News & Views

Big news and even bigger opinions…

Darren Scott Darren Scott

A St George’s Day guide to avoiding a branding own goal.

The recent reveal of Nike’s new England football kit ignited a fiery debate which is worth revisiting as we mark St George’s Day. Controversy erupted after the US sportswear giant revealed it had altered the red of the traditional St George’s Cross flag on the England kit, introducing purple and blue stripes. In its defence, Nike said the design was "a playful update" to the shirt ahead of Euro 2024.

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

The Cona – A forgotten Manchester icon.

The Cona was located in what is now the basement of 12 Tib lane and was accessed by a set of suicidal steps that took you down into the dark, smokey, yet alluring underworld. It was a place where the weekend’s activities would quite often start mid-week, everyone would be discussing who was playing, who was going, and, more importantly, who had the pills. The Cona was right at the centre of the Manchester ‘Soul Mod’ scene in the swinging sixties.

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

Thirst knows no season – Did Coca-Cola brand Christmas?

While Coca-Cola undeniably played a transformative role in popularising and cementing the modern image of this beloved figure. It is crucial to dispel the common misconception that the world's largest beverage company actually invented Santa Claus.

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

5 signs you need help with brand fragmentation.

Yes this might seem obvious, but if your brand has 10 versions of the logo in circulation and new team inductions don’t include a session on the brand and its importance, then you’ve probably got an issue. A brand isn’t the sole responsibility of a marketing team, it should be part of the whole organisation and embraced by everyone internally. If your business doesn’t buy the brand then it’s unlikely anyone outside of the organisation will.

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

Why Truth Labs help accelerate brand strategy and growth.

Truth Labs™ use a similar process to the popular Design Sprint methodology developed by Google to rapidly develop and launch new products. However, instead of focusing on NPD, Truth Labs are a highly effective way to solve complex business problems, develop engaging brand strategies and create bullet-proof brand experiences.

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

Why design should have a seat at the boardroom table.

As a design company – Truth focuses on creating unique brand identities, and developing intuitive user experiences – our design solutions often have a significant impact on a company's success. We often work with our clients at board level as it allows us to inject design thinking into the mix from the start, yet we still find some Brand Managers are reluctant to put you in front of the board. So, what benefits can really be gained from letting design have a seat at the top table?

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

Less is hard!

I have worked with many clients over the years who request a design solution that is ‘simple’, but it is rare to find one that truly has the stomach to see it through when faced with the reality of what they are wishing for. You see, simplicity is not simple at all, it is hard, in fact it is way beyond hard. Why? Because simplicity is not a fixed process it is an ongoing mindset that requires the type of uncomfortable sacrifices that will take most conventional marketeers and business owners so far out of their comfort zone their accent changes.

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Press Releases Darren Scott Press Releases Darren Scott

Truth Creative supports tech business with rebrand and launch campaign

Cybit’s new name and brand profile unite the expertise and proven legacy of Newcastle-headquartered IT solutions cloud migration and data and analytics specialist, Perfect Image; Berkshire-based IT support provider, Technique; and cyber security specialist, Cyphra in Belfast. The companies previously operated under the holding company, Pixel Group.

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

Branding for a cost of living crisis: six things to consider

A brand is often thought of as a logo.
It’s very true that a logo is an integral part of any brand and should be a badge of honour, but a brand is so much more than this.

A brand is the clothes your organisation wears. It encompasses every single aspect of your operation, and the touch-points of your organisation to both customers and internal teams.

It includes your visual identity, but also how you do business and what you deliver in terms of products, services and most importantly, experience.

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

11 ways to completely sabotage your rebrand.

A brand is often thought of as a logo.
It’s very true that a logo is an integral part of any brand and should be a badge of honour, but a brand is so much more than this.

A brand is the clothes your organisation wears. It encompasses every single aspect of your operation, and the touch-points of your organisation to both customers and internal teams.

It includes your visual identity, but also how you do business and what you deliver in terms of products, services and most importantly, experience.

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Education Darren Scott Education Darren Scott

Do we need to redesign the National Curriculum to save the world?

As a father of two children – one in high school and one in junior school – I often get frustrated with some of the subjects that they are being taught in school. When I ask my kids how their school day went, I often get the reply of ‘borrrrrrring!’ and ‘I don’t see why we have to learn about…’ now you can insert the standard things we all probably said as a student here – for example; Shakespeare, algebra, drama, religion, and dance. Yes, we have all been there, but on reflection these WERE things I said as a child, and I am over 30 years out of high school. So what has changed? Well, the world certainly has, our approach to life certainly has, and the world of work and the roles within it are completely different. So why has The National Curriculum for England, which the Education Reform Act first introduced in 1988 not re-focussed its priorities in line with societal needs?

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

How James Dyson tricked me into thinking I’d designed the AirBlade Tap.

Now just to be clear, I have never met James Dyson, I don’t know him, but I do like him. My perception of him is largely based on my experience of using the innovative products designed and developed by his company – Dyson. I own one of his distinctive Vacuum cleaners which I am careful not to call by my usual term of ‘a Hoover’. Does anyone actually say ‘I Dysoned the living room’. No, probably not, but if anyone is going to replace Hoover as the general term for a vacuum cleaner, it will likely be Dyson. His drive to improve and reinvent the less glamorous, but no less important everyday technologies is commendable. I also find his passion for simple, highly functional human centred design really inspiring.

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Darren Scott Darren Scott

Why Human-Centred Design should simply be called design.

As designers, there is always a temptation to design products, spaces, experiences or branding that we would want ourselves and our peers will respect us for. This approach can often lead to beautifully designed solutions that brilliantly solve the wrong problem. The result is a product that has an initial wow factor, but totally misses the mark when it comes to solving the real underlying issues that need to be addressed. Consumers rush to engage or adopt the newly created piece of eye candy, only to be left disappointed or underwhelmed by the dream they were sold. The inevitable backlash from any bad design is often very expensive and sometimes catastrophic and underlines the maxim that bad design is significantly more expensive than good design.

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About us

We are a Manchester based creative agency that loves to use strategic design thinking to solve business problems. It goes beyond telling stories – it tells your truth, in a way that will connect you with your audience.

If you would like to talk to us about your brand story – get in touch.



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