The Yard Creative is an award-winning evidential design studio based in London Bridge. Our core design services include research, strategy and design (branding, digital environments and physical spaces). We are a team of creative catalysts that thrive on building wonderful relationships with our clients and expert partners to influence integrity and ideas that deliver impact.
The header at the top of the page is the words of one of our clients, whose brand we have helped increase conversions by over 1,000%. We are proud of this because it proves that our process works. Being naturally inquisitive means that we like to learn as much as possible before putting pen to paper, and we have found that our process of Question, Push, Change helps to add structure to our creative thinking. Let us tell you more…
TYC Process: Question
Question
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Customer Insights
By using ethnographic studies and observing customers in their natural environment, we can build a picture of their lifestyle, interests, habits and behaviours. In some instances we have even put on uniforms and operated on the shop floor to gain 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 and really get to grips with a topic or issue. From here, we identify key areas to explore further, and theories in which to dig 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 customer tick. Our analysis and reports backed with key learnings involves our reading between the lines and crafting a story for you to understand your customer like never before.
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Market Research
Identifying the competition and investigating what they are doing, not only in your sector or locality but across sectors and around the globe.
What does best-in-class really 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 help you if we don’t know how you make your money. In order to understand current financials and forecast forward, we will meet with your finance team to crunch the numbers and understand how customers currently spend their hard earned cash with you.
From here, we can leverage this knowledge and consider 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.
Delving into worldwide consumer trends and related business opportunities at trend seminars such as Wired, are a firm favourite in our calendar. 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. This defines the direction of travel that we can all get behind and when realised, changes the game.
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Market Positioning
Having understood the marketplace, we identify an ownable gap, or create a whole new opportunity! Our carefully considered positioning axis will lay out the market in its simplest form in order to present the possibilities for your brand and devise a plan to achieve what feels right for you.
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Brand Positioning
Your Brand Wheel will be your keystone, your blueprint, your go-to. From this point forward, all business activities must be aligned to the Brand Wheel to ensure consistency and clarity.
It defines how your brand lives and breathes; from its core essence, to its purpose, values, mission and position in the market, all the way to how it will look, talk and act.
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Strategic Roadmapping
This sets out a period of time and the events along that line to launch, activate and realise the strategy. We’ll help you bring onboard any necessary partners with the skillsets that TYC don’t have to ensure its success such as SEO, web build, photographers, influencer agencies and contractors.
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Experience Mapping
Knowing your customers’ entire journey to purchase is essential to be able to positively influence their connection with your brand. Our team are experts at putting themselves in the shoes of others and understanding 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 dirty. This stage is about embracing all ideas and exploring a host of possibilities. Using the team’s array of skills, all aspects of the concept (from brand and graphic communication, to interior design and customer experience) are designed in tandem. We always provide design options as there is no such thing as one way to answer a brief.
Outputs from this stage include mood boards, material boards and sketch book of concept design options for both the brand and physical space.
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Design Development
We endorse a nurturing and collaborative working relationship with our clients and look for client input at every stage of the design process. The design development stage takes on board both client and end-user feedback in order to improve and polish the design to perfection.
Outputs from this stage include final brand identity, communications and interior spaces, as well as high-quality 3D renders, fly-throughs and prototypes. -
Technical Design
The focus during this stage is detailing and refining all elements for the design 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 stay involved as much as needed, and ensure the design is delivered as promised. This can 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 can proudly put our hands up and 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 16 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.
- 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 (logo’s, 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 and Futurology
Interior Architecture
Market Research
Marketing Strategy
Pop Up Kiosk
Retail Design
Store Design
Store Of The Futures
Strategy (business, proposition, audience, brand)
Street Food Design
Tactile Digital Experience Design
Technical Design and 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 we don’t think that’s 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, by crafting bespoke work, our clients are 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.