when we were invaded by over 11 3rd year graphic design students from UWIC. We are once again helping UWIC out with one of their professional study projects. This year we are going to be setting a branding project for the groups to give them a further insight into professional practice and how projects are realised in the commercial sector.

The project will last for around a month or so and we will let you know what we thought of the experience as it happens, the results will be published on the NakedWales website in the next few months or so. for an idea of cramed our office was and to get a sneak peak of the new decor have a look at the image.

Cardiff Design Festival 2008 - NakedWales launch

So the Festival is just round the corner and we are busy producing the exhibition for the festival as well as this though we are also arranging a get together for the design community through the NakedWales website that we run. We are looking at Tuesday 14th in the Bay somewhere. We should have all the details confirmed tomorrow so look out for your invitation by email of course.

On another note we are hoping this years festival will be bigger and better than ever, so look out for some other the other events such as the Ball at the end which is sounding very intriguing.