The Buchan Guns team is formed of some of the most respected and skilled craftsmen who have dedicated their lives to the fine art of gunmaking. Great care was taken throughout this project to ensure that the brand represented the exceptional level of quality, detail and craftsmanship that can be found in one of their bespoke pieces and it was fantastic for our work to be recognised in this category.

A special mention for artist Ella Ginn whom we worked alongside to help us bring our vision for the coat of arms to life.   Congratulations to all the fellow winners and nominees, it was an honour to pick up an award amongst so much incredible talent within the Scottish design community.

The Scottish Design Awards, organised by Urban Realm and The Drum, recognise work done by Scottish design consultancies, advertising agencies, printers, and client companies, or work done for Scottish clients no matter where the designer is based​​.

Isle of Arran Cottages: Brand Identity

Our work for Isle of Arran Cottages has been nominated in the ‘Brand Identity’ category. This project involved creating a brand identity and modern digital presence for a unique collection of historic cottages on the Isle of Arran. Our challenge was to elevate their online presence to stand out from competitors and third-party booking companies, while growing awareness among a new audience of potential customers without alienating existing clientele​​.

Our solution was rooted in a deep understanding of the island’s history. We created a bespoke logotype and monogram inspired by alphabetic Nordic runes found across Arran, offering a timeless and sophisticated feel while acting as a nod towards Arran’s rich history​​.

Moreover, we launched a new website aiming to attract more direct and organic bookings through a seamless web booking process. It showcases the beauty of the island setting and unique details of each property in a clean and easy to navigate way​​.

Buchan Guns: Design Craft

In the ‘Design Craft’ category, our work for Buchan Guns has been recognised. For this luxury Scottish shotgun and rifle maker, we developed a brand identity, positioning, and direction that is inspired by the Scottish and British best gunmaking traditions. This involved representing the exceptional level of quality, detail, and craftsmanship found in each of Buchan Guns’ bespoke pieces​​​.

We collaborated with artist Ella Ginn to create a monogram and crest based on Buchan Guns’ unique and distinguishable house scroll. This scroll, inspired by spectacular Scottish landscapes and engraved by the world’s finest master engravers, is a key feature of our design. We chose a classic yet contemporary serif with sharp details to mirror the precise detail of the eye-catching engravings. The Buchan color palette takes direct inspiration from specialist materials, and we selected paper stocks to reflect the English checkering pattern found on the finished wooden stocks​.

It’s great to be involved amongst so much great work across the industry and we’re looking forward to the awards ceremony on June 29, 2023​.

Thank you to our amazing team for their hard work and dedication, and to our clients for their trust and collaboration. Stay tuned for more updates!

Orroland Estate is a breathtaking place, however owners Melinda and Robert never felt that the brand truly reflected what makes Orroland special. We wanted to capture the character of the estate and set Orroland apart from other holiday cottages as a destination within Dumfries & Galloway.

The brand was inspired by the many sculptures and characters of Orroland. The estate feels “…like you are stepping into another world.” The idea of Orroland being a magical space led us to traditional fairytales and book covers. We wanted to bring this feeling into the brand and build our own sophisticated fairytale for Orroland.

With many curated sculptures on the estate, Orroland and art go hand in hand. The estate itself is situated near the artist town of Kirkcudbright. In order to compliment our concept of ‘a fairytale place’ we commissioned local artist Liz Myhill to capture the colourful elements of Orroland through linocut illustrations.

View the full case study here.

The Scottish Design Awards take place on the 29th June 2022 and full details can be found here.

How did you get into web development?

I got into web development at 14. My best friend and I used to make Dragon Ball Z fan websites. He used to create the design and I would code what he created. Then, as I got older, I started making more complex and dynamic websites.

What do you really enjoy about it? What motivates you and what are you passionate about?

I love creating something from nothing and bringing a complex design to life. To me, development is like solving a very complex puzzle, piece by piece, and then being able to stand back and go “hey this works pretty damn well!”

What project have you enjoyed working on most, and why?

It has to be the website I created for Meldrum House. I created the backend and the frontend of the design, and it was definitely a challenge to maintain design requirements and functionality.

How do you think your work will change in the future?

I’m a big believer in blockchains (Bitcoin/Ethereum) and AI, I think both are going to change the future as we transition very slowly from web 2.0 to web 3.0 – it’s a very exciting time to be a developer!

