The Yard Creative

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the general manager of the Derby Centre at Savills, which is a shopping center. We have two hundred stores in the shopping center and are one of the top 10 shopping centers in the country.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

The challenge was to rebrand the shopping center. We were part of a group that had 15 different shopping centers under one brand that went into administration last year. We approached The Yard to create a new brand for the shopping center because it didn’t have a name or a unique identity.

What was the scope of their involvement?

We asked The Yard to critically think about our business and its strategic direction rather than focus on collateral. Their team undertook research with key stakeholders in our city and our business, including customers. They looked into growth opportunities and worked to understand our DNA to come up with a unique position.

The Yard crafted our story around the city’s history. Their team then worked on a name and brand guidelines, which they’re applying to different elements in the business. They’re designing our website with our web provider so that our website fits the guidelines.

What is the team composition?

I’ve worked with 5–6 people from The Yard.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

One of our consultants recommended The Yard. We invited them to tender alongside four other agencies. We checked their credentials and previous work. They had great experience in our industry.

How much have you invested with them?

We committed to £150,000 pounds (approximately $205,000 USD) and there’ll be an additional £30,000 (approximately $41,000 USD) on top of that.

What is the status of this engagement?

We appointed The Yard around September 2020, and they’ll finish the contract in June 2021.

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

We’re really, really pleased with the position The Yard made for us, which is unique. Their team’s facilitating customer testing, and we’re pleased with the results. Their stakeholder management is also excellent, helping us manage our stakeholders and owners. Their team presents their work to them and received excellent feedback on their creative route.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

When we first conversed with them, I was pleased that they included their thoughts for our direction. The Yard took a methodological approach to the project and presented a project plan that their team follows. Their team was quite agile when we told them that we needed to deliver certain elements early such as uniforms. They were able to accommodate and achieve that.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’m most impressed by their enthusiasm. They got behind the project and put a great team on it. The Yard made a great effort to understand our city and immersed themselves in it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I would absolutely recommend them. I would encourage any city center, shopping center, or destination to check out the yard.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director and a co-founder of Black + Blanc. We’re a real estate company that specializes in sales, lettings, land, and new homes.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We were looking for a full scope offline to online coverage of our brand to launch into the market. We wanted to be perceived as a change to what the reputation the public has of realtors or estate agents in this country.

We wanted to work with a brand that would be able to articulate and demonstrate that.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Yard Creative was commissioned on everything from branding to retail design space of our offices. They’ve now designed our third office. Initially, they designed our two offices for the first six months of launch and focused on marketing collateral and brand identities.

They held a creative day with us twice. They asked a lot of questions, which was something I hadn’t experienced before. The reason we commissioned them to work on our brand, and our business was because of the way they pitched their service. We gave them our brief, but they expanded on it a lot more.

What is the team composition?

We had a team of four or five individuals. We had someone working on the retail experience, someone working on the branding, someone working on the copy and communication, and another individual working on other creative elements that we wanted to implement.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

We actually met five or six creative agencies. We’ve had a relationship with them since we launched this business in January 2017.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent £110,000 (approximately $141,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2017. We’ve recently commissioned them on our third office.

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

The Yard Creative put a lot of hard work into defining what our brand looks like today. We are quite a tech-friendly individuals here, and we have had a lot of direct mail campaigns that are analyzed, and we had a lot of creative elements distributed through Facebook marketing and PPC adverts.

We analyze the performance by the reaction of the public and demographic and how they have received our brand, and it has been positive. We have been able to keep a good eye on which metrics work for us and the type of stuff that their team first provided us with and how it has evolved because the brand has evolved quite a bit since its inception.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?                      

It has been exceptional. I wouldn’t have a bad word to say about them. We see them as almost our founding partners, and they are like a family to us now. My business partner and I have worked very closely with them.

Steve (Founder) is one of the main reasons we use The Yard Creative because of his passion, drive, commitment, and his opportunity to assist startup businesses. We are no longer a startup, but when we commissioned them, we were a startup, and we were relatively young guys, and I would say it has been exceptional from a project management standpoint.

