Twenty-nine countries entered the awards, and we were one of only three UK agencies to win a First Place Statuette. Our Creative Director in London, Adam Ellis, was thrilled, “We couldn’t be happier. Our clients were brave and visionary from the very beginning, which helped us create something we’re really proud of.”

We’re all really proud of Jonathan’s achievements in the design industry and at Elmwood. He’s a former Chairman of the Design Business Association, a past member of the RSA and Yorkshire Arts Councils and last year he stepped down from his position as a council member of the Design Council after a ten-year stint, where he also chaired the Design Skills Advisory Panel. Jonathan was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science by Huddersfield University in 2002 for his contribution to the design industry, and the Leeds Media Profile Award in 2006 for promoting Leeds as a centre of excellence for design.

The designers are looking at new business card formats to fit three more initials.

Mitch has been a regular in the Leeds studio (as well as numerous college visits and talks he’s invited himself along to) over the years, becoming loved by Elmwood staff and clients alike. He loved nothing more than letting out sneaky trumps under unsuspecting designers’ desks, or tearing to shreds any scamps that were foolishly left within his diminutive reach and disagreed with his very particular design sensibilities.

He will be remembered as a true character and member of the Elmwood family, and lives on as an integral part of the new Elmwood logo.

RIP Mitch the dog 1994 — 2011

A good crowd came along to listen. They even said they’d like to do it again some time. So we did. Now we find it’s time for our sixth SoPo (think ‘poetry in Soho’). There are new faces in the audience each time.

So come feast on poems, tuck in at a table laden with top-notch nibbles and sup at the generously-stocked makeshift bar. It’s our way of celebrating the written and spoken word, and we’d love you to be there.

The evening before last evening got a mention in The Times Literary Supplement. Check it out here.

Read more at the SoPo site http://elmwood.com/sopo/

Cable&Wireless Communications Plc will reveal a new corporate identity created by award-winning design agency Elmwood to coincide with the demerger of Cable&Wireless Communications Plc and Cable&Wireless Worldwide into two separate entities (Cable&Wireless Worldwide will still be publicly traded on the LSE).

Elmwood were appointed in November, 2009 with a brief to help articulate the Cable&Wireless Communications brand: to embrace the company’s distinguished 140-year history and core values, but also bring the brand positioning forward to express the modern, 21^st century telecommunications and international viewpoint they offer.

“Cable & Wireless is a globally recognised brand, built up over several generations,” said Lachlan Johnston, Brand and Communications Director. “Our challenge was to ensure Cable & Wireless Communications maintained the value and reputation of this brand following demerger.

“The new identity developed by Elmwood captures the best of our brand heritage while presenting a new and confident business to our audiences. We are pleased with the new brand, and look forward to building a new icon.”

“It was a privilege to work on such an iconic brand,” said Elliot Wilson, MD of Elmwood London. “Elmwood had a duty of trust to uphold the history and heritage of the brand whilst creating the next generation of mark and identity for them. It’s the type of challenge we at Elmwood relish.”

Elmwood, renowned for winning more Design Effectiveness Awards than any other agency, created a global master brand for Cable&Wireless Communications that includes

• a new logo,
• a flexible identity system including original illustrations, an ownable photographic style and iconography,
• comprehensive brand guidelines detailing everything from digital touch points to brochures to a written tone of voice,
• a completely new website,
• and a brand animation video.

Elmwood created a new website for Cable&Wireless Communications, www.CWC.com.

“We set out to create something that challenged the de-facto plain, boxy, corporate looking telecomms sites that exist in the marketplace at the moment,” said Alex Nelson, Head of Digital at Elmwood. “We were also very keen on creating a rich, interactive user experience, whilst letting those busy analysts and shareholders dive straight into the hard facts.

“Through a mixture of clear navigation, clean layout, fantastic illustrations and animated interactive (but still accessible and SEO friendly) elements, we managed to achieve the ‘modern classic’ values the brand portrays.”

Elmwood worked with The Neighbourhood to create a brand animation film which will be hosted on the Elmwood created website, www.CWC.com.

The Neighbourhood’s Creative Director Jon Humpherys, said: “We specialise in bringing brands to life so it was a great opportunity to work on the re-brand of Cable&Wireless Communications. The work they do — connecting people and places — gave us a lot of inspiration to create a rich, animated journey around the world starting from the first cable they laid in the ocean many years ago. The re-brand was created by Elmwood and it was a great experience working them once again on a landmark project.”