Turn Key Blog. Things we've done and the things we love.

We all like to muck in at Turn Key, so when we were asked to complete a photo shoot for innovative mobile accessory company, MyBunjee, our team literally jumped at the chance to get in front of the camera – as well as behind it! Throughout the shoot the team were jumping about on skateboards and snowboards and we finished the day not just happy we’d got some cracking action shots, but that everyone was still in one piece!

The shoot went really well and you will be able to see the fruit of our labour on a brand new website and a host of marketing collateral very soon. However, in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes.

Thank you to our models, Oliver and Olivia for doing a great job!

Our Junior Designer Carl went back to his roots when he visited Leeds College of Art’s ‘End of Year Show’…

Having been part of the show last year showcasing my own work, I knew how exciting and well-thought of this annual event is. Attracting a number of visitors, including professional designers, studios and potential employers seeking new talent, the event really lived up to my expectations.

The exhibition took place in the Blenheim Walk Building and each student had a dedicated space to display their portfolios from the past two years, all accompanied by some beautifully printed business cards.

With a passion for all things creative, I’m always keen to find new inspiration and love discovering the next generation of designers. In particular, the Graphic Design course provided some really inspiring fresh designs from brand identity to illustration. The work presented was of such a high-quality that some of it could’ve easily been mistaken as a professional’s.

Rosalind Stoughton really stood out. I loved the typeface she created called ‘Fonecian’ and the rest of her work showed a strong approach to print and finishes.

Richard Robinson was another striking creative. His 3D type work and illustrations particularly impressed me, especially the awesome ‘Marvel’ designs which were not only attention-grabbing but demonstrated strong technical skills.

Naomi Farrar ’s branding work across a range of print was also exceptionally well delivered and photographed.

I managed to get some lovely photographs of the students’ work including one student who gives Turn Key a run for its money with a new menu and takeaway box design for our client, Chaophraya!

This week, the Daily Mail has reported yet another Photoshop blunder, this time from the photographers for jeans designer, J Brand. The image in question features a model holding a giant bicycle whilst showcasing the brand’s 910 Sterling Sparkle Jeans. The Mail has insinuated that the photographer, in their post-shoot edits, has removed the model’s right hand and the second half of the bike, including the wheel.

Photoshop errors are something of a running joke here in the Turn Key office. Big brands make the same mistakes over and over again and, as creative enthusiasts, we often pick up on them before anyone else. Extra arms, missing fingers, airbrush disasters; you name it, we’ve seen it!

Our design team are sceptical about J Brand’s reported mishap however. When researched further, the shoot seems to have captured a number of images, some with the model holding the bike itself, and others focussed on the jeans, with her clasping the bike wheel alone. It could be therefore that the wheel has not been edited out at all; it was simply missing from the bike in the first place meaning it wasn’t shot.

On further inspection, the angle of the bike also implies that its frame is hidden out of the shot too. As our Creative Director, Rich’s overlaid image proves, the bike – even with the second wheel attached – would fall behind the model, no matter how tiny she is!

Could it be then that the writer of the article has jumped on the story without researching it fully? Possibly. Although whether the author is right or not, this has awarded J Brand more publicity than the image ever could have on its own.

The story does go to show however, the importance of retouching images with care, as the devil is always in the detail. This example may be a misjudgement, but checking images for visual errors is a key part of the overall image design process and something that we at Turn Key pay utmost attention to. So fingers crossed, we won’t be the Daily Mail’s next victim!

Carl and Paul two of our creative designers took a step into the world of design last week, visiting the Metric Exhibition at Dock Street Market in Leeds.

The month long exhibition showcased 27 different British street and graffiti artists, illustrators, designers and printmakers.  After the patriotic Jubilee weekend, the Metric continued the celebrations by exhibiting the best pieces from the British design world from Banksy cohort and Bristol legend Inkie, to Leeds’ own Drew Millward – this truly represents the pioneers in UK creativity – some great inspiration for our budding design legends to-be.

Check out the boy’s favourite pieces and some cool shots they got from the exhibition!

To welcome Spring in style, Eden Shopping Centre, High Wycombe, decided to produce a guide to Spring fashion. Aimed at the 30 plus female market, this guide was to be given out at a Colour Wheel Fashion Event. With content, styling and design pulled together by Turn Key we had a great time being creative.

The finished guide is an A3 sized newspaper style magazine, and we love it!

Designer Darren Jaques loves… Inspiration from Staudinger + Franke

As designers we get to spend a lot of our time scouring the Internet and flicking through the pages of books in the search for inspiration. As a result we get to see all kinds of weird and wonderful creations, but every now and then, you see something that stops you dead in your tracks and leaves you quietly muttering to yourself ‘Bloody hell, that’s good’.

For me, that moment came the other day after our Creative Director, Rich,  pointed me in the direction of Staudinger + Franke.

Based in Vienna, Austria, they specialise in CGI, photography and retouching and the results are stunning. Check out a few examples below or see the site for yourself at www.staudinger-franke.com

It’s time for the latest instalment in the Porsche Strasse ‘Seven Sins’ series and this genius gem is from Turn Key Designer, Sean Simmonds.

‘Greed’ is a simple, but very effective concept which we think demonstrates the point perfectly and after all, who doesn’t dream of having a different car for every day of the week?!

Turn Key recently got creative with paint on a photoshoot for Taiko Mochi Records. We’ll lift the lid on the finished shots very soon, but in the meantime, here is a behind the scenes preview.

Turn Key’s creative director Richard Colvill was recently featured in the Porsche Post talking about his passion for cars and design. You can see some of the work that Turn Key has produced for Porsche here .