What makes a curious mind?
Being slumped in front of a PS4, blasting zombies? Doodling on an iPad? Taking the lead in an am-dram production?
Curious
Everyone is curious. It’s in our nature and part of our core beliefs. This made us the perfect partner to become part of the ensemble cast at Curious Minds.
Their mission statement – a company dedicated to improving the lives of children and young people through great art and culture – can be seen in everything they do. And now, with the help of another creative (and curious) organisation, they have the voice to sing about it, both on and off-line.
The bright, energetic, innovative and pro-active organisation are the cultural heartbeat for youngsters who want to get into the arts. But before Happy came breezing into their funky offices in Preston their branding lacked the spark to set any stage alight.
Just stepping inside the modern office within the Guild Hall – where many stars themselves have tread the boards, ironically – gives you a sense of just how passionate they are for the organisations they support. And you can’t really miss them, the Happy-designed artwork emblazoned on their windows kind of gives them away.
And then there’s Bob, but more about the mindful moggy later on.
A brand refresh, reflecting their bright outlook, has given Curious Minds the confidence to reach out to new sectors, expand the horizons of their advocates and grow the organisation, taking on new staff to further improve the lives through the many cultural paths they travel.
“Before Happy came along, our branding didn’t say Curious in the way we wanted it to,” says Derri Burdon, the organisation’s chief executive. “The main colour was grey, hardly an image we wanted to portray as we are trying to get young people passionate about culture.
“We work with all sorts of cultural organisations, from small community-led groups to large museums, galleries, theatres and everything in between so we needed the marketing collateral to reflect this. Happy gave us the identity we needed. The feedback has been amazing, from colleagues in the office to our partners, advocates and the youngsters we relay it to.”
The collaboration between Curious Minds and Happy also led to the former adopting a mischievous moggy as part of their marketing collateral.
“Bob just sort of happened but we liked the idea of having a curious cat as part of the organisation,” added Derri. “He adds a bit of fun to the brand and just pops up everywhere and we will make sure that curiosity doesn’t become the better of him!”
And if it’s a journey the website’s users are after, the Happy-designed and built all-singing-all-dancing newly launched one gives an insight into the work Curious Minds does. Simple navigation around the site allows users to check out links to its campaigns, forthcoming events and Curious Stories – a collection of shorts from some of the most inspirational people about what inspired them as children. It also has links to the many organisations and partners they are proud to work with.
Hakim Shujaee, graphic designer at Happy, said: “You cannot be creative and not be curious which is what we wanted to show with Curious Minds. They are bright, they shine a light onto the cultural diversity in the region and they inspire.
“Inspiration was key in the re-brand and our design work, we wanted to use images which would encourage people to get involved with Curious Minds and find their own identity by giving the organisation a unique one which would stand them out from the crowd.”
Nick Hyde is PR & Content Manager at Happy Creative, a full service marketing and creative agency based in Blackpool, Lancashire. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
