Why Bake Off reminds me of design pitch processes: Emma Nicol

Watching the reruns of panicked-filled The Great British Bake Off episodes recently reminded me of how badly thought out some pitch situations are – and how they could be much improved.

Asking an agency or designer to creatively and speculatively pitch is like asking them to take part in the technical challenge on Bake Off. It’s akin to providing them with a set of ingredients and a very vague set of instructions, sometimes with key information missing, in a kitchen set up very differently, that may, or may not, have the right utensils.

When it comes to problem solving, we’ve all heard the saying ‘slowing down to speed up’. It’s very true and something that we should all be encouraged to do a little more. In our day to day life, we are all too often solution focused. Continually solution-ising, when we should be staying in the enquiry space for longer.

I’m sure we’ve all had those train journeys where we are subjected to a vocal human boom box sharing their conversation with the entire train. This morning I had that very joy but it did make me consider this environment in relation to how we communicate through campaigns and marketing messages. There were lessons to be learnt from the megaphone passenger.

My experience this morning homed in on three things:

• Volume
• Awareness of the environment
• Clarity of information

Very few items of clothing come as loaded with cultural significance as the football shirt, and the signifiers shift depending on the team and the year the strip was released. I’m sure there have been a thousand theses on the subject. However, when Liverpool FC unveiled their new shirt a week or so ago it had a design feature which felt a little different and more considered than the average shirt. It boasts a chequered pattern with differently sized squares that is “inspired by the red and white mosaic formed when supporters on the Kop hoist aloft their Liverpool flags and scarves on a matchday.” It’s a sweet nod to the supporters and their significance that feels particularly resonant considering the Hillsborough disaster investigations.

We get asked this a lot. It’s an unusual name but here’s what’s behind it:

Door: A door is the first thing people see when approaching a company or organisation and gives the first impression. Doors are the way in. We love opening them for our clients and organisations and helping them unlock the way to new audiences, revenue and opportunities.

22: 22 is the atomic number of titanium. Titanium is recognised for it’s high strength-to-weight ratio. As a small team with strong abilities we can identify with the number 22.

Creative: We’d hope that this doesn’t really need explaining. It’s simply what we are. We have created thousands of brands, campaigns, websites and literature and each one is treated with exactly the same design integrity as if it was the first and only one.