The Yard Creative

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the Communications Director of an orchestral music company.

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Our company empowers 8-14 year old children to uncover the joy of orchestral music, unleash their creativity and realise their ambitions, through inspirational and supportive orchestal experiences.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire The Yard Creative to accomplish?

• To create a fresh visual identity to reflect our vibrancy, creativity, diversity and child-focus
• To create a public-facing website and secure member area that authentically reflects us.

SOLUTION

How did you find The Yard Creative?

Referral

Why did you select The Yard Creative over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me
• Company values aligned
• Convincing, authentic pitch

How many teammates from The Yard Creative were assigned to this project?

2-5 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Visual Rebrand
A fresh identity that:
● Authentically reflects our vibrancy, creativity, diversity, and child-focus.
● Our company and our young musicians can own and be proud of
● Works across all platforms and formats (digital, print, merchandise - the children love their hoodies!).
● Is accessible, adaptable, and practical for daily use with clear brand guidelines. We have a small in-house team who create all our marketing and comms and a large wider team of freelancers and the children themselves who are our brand ambassadors.

New Website 
A public-facing website and secure member area that:
● Brings the new brand to life, connecting emotionally with stakeholders.
● Is intuitive, accessible, and user-focused, tailored to a wide range of existing and new audiences (children, parents/carers, donors, partners, staff).
● Streamlines complex tasks (e.g., programme applications, member logins, resource sharing).
● Integrates seamlessly with our CRM (Beacon) and supports donations, applications, sign-ups, and purchases.
● Supports robust SEO, analytics (Google Analytics 4), and green web hosting.
● On an Open-Source platform with the vast majority of site content easily editable by our admin team, for both the public facing end and the log in area.

Outcomes
● A brand and website that amplify our purpose, broaden our community, and strengthen connections with all stakeholders.
● Tools that empower our team to manage content and processes efficiently.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Staff and board report affinity and pride in the new visual identity/brand 
• Significantly increasing our reach increased engagement from non-followers on Facebook (+20%) and Instagram (+50%) in the 2 months following the rebrand.
• The new website repositions us and brings all of its aspects to life

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

Milestones in the project was delivered on time and they went above and beyond with website design in particular.

Our feedback on messaging/design/development at each milestone was taken on board and appropriate tweaks and improvements were made.

There were communications hiccups from time to time - smoothing these out and a more proactive approach to sharing expectations at each stage would be great.

What was your primary form of communication with The Yard Creative?

Email or Messaging App

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

The Yard Creative's instinct, style, and design flair were second to none. I never doubted that the end result would be of brilliant quality and something to be proud of.

Are there any areas for improvement or something The Yard Creative could have done differently?

Project management and communication worked well mostly and overall, but there were a few occasions where communication could have been better so that we might have felt more clear on what was expected from both sides.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the global marketing advisory head and consultancy of mediasense.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We acquired a couple of businesses through M&A work. Our business got VC backing, which allowed us to enable growth via acquisition. We bought two businesses and needed to bring those three businesses together into one with a distinct look and feel, proposition, and roadmap for the future.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Yard Creative helped us with our branding and UX/UI design. We already had a lot of strategy delivered, so the research phase was pretty much done. The scope included look and feel, competitor analysis, and articulating the proposition.

The Yard Creative also helped us with UX/UI design for our digital footprint, logo design, and brand expression. The team designed in Figma and handed the files over to a separate web agency.

What is the team composition?

We worked with 5–6 teammates from The Yard Creative, including a lead designer, the head of strategy, and client-facing people.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

We found them on Google. We went through a pitch process and talked to 3–4 different design agencies. We picked The Yard Creative because they had a mix of B2B and B2C experience, so there was a business element to it that we liked.

Additionally, they were local and knew our world and area. We were based in London, and The Yard Creative was not too far away. We were on the Langham Estate, and they had rebranded it as well. Their capabilities had a little bit of local flavor, which was quite nice.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with The Yard Creative in June 2025, and our engagement ended in September 2025.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We were ready for the next phase of our business, so we measured the success of the project by sticking to milestones and goals to ensure we went live on a certain date. We did stick to all those milestones and goals. We also had KPIs in place around the brand in terms of web traffic and interest, but it was too early to find that. Overall, they finished the project and hit the deadline.

