Leading Liverpool-based web design agency Mando Group has rebranded and re-launched its new corporate website with a radical departure from the corporate cool.

On Thursday 6th May the Roses Advertising Awards 2010 will be taking place in Manchester and for anyone who can’t make the event we will be broadcast live from the event.

The organisers of Liverpool’s showcase at the World Expo 2010, which starts in Shanghai on 1 May, have revealed details of how the city’s pavilion will look. The £1.1m stand has been designed by BDP Architects and Liverpool design agency Uniform.

Liverpool PR agency Ubiquity has secured a series of account wins. The agency has been appointed to handle the marketing and PR for bar chain Baa Bar and education charity The Ariel Trust, and has also been retained for this summer’s Brouhaha International Festival 2010. Head of agency Joel Jelen has also been appointed as PR and marketing co-ordinator on the Merseyside committee of property and construction network, the Forum for the Built Environment.

Liverpool advertising agency Finch has won a six-way pitch to handle the marketing activities of luxury tour operator Seasons in Style. The brief includes the creation of a new range of brochures highlighting the range of Seasons properties available. Finch will also launch a new advertising campaign in the autumn across key consumer titles.

Paul Beacall, managing director of Seasons, said “These are challenging trading conditions, so it is important that …

Almost 40 fund managers from across the UK have bid to run four new venture capital loan funds for the North West.

The Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) has announced that the £184m Northwest Venture Capital Loan Fund (VCLF) has received 39 expressions of interest. These are likely to include Liverpool-based Alliance Fund Managers (AFM) and Yorkshire Fund Managers (YFM) who are currently operating the £10m interim VCLF.
When the VCLF is fully up and running later this year it will include a …

Uniform, a Liverpool design consultancy, has created a new brand for the city’s RopeWalks area. The company was awarded the contract in February by The Creative RopeWalks Stakeholders Group, including representatives from The Mersey Partnership, Liverpool City Council, local businesses and residents.

Uniform said its new branding seeks to capture the “history, eclecticism, diverse offer and vibrant character” of the area.

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment says the area, …

On Thursday 6th May the Roses Advertising Awards 2010 will be taking place in Manchester and for anyone who can’t make the event we will be broadcast live from the event.

Liverpool creative agency Switch Media has been approved as a BBC supplier. The agency was accepted as an approved supplier to the BBC for new media commissions following a vetting process. 

Commercial director Aaron Bimpson said: “It is an exciting time for Switch Media and we hope to be working with the BBC on new media commissions in the very near future.” The agency won a gold award at the Fresh …

The £7.5m Capstone Building at Liverpool Hope University’s Creative Campus has opened. Supported by £6.5m funding from The Northwest Regional Development Agency and Higher Education Funding Council for England, were present at an opening event that incorporated a concert and awards ceremony.

 Steven Broomhead, NWDA chief executive, said the new building would help to support skills development in the region.

The Capstone Building is a project which has been in development …

Office Share – Bank of England – Castle Street

Creative Liverpool is looking for a synergy business to office share its prestigious head office in Liverpool city centre. This is a prime business address and a very cool office space, very competitive rates for the right company. Old Bank of Englnd Building, 31 Castle Street, Liverpool, L2 4GL.

The announcement today of the departure of Jim Gill, the Chief Executive of Liverpool Vision, is one which raised a few eyebrows. Although unsurprising as he made no secret, privately or in public that retirement was looming. So what should the digital sector hope for in his successor?

Jim’s leadership of Liverpool Vision has been an undoubted success, delivering genuine results to the City Region, even through the dark and difficult days of the last 24 months. For the Digital sector …

Apart from being the mail order catalogue of choice for Wile E Coyote in his harebrained schemes to get that roadrunner. What is ACME?  I know from the website that it’s the body that supports the creative sector in Liverpool…ect ect, but in all honesty I really don’t see it out there day to day.

Now unless I’m missing something, and I’m happy to be proved wrong, what is it actually doing?  Apart from the occasional random poorly designed e-newsletter  (which more often than not carries last months …

Looking to move?  Looking for space alongside an award winning Digital Agency?

The perfect opportunity has arisen for an inspiring business to take space in one of the most prestigious offices in the Central Business District.  Grade A space available for a Grade A company.