They always deliver, they take amendments on board, and they have a positive outlook. They won’t just listen to you; they will give you their opinion on their ideas and give you an opportunity to find the perfect mix.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I think that they genuinely take their research and their project profiling very seriously. I think they focus on what we are looking for as a client. They will effectively not give you one or two bits of work, but they will provide you with three variable options on where the market sits. They will always position your brand and see where it fits from an offline to an online trajectory, and I think they are very forward-thinking.

They keep you updated on where your brand should be going or where the retail experience is developing. Overall, they seem to be ahead of the curve. I tried to use other creative agencies in between, but I see the difference in caliber and the difference in sticking to timelines and delivering. They will always deliver, and if there is any form of delay, it will be for the best of your business. It won’t be from their side; it will be to work on your brand more effectively.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be good to see them work with even more startups. I think they are trying their best, but I think it would be nice to see them work with a few more startups and get their name out there a bit more if you are someone with a bit of passion and are looking to create a good brand and have it articulated to the public. It would be nice to see them push themselves a bit more for startups because I think they can help a lot of people.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Something that Steve told me when I first started my journey in launching my business, is that you have to be willing to do anything.

My advice to anyone that is going to be working with The Yard Creative is, to be honest with them and be transparent. They will deliver what you need, but you should be transparent with them from the beginning so that they can deliver what you want. They will always exceed what your expectations are of your brand.

 How I envisioned this brand initially looks completely different and, in the end, I would say it is for the better. I would say that as long as you put the effort in, and you put the conviction to articulate your brand and where you want it to sit, as well as what your needs are and if you are ethically or morally inclined to go in a certain way or portray your business in a certain way, articulate that to their team because they will put their spin on it and get you out there in a different and better way.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work on a digital team that focuses on product delivery and new innovation areas relating to how we take products to market.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We wanted to develop a go-to-market strategy for a new digital product.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Ideally, they would provide us with a customer perspective on the appetite for the product and what the UX could look like within a mobile channel. We gave them a brief of the product, which communicated the overall strategy that we were trying to achieve. From there, they created and walked us through their branding strategy and proposition. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with about 4–6 people, including designers, a researcher, a creative director, and Steve (Co-Founder) himself. 

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I’d done work with them before, so I approached them when this project popped up.  

What is the status of this engagement?

We started the project in the fall of 2019, and the engagement wrapped up in May 2020.

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

They’ve wrapped up their work and made recommendations that should allow us to go to market successfully. However, it’s too early to provide metrics. Anecdotally, we’re totally satisfied and see the value they bring with their work.  

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re exception project managers. In fact, I’d be happy to use them again when another opportunity arises. They managed expectations, so we always knew what was coming next. The rigor and dedication to the requirements were quite impressive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their recommendations are always sensible and aligned with our overall business thinking. The quality of their work was also very impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Spend plenty of time evaluating the brief to ensuring that your expectations are aligned with what you’ve communicated.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Travelex is the largest non-bank foreign exchange provider in the world. We focus on retail foreign exchange and wholesale banknotes, and we have some space in the digital realm as well with e-commerce payments.

I’m the global retail and performance innovation director. I’ve been at Travelex for 14 years, and I’ve held several positions there.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

In my new role as performance innovation director, I was predominantly focused on the retail agenda of the organization. Part of my brief was to bring together the top 700 leaders across our business, and, equally, our network brands. The event was called LIVE, an acronym for “Leadership, Innovation, Values, and Execution”. I wanted to do something different, and not have it be just another off-site event at a hotel with some pullup banners and an overhead projector. I wanted it to be a much more immersive experience to help people to understand the intent of our acronym long after the even happened.

It was about maintaining a level of engagement with that population after they’d gone back to their 9–5 jobs on Monday and maintaining that commitment and vested interest in what we talked about. I wanted visitors to integrate it into daily duties and conversations with their teams and I picked up the phone to Steve (Co-Founder) knowing what they do. I briefed him on the project and asked for some outside thinking. Steve was up for the challenge. The Yard Creative listened and took down scrupulous notes to then provide a response.