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

We used Microsoft 365 project management tools within Teams and monday.com.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Yard Creative was friendly and responsive. The team understood the brief and listened to client feedback.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The Yard Creative overpromised that they could take on a piece of work that they couldn’t actually deliver. I had to do that myself.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Brief The Yard Creative very clearly and ensure you have a clear scope so both sides understand what they’re in for. Be very clear with the deliverables. This way, you'll get a good branding agency.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the head of marketing and communications for a logistics and transportation company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed help with a full rebranding.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The Yard Creative has fully rebranded our company. Initially, I provided them with the assets we had already in existence, but those were very old and not very dynamic. During the branding process, they interviewed a lot of our staff members.

Currently, our engagement with The Yard Creative is still ongoing. Besides branding, they’ve helped us develop a new website and design a lot of merchandising; there have been a lot of components to our collaboration.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 5–6 teammates from The Yard Creative.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

They came as a recommendation.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent around £300,000 (approximately $376,000 USD).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in May 2021, and our engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The results of working with The Yard Creative have been phenomenal. They’ve brought our brand into the 21st century, and our website looks great. It also has a lot of good information on it and is more accessible and recognizable in the market than before.

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

The Yard Creative has delivered on time and within budget most of the time.

Are there any employees from the service provider's team that you would like to give a shout-out to in this review?

The whole team is great.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Yard Creative’s creative thinking, energy, and ability to take a brand that seems to be dull and boring and bring it to life and make it exciting are impressive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It would be great if The Yard Creative focused more on the strategic work and had a roster of smaller agencies that could do the more basic groundwork for them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be open to their ideas. The good thing about The Yard Creative is that they always try to do things that are conceptually different.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and your position there.

I'm the managing director of Leslie Jones Architecture. Our practice specializes in large scale mixed use regeneration projects alongside retail & leisure design in town centres, shopping centres, aviation and rail settings.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

The Yard Creative was brought on board to help us with trends, insights branding, and UX.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement? 

As part of out team on Pittsburgh Airport, The Yard Creative conducted thorough research and surveys, which they used to prepare a comprehensive trends and insight document. This all-encompassing document formed the basis of our brief, which informed our approach to retail within the terminal building.

We engaged in a continuous and collaborative process with them, taking their input and incorporating it into our ongoing development.

What is the team composition?

My primary contacts were Steve (Co-Founder) and Sian (Director).

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

We belong to the same group, having been introduced by a client five years ago. The team conveyed their ideas effectively and with conviction, and their agility and size made them an ideal business partner for us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with the team on the Pittsburgh Airport project from August 2021–Oct 2022.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We measured the success of The Yard Creative's through the quality of their work and our continued working relationship. The client valued their work, which was fed through to us and became part of our design brief.

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

They were quick to respond and skilled at communicating at a senior level. Furthermore, the team was excellent at meeting deadlines and staying within budget. We mostly communicated through emails, phone calls, and digital and physical meetings.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The Yard Creative team was highly innovative. They conducted thorough research, which greatly influenced their work at Pittsburgh. The result was incredibly impactful, which instilling confidence.

Are there any areas they could improve?

The Yard Creative tends to work in shorter, more intense work spans. In contrast, we're accustomed to working on projects over extended periods. If I were to give them advice, I would suggest taking a longer-term perspective, staying connected to the project for a longer period of time.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I suggest participating in one of their workshops, at which they excel in leading. The sessions are a great way to kick off projects, guiding clients and consultants alike through their process and creative strategies.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Kaz: I’m a co-founder of a restaurant called Amigos Burgers & Shakes.

Wax: I’m also a co-founder.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

K: We hired them for conceptual branding, interior design, and to create a technical pack. 

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

K: The Yard Creative provides us with branding and interior design services. The team works on concepts for us and has created technical packs, making the drawings needed before building our properties. Initially, we gave them a brief to help them understand the brand. 