What programming languages do you use most, and do you have a favourite?

I definitely use PHP the most. I code with that on every website I do – other programmers often say it’s “bloated” and a dead language, but over the years it has become a lot more streamlined and I enjoy the fluidity of how the code works. I can build anything I want with PHP.

As for my favourite language, it would have to be Python. Python has a much simpler syntax and a few extra features that really allows it to be easily extendable and actually pull information in from the OS. It has endless possibilities.

What’s the most misunderstood part of your job?

The hardest thing is making people understand that to a website it isn’t just what you see on the surface that makes a great website, a great website should look good but also be extensible enough that it allows you to do what you need it to and do it very well.

Any advice for somebody wanting to get into web development?

If you’re looking to learn how to program, Youtube is full of resources and guides to help you become a better developer or even pick up a language.

Alternatively, if you’re trying to break into the industry, my advice is apply, apply and apply. The hardest first step you take as a developer is the first time you “get your foot in the door”. It can be very disheartening but when I look back at it, the days that challenged me are the ones I’m most fond of. Keep moving forward.

As I sit writing this, with a host of different social apps open in the background, it’s easy to start wondering if this is a good thing. Since Microsoft Teams became our default meeting room, and online networking events have become regular events in the diary, why spend even more time online than we already do? Surely, social media is just another pointless vanity project, right?

The answer, I think, depends on how you view social media. Like any tool, it can be used for good or bad – particularly for businesses. If you think of social media only as something teenagers use to video themselves dancing, or something influencers use to show off their aesthetic morning coffee (we’ve all done it), you could be doing your business a massive disservice.

When used as a tool for communication, relationship-building, thought leadership and genuine connection, there are few better tools to have in your arsenal than social media.

For businesses, social media is only pointless when it is not utilised in the context of a wider, effective digital marketing strategy. A good craftsman never blames their tools.

So how can social media be used as an effective tool for business development? Here are five reasons why social media marketing is the key to moving your business forward, and why ignoring it is slowing your growth.  

1. Build brand awareness
   
   Across different platforms, businesses can tell their story, why they provide the services they offer, and keep audiences updated with customer and employee stories – helping audiences to really understand why you do what you do.
   One of our hotel clients, based in Dumfries, came to us because they wanted to establish an online presence and widen their client base to include the whole of the UK. Since setting up and managing their social media presence, we have increased their following by 200% and engagement by 1000%.
   
   If you’re not utilising social media as a marketing tool, you could be missing out on potential clients and customers because they simply do not know you exist.
   
   
   
2. Drive Thought Leadership
   
   Social media is a great way to learn about the problems and interests of people. In turn, being on social gives brands an opportunity to drive thought leadership by solving problems. Create how-to guides, webinars and other content to help people and, in response, people could trust your brand as their source for guidance, turning them into loyal clients.
   
   As part of the wider digital marketing strategy for a number of our clients we research trending topics and create thought pieces and blogs, which can be posted on social media channels and drive traffic to your website – increasing the likelihood of gaining customers or clients. Whilst driving thought leadership is important for anybody venturing into social media marketing, this is essential for the professional service sector. Lawyers, listen up!
   
   
   
3. Generate leads
   
   Social media allows you to create meaningful conversations and engagement within your target industry by posting videos, news, data, and interesting trends. Not only do you build credibility with potential customers because you display your expertise and remain ‘in the loop’, butthese strategies can also result in gaining leads.
   
   Once you learn how to solve your market’s problems with thought leadership content, you can build an audience that believes in your brand, products, and services. Social media is, in many ways, the new word of mouth.
   
   
   
4. Understand your audience
   
   Our social media platforms and management tools enable us to track key performance metrics (KPIs). We can even assign a monetary value to organic social media engagement and calculate the ROI of digital marketing campaigns – for example, you can see exactly how many hotel rooms were booked because of a single Facebook post.
   
   Tools like Google Analytics – if you know how to use it in the right way – can really help you dig into the behaviour of your audience and allow you to change your digital marketing strategy accordingly.
   
   As an example, after one of our hotel clients appeared on a TV programme their Instagram following increased by thousands, and with it the average age of their audience dropped by over ten years overnight. Understanding this was essential to ensuring our digital marketing strategy was fit for purpose and would continue to be successful.
   
