Darrell Irwin

💡 Lighting and branding. It's not something you'd usually think about. But let me enlighten you. When it comes to creating experiences that tell a story ↳ light and atmosphere play a pivotal role. In our latest JUST Branding Podcast episode with co-host Matt Davies ⚡️ and I (Jacob Cass 🦩), we have an Experiential Branding expert join us, Matt Clutterham 🧩. Matt has been creating experiences for global brands for over 20 years and in this episode we discuss the power of lighting to effect mood and how using it can enhance the way brands are experienced by customers. Tune in as we shed some light on the impact of ambiance: https://lnkd.in/gQbA8pep Can you recall a brand experience where lighting made a memorable impact? For me, VIVID at the Opera House comes to mind. #branding #brandingpodcast #brandstrategy

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Everyone is talking about community storytelling. Talking about it is one thing - actually implementing it and taking action is another. The fantastic blog by N'Deane Helajzen from Fairpicture shows how this can be achieved. #community #storytelling #communitystorytelling #photography #ngo #responsibility #humanrights #fairpicture

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We review the submissions to the Minimalism Challenge in Episode 203 of the live video podcast - now up on YouTube - https://lnkd.in/eV_RkWr7 Click through! #photography #feedback #livestreaming #podcast #video #composition #understandingphotography #learningphotography #demonstrations #editing #photoshop #youtube #kimayresphotography #challenge #minimalism

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Anybody else find it hard to share updates, progress or work without it feeling like a bit of a humble brag? I'm glad I'm not alone on that one, but it also feels like it's something we need to do these days to socialise ideas, get feedback, grow personal brands and networks. So, as awkward as it can feel I'm excited to start sharing a bit more of the work I'm doing. Starting off with a bit of a teaser of a personal, educational resource app I'm creating to summarise: - Some of the approaches I use when delivering strategy, design and product services. - Different frameworks, best practice approaches and learnings from courses I've done. - Insights and learnings from people I've been lucky enough to work with and learn from. It's been great having the time to build it combining in with additional Memorisely courses to try some different design techniques. Would love to hear any feedback, ideas for topics or key learnings from others that I could take onboard. 

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Are your branding photos a bag of lies? Do photographs perpetuate myths? How honest are branding photographs? Do we contribute to other peoples misery by making them? The haves and the have nots? Look at my business vs yours? I'd argue it depends how you make them. Heather Vincent is a prime example of HONEST brand photography. She came to me with this thought exactly in her head. 'I want branding photos but I don't like a lot of what I have seen'. I dont want to look like that. I want to just look like me in my natural environs. It depends how you make them. How you interpret reality. Social media shows us just a tiny % of reality. Consider in terms of using branding photography. The person in the hired posh hotel who really works from her home sofa? The super contemporary business suite hired to look way more polished than your home office? And when we actually shoot at home in a home office? Those filthy trainers just out of shot? The pile of ironing just mm out of your photo frame. All reality that we don't want people to see. No one will know its there. No one will ever know. But, I will argue it's never really been any different. Images are part of media, part of the spin. Part of how we entice people to buy from us, whether we are a £bill brand or a SME. They are relevant, essential. But it is how far you spin them that's always my concern. Make them the best versions of you, but make them authentic. However if you want to create a super brand and demonstrate a lifestyle that you intend to claim for yourself (fake it until your make it), I would argue that this too has its place, provided you DO make it. If not, it's a visual lie. Selling a lifestyle that you don't have for yourself is a lie. However, my clients I want them to be as truthful as possible. Demonstrate the joy and interest, within reality. I ask them to be as truthful as possible about who they are and what their brands look like? So that they visually demonstrate in honesty. If you have been on a. shoot with me you will have heard me say:- 'Is this truthful? Is this a true representation of what you do, how you work?' I LOVE when clients say they want honest photos because I know they have found me. 😀 They get it. They feel a responsibility. A moral compass. I breathe deeply. I am not going to have to persuade them away for unrealistic ideas. I will say though 99.9% come to me in honesty. Ready to be visually interpreted...just...as...they...are! And so it is exactly what we did with Heather. It keeps it real. It keeps it healthy for everyone else. No airbrush. Just the magnificent Heather Vincent shown locally in fields where she walks the dog, just outside of Salisbury, 5 minutes from her home office, in something she would wear for work. Happy Monday folks! Keep it real, but keep it fabulous! #brandingphotography #businessphotos.

