Willmore Design

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Managing Director of Lawtools. We are a privately owned Australian company established in 1949. For over 70 years, Lawtools has been a trusted supplier and distributor of high quality products to a variety of industries, markets and trades. These include; Hardware Tools & Machinery, Building Supplies and Locksmith & Security. We also manufacture some tools ourselves under the brand ‘GFB’.

For what projects/services did your company hire Willmore Design, and what were your goals?

The GFB branding and packaging had been developed in a slightly organic manner. Many inconsistencies had crept in over time and multiple versions of the logo existed. The packaging incorporated an overly complicated colour system which confused product lines. The result was a jumbled hierarchy of information that presented poorly. We were expanding the GFB range and it was clear that the brand strategy and packaging needed to be rethought.

How did you select this vendor?

Willmore Design was recommended to us through our photographer, Luke Parminter.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Willmore Design researched competitor brands. This gave us a clearer picture of how different competitors were presenting themselves and where we needed to position ourselves in order to stand out. A core brand concept centred around the idea of ‘Industrial Tough’ was developed and this became the unifying idea which informed the creative brief.

Willmore Design evolved the GFB logo by simplifying the previously used chevron symbol into a single more powerful arrow. The old GFB font was brought up to date and made to look much more robust and industrial with our own unique letters. Our colour range was strengthened by adding a deeper blue. Together we rationalised and simplified our product lines.

Willmore Design then developed an information system with a clear hierarchy which governs layouts & packaging. The new identity was applied to a range of core packaging in the initial stage of work. Over time we have refreshed all our GFB packaging and print material. Once the initial stage of work was complete, we brought the Lawtools identity and website in line with the GFB identity.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked with Charlie and his team of assistants.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The new range is now much more consistent in overall look and feel and has a much more robust appearance in line with the strategy we developed. Since implementing the work we have expanded our distributors of the GFB range and this has contributed towards steady sales. How

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

We started the initial project in September 2014. Since then we have continued to work with Willmore Design. Sometimes this is on an ad hoc basis – for example a new product’s packaging needs designing. We have ongoing promotional marketing material that we produce and regularly update our GFB catalogue.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The level of detail and consideration was awe-inspiring. Charlie gave thoughtful feedback and brought up matters we hadn't considered before.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

There was nothing fundamental..... we appreciate the time and effort that Charlie has brought to the project and continues to do so.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the Managing Director of Supahawk. We provide hail recovery services to the Australian Automotive sector by aggregating and managing a large number of technicians in the event of major disasters.

For what projects/services did your company hire Willmore Design, and what were your goals?

Our business was a start up. We needed to create a strong identity and profile which was appropriate for our business idea and that would help differentiate us from our competitors. A key part of this was creating a strong name that would be easily remembered. We also needed a robust brand identity to help us stand out.

How did you select this vendor?

We had met Charles Willmore through another organisation. We were impressed with his knowledge of the steps we needed to go through plus the solid branding results Willmore Design had achieved, so chose to work with them.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Willmore Design took us through the whole process, guiding us step by step working with us. Initially we began with a series of workshop interviews – they were very keen to understand the market in which we operate and the processes we follow. They researched our competitors and this helped lead to defining our brand position and developing our brand strategy.

This was an important first step towards creating the business name – the strategy material helped feed the name generation process. We worked on the name together. Willmore Design provided us with the structure to work within. We worked in short ‘naming sprints’ creating and reviewing naming material together.

This helped maintain momentum which was crucial as we needed to create our new profile quickly. The new name “Supahawk” is great because the URLs that we wanted to register were available. The name is also strong and memorable. Once the name was created and secured, they worked on the brand identity which was put in place fairly swiftly.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We had met Charles Willmore through another organisation. We were impressed with his knowledge of the steps we needed to go through plus the solid branding results Willmore Design had achieved, so chose to work with them.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Immediately after the initial project was implemented we won two significant contracts.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

There was a fairly demanding amount of information and work we had to provide from our side. Fortunately Willmore Design broke this down into manageable bite sized chunks, so that the branding process did not impact too heavily on our other work. This helped keep the project on track without being detrimental to our day to day work.

Also, Willmore Design was flexible. They understood that as a start up we had a limited budget and were able to tailor the scope of services to our specific need. They were collaborative and valued our feedback through the whole process.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They stressed the importance of having a really solid brand strategy in place before commencing creative work. They took the trouble to understand the business we are in and what needed to be communicated. They were not prepared to waste time and money on creativity until an appropriate strategy was in place. They involved us in every key step in the process, so there were no surprises

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Charlie is a unique human being on Earth. Extremely intelligent. He has a brilliant way to understand his customer's needs and placing ideas on paper where things start happening with a great sense of motivation. Thank you to Willmore Design. I am reaching great results in my business and consequently in my life.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of ICEPACK, a truck manufacturing company. We market, sell, and support our products all over Australia. We have a total of 70 employees, including 50 people at our main location. 