W: For our first project together, The Yard Creative was part of a major rebrand of our company. They did the conceptual design of our brand identity and its direction and language. Since then, they’ve helped us translate that brand into our stores, including the visual look and feel. They’re tasked with ensuring our customers can walk into stores that have our brand’s personality. 

The Yard Creative has designed all of our locations. With every project, they do a site survey, then give us a feasibility assessment on the premises and how they feel the restaurant should be laid out. 

While space-planning for us, they consider how customers walk into the store, what they first see, and how they will reach the cashier. A third party assists The Yard Creative in terms of designing the kitchen and where food should be cooked, prepped, and delivered to the customer. Currently, we have 20 locations. 

What is the team composition?

W: Initially, The Yard Creative’s CEO was our main point of contact. Now, we’re mainly in touch with the senior design team. 

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

W: We found them through a Google search and shortlisted them.  

How much have you invested with them?

W: We’ve spent around £15,000 (approximately $20,000 USD) per location design. With the rebranding work included, we’ve spent close to £500,000 (approximately $654,000 USD) with The Yard Creative.

What is the status of this engagement?

W: We’ve been working with The Yard Creative since around June 2014, and the engagement is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

W: The Yard Creative has designed stores that are attractive to the market. When they’re designing interiors for us, it’s never just about putting our brand on the walls. They've built a creative journey for the customer to live from the moment they walk into our restaurants. 

Moreover, the team creates storefronts that attract customers to investigate what’s inside. They consider our customers’ experience to make our locations intriguing so that they want to walk in. Overall, there’s a reason behind everything The Yard Creative does, from the color of the walls to the materials and the design. 

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

W: They’re very accessible; their email and phone lines are always open. I prefer to communicate over the phone, and the team adapts to that, unlike many other companies. 

We’ve been working with The Yard Creative more or less since they founded their company, so we’re lucky to have a personal relationship with them. Therefore, we have direct access to their leadership and usually talk to them over the phone. 

Although they’ve had many changes within their company, they’re very good at finding the right teammates to work with them. Team changes mid-project can be frustrating for clients, but The Yard Creative’s handovers from one teammate to another are always seamless and professional. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

W: We like The Yard Creative’s adaptability; they find out what their client wants and tailor their packages based on that. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

W: There’s nothing they need to improve. Any weaknesses they may have would come from poor briefs by a client, which wouldn’t be The Yard Creative's fault. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

W: They’re a multi-skilled agency that can offer much as long as you give them the right brief. If you know what you want, The Yard Creative is amazing. However, if you’re a new customer and have no idea what you want, The Yard Creative can also tailor your services. Still, the more you provide them, the more they can give you. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of Talou LTD, a children’s wear brand focused on clothing circularity, which means that we look at fabric reuse and recycling.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

I’m currently in the process of developing my product and launching my brand. Therefore, I approached The Yard Creative because I needed a visual identity and some brand strategy work to support the launch of my brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

I already had the idea for the business and had done my market research. Thus, I first approached The Yard Creative for graphic design work. Still, I had a conversation with Tom (CEO), and he suggested that I needed some brand strategy work, so we agreed to work on that part of the project together.

After that, I presented all the market research I had done to The Yard Creative. I wanted my company to start with jumpers and knitwear. The idea was to get new items and sell them. Then, buy those items back from our customers and resell them. Thus, I needed help with creating a strategy that made that business model very clear.

The brand strategy work included renaming my business. Throughout the process, The Yard Creative came up with some naming suggestions, after which they presented me with the brand concept.

What is the team composition?

Tom was my initial point of contact. Then, he assigned a team to my project. The team included Claire (Senior Designer & Strategist), who supervised the project.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I did a Google search and talked with a lot of different service providers. I was very attracted to The Yard Creative due to the great work they had done for other brands. I also liked the fact that they had worked with some entrepreneurs. Additionally, their team always wants to challenge the industry, which is what I’m doing with this business, so I really liked that about them.

How much have you invested with them?

I spent around $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from April–June 2023.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Yard Creative was able to listen to me and understand my vision, and they created what I had imagined and looked for. The result was completely amazing. I had a group of parents sharing feedback with me. When they read my brand book, brand values, mission, and purpose, a lot of them gave me very positive feedback.