City Centre location
Plug and play facilities
One monthly fee  - all costs included
Very flexible leases

Enquiries to Digital Liverpool or c/o Gareth@creativeliverpool.co.uk

Mando Group has launched a new website for public art project Art for Places www.artforplaces.com. The project, a partnership between NewHeartlands, Liverpool Biennial, Arts Council England, and local authorities and housing associations, will run for the next three years. Mando chief executive Matt Johnson said: “The Liverpool region has much to offer its residents and we’re proud to be helping it build on those assets to ensure future success.”

The journey from concept to finish design has now changed, but for the good or for the bad? 

Mark Jones of city centre design agency Creative Liverpool asks what impact PhotoSketch may have on streamlining client work, or does it risk dumbing-down the creative process?

Check out the following tongue-in-cheek animation that pulls no punches regarding the client vs. agency relationship. If you’re a graphic designer or web designer for 5 years or more than you’ll find this very, very funny indeed.

I have been to the site several times as a potential relocation for our business, but until 2007, I was more likely to hit tumbleweed than a potential client. It was always well kitted out but a soulless and sterile atmosphere, not a creative hub of energy and excitement. We moved to Castle Street.

On the 8th December 2003, The Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) unveiled the branding for Liverpool Digital, at the Edge Lane site. The Vision in 2003. Liverpool …

Like many things in life, digital and social media should come with an etiquette manual. Like first dates, job interviews, PR, and funerals there are some simple rules that, if we all observed, would make the whole business run smoother and more enjoyable for everyone.

How can the digital community maximise in Liverpool’s investment at Shanghai World Expo 2010?

There appears to be confusion in the digital and creative sector about how we (collectively) can get involved in Shanghai 2010. I am keen to support public sector events that help the companies in the city, but I do feel more effort needs to be made in putting on better events. Specifically in emerging markets, and the digital sector is one of those. Helping companies grow is …

BT announces the next generation of super-fast fibre-optic broadband exchanges across the UK, but Liverpool misses out on this much-needed investment in digital infrastructure.

Many firms desperate to attract more business online are increasingly in danger of being sucked in by novice marketing agencies aggressively selling the virtues of SEO (search engine optimisation) techniques. Experienced marketing professionals with integrity will tell you that traditional SEO when used in isolation from e-pr or digital pr will not generate business, maintains Joel Jelen, managing director at Liverpool-based pr agency, Ubiquity.

I just hate the new pedestrian road crossing systems in Liverpool. The stupid, impractical low down box things that you can’t see as soon as one person stands in front of them! Its safety gone mad. The system had to have been tested with the world’s most patient people. Technology improvements where simply not needed, nor the cost of installing a new system.

The pelican crossing, a lovely black and white mat to walk cross, huge belisha beacons guiding you across …

Leaving aside the usual frequently heard mutterings of “is it good enough” and “did it warrant the £100,000 price tag” – the bigger puzzlement for me is – who is actually using it?

The creation of one of Europe’s largest Science Parks plus innovations such as the International Centre for Digital Content and a new Art and Design Academy put the Liverpool City Region at the forefront of the creative and digital economy. IT, Digital and Creative companies include:IBM, Sony CEE, BT, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Cybertill, Orgmetrics, Lime Pictures (formerly Mersey TV), Mando Group, River Media, Hurricane Films, Rippleffect, Bizarre Creations, Fraser Williams Logistics, New Mind, Amaze, Felix Blow, CL5 Search Engine …

MediaCity – Is there an opportunity for Liverpool digital companies to get invloved?

The 36 acre Peel development is possibly the biggest opportunity that will happen to the digital media community this decade in the North West. Manchester will be the biggest beneficiary of the opportunities and rewards, but surely Liverpool must be invloved in thier plans?

Access to finance has been the big issue for SMEs in the recession, obtaining public sector investment can be a useful alternative.

I started CL5, a digital consultancy specialising in search engine marketing in April 2009. To launch and then grow the business I needed more capital than I could afford to invest personally. I had been kicking at the doors of all the major banks for a good six months asking the questions, with only a set of …

Where’s the heart of the North Wests Digital community. Take the major commercial developments which have emerged over the past decade, which have brought real term benefits to the creative community and two names dominate the arena – Urban Splash and Peel Holdings. Both developers are backing our sector with long term and specific building design.

Peel Holding’s Media City – need I say more. Also for those of you …