What challenge were you trying to address with Willmore Design?

Prior to our engagement with Willmore, we did our marketing and branding all by ourselves. We didn’t have a professional approach to how we presented our business on the internet or in advertising. As a result, we engaged Willmore’s services. They revamped our marketing campaigns, image, and branding. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, our rebranding efforts centered around developing a new logo. Willmore Design looked at our existing products to understand what we were all about. Not only did they have to design a new logo; they also had to justify and sell it to us. Meanwhile, Charles (Owner) worked on the themes that we used to present our products in advertising. He made everything look similar from colors to designs to make our brand recognizable. 

On top of that, we changed the way we marketed our business to the general public. Previously, we marketed ourselves under another engineering brand in Brisbane. However, the rest of Australia only knew about ICEPACK. Charles convinced us to drop the other engineering brand and retain ICEPACK. This simplified our marketing and advertising efforts. 

Moreover, Willmore Design did extensive market research. They called good, bad, and random customers to find out what they felt about our products. We learned that people didn’t know we manufactured our own products. As a result, we worked to sell the fact that we had young people and apprentices manufacturing our products; we didn’t simply import parts. 

During the project, we moved into new premises, so Willmore revamped the appearance of our building. They changed the color schemes on our walls and inside the building. They also applied our new branding to various assets, such as brochures, business cards, shirts, and email letterheads. Then, the team gave us instructions on where to use and not to use the new logo, making us more self-sufficient. They also worked with us during our truck shows.

What is the team composition?

We worked directly with Charles, and he had a graphic designer and a photographer.

How did you come to work with Willmore Design?

We met them through the referral of a business associate. We’d never used graphic design services at that point even though we’d been in business for around 20 years. Soon, we realized that we needed to step up. As it happened, our business contact was into marketing, and he told us to contact Willmore Design. That was how we met the team; we didn’t do any other research or speak to other designers. 

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around $20,000 AUD (approximately $15,000 USD). 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our collaboration lasted from December 2015–March 2017. The initial project lasted nine months. 

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We not only liked Willmore Design’s logo output; we also knew where it came from and why it looked like that. We loved it because it had an incredibly simple and balanced design. It also fit our market in so many ways. We could laser-print, fabricate, or print it on the back of our trucks. We could make it bigger or smaller; we could put it in front of our building or put it on machines and badges — it was truly versatile.

Moreover, Charles didn’t only produce great work; he also made us believe in it 100%. He did a fantastic job, and everything else that Willmore Design did was sensational. Our business grew throughout the entire engagement period. While that may not be attributed to their services alone, we definitely needed the revamped branding they provided. 

How did Willmore Design perform from a project management standpoint?

We communicated through email, and we did have hard deadlines. Charles managed the timeframes by himself, which was challenging. We were trying to run a business, so he had to commit to the deadlines that we gave him. He handled those deadlines exceptionally well.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Personally, I loved their artistic designs. Charles’ designs always looked balanced.  For instance, when I gave him a design that looked ordinary, it looked perfect when he gave it back to me. In other words, he was truly talented. He’d also explain the design’s aspects such as its shades, lighting, and empty spaces. He was very professional this way. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there weren’t any. Charles was great.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It takes time and a fair amount of work to get something that truly fits what you want. Willmore Design will take time to gain knowledge of your needs to give you a good proposal. When they do that, you can believe in their proposal; in your heart, you’ll know that they know what they’re talking about and it’s going to work. In other words, you need to have faith in Willmore Design to take time and make good decisions. 

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a visual artist. Since 2002 I have been regularly exhibiting my work in high profile, artist-run spaces in Australia and overseas.

For what projects/services did your company hire Willmore Design, and what were your goals?

In 2002 I engaged Willmore Design to design and manage the print and digital production of private view invitations, illustrated catalogues and gallery labels for my exhibitions. I wanted an attention to detail, quality of materials and refined aesthetic consistent with the presentation of the work of a full-time fine art practitioner. Since that time, Willmore Design have regularly produced excellent design work for my exhibitions, both in Brisbane and interstate.

How did you select this vendor?

I selected Willmore Design on the basis of their reputation, international experience and sophisticated understanding of design principles.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

After some consultation, we arrived at a branding solution appropriate to my vision and goals as an artist. This allowed us to produce a kind of template which could be re-used on a regular basis, enabling me to present my work in a way which enabled both variety and continuity of identity. The framework we established ensured that relatively little time or effort was required to maintain a consistently high quality of presentation from year to year.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked directly with the director, Charles Willmore as well as a junior member of his design team.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

All exhibitions to which Willmore Design provided assistance have been successful from both a commercial and critical point of view. My clients have consistently remarked on the quality and usefulness of the printed and digital support material.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

The project management of Willmore Design was always in a decisive and timely manner.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Willmore Design has a consistent record of producing work with a fresh, contemporary character while respecting the timeless principles of graphic design.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

None spring to mind.