I had a little less to do with the second job, but I was still involved with it in my retail director role. We’d recently won a contract at one of our major airports in the UK, and we had an in-house team but we wanted a sparring partner that could challenge us and stretch our imagination on what the future of foreign exchange retail looked and felt like, in terms of engaging experience, technology, and everything else in-between. The Yard Creative worked with our in-house team to envision the new era of foreign exchange retail and put some serious space between us and our competitors.

What was the scope of their involvement?

For the LIVE event, there were some suggestions around trying to do away with paper agendas, PDFs, and emails, and bringing an app into the mix. We did that, along with a couple of other things. It was a leading off-site, and people hadn’t seen anything like it before. They raved about it, and they were engaged all the way through.

In both cases, they did market research and came back with proven industry methods and really out-there thinking that had been qualified by other markets and industries. They advocated almost a holistic view of who they thought our target customers were, ratified by the research they did.

They presented what other retailers were considering based on the problems they were trying to solve. They anticipated what problems we were trying to solve, and equally asked us about those. There were considerations, suggestions, and strong recommendations put in front of us. Equally, they respected that we had some brand guidelines, and fused those with their expertise.

They also produced some design pieces for us for the second project.

What is the team composition?

I dealt with Steve directly in the first instance, with the LIVE off-site piece. I know that other people were engaged as part of that as well. For the second project, I worked with another individual from The Yard Creative.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I was introduced to Steve through a professional contact. I met Steve at an event, and we chatted for ages, sharing our love for engagement, innovation, performance, and doing things differently. We were kindred spirits as such, and that’s how I knew he was the person I should speak to. This was underpinned by his extensive relationships and success with some very big international brands. He was coming from a place of experience and had some really good credentials.

How much have you invested with them?

The first project had cost under £10,000 ($12,500 USD). The second piece cost over £10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with The Yard Creative in September or October 2018. The second project took place in mid-2019. Things have very much changed now, with COVID-19; we had a partnership in early-2020, but we’ve reduced external partnerships.

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

The Yard Creative produced a lot of suggestions for the first project, and I adopted some of those. The feedback from colleagues was that there was a level of professionalism that we hadn’t experienced with those types of events. The immersion and innovation we brought to those events were brilliant.

From a content, execution, and aesthetic detail perspective, I give them 10/10. They were able to turn complex information into clearly articulated messages, which helped me provide a level of clarity to other teams around what we needed to produce, whether it was for an organization or for an airport partner.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re good, humble people, on top of their game. If I’m going to spend my organization’s money, I need to bring a return on that investment. In that regard, I knew that they were always going to bring some really good returns on our investment. They were professional, quick, and slick. What I also liked about The Yard Creative is that they had skin in the game. It’s almost as though they took each project or job personally and tried to impart some of their DNA into it. Essentially, that sets them up for their next client and next round.

They were always there, even though it was a short collaboration. Steve always touched base asking how it was all going and whether we wanted them to look at anything. He wasn’t looking to invoice, but just generally wanted to know how I was getting on. That didn’t go unnoticed, and the empathy they had in putting the customer at the core of their innovation was exceptional. It was the same with their aftercare. That’s a little detail that echoes very loudly in their character as an organization.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When I briefed Steve, I told him that we wanted a sparring partner. He told me that they were willing to be that, but that they wouldn’t just be putting out a million things for us to hopefully pick one. They were going to put some good thoughts in front of us, and they were going to really push a couple of them, because they’d done their research and believed in those. That’s what we look for in a partner: we want someone to provide strong recommendations and back those up with facts, research, and resource.

We sometimes need someone to come in and play an impartial role, someone who didn’t have emotional ties to the organization and its people and could objectively push us through a sticking point. That’s what The Yard Creative did, and they did it very well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is a tough one. Nothing springs to mind, and it probably shouldn’t because The Yard Creative has dealt with some significant heavy-hitters, ranging from small boutiques to global corporations. Their ability to flex and bend their support and persona to the company is a credit to them.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients need to be clear, admit when they don’t know something, and make sure the parameters are set with the team. I needed a sparring partner, meaning someone in the ring who’s able to throw shots and make us a better version of ourselves. If a company is a bit loose or ambiguous, The Yard Creative can also bring the rules of engagement to the table, but it’s always better for the client to do that.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Benjamin Fitzmaurice: Our organization is a sports apparel company. We were the creators of the sports compression sector, which we’ve been the leaders of for over 20 years.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

BF: We brought them on both for our brand relaunch as well as market research.