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I love a good stat, don’t you? Here are some that help build a picture as to why it’s become so much harder to make money as a creative. 2020 - COVID-19 pandemic begins. This saw many freelance creatives lose their main source of income overnight. Broken Record campaign launched asking for fairer renumeration from the streaming business model. But the Competition and Markets Authority later found that the big record labels are ‘not likely to be making significant excess profits that could be shared with creators’. 2021 - The CEO of Universal Music received a $170m windfall, which apparently resulted in him earning more than the total earned by all UK artists from streaming that year. According to The Telegraph he deserved it, so that’s nice. 2022 - Russia invaded Ukraine and Liz Truss nearly tanked the UK economy adding to the cost of living crisis which included rising touring costs and changing habits of audience members. 2023 - A small UK venue closed every week because they couldn’t afford to keep the lights on (literally). The ones that stayed open have become a lot more risk adverse meaning a) it's become harder to get booked and b) if you do get booked the deal is not as favourable as it might once have been and there’s more pressure on you to sell tickets. 2023 - Arts Council England London’s budget was reduced by 20% and divested to the regions (thanks Nadine Dorries) leading to many invaluable London based arts organisations and creatives struggling to raise funds for their projects (include the organisation I founded, the Abram Wilson charity). This is on top of a 30% cut of Arts Council England’s overall budget between 2010-2023. 2024 - More good news! ArtsHub reported a 47% decline in arts enrolment at GCSE since 2010 thanks to the systematic cut of arts subjects in schools since the Tories came into power 14 years ago meaning less opportunities for creatives to earn income in education. I could go on but I reckon this is enough to make the point that ‘traditional’ opportunities to earn money as a creative have become increasingly difficult over the last four years. It’s now more important than ever to be strategic (ie. plan ahead) so that you can build your career in a way that’s sustainable. Top tip! Part of this is learning how to connect with your network / following / audience from early on so you can move them onto a MAILING LIST (so old skool, I know) which you then use to REGULARLY and CONSISTENTLY communicate with your subscribers. This allows you to build a RELATIONSHIP without having to worry about algorithms, your account being hacked or Meta shutting it down just cos. When you’ve built a relationship with your ever growing mailing list as a result of having cracked signing them up and sending a regular email that people actually want to open, selling (your gigs/your Patreon membership/merch etc) becomes a whole lot easier. The best part? You’re in control.

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My Client needed double the branding to level-up one business & launch another - here's what I did for the Colour Phase ⬇️ Ian has a successful business called Joseph Victor Limited; working with impact-led professionals driven by social enterprise But after a late-diagnosis of Autism, he’s ready to start unmasking and find a way to make an even bigger impact to people and communities by building a personal brand and taking on Guest Speaker & Mentoring roles So I had 2 jobs… 1️⃣ To create clarity on Joseph Victor’s brand identity & refine its visual identity with it 2️⃣ To generate a completely new brand for Ian (as himself) from scratch Now, both brands are in social enterprise 💜 The goal of Joseph Victor is to help business owners balance purpose and profitability, on their mission to make change in the world 💚 The goal of Ian McCleave is to inspire & support change-makers even earlier in that journey e.g, soloprenuers (especially spicy ones) Or charities & communities who need the business know how to get their mission off the ground So you see how one feeds into the other?  *becomes math girl meme* For that reason, these brands needed to be ‘sisters’ Not ‘strangers’… but also not ‘twins’ So I chose to create one colour palette And use quantity to differentiate them! 👉 Swipe through the slides to see what I mean It’s not about over complicating identities  It’s about knowing how to use them Quality, not quantity - amirite 😉 #ProfessionalWithPersonality ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• I’m Bethany 💁🏻‍♀️ Founder of BeBeau Creative 🌻 A Full Service Design & Digital Agency ✨ for Neurospicy, Disabled, Chronically Ill & Inclusive Business Owners Looking for my next badass bestie to work with on their brand/biz! DM if you’re interested 💜 👩‍🎤 BE alternative so there is NO alternative! 👩‍🎤