Please describe your company and your position there.

Zeroplus is design research consultancy with a focus on industry funded social enterprise projects. I am the principal and originally established Zeroplus over ten years ago

For what projects/services did your company hire Willmore Design, and what were your goals?

Willmore Design have continually helped us over the years to develop our brand identity and its applications in relation website design, social media and other areas as required at any point in time. Ours is a particularly unique and cutting edge area in which to operate and we required someone who understood our objectives and continually changing needs to promote and develop our research consultancy. In this regard Willmore Design have been exceptional in helping us to develop a brand identity that reflects our role.

How did you select this vendor?

We had worked together in the past and I was familiar with Willmore Design capability

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

Willmore Design set up a number of meetings to workshop through the role and operation of our research consultancy, this also provided us with a better understanding of what we were trying to do in the early days and to better focus on our intended market audience. We have continued this process with Willmore Design from time to time as the research consultancy has developed.

The branding outcomes have included total Website Design, promotional and marketing publications both as digital and hard copies, stationery items, social media branding in terms of style and use of images, content and so on

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We worked directly with Designer Charles Willmore and his design assistant

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We operate in a unique field and this would be challenging for any brand designer to successfully negotiate and then meet our particular needs. The fact we have continually developed as our needs and client base has continually shifted clearly reflects the success of Willmore Design branding, basically they have continually nailed it.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Willmore Design have a professional, yet personable style that creates a strong sense of team collaboration, we would see them as an extension of Zeroplus that we can readily call upon as we require.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The very high quality of their design creativity and attention to detail. They focus on long-term, lasting impact rather than short term superficial outcomes or 'flavour of the month' approaches.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

They are excellent and nothing really comes to mind.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

This was actually a personal project — we collected my mother’s memories and photographs in a professionally published volume that spanned her lifetime.

What challenge were you trying to address with Willmore Design?

We were in desperate need of a typesetter. We had tried to do the work ourselves but found it far too complex. We had a tight deadline to meet.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They handled design, typesetting, and layout. The book was over 350 pages long and included almost 500 photographs. We supplied them with the book’s manuscript in plainly formatted Microsoft Word documents, and they had to incorporate text and photos in the book’s design on our very short deadline.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Charles (Owner & Lead Designer).

How did you come to work with Willmore Design?

The printer we were working with recommended Willmore Design because they’d received good feedback regarding their work from other clients. Charles also happened to be in the same building as our printer, so that was very convenient.

How much have you invested with them?

We invested $6,000 with Willmore Design.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with Willmore Design from July–August 2021; the work took 5–6 weeks.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The book turned out spectacular — it well exceeded our expectations. We’d expected a small volume of black-and-white text with separate pages of color photographs, but Charles integrated the photos where they applied to the text. He did a brilliant and quite creative job.

How did Willmore Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Willmore Design had some of the best project management skills I’ve ever seen. This project was extremely tightly scheduled and accurately estimated.

I had worked with a lot of graphic designers who were good at art in my previous job, but Charles was really good at the technical aspects of creating this book. He knew all the necessary software and figured out timelines and turnarounds to ensure that we met our deadlines. He really took the deadline pressure off us.

We communicated via phone calls and email. We also collaborated with the printer to make sure that everything we worked on made the print job easier. We shared documents with Willmore Design via an online filesharing service. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

We were impressed by Willmore Design’s extremely close attention to detail. Charles didn’t forget a single item. He was extremely well organized and creative, and even wrote off a small number of hours to help us stay within budget.

Charles successfully pulled this project together on time for our September 2021 book launch even though there were a lot of things working against us. The timing was extremely tight,  as we were trying to complete this project during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything that Charles could’ve done better.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You’d be well-off to trust Charles. He’s so self-motivated and organized that I can’t think of any way you could make things go more smoothly. He can handle everything without daily interventions.

Please describe your company and your position there.

I was the Clubs Vice President at the time we are a community-based semi-professional football club based in the SE Qld Region.

For what projects/services did your company hire Willmore Design, and what were your goals?

We required a new branding identity to celebrate our 50 years- so we needed new logos, club profile, and sponsorship investment portfolio booklet to be produced.

How did you select this vendor?

Recommendation and interview process

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

I explain our club values and future direction and how we wanted to portrayed and perceived in the football sector. I explained how we wanted to attract sponsorship partners to join us and support our club.

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

I worked directly with the company director.

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The new branding designs have freshened up our look and feel and brought our club into the current. Now it is ready for future growth that we are planning. Our logo and marketing collaterals are very contemporary and is well received by the whole club.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

we have initial meetings and a few boardroom meetings- the remaining of the work was via email and phone conversation.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Their ability to provide varied options on all of the items required, and they gave good overall variations.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

No