brave creative
The anvil is the foundation of solid creative. It allows us to forge brands, create campaigns, build websites and fashion ideas. We temper bold design with objectivity, technique and a critical eye to ensure that the tools we provide our clients will stand up to the scrutiny of the real world. A tool is made to perform and we ensure our designs perform well for all those we are fortunate enough to work with.
A brand is more than just a logo. It is the story it tells and the feelings it brings to light for the people who experience it every day. As much as we would like to tell you we can write these stories for you, we can’t. The stories come from the clients. Good designers listen to the client and translate those stories into different mediums to help focus the core ideas and emotions.
The key to a great website is deciding the key function it needs to perform. Is that communicating a message, selling a product, raising awareness, or directing business? The website is then designed around that key function as the focus, not the fanciest tools or glitziest new platform. A good website follows the adage of, “form follows function”. Of course, it should look great, just not at the expense of what it’s meant to do.
Design is not art and art is not design. Design is often confused as a work of art due to the spirit in which it is fashioned, but as a well-crafted tool, it serves a critical purpose and performs a vital function. The goal is not to make something pretty or aesthetically pleasing. The goal is to communicate a concept or feeling. When nothing can be added or removed you are left with an elegant design. That’s what beauty is to us.
These days, advertising is about ATTENTION! You are in a constant battle for slivers of a person’s focus, trying to appeal to all their senses and motivations to communicate a message in mere seconds before their attention moves on. Humour, sex, emotion, nostalgia are tricks of the trade, but the key is to engage the viewer and get them to think for themselves. If you can get them thinking, they can start acting.
Interaction and dialogue have moved from the physical to the digital landscape. This can be challenging since that landscape is changing almost daily. We find what works best for us and our clients is to come from a place of authenticity. People can smell bullshit, even if it’s primarily comprised of pixels. Stand by your brand and tell your story. The platforms may change, but your message shouldn’t.
forging ideas
The instruments of the craftsman are his tools. They allow him to realize his vision and bring them to reality through his experience and skill. The tools are the medium from which thought is translated into reality; from the mind, through the hands, to the finished product. Throughout the process, the anvil is ever-present. By constantly hammering the raw ideas against the reality of what anvil represents, impurities and imperfections are drawn out and cast aside, leaving only pure design that not only pleases the eye but embodies the simple beauty of function.