Where I am
Brand & web design in Argyll
A design studio on the west coast, working with businesses across Argyll and further up the road when the job is right.
Northmarker is based in Lochgilphead, in Mid Argyll. That matters for practical reasons and for one less obvious one.
The practical reason is that I know the ground. I know what a Kintyre winter does to signage, that half your customers arrive by boat in July and none of them in February, and that a business here is often three things at once. You do not have to explain the context before we can start.
The less obvious one is that place-based design only works if the designer has actually stood somewhere. The best brands from here look like they came from here, and that is difficult to fake from an office four hundred miles away.
- Based in
- Lochgilphead, Mid Argyll
- Works across
- Argyll & Bute, and the rest of Scotland
- In person
- Yes, where the distance makes sense
- Remote
- Video calls and shared files, same as most projects
What's included
Everything that makes it work.
Mid Argyll
Lochgilphead, Ardrishaig, Inveraray, Tarbert, Crinan, Kilmartin Glen and the villages between them.
Kintyre & Cowal
Campbeltown down the peninsula, and across to Dunoon and the Holy Loch.
Lorn & Oban
Oban, Connel, Taynuilt and the ferry towns that serve the islands.
The islands
Islay, Jura, Mull, Bute, Gigha and Colonsay. Remote is a logistics problem, not a design one.
The rest of Scotland
Glasgow, Inverness, the Borders and everywhere between. Most projects run on video calls and shared files, so distance changes very little.
In person or not
Happy to come to you if you are within reach. Everything else runs on video calls and shared files, which most clients prefer anyway.
What gets handed over
Yours, properly.
Everything below is yours on completion, including the source files. No licence to renew, and nothing that stops you working with someone else next time.
- Brand identity, from the idea through to the files
- Websites, fast and easy to keep up to date
- Packaging and labels for local producers
- Signage, vehicle graphics and workwear artwork
- Print: menus, leaflets, interpretation panels, event material
- A brand sheet, so your local printer gets it right first time
Related work
Where this has gone before.
Questions
The things people actually ask.
Do you only work with businesses in Argyll?
No. Argyll is where I am and where a lot of the work comes from, but most projects run remotely regardless of distance. If you are in Glasgow, Inverness or further, nothing about the process changes.
Will you come and meet me?
If you are within reasonable reach of Lochgilphead, gladly, and for a place-based project it usually helps to see the site. Beyond that a video call does the same job without a day on the A83.
Do you understand rural and seasonal businesses?
I live in one of the places that has them. Seasonal trade, ferry timetables, patchy signal and a customer base that triples in July are the normal conditions here rather than edge cases.
Can you help with funded or grant-supported work?
Yes. I can provide a quote in the format most funders want, and I am used to the reporting and timescales that come with community and heritage funding.
Also from the studio
Based on the west coast and need a brand that looks like it?
Tell me what you are working on. No pitch, no jargon, just a conversation about whether I am the right person for it.