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When was the last time you shouted about yourself or your business using your Beaver Leader voice? I don’t mean the slightly exasperated one (‘Beavers, pleease stop putting the modelling clay up your nose’). I mean the one that gets to the back of the room, is confident and says ‘I know what I’m doing.’ If it’s been a while, here’s why you need to find it: ✅ We’re busy, we might not remember what it is you do. ✅ We like you, we want to share in your wins and recommend you for jobs. ✅ Confidence is compelling, people will want to listen to you So find your Beaver Leader voice. Let us all know what you do and why you’re fab at it. Legal Disclaimer, no trips to A&E required from modelling clay-nose incident and no Beavers were harmed in the making of this post. ===== If you need help finding your voice online, drop me a DM #FindYourVoice #DigitalMarketing

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Should you have favourites?   Favourite types of clients, that is.   Well, I do. Educational brands really get me going. From tutoring to coaching to edutainment, I just love it!   So why are they my favourite? 👉 I speak their language With a background working for Sky Creative on Sky Kids, then Macademia, it feels like familiar territory.   👉 They’re open-minded Every educational brand I’ve collaborated with has embraced new ideas, aiming for originality and creative design.   👉 I support their mission I’m passionate about making learning accessible, especially as someone with dyslexia who benefited from extra support.   👉 Meaningful impact Our projects often lead to real, positive changes in learners’ lives, which is incredibly fulfilling.   👉 Constant learning Collaborating with educational brands means I'm always learning something new and staying updated on the latest trends. Learning is life! You might say that education brands can be a bit blue and schooly… Well, I say they don’t have to be!   Do you have a favourite? Comment below 💬 #Education #Learning #CreativeDesign #EdTech #EducationalBrands

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Can machine minds win human hearts? ❤️   It’s a question all of us working in charity brand, fundraising, or communications today grapple with.     So I’m very excited to be speaking about it at next month’s CharityComms storytelling conference ⬇️   https://lnkd.in/eiTR-64r   Charities have the most human stories of all – and often the most pressing needs to share them.   They’re also facing huge financial and resourcing challenges and increasingly urgent demand for programmes and services.   Generative AI tools like ChatGPT present valuable opportunities for streamlining creative processes and saving money.   But as Joe Lazer (Lazauskas) recently highlighted in the excellent Storytelling Edge newsletter, relying too much on AI is a race to the middle ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/evvQVcRv   Although it’s getting better fast, generative AI is still built to create content based on everything that’s gone before (with all its historic biases).   And that can lead to lazy thinking and generic content.   When every charity’s advantage is the uniqueness and deep emotional empathy of its human (or animal) stories.   But AI has advantages too. And I’m looking forward to discussing how we can best use it at every stage of the storytelling process – from planning and story gathering to messaging, tone and publishing, channels and audiences.   I’d love to see you there:   🗓 19 September ⏰ 13:15-13:45   And please tell me in the comments what you’d like to see covered in the session. What challenges and opportunities are you finding with Generative AI?   Are machine minds helping YOU win human hearts? #Storytelling #CharityStorytelling #GenerativeAI #ChatGPT #CharityComms #AIStorytelling #NonProfit #Brand #Fundraising #Comms

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Face Yoga For Your Human Design Energy Type! ‘In this weeks, solo episode I delve into two of my passions, Human Design and Face Yoga. I use Jenna Zoe's fantastic book 'Human Design' as a guide to each of the 5 energy types and suggest how you should be doing Face Yoga according to which type you are.’ To listen to more, click the link below:

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During a thought provoking conversation with one of our Outside Perspective members Rosie Wells, we were discussing how #freelancers can shift from doing what they're known for (i.e. what's in their portfolio) to what they want to be doing next. It can be a challenging shift, because clients will look for demonstrable evidence and experience in something, rather than seeing the broader skills and impact the person has generally. Have you made a shift from one superpower, into the next - and what steps did you take to bridge the gap and start finding your way into the thing you want to be doing for the next stage of your career?

