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Alex Pitt is with Caoimhe Kelly
Hey everyone! I hope we’ve all had a great week so far. Had to share this recent branding project we’ve worked on, with a absolute hero of the community, Caoimhe Kelly. I in particular had so much fun working with Caoimhe on this, and she’s very kindly agreed to let me share her case study here.
We worked through two stages with Caoimhe to get to her finished brand design:
1. A Brand Ignition Session
2. Our ‘Underdog’ brand design package
In our Brand Ignition Sessions, we spend a total of 90 minutes across two calls, asking odd questions and ‘would you rathers’ so we can get to the core of what makes your brand tick. Caoimhe was a dream to work through this with, and gave us so many insights into the values and drive she was bringing to her work.
We learnt that Caoimhe had had to overcome a LOT of obstacles throughout her journey to starting her portfolio career, but that she never lost her childlike sense of wonder. There were some powerful themes comi…
10 Comments-
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thanks Ella Bernie!
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2 of my favourite people – coming together to produce one incredible brand! Great work Alex Pitt and Caoimhe Kelly!
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Thanks Fiona Chorlton-Voong!
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I loved everything about this process – I’m excited to start updating all my profiles! Can’t recommend Alex and the Strange team more. You’ll come away with so much more than you thought.
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Thanks Laura Thomas !
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I know! I’m sad we won’t get to talk more on Thursday – maybe a zoom soon? 😊
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If every member of your staff had to watch one movie as part of their induction, which one would you choose and why?
This is an absolute favourite question that I ask our clients in our 1:1 brand ignition sessions. The answer reveals a lot more about you than your taste in cinema!
One client responded that he would choose Eddie the Eagle; a powerful story of an underdog overcoming adversity, which funnily enough was a very similar path the client had followed in starting their brewing business.
Another chose Moneyball, the story of thinking differently and completely changing up an industry that has been operating in the same way for many years. Coincidentally, that’s exactly what the client wanted to do within the music industry.
And mine? It would be The Greatest Showman. A story of how your differences, quirks and ‘flaws’ are what makes you unique, and how embracing them will transform your life for the better.
If you want to bring out your brand personality, y…
4 Comments-
Great question! Mine might be The Imitation Game (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/) in which a bunch of clever oddballs with complementary skills solve problems that no-one has ever solved before, in order to save the world
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This is such an interesting question Alex! Fiona Chorlton-Voong I’m intrigued as to what you’d want us to watch to go alongside Ben’s answer of The Imitation Game
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Not sure how I feel about Ben Legg ’s oddball comment
.Great question Alex! Mine would be Happy Feet – a heart warming movie about utilising your expertise and talent, trying to fit in with what society says we should be, and ulitimately by being true to yourself, you can find a community that accepts you.
Also penguins are cute.
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Hey everyone! Exam results day has gotten me thinking- I have never..I mean EVER been asked by an employer or client what I got in any exam results, if I got a degree or where I studied.
Bearing in mind I studied Philosophy & Religious Studies (mostly only relevant at 3am at an afterparty) and got my degree in Fashion Illustration (yet to be relevant) I’m curious how much your early qualifications have helped you get to where you are today?
15 Comments-
Really interesting- especially for me as a new graduate! I get the sense that there’s a move away from asking about what degree you have and more of a focus on the work you have done. I guess my experience with this would be that even in interviews for post-grad positions interviewers aren’t interested really in your degree, but ask much more about what you’ve done alongside getting a degree! I’m sure in more traditionally academic subjects this might be less true but I&#…
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We love this discussion! What do you guys think- Zarir 'Zed' Vakil, Duncan Dalzel-Job, Pete Domican, Emma Jelley, Cara de Lange, Conrad Young, Nika Talbot, Joanne Webster, Darryl Howes, Ben Legg, Vic Mistry, Scott Leishman, Mark Cliffe, @donaboussy, @sinead-mccann, Damien, Tim Walters, Ph.D., Mitch Bradford, Phoebe Train, Michael Bateson
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So true, nobody ever asked me about mine although I suppose they were mostly a pre-requisite for university entry. This discussion brings to mind an initiative/service that a friend and I have been talking about launching. The service would help students (maybe around 15/16 years old) to create their own websites. These sites would house the work and achievements that they accumulate over the years so that when they finish school or enter the job market they have a nicely packaged ’CV of t…
