About TYC Design Studio
Strategic design for brands, experiences and places that redefine what’s possible.
The Yard Creative is an award-winning evidential design agency based in Marylebone, London. We craft supercharged strategies to create brave brands, immersive experiences and memorable places for established brands, SMEs, organisations and place-makers, redefining what’s possible.
We’ve spent 18 years refining our approach, and we truly cherish the long-term partnerships we establish with our clients. By embracing our shared values, our curiosity fuels our drive to understand brands, people, and cultures, uncovering shared meanings that lead us to those ‘aha!’ moments that transform them into strategic advantages for our clients.
Breaking new ground relies on trust and transparency. Our integrity means we do the right thing for our people and projects, even when no one is watching. Authentic relationships lead to the boldest creative realisations.
True differentiation comes from leaving comfort zones and side-stepping conventions. Our courage to be forever curious and open-minded uncovers new possibilities that disrupt category expectations.
TYC Process: Question
Question
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Customer Insights
By taking an ethnographic approach and observing customers in their natural environment, we can build a picture of their lifestyles, interests, habits and behaviours. We’ve even been known to put on uniforms and work a shop floor to gain valuable first-hand experience of customers through the eyes of a staff member.
Face-to-face qualitative research sessions (whether on the street, in our studio or on location) allow us to ask open-ended questions to really get under the skin of a topic or issue. From here, we identify key areas to explore further and areas that could benefit from digging deeper.
Using our survey platforms and panels, we devise questionnaires to probe customer opinions, asking beyond the functional and into the emotional and rational to truly understand what makes your customers tick. Through our analysis and reports – and backed up by our key learnings – we read between the lines to craft a story that will help you understand your customers better than ever before.
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Market Research
We identify the competition and investigate what they’re doing – not only in your sector or location but across sectors and around the world.
What does best-in-class actually look like? Through our extensive research, we’ll paint the picture and help set a new benchmark.
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Trends
We immerse ourselves with the greatest trend experts out there, from WGSN and Canvas8, to YCN and LS:N, to anticipate the future and innovate for today.
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Financial Studies
We always get asked to help clients make more money. But we can’t do that without understanding how you make your money currently – so we’ll meet with your finance team to crunch the numbers and get to grips with how customers spend their hard-earned cash with you.
From here, we can leverage this knowledge by considering it in the wider project to influence an uplift in sales.
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Stakeholder Engagement
Getting the right people onboard at the right time is essential to the success of any project. We will get stakeholders involved at an early stage so their ideas are on the table and they become an integral part of the project from the beginning.
We engage stakeholders through a Creative Day. This gets people thinking as a team, challenges their perceptions and opens their minds to new possibilities.
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Innovation Events
We gather our own inspiration and keep our hungry minds creative by regularly attending innovation events, futurology talks and trend seminars.
Innovation events, like Most Contagious, allow us to learn from outside our sector and be inspired by the boundaries being pushed and broken in different industries and across the globe. Giddy at the prospects of what will shape our future, we postulate the possible, probe the probable and pursue the preferable.
We’ll never miss the chance to delve into worldwide consumer trends and related business opportunities at trend seminars such as those held by Wired. And the annual trend reports and regular quarterly updates are tucked under our pillows for bedtime reading.
TYC Process: Push
Push
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The Big Idea
No project leaves the studio without one of these. The big idea defines the direction of travel that we can all get behind – with the ultimate aim of changing the game.
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Market Positioning
Once we’ve got to grips with the marketplace, we’ll either identify an ownable gap or create an entirely new opportunity. Our carefully considered positioning axis will clearly lay out the market, so we can present the possibilities for your brand and work out a plan to achieve what feels right for you.
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Brand Positioning
We’ll create a brand wheel to act as your go-to keystone. By aligning all your future business activities with your brand wheel, you’ll keep your messaging clear and consistent.
It defines how your brand lives and breathes, covering its core essence, its purpose, values, mission and market position – creating a blueprint for how it will look, how it will talk and how it will act.
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Strategic Roadmapping
We’ll set out a timeline of events to launch, activate and realise your strategy. To keep things running smoothly, we’ll help you bring any necessary partners onboard with any other external skillsets you might need, such as SEO experts, photographers, website developers, influencer agencies and contractors.
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Experience Mapping
It’s essential to understand your customers’ entire journey to purchase if you want to positively influence their connection with your brand. Our team are experts at grasping different perspectives, regularly putting themselves in the shoes of others to get a handle on the attitudes and mindsets that drive their behaviours.
TYC Process: Change
Change
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Concept Design
Time to roll those sleeves up and get stuck in. This stage is about embracing ideas and explaining all the possibilities. We design all aspects of the concept in tandem, from brand and graphic communication to interior design and customer experience – and we’ll always provide more than one option, as there’s no such thing as a single way to answer a brief.
Outputs at this stage include mood boards, material boards and a sketch book of concept design options for the brand and the physical space.
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Design Development
We create a nurturing and collaborative working relationship with our clients, inviting input at every stage of the design process. In taking on board feedback from both clients and end-users, we can improve and polish your design to perfection.
At this stage, outputs include a final brand identity, communications and interior spaces, as well as high-quality 3D renders, fly-throughs and prototypes.