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What subjects do you want to network about? The beauty of the platform like Meeow Online Networking is we have the flexibility to give our membership (that's FREE membership, by the way) the type of networking that most appeals, at a time that suits them. Across the whole week, there's so much scope to create Meeows (those are online networking meetings where attendees are matched in rooms of no more than 4 by the way) for every country, every subject our membership wants/needs/craves we're asking "what do you want to talk about?" Get in touch if you don't see the subject or location you'd like Meeow to cover. Meeow Online Networking is here to deliver what you need from your networking. Email address in comments #networking #networkingtips #networkingopportunities #networkingforeveryone

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Flummoxed has to be a top 10 word in my book — what’s one of your favourite words and why? I’m also a fan of flabbergasted, perchance, shenanigans, kerfuffle, and discombobulated. That probably says a lot about me 🤔 Your turn! 👇🏻 #FlummoxedOverCopy #DoINeedToRebrand —— I’m generally not flummoxed or flabbergasted over copy, so if, perchance, you want to avoid a kerfuffle, avoid the shenanigans and let me help instead 🥹 You can peek at my profile for services and pricing info, or pop to my website. (Or just send me a DM or email grace.hall@cryingovercopy.com right away 🥳)

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TEMPLATES COMING SOON…..🏬 As a young creative social media platforms have become our portfolios. I advocate for website/online platforms outside of social media especially when showcasing all your best work. However let’s tailor our social media pages both icons, highlights, stories and feed content. Join the community using the link below to be the first to have access to my long awaited templates. Along with templates you will have access to a 1-to-1 strategy call. https://lnkd.in/eHWYuW4A Calling all the lash/nail techs, bakery owners/sweet treat business’, podcasters and young creatives let’s collaborate 🤍 Comment below what other templates you would love to see? #socialmedia #optimization #templates #highlights #stories #feedpost #shop #comingsoon #responsive

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A Programme Director🔥 One of the perks of working as a programme director and speaker is that I get to tap into my feminine side by looking the part. While a persons appearance is not the only thing that matters, it certainly is a vital part of branding. Whether you’re a personal brand or a business brand, invest in the “packaging” aspect of your offering. Don’t give your prospective client an opportunity to doubt you. #branding #packaging #personalbranding

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Phew! What a couple of days... I've been recording videos for my new course on headshots - I think the only such course out there. I have to say I'm good at adlibbing but rubbish at memorising lines or script.I don't know how actors do it? Anyway, 4 of the videos recorded and one edited - only 5 more to go... It's going to be a busy weekend! Click on and follow my Linkedin Hashtag #ThePowerOfTheHeadshot for inspiring content, helpful insider tips and tricks to give your headshot the WOW Factor. #actors #headshots

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I recently signed up to Skin + Me - Here's why you should sweat the small stuff with your packaging 😴 Anyone who knows me knows I'm massively into my skincare. I live for it! It was only a matter of time before I tried Skin&Me. And boy, was I excited: 👉 Tailored treatment plans. 👉 Access to a personal dermatologist 👉 Top-shelf ingredients that deliver results. Skin+Me commands a price premium (and rightly so) because of its unique brand positioning. But I don't mind paying a premium for such a personalised skincare routine. First impressions count; their packaging had: 👉 Bold colours and typography 👉 Lovely opening tear strip 👉 Nice material choices 𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗲? 𝗕𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. This is because: ❌ The tear strip becomes a pointless feature. ❌ It's ugly. ❌ It sets the wrong first impression. Packaging isn’t just about looks; it’s an integral part of the user experience. Especially when it's a premium brand like Skin+Me. Don't sacrifice user experience, especially when you're brand is on the premium scale. P.S. Despite their packaging misstep, Skin+Me's products are truly top-notch. Cheers to them for that!

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