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Love this idea Conrad!! I recently came across an initiative to help young adults create their own personal brand to help them navigate through their career, so a similar-ish concept which I was really interested in. I’d love to stay up to date with the initiative if you do go ahead 😄
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I’ve never been asked about A levels at all. No one has ever asked me much about my first degree either but that’s probably because I did Physics and they didn’t want to get into a discussion on quantum theory! I have however been asked and still am about Durham, which college I went to and who I knew.
I’ve only ever used my degree directly once when, early on in my career, I was summoned to the site manager’s office to a meeting of senior managers and asked to…
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So funny Pete, I would definitely count the situation with the senior managers as qualifications-based career development 😂
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Like Peter, I’ve never had to use or state my qualifications, even in my early career transitions these seem to be taken as read from my CV. The only time I had to quantify anything regarding how I used these, was when it came to questions in building budgets by having to correct peoples ability to understand that you can’t have more than 100% of something!!! I don’t know what they teach youngsters today, but maybe that’s just me
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they’ve NEVER come up for me either, great question. To be honest, I find friends of mine who didn’t go to university have some really interesting careers and no debt 😀
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Ah yes, not forgetting that price tag that comes along with a degree! I’m the same as you Nicola, I haven’t noticed any link between how successful/ fulfilled my friends and family are by their career and if they went to university. Everyone’s path is different I guess!
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Very interesting discussion. I’ve only ever had one full background check when I worked for a high end fashion house, they thoroughly checked my credentials (I studied fashion at CSM). Apart from that one role, I’ve never been asked for any of my school exam results or degree credentials.
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I have never been asked for any qualifications during an interview. they are on my CV, and most companies have background-checked me for ”perm” roles but never for consultancy/independent.
When I did hire people, I always did a background check. This gives quite a lot of information on a candidate and verifies their Identity, CV, qualifications and credetials. I have removed the offer in one or 2 cases as their qualifications/credentials did not stack up.
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Thanks Damien! That’s really interesting to hear, especially that it led to you removing an offer in the past
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Loving this reflection – totally hear the 3am need for Philosophy!
I think my exam results merely proved that I was able to focus, learn and regugitate information effetively, which suits some minds but not others. That long ago now, I don’t even have it on my CV – I’ve learned so much since I don’t think it is an indication of my abilities now!
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1:1 BRAND DISCOVERY WORKSHOPS
Hey everyone, I hope everyone had a great weekend despite the obvious (!)
The Brand Discovery Workshops have gained a lot of interest over the last few weeks, so we’ve gotten up a page on our site to explain a bit better and allow you to book in a slot.
I can’t recommend this process enough, especially if you tick any of these boxes:
> You’re struggling to engage with your audience on social media
> You’re not sure how to articulate what you do beyond listing your services
> You don’t feel you have a personal brand, and don’t know how to position yourself
In a 1 hr initial session and 30 minute follow-up, we will:
> Talk about the journey that lead you here, your visions, values and goals for the future

> Work through some seemingly odd questions that will bring out your Brand Personality 

> Curate our findings into a Brand Insight Report that is concise and authentic to you

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5 THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BRAND DESIGN
Hey everyone, I’ve had my copywriting hat on this week and I’ve pulled together a free PDF download for those who would consider themselves non-brand-savvy members of the community.
Anyone confused about the visual identity for their business, these are my absolute top 5 tips I will NEVER stop preaching.
There’s a link to get the file here if you drop your email in (you’ll only receive more insights & tips, promise) https://www.strangecreativestudio.com/not-just-a-pretty-logo
Cheers all!
5 Comments-
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Thanks Fiona Chorlton-Voong 😄
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Hi Alex, thanks so much for sharing, I’ve had a quick read but will definitely read it in much more detail as I would love to set up a little side hustle and this will be SO helpful for that
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Excellent! Pleased to hear it’ll be helpful Ella Bernie, I’d love to hear more about your side hustle!
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Thanks Alex- it’s still very much in the idea stage, but I’ve always loved illustration so am thinking about setting up an Etsy shop to sell prints!
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