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Technical Design
During this stage, we focus on detailing and refining all of the design elements across interiors and/or graphics, to ensure the concept is suitable for manufacture.
Outputs from this stage include design intent technical drawing packs (suitable for landlord approval and shopfitter tender), artwork packs ready for print, design guidelines and communication packs to enable consistent branding across all mediums.
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Support + Optimise
Although we don’t project manage, we do stay involved as much as we’re needed to ensure the design is delivered as promised. This could include reviewing prototypes, proofing print runs, snagging builds, supporting with visual merchandising and even organising launch events.
It doesn’t have to stop there: post-launch, we get involved in ROI reviews, consumer testing, design developments, acting as brand guardians, roll-outs, and managing social media. We’re here for the journey.
We’re proud to be able to say that the majority of our profits go directly towards fighting global pollution and climate change.
In 2019, The Yard Creative was acquired by RSBG UK, the patient capital investment arm of RAG-Stiftung. RAG- Stiftung is a foundation with the long-term purpose to deal with demographic, environmental and economic change.
Awards
Over 17 years we’ve collected a proud-mum-worthy amount of recognitions and awards. A big thank you to our talented team and daring clients for making this kind of industry recognition possible.
- Transform magazine Europe awards: Best Strategic or Creative development of a new brand2024
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- FAB Awards Interior Design Silver Award for Gecko Coffee House2022
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- WINNER: Overall Store Collaboration2021
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- WINNER: Bar & Restaurant Design2021
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- WINNER: Interior Design & Retail Environment2020
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- WINNER: Interiors / Retail Environments2019
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- Highly Commended: Mall Retail2019
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- WINNER: Visual Merchandising Awards2019
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- WINNER: Mall Retail2018
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- WINNER: Mall Retail2018
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- WINNER: Most Effective Stand2017
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- WINNER: Design effectiveness Award2017
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- WINNER: Mall Retail2017
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- WINNER: Design Effectiveness Award2017
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- WINNER: Mark of Excellence Award2016
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- WINNER: Most effective Shopping Centre/Roadshow2016
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- Highly Commended: Short Term Retailer of the Year2016
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- COMMENDATION: Experiential Design2016
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- WINNER: Mall Retail2016
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- Highly Commended: Mall retail (2 yrs or more)2015
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- WINNER: Best New Store Design2014
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- WINNER: Aurora Award2013
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- WINNER: Mall Retail2013
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- WINNER: Most Innovative Concept of 20112011
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- Highly Commended: New Product Innovation Category2011
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Faqs
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What do we actually do?
AI Design
App Design
AR Design
Brand Strategy
Branding (logos, tone of voice, brand guidelines etc)
Consumer Research (qualitative and quantitative)
Corporate Literature
Experience Design
Food + Beverage Design
Front-End Digital
Graphic Design
Hospitality Design
Insights + Futurology
Interior Architecture
Market Research
Marketing Strategy
Pop-Up Kiosk
Retail Design
Store Design
Store Of The Future
Strategy (business, proposition, audience, brand)
Street Food Design
Tactile Digital Experience Design
Technical Design + Roll-Out
UX/UI Design
Web Design
Workplace Design -
Do you do logos?
Yes we do, but not on their own. We don’t have a magic wand that we can wave to just come up with something pretty as that’s not how we operate. But if you’re ready to take on a considered and strategic approach, yes – we design logos.
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Can you design my retail space?
Indeed, we can. That’s how we started back in 2007. We have designed hundreds of stores between us and love the new world of physical retail store design. Our main focus right now is designing ACTIVE retail spaces. Give us a call to talk through this in more detail.
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Do you design kiosks?
Again, yes we do! In fact, some say (Bill Moss in particular who is the godfather of Mid Mall Commercialisation) that TYC started the mid-mall revolution when we designed the Models Own bottle shop in Westfield White City back in 2012!
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Can you find out what my customers think of our product/service?
Yes, and we love it! We can use your existing database or can engage our partners to provide a relevant community to ask the right questions to. Our team are like the rocket scientists of the research world – they use refined thinking and probe the questions no one has asked before in order to understand how to make your customers yours forever.
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How do I win first prize on sports day?
Train hard, don’t wear flip flops and focus on the cool, cold beer you’ll bask in when you cross the finish line first!
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How much does it cost?
Now that’s a question we can’t answer here. It all depends on what you want to do. That said, we know we’re not the cheapest agency out there – but then again, that’s probably not what you’re looking for if you’ve got this far?
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If I already have research, can you work with that?
Of course. We may find there are holes in it or it isn’t as rich as we’d like but in principle, if it’s sound data and includes solid insights then yes, we can work with it.
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How many people are you?
Currently 25 (pretty amazing) people.
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Why do you get out of bed in the morning?
Firstly, no day is the same at TYC, which keeps things fresh and varied – just how we like it.
Secondly, crafting bespoke work keeps our clients happy, which makes us happy. The positive reactions we get from seeing our work in the real world is what keeps us going.
Testimonials
Say Hello
Like what you see? Have a challenge? Want to work together? Then send us an email or give us a call and let’s chat.