Ox Brand

Ox Brand At Ox, we revitalise brands to regenerate business. Ox principal Andrew Galvin is both brand consultant and designer.

Andrew brings three decades of experience and a proven track-record in delivering strategic brand design and communications. Andrew works directly with all clients and leads a small dynamic team of both highly experienced and young creatives. With a business focus and a commitment to continue to evolve to meet the needs of our clients, Ox are positioned to understand and advise on what works strat

egically, commercially and aesthetically. Whether you are just getting started, standing still, going backwards or even going gangbusters, Andrew and his team can help take your business to the next level.

The long, the short, and the art of cyclingA few years ago we were delighted to rebrand Apres Velo an Australian boutiqu...
23/11/2021

The long, the short, and the art of cycling

A few years ago we were delighted to rebrand Apres Velo an Australian boutique cycling apparel business. At the time the market was saturated with multiple, generic offers of cycling tees and various bits and bobs.

We worked with Apres Velo to develop a brand positioning and visual identity that would be central to regenerating the brand. We’ve continued to work with AV as they’ve grown into a fully-fledged cycling lifestyle brand. Recently they were appraised as being a top three global brand in their niche.
Apres Velo is proof that businesses need both long term brand building and short-term brand activation.
Owner Leonard Greis and his team have continued to build the brand on a long-term strategy. It now has male and female elite racing teams that promotes the brand locally and nationally. It has also introduced high-end cycling tours in Australia with the latest offering being a gravel-bike tour in Morocco.
The very nature of what the business does means they are continually going to market with new products. This is classic, short-term brand activation through sales.
But, most importantly, Apres Velo has expanded both its long-term brand building and its short-term offerings based upon its positioning of ‘distinctly stylish with a twist’. And this has started to pay real dividends.

As a keen cyclist AV has become a great client to work with and I’m thrilled to introduce our latest collaboration with the launch of the new ‘Cycling meets Art’ range.

Be quick.

Our “Cycling meets Art” fashion capsule is inspired by the Godfather’s of Pop art, Warhol and Lichtenstein, as well as the founder of the De Stijl movement, Dutch painter and colourist Mondrian. Check it out now!

Logos. Science v Intuition? Here’s my two bob’s worth take on an interesting article from HBR that speaks to business, m...
15/09/2021

Logos. Science v Intuition?

Here’s my two bob’s worth take on an interesting article from HBR that speaks to business, marketers, and designers.

I’ve developed countless brand identities for a broad range of businesses across multiple sectors. Having worked with both senior and junior designers for many years, and I can honestly say I’ve never approached or seen an approach to developing an ‘effective’ design based upon, I suppose, the science, or more specifically data.

Perhaps I should have I hear you say…

In my defence and probably a lot of designers out there, I think we tend to work quite intuitively. This intuition is likely to be founded upon a proven design process, certain design principles and a healthy dose of experience. Once we understand the fundamentals of the target market, the sector, what the brand stands for, the attributes the brand can lay claim to, we basically, get on with it.

The article is obviously written by very smart people from a marketing background. I get that it comes from their perspective and the research has looked to quantify the influence of logo design on the success of a business or product. All good.

Howver, for me, from a design perspective, it’s first and foremost, about looking to capture the essence of a brand through a well-executed idea. You can’t get everything about an organisation or product into a logo but the good ones, the ones that have stood the test of time, are usually, clever, simple, and beautifully crafted, whilst conveying ‘something’ about the organisation. If you can get it right the effectiveness follows.

At very least, the following article is worth consideration as part of a designer’s toolbox when it comes to effective logo design.

Is your logo too simple for its own good?

Annoying 5-Star Ratings vs Proper Brand TrackingAre you over the bombardment of 5-Star rating requests on the slightest ...
01/09/2021

Annoying 5-Star Ratings vs Proper Brand Tracking

Are you over the bombardment of 5-Star rating requests on the slightest interaction with a brand? I am. I love my Spotify, but it does have the knack of interrupting my moments of lockdown solace down to a fine-art.

It got me thinking. To what end is Spotify’s persistence? What do brand’s get out of these somewhat spontaneous ratings? No doubt social media sharing on how brilliant the brand or product is. However, without an accompanying review, I doubt the ratings afford little insight into how a brand is travelling.

So, the question, obviously is, on what, specifically, have you awarded the stars? Am I being asked to rate my Spotify experience, its interface, or suggested playlists?

As referred to in my last post on co-branding, what organisations should really be doing, is brand tracking. In a nutshell, running brand ‘health’ checks.

Brand tracking can give you a shed load of data about your brand that you can use to inform both strategic, creative, and tactical decisions. Brand tracking can quantifiably measure brand awareness, brand perceptions both positive and negative against your competitors. Changes in the business and social landscapes and help spot possible threats – before they happen.

There are plenty of platforms you can run customer surveys through which I won’t go into here.

5-Star ratings have their place, but they will not give you the data you need to make informed decisions about your brand.

Track, measure, and tweak.

Here’s a bit more on those pesky 5-Stars:

Research suggests the average person reads about seven reviews before making a decision. Sort through the swamp of ratings and reviews with these seven easy tips.

A recent post on LinkedIn (unfortunately full access only by Creative Review subscription) essentially espoused that the...
22/06/2021

A recent post on LinkedIn (unfortunately full access only by Creative Review subscription) essentially espoused that the Wolff Olins designed 2012 London Olympics logo was not deserving of the vitriol that greeted its launch at the time.

Regardless of the strategy, positioning or thinking behind it, for my money, aesthetically, I’m still with Adrian Shaughnessy on design Observer who dismissed it as a ‘solid gold stinker’. Views have mellowed somewhat. Read it here:

Designing London 2012: The Wolff Olins logo and all THAT controversyWordsRob Alderson—Date8 August 2012Reading Time4 minute readWorkGraphic Design“We don’t do bland. This is not a bland city. We weren’t going to come to you with a dull or dry corporate logo that will appear on a polo shirt a...

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