When I talk to a client about their new website, invariably there are elements of a design project which are unclear. They know what their business does and perhaps the proud history and achievements. Yet, things tend to get a little fuzzier when we discuss what they are going to do in the future.

Perhaps it’s a new product that’s still in development or a feature they want to add to the site (such as a News section) that requires an ongoing member of staff to maintain. Invariably this relatively minor issue tends to hold everything up.

To break the impasse, I usually suggest we hold back and add it later. Because, why not? It has the advantage of streamlining the project, making it more manageable in the short term. Plus, adding in additional features later allows for organic growth. Rather than a compromise, I like to think of this as ‘incremental web design’.

You get the full project, but in a planned, gradual way.

It’s been quite a week – wrapping up one logo project, just beginning the identity for something else.

It’s enjoyable work but by far the most labour-intensive that we do. When either a marketing lead or entrepreneur hire a designer, they usually expect creativity. We’re happy to oblige – it’s just that the end result tends not to be what they expected. Because how could it ever be?

We just aim high and hope the result is a pleasing one.

Quality of life: that’s what is at the core of our latest project. Our long-standing client Cavendish Care spent the best part of 2018 establishing an Activity Centre for their clientele of Learning Disabled people just outside the centre of Crawley in West Sussex.

Our challenge was to brand it.

The centre is based in a refurbished Tudor cottage (with a large rear extension) that has been totally customised, creating large, gorgeous spaces for every imaginable activity.

Devising an identity for ARC Crawley and rolling it out has been a real pleasure over the last six months – essentially building a healthcare brand from scratch.

Some people prefer not to be pigeonholed. That’s certainly the case with cabinet-maker Gary Worth. His work has a tendency to bend around his clients: getting to know them, then making a piece of furniture that is the right fit. Personally and literally.

This understanding of lifestyles and a great use of space is essential in a craftsman of his calibre but makes categorisation tricky. As a result, he’s hard to define and is no fan of a label. Furniture maker or interior designer? He reckons there’s no need to choose. The best way of thinking about his work, he says, is that it bridges the gap between the two.

As a result, our new brand and website for him does just that as well.

The last decade I’ve been running my design business has felt rather like being on a rollercoaster. The financial crisis was tough, but three general elections, a referendum and the Article 50 deadline has resulted in a recurring nightmare. I wouldn’t wish that little lot on my worst enemy.

As each of these events has drawn closer, it has had the identical effect on clients, colleagues and friends. That of anxiety, uncertainty and an understandable caution resulting in an unwillingness to commit to big projects.

It got me thinking about how I’ve navigated each of these five events – especially as the fifth is midway through and may even be postponed, causing a double-big-dipper effect. How does a service-industry business keep selling and steady the ship in turbulent times?

For a few of our clients, the journey from the briefing of a project to the full, finished product can take some time. This is particularly true when collaborating in the financial services industry where there are stringent regulatory constraints around promotions and marketing.

One such client is Oxford Investment Consultants. We designed their branding over a year ago and launched a small website at the time. The bulk of the work we had done however remained under wraps. However – the wait is over. Following their full FCA authorisation, this past week has seen the launch of the complete site we had planned from the outset.

It’s a project that I’m really proud of and a great piece of new design for financial services. It’s a strong case study of the work we’ve been doing in that industry over the last couple of years.