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

Claire organized the project very well. The Yard Creative gave me a timeline at the beginning of the project, and they delivered everything on time. During the engagement, I was working only part-time on the project. However, The Yard Creative was very flexible about working on the days that they knew I would be at the office. Overall, their project management was great.

As for communication, I mainly communicated with The Yard Creative via email. I had an email thread with the whole The Yard Creative’s team. We also met in person, so I went to their office a few times. I don’t live in London. Still, The Yard Creative was also very flexible about coming to my office as well. Additionally,  we had weekly meetings on Thursday or Friday to catch up on the project so that I knew what was going on.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Being an entrepreneur, I was really impressed with the fact that The Yard Creative was able to accommodate my budget. In the beginning, I was very nervous about handing the project over to an agency because I was afraid that, in the end, the project wouldn’t be mine anymore. However, The Yard Creative really excelled at listening and understanding what I wanted my brand to be and where I wanted to go.

The project came to a point where, when The Yard Creative presented me with the creative assets, it was very obvious that the end result would be what I wanted. We talked about my vision a lot, and their team listened very well, so the result was amazing.

Overall, the project was treated with a lot of respect, and The Yard Creative really helped me convey everything I wanted to get across with my brand. I was very lucky to have worked with them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t fault them. The whole process was seamless, and communicating with The Yard Creative was very easy. Overall, I had a positive experience, so I would highly recommend them.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Give them a call. The Yard Creative is very open to working with entrepreneurs and discussing their projects.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the founder of an online banking platform.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We needed someone to help us in our journey to take a new brand to the market. We needed to come up with the whole name, brand value, and brand strategy.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We initially had a discovery phase to lay out what we wanted to achieve and establish a process. We also went through the research, prototyping, and brand creation phases. The Yard Creative has been in charge of the whole process; we’ve only provided them with some basic guidelines. They’ve worked on UI/UX design, content creation, content and marketing strategy, logo design, naming, branding guidelines, and more. For technologies, they’ve used Figma and Google Workplace.

What was the team composition?  

We work with 10–15 teammates. We have a couple of strategists, an associate director, UX designers, content strategists, content writers, and more.

How much have you invested in them?

We’ve spent $200,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in July 2022, and it’s an ongoing collaboration.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

We’ll launch our product tomorrow, so we don’t have any KPIs yet. Nonetheless, The Yard Creative has created something unique in the industry. We’re in a very competitive market, and they’ve provided us with a great strategy to penetrate it. Everyone on our team is excited.

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

The Yard Creative has assigned a project manager to guide the whole project. Overall, project management is great, and they’re flexible in their way of working. The team is always clear about resources and costs, so there haven’t been surprises.

We have weekly meetings to keep us up to date and different collaboration channels, such as Slack. We also use Trello to manage tickets.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their approach is phenomenal. We like the way they think and explain things.

Are there any areas they could improve?

It’d be great if they executed the marketing strategy themselves so we wouldn’t have to involve a third party.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Don’t be put off by the brands you see in their portfolio. The Yard Creative works with large brands, so we thought they wouldn’t be interested in working with a small company like ours. However, we reached out and were pleasantly surprised by how they engaged with us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m a restauranteur, our group owns three restaurants.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

Our team built a vegan and vegetarian restaurant concept from the ground up, inspired by American diners. We handled everything from designing the venue to the branding, without much previous design knowledge. We’d been running the restaurant for two years locally, but ran into unforeseen problems with our workflows. Ultimately, our goal was to expand and open 20–50 branches in London. We engaged The Yard Creative to help us understand the market and make wiser decisions before making a substantial investment in growing the brand.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Our partnership with The Yard Creative was twofold: first, they helped us conduct market research, and second, they worked alongside us to rebrand our restaurant’s concept. For the market research phase, the team conducted focus groups and gleaned expertise from other successful restaurant brands that were a few steps ahead of us. 

After researching the market, they streamlined their findings and presented us with the necessary information regarding trends. They outlined how the market was shifting for vegan and vegetarian restaurants, and projected what it would look like 5–6 years into the future. Then, the team advised us on how best to position ourselves within the market to help reach our goals. 