What was the scope of their involvement?

Simon Goodfellow:  We worked on a six-stage process with them. We thought we knew what our brand was, but without market research, we didn’t really understand who our customers were and what they reacted to. 

The beginning of the six-stage process was an introductory period. We wanted to get everyone on board and increase your market research efforts. Then, we had a day of collaboration. We went through all the aspects of our brand, from packaging to products, as well as through previous campaigns. 

The Yard Creative then conducted research by speaking to customers, distributors, and anyone that had been involved with the brand and was still involved with the brand. 

Based on that research, we then started putting together the brand strategy and brand positioning, and the final stage was the brand concept.

What is the team composition?

SG:  We worked at all levels. Our general touchpoints were with Steve (Founder) and Laurence (Director of Interiors). They also brought in people responsible for different phases of the project, whether it was designers or researchers. We worked with about six to eight different people in total.

BF: The good thing was that all the touchpoints were involved in the presentation of the end result with us, so we could hear directly from everyone who had a hand in the project.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

BF: I found them on Clutch which was the starting point. I was struck by their reviews and the quality of the work, so I told Simon about them. It just went from there.

SG: I think we got the list down to about four different agencies. One was an agency I had worked with previously. We reviewed them all and took it down to two, one being The Yard Creative and the other the one I’d worked with before. 

The Yard completely shone because their approach is unique and very refreshing, whereas the other one is more traditional.

How much have you invested in them?

BF: We spent just shy of £97,000 (approximately $118,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

Our ongoing collaboration began in January 2020.

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

SG: The distributors the brand has been engaged with for a long period of time were blown away by the level of research. I think everyone has remarked on the amount of work that was presented to us. It’s very comprehensive.

There were some surprises, but there were also some nice confirmations that we were on the right track in certain areas. 

BF: The process with them has been sophisticated, clean, and clear, and it produced the results. The Yard is bringing the brand back on a really clear track, and we now understand what our company is and where it’s going. Ultimately, that’s exactly what we wanted to achieve from this partnership: not just to research and brand, but to help us gain confidence in the market.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

BF: Everything was driven in a way to get a result, and from the initial brief, they kept us informed and we knew where they were going, they hit their timelines and hit all the gateways. 

With other agencies, sometimes the chaos of a lack of project management skills can leave you feeling stressed. With The Yard, they put us in a level of comfort; we don’t have to micromanage the team through the project. 

We can tell them the inputs we need, and the team produces a result. We can properly discuss our objectives, which inspires confidence in all of our partners and distributors.

What did you find most impressive about them?

BF: Their sophistication and voice make them stand out. They’re never overbearing; rather, they provide an environment that’s balanced in its tone of voice. The Yard is able to take a step back and get introspective about what they’re doing. They didn’t just fit us into a mold that other brands might have also created. 

They’re not an agency that steals ideas. They self reflect, they research, and they apply new thinking. 

SG: Everything they have presented to us is based on facts, not opinions. They put the time into understanding who we are, whereas a lot of agencies I’ve worked with in the past just tell you what they think you want to hear or what they believe is right. That was the refreshing thing with these guys.

Are there any areas they could improve?

BF: For me, no. I think they did an excellent job. It would be hard to be critical of them. It’s been a very seamless process — we’ve both been surprised about what we have been given. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

BF: Be willing to be open and to really self reflect on your brand and what you want to get out of the engagement. Don’t go in there with preconceptions because you might get a nice healthy surprise about where you end up.

SG: You have to go in and lay it all out for them and let them sift through it. You will get a much better result than going in there with an idea and asking them to refine it.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the head of global retail for Lindt & Sprungli Chocolate. We are a chocolate producer and retailer. I'm leading the global department for the retail stores.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

I was holding an international meeting with my colleagues from 10 different markets. We were thinking about how we can innovate our sector.

What was the scope of their involvement?

