Barrettstown is an absolutely amazing charity who provides Therapeutic Recreation for seriously ill children and their families. It is an honour for us to work with them in developing their brand and communications materials and we hope that our contribution goes some way towards helping them to grow and help even more children in years to come.

It’s been a mind blowing and enjoyable journey thus far and I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with some great clients, great friends and the best creative talents known to man or beast.

Ireland has been through so many dramatic changes since 1992, some wonderful, others woeful. However, as a nation we are still here and still fighting the fight.

Dot coms made us, broke us and then made us again. Politicians continued to take bribes and tell lies. Banks wouldn’t lend us a cent*, then threw money around like LA gangster rappers.

Cruelly, where we are today as a nation is not too different to where we were back in 1992 [give or take a few hundred billion of pointless debt] We know now as we did then that the only way we are going to get out of this mess will be largely through our own self determination, intelligence and hard graft.

Great creativity in communicating our wares is even more important now than it was in 1992. The rules of engagement and the marketing channels have vastly changed, however the core principles remain the same. An enduring brand must meet a genuine customer need, have a razor sharp proposition, be market driven and ultimately have a compelling reason to believe.

In Dynamo, we have always had a steadfast conviction that great design matters. We are always on our client’s side and have a deep desire to help them prosper. I believe this tenet has helped us endure and continue to grow as a studio.

Although the environment is tough and budgets are tight we are really looking forward to the challenges ahead and plan to continue evolving, diversifying and setting ourselves new creative challenges.

Bring on 2012.

Jamie Helly, Managing Director.

*The bank turned down our loan application for the £10,000 we needed to start the business. I subsequently borrowed the princely sum from a friend.

The entire 10k bought..

1 x Mac Classic [crap]

1 x Mac II with 8mgs of memory [unbelievably crap]

1 x Black and white laser printer [of no fixed origin]

8 x weeks wages [that’s approximately 2 months in todays money]

On mature reflection, we should have bought Apple shares.

Dynamo developed the BFree brand name, identity and full range of packaging design and we wish the BFree team all the best with their pop up store (which runs until the new year) and product launch in Dunnes Stores this week.

Try the sweet and tart tasty blend of spiced apple & rhubarb or the smooth mellow spiced apple & honey.

We’d also like to wish our lovely clients in Bulmers a very Special Christmas and a happy new year. Cheers!

All you’ve got to do is download any of the designs you like below, print out the pdf on decent white card, fold in half, pop it in an envelope and you’re done… Then it’s time to put your feet up and pop open the fizz! Cheers!

Click to download Tree

Click to download Snowflakes

Click to download Reindeer

Click to download Baubles

Click to download Santa

Click to download Presents

Since they launched in 2010, O’ Donnells have gone from strength to strength and are now selling bags and bags of their tasty crisps in Ireland, the UK and Austria. Made using homegrown potatoes from Ed O’ Donnell’s Seskin Farm in Tipperary and flavoured using locally sourced ingredients, these crisps are seriously delicious. It’s great to see a true Irish success story and we are delighted to have been a part of the journey.

We’ve seen Mr. Tayto search for the perfect woman, run in the general election and more recently, become a park ranger at his latest venture – Tayto Park. Well done Largo Foods – we’re looking forward to seeing what Mr. Tayto does next!

Hopefully you’ll find our future posts informative and entertaining, we’re going for Al Gore meets Spongebob on a speed date organised by Zsa Zsa Gabor, so let’s see if we succeed.

Cheers, The Dynamo Team

The aim was to create a unique space for kids,
that encourages them to browse, to interact and
become inspired by the world of books.

The experience is designed to inspire kids and
parents and to ensure a visit to Eason is both
enjoyable and educational.

The whole space is filled with lots of little
surprises. Behind the books you might find Wally
or perhaps a Tyrannosaurus Rex peering out.
There are interactive areas such as a ‘Go Fish’
wall and a Mr Men ‘mix up’ table.

We developed new shelving systems that enable
major franchises to be collectively merchandised.
‘Hot Topic’ sections are devoted to the newest
hottest sellers. [At the moment Peppa is huge
apparently]

We also developed unique merchandising bays for
Disney and Crayola.

The core concept is a clear example of how Eason
intend to redefine their brand and reconnect with
their customers, young and old, big and small.

Project Artemis is all about children and fostering
their desire to learn and need for discovery.
Needless to say, if the kids love it, Mum and Dad
will too.