Once we decided on a strategy, The Yard Creative rebranded the restaurant’s concept to align better with market trends. They started by dissecting the original concept and diving deeper into our vision for the new brand; they put all our thoughts down on paper and created a blueprint for us. Then, they helped us reconstruct the new brand from the ground up while taking the best elements from our original concept. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with Steve (Director of Growth & New Business), who onboarded us and then assigned a team of experts to our project. The Yard Creative’s team consisted of Claire (Senior Designer), Alison (Associate Director), and Laurence (Executive Director). 

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I was introduced to Steve through my wife, who’d worked with The Yard Creative before. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested about £48,000 (approximately $54,000 USD)  in the partnership with The Yard Creative. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked with The Yard Creative from January–May 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The marketplace was more stable when we started the project with The Yard Creative, and it was easy for us to plan for the future. We made a lot of investment plans that have changed, so we’re not in a position to grow in the way we’d hoped. Our priority has shifted to preserving our three existing restaurants. Unfortunately, this means we don’t have success metrics to support the blueprint we mapped out with The Yard Creative. 

Having said that, I was completely blown away by their work; they gave us 150% of what we asked for. They followed the specifications so closely and delivered incredible results. I don’t have a bad word to say; we really enjoyed working with them. Furthermore, we’ve been working on a new project where we’ve been implementing what we learned from The Yard Creative. We’ve completely absorbed their ideology and changed the way our organization operates since working together, which is the best testament to their great work.

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

The Yard Creative managed the project well; we asked them to keep the process simple from the beginning, and they did. We met weekly to discuss progress, and they sent us weekly presentations outlining the meeting’s key takeaways. We initially intended for the project to last 12 weeks, but we asked them to delve deeper into the branding aspect. The team was more than happy to allocate more time, which resulted in us dragging the project on longer. However, the delay benefitted us in the end, and it was worth every penny.

In terms of the individual teammates, they each came with their own specialties, but they worked brilliantly together to break through the barriers we encountered. Alison was great at dissecting our thoughts and putting our vision on paper, which was helpful. Laurence and Steve were fantastic as well; they worked together to ensure the project moved forward and aligned with the initial proposal. The team was very communicative overall. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was impressed with their unique approach to the project. They based their branding efforts solely on projected market trends rather than trying mimic other brands. All their ideas were fresh, which showed in the quality of their work. Furthermore, it was clear that they’d listened to us because their suggestions always reflected our goals for the future.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I have nothing The Yard Creative could improve on. 

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the commercial director for a large shopping center in the Midlands, in the UK.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

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

We brought in The Yard Creative to create a new name and identity for our business in line with its demerge process.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We needed to rebrand quickly, but we also wanted to work with stakeholders, inward investment teams, the community, and our customers to ensure that the new brand works for everyone. The Yard Creative helped us with that process and produced our creative assets. They put all of our new brand DNA and iconography in a brand guideline.

What is the team composition?

We worked with Steve (Co-Founder) and various people from his team. We met a lot with Miranda (Senior Strategist) to scope out the project during the initial stages, and Mark (Head of Brand) led everything from the brand side. Further along, we were passed over to Miles (Creative Director) to get to the delivery stage.

How did you come to work with The Yard Creative?

I just joined a few months after they’d been appointed. I believe they were recommended by one of our senior stakeholders.

What is the status of this engagement?

The company engaged them around October 2020, and the rebrand was delivered in March 2021. They stayed on as our brand consultants a few months after the launch, helping us as we filtered the work to all of our other agencies and partners. They’ve since dipped in and out of various projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

The Yard Creative was incredibly collaborative. They were able to advise us on all parts of our marketing and proposition development on top of crafting a brand concept and guideline. We also appreciate that they provided a level of aftercare once we had launched our new brand.

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

As soon as they could legally travel, they visited our office. Given that the pandemic arose, though, everything had to be continued remotely. They always made themselves available and regularly communicated with us through Teams. Miles, in particular, maintained a strong relationship with our company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

One of the things that impressed us about them was how we had direct access to anyone from their team. It ultimately helped us accomplish what we needed on time and within budget. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, not really. Our only hurdle was the pandemic, but they worked around that so well.