They facilitated the workshops with our 10 global affiliates in order to ensure we understand key market trends. Their team also allowed participants to come up with great innovative ideas to prepare for the future. As of now, we're are in the process of doing another project with them.

What is the team composition?

I worked with the CEO and the creative director. They had another creative resource on board as well.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I asked another agency in the United Kingdom market for a recommendation based on my exact needs. They pointed me toward The Yard Creative.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began in February 2020, and the project ongoing.

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

We had a very good response from the participants, who thought the presentations were really relevant. They triggered the right thought process, and the documents that we received afterward had some strong, actionable ideas.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They are very informal, fast, and reactive. We could always reach them very quickly via the phone or email for more formal matters. Our frequency of communication depends on the project plan and our agreed-upon deliverables. They've always been very reliable.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I've worked with many creative agencies, but their knowledge of the retail market separates them from the rest. They communicate and translate their knowledge profoundly well to meet customer needs. That's really helpful.

For example, there are tons of trends they could have delivered and discussed. However, picking the ones that really resonate with the business model is what makes the difference. That's what they did.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It took them a while to get to know our business in the onboarding phase, but they definitely had an excellent grasp of our needs and offerings by the time the project was underway. So, I can't think of anything they should do differently. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

It was really helpful to have a personal briefing session with the CEO and creative director. There, I really took the time to bring them up to speed on our business to ensure they could help. If you start working with them, give them proper access to your issues so they can play a role in addressing them.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an innovative beauty brand.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

I needed strategy and branding work done so I hired The Yard Creative.

What was the scope of their involvement?

I started by presenting my ideas to them. From there, they helped me strategize, interviewing me to get a grasp on who I was and my goals and vision. They also did some market research.

For example, they checked out competitors to see what they were doing and if there were any points we wanted to use. Overall, their team came up with a brand to represent the company. 

What is the team composition?

I worked with three people to start. As the creative process continued, I worked with just one person, and they fed information to the team.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I looked on Google and Clutch to find a branding specialist and read reviews. When I pitched the idea to this team, I felt they were the most enthusiastic, and had creative ideas that grasped my vision more than other agencies I spoke with. They also had great reviews and specialized in branding.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent around £23,000 (approximately $29,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January – April 2020.

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

They were able to bring my personality and the authenticity I desired into the brand. The brand now represents the company well. I couldn’t feel better about the positive experience I had; I loved working with them. 

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They were incredibly organized and structured, which is very important going through the process. They gave a clear timeline of when I should expect deliverables, and they met them. If there was ever any delay, they were very communicative.

We had about four meetings, but there were weekly conference calls. We also used emails and phone calls almost daily to discuss any ideas or concepts we wanted to toss around.

The way they handled the process never made me feel overwhelmed or pressured to come up with concepts and ideas. Rather, it felt organic, allowing me to stay relaxed and feel more creative.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed by their fresh approach and how they thought of things in a completely different way. They really spent the time getting to know me and what my company was all about. They cared about the project being a success. For example, they still call to check on its progress even though they have finished their part.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, there’s nothing. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be very clear about your mission and why you’re there. Don’t be afraid to push back and challenge throughout the process.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a senior concept designer at John Lewis & Partners, a partnership of a department store and a grocery retailer. I work for the retail side.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We had a 2,000-square-foot space to come up with a new home design studio proposition against a tight timeline. It would focus on home furnishings, which is a really cool part of our business that’s important to us. However, we needed to create a business case backed up by research to prove that this investment wasn’t a waste of time.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Yard Creative did research to help us present a business case for this new store design. We were looking to understand the opportunity in the market, its headroom for growth, what customers to target, and what those customers wanted.

We first explained to them the whole back catalog of our company, products, and versions of our store. The Yard Creative then went out and researched the market and our company’s shops. They did secret shopping trips, went into branches, and talked to partners. After that, they came back with a customer journey map that explained the company’s market, the opportunity to grow, and the audience to target. Our in-house team translated that information into a solution to present internally. 

Because the project was progressing so fast, we had to just design anyway before The Yard Creative’s insight came in. However, we worked collaboratively as they did the research and we did the design so that the end would align anyway. Their research made us think in different directions and helped us to develop the best solutions in the long term.

What is the team composition?

We started with Steve (Co-Founder) as our contact and business development manager. After that, we worked with a team of people, including Miles (Creative Director) and another person. We were in regular conversation and often went to their studio to critique the customer journey map, review it, and make it better for our presentation.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I’d been talking to The Yard Creative for a while. Steve had been emailing me, and I was looking for an opportunity to get them in. The way they operate and think is quite insight-heavy and appealing as an in-house studio. We have lots of longstanding external partners, but I was also looking for a fresh perspective. When this project came up, I reached out to them. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent about $50,000–$100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project ran from October 2018 until March 2019.

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

Thanks to their work, we were able to land a solution internally with a huge number of stakeholders. If we did this inhouse, it would have taken a lot longer. Because The Yard Creative is forward-thinking, they include some trend conversations and future technologies to consider for multi channel retailing. Not only did they get the project done quickly, but they also gave us insights to think about.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

We have our own project management team and a dedicated project manager who was the main point of contact for all things related to contracts. For the day-to-day, our design team communicated with their design team. We had physical meetings as well as a combined project tracker and project timeline that was updated weekly and shared across our teams. All in all, there were lots of separate resources that combined into one project management workflow.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One reason I wanted to use The Yard Creative — and continue to use them — is that they have an enthusiasm for the job that’s uncommon to see. Their energy and enthusiasm are infectious, and it means we never ever have to push them; they’ll push themselves. That excitement also has experience attached to it. If you want something that will push you to think differently, they’ll deliver that. They don’t rehash old content; they’re original thinkers.

Are there any areas they could improve?

A corporate environment requires a bit more polish in presentation, but I don’t want The Yard Creative to be so polished that they lose what makes them special. Plus, it’d be unfair to judge them on that.

Any advice for potential customers?

Give them a brief that will change and transform what you do. Don’t look for a rehash of what’s already done; that’s a waste of their talent.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

K+K Streetfood is a Sri Lankan street food restaurant. We offer authentic flavors from Sri Lanka, where the two other founders and I are from.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We went to The Yard Creative to build an accessible Sri Lankan street food brand. There was nothing like that in the UK, where there were mostly nice, high-end restaurants. The team also designed our kiosk.

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Yard Creative has offered end-to-end services, from creating the brand and voice, to all graphic and asset creation, to the ultimate store design. They also served as the design process manager after we contracted with a builder for the kiosk.

Recently, we’ve also been working with them on social strategy. Following the launch of our store, we wanted to gain more traction. After discussing our goals with The Yard Creative, they produced a complete strategy for us to position our brand in the social world.

We’ve been continuously working with them on our brand story and values, along with the store design itself, the retail delivery process, and the design management aspects.

What is the team composition?

We’ve had three main points of contact. We worked with Laurence (Director of Interiors) on the initial concept and interior. We then worked with an interior design expert, and with a graphics and concept expert, who made all the graphic illustrations for the concept, and ultimately the entire store layout.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

The Yard Creative was recommended to us by the mall we built our kiosk in, along with a few other industry experts, but they stuck out. It was an easy choice to keep working with them for the rebranding project.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$25,000 on the collaboration.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with The Yard Creative in August 2019. Though our kiosk has opened, our engagement with them is ongoing.

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

Our experience building the kiosk was fantastic. The Yard Creative understood our vision of making Sri Lankan food and our childhood memories accessible to everyone, and they executed it very well. We’ve gotten great feedback from our customers, which is one of the reasons we trusted them moving into our next project.

Additionally, we were recently reviewed by a food critic who praised our interior and called ours one of the best restaurant openings since 2016. Our space was referred to as a masterclass in positioning and branding. We attribute the praise to The Yard Creative’s work and support in the build and design management process. 

We often see customers taking pictures when they come in, and there’s a lot of interest in who designed the space. The visual impact is quite high.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

The Yard Creative offers traditional project management, but we chose to use their services for “design management,” where the focus is on the physical implementation matching the creative output. That meant they were in charge of choosing materials and managing the supply chain. 

Given the results, we have no complaints. When we compare the store now next to the initial concept, we can’t even tell the difference between the two.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Though they’re not Sri Lankan themselves, they did an excellent job of understanding our motivations and implementing them visually. Sri Lankan food isn’t very well-known compared to other cuisines, but The Yard Creative was able to communicate our brief and deliver it in an accessible way. When they presented their deliverables, we had no amendments. Their level of engagement was quite special. Even today, their branding materials still resonate with me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

From what we planned to what was implemented, I wouldn’t say there’s anything in particular that could’ve been changed. The build process ran for three weeks, and we didn’t find any major issues. We implemented it as-is, and we’re pretty happy with the end result.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

It’s important to have a clear brief. We wrote a page on our brand goals, and what the project meant to us, which was one of the key things that helped them understand us. They’re open to any criticism, and they want to get the best out of us, so it’s best to collaborate during those creative sessions, rather than telling them what to do.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I worked for Landsec, a development company that has multi-use assets such as offices and retail shopping centers. I’m primarily focused on the retail environment in the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, England. I’m the brand experience manager.

What challenge were you trying to address with The Yard Creative?

We’ve worked on two projects with the team, both with a similar outline. For background, I was responsible for the mid-mall retail kiosks in the shopping center. We did a quality enhancement audit because we didn’t feel that our kiosks represented the fact that we are a top shopping destination in the UK. So, they helped us with a new set of brand guidelines. We send the guidelines to new and potential operators to highlight our standards from a design perspective.

Also, one of our brands didn’t get the best result on the quality enhancement audit. So, The Yard Creative also worked with the brand to design a brand new kiosk.

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we had a kick-off meeting to explain the type of brands that Bluewater wants to convey in its mid-mall kiosks. We were quite flexible with our requirements since The Yard Creative is an expert in their industry, and they know what they’re talking about. 

Then, we had a brainstorm to let them know what we wanted in that brochure. They worked on it and came back with a first draft. We looked through it and had a few tweaks in terms of center-specific information. We did that a couple of times, and then we got the final product.

What is the team composition?

Steve (Co-founder) is the guy I have the closest relationship with from my previous role. But once we chose to go with The Yard Creative, I was put in touch with two of his team members who took charge of the project. 

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

We had narrowed it down to three design agencies and asked them to send over their collateral. I had a relationship with The Yard Creative with my last company, so I knew what they were about. I’d also had conversations with Steve about what we were trying to achieve.

They sent over a pack of case studies, and we went to a couple of their retail presentations. Our team members were really impressed by those presentations. From there, we decided to progress because we liked how they performed and their reputation. 
 
How much have you invested with them?

We invested over $50,000 overall, including the creation of the design guidelines and the re-design of the kiosk.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement began in May 2018, and it was finalized in February 2020.

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

The kiosk that they helped design and deliver has been installed in the mall ever since November of 2019. As a result, there has been a huge uplift in terms of inquiries, customer engagement, and sales. From our perspective, our new rating of the kiosk after the initial quality audit clearly proves that we’re a lot happier with it both aesthetically and functionally.

How did The Yard Creative perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve always been very responsive, approachable, and friendly. They’re experts in their field, but they can always dilute the language into phrases we can understand. There’s never been any issues with their project management. They’re always ready to help or throw in their recommendations. They’re happy to facilitate fast turnarounds if needed.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very good at taking small elements from a conversation and combining those to create something bigger. A lot of other companies need you to steer them. But, The Yard Creative is happy to challenge your comments and make recommendations. Also, they’re always thinking outside of the box, their finger is always on the pulse of innovation. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

They were more expensive than other people in the industry. But, that isn’t their fault. That is their price point, and they were honest about it when we started the project. We were prepared to pay that price because of their knowledge.

Also, they give you a set amount of amendments free of charge, but we had to go through a couple more at a later stage. However, that wasn’t their fault as they made the process clear.
 
Do you have any advice for potential customers?

You should be very transparent and tell them exactly the objectives you’re trying to achieve. Nine times out of 10, They’ll understand and be able to achieve your objectives through design. Be as wild, wacky, and creative as you can, and say exactly what you want in that meeting. They’ll find a way to bring it all into one piece of work.