   
   
5. Keep track of the competition
   
   Do you ever see somebody on social media and wish you could be like them? Whilst it’s been said that comparison is the thief of joy, what if you could use your competitors’ online activity to your advantage?
   
   Most businesses are now active on several social media channels, providing an excellent opportunity to monitor and track what they’re doing online – finding out what works for a competitor can enable you to gain insights about the type of content their audience might also respond to, and the broader needs and demands within their niche.
   
   You might even find that your competitors aren’t particularly active on social media at all – so if you decide to put an effective digital marketing strategy in place, you’d already be one step ahead.

Social media can certainly feel pointless, especially if you’re dealing with the day-to-day pressures of running a business, but it doesn’t have to be.

If you’d like some guidance, drop us a line and let’s chat over a coffee. We’d love to take some of the pressure off.

How did you end up in design? Where did you start?  

I always had an interest in drawing and technology, which ended up leading me down the route of a Construction Engineering course after leaving school. However, the technical drawing aspects were the only part that I enjoyed. 

After craving a more creative career path I explored a wide-ranging media course, that covered everything from television production to graphic design. This early introduction to type, layout and image creation made me realise how so many things from album covers, to film posters and packaging were all routed in the same principles. It made me aware that we’re surrounded by design and it could be a genuinely rewarding career path.  

From there I went on to do a degree in Visual Communication and eventually land my first junior role at a small start-up agency. Joining a small company had a steep learning curve as I was thrown straight into client-facing projects and quickly got a brief insight into how design studios operate. I always felt this was a good foundation for working in the industry and haven’t looked back since. 

What do you love about design work and being a designer?  

I like the endless possibilities that each project can have at the start of the process. The scope for how a project can end up looking and guiding that down a route that will work best for the client is a very rewarding part of the job. Seeing the final projects out in the wild after this process is always a good feeling. 

The industry is also extremely collaborative, which I really enjoy. As a student, it’s easy to think that one person does every aspect of a job from start to finish – when it’s almost never the case. Working and collaborating with the right people including illustrators, printers, developers, animators, or photographers is all part of the job I enjoy immensely. 

What projects have you enjoyed working on the most and why? What have you been proud of?  

As with most designers, I still take a huge amount of joy in working with beautiful print materials and finishes. Far from dying out, print can be seen as a display of craft and quality. For this reason, our recent work for Driftwood Spa and Newhall Mains have been projects I’ve really enjoyed seeing come to life. It’s always great to work with clients who know their customers will appreciate the value of print and the outcomes of those projects are something I’ve been proud to share. 

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to get into design?  

The design industry has such a massive range of possible career paths that you should be open-minded about finding the role that works for you. Try everything as a student and don’t be afraid to fail, even if it’s just to understand the different approaches and skillsets involved. And most importantly, don’t be an ****. 

Anything you are excited about coming up? 

We’re currently working with Crerar Hotels on a range of projects, including branding for their new Shore Spa at Loch Fyne. It’s been an enjoyable project to work on and includes some bespoke printed materials with a keen eye on sustainability, which we’re looking forward to sharing soon. 

If you’d like to learn a bit more about Ian and his work here at SHINE, click here.  

This week, I spoke with Peter Johnstone, our Head of Digital.  

How did you get to where you are today?

My first job was as an IT Support Tech for a product design agency in Edinburgh. I had dabbled in websites via a university course, and through that my boss asked me to rebuild the company site! My next job was with a PR Agency in Glasgow, again as an IT Technician, and we realised that most of our PR clients needed websites – it was through this that the website arm of the business was born. I finally moved to Shine around 10 years ago with the job of growing the digital side of the business, and we are now working on large scale web projects for businesses across the UK!

What’s the best part about your work? 

The best part of my role is the diversity. No day is the same and can involve working in hospitality, house building or a charity. You also meet such a wide variety of people in my role, which I really love.

What project have you really enjoyed working on and why? 

I really enjoyed working on Meldrum House. Both the client and Susan at 24Keys Marketing were superb to work with and made the project go really smoothly. The final result was a superb website that since its launch has been getting some fantastic ROI – which always makes me happy!

What do you find challenging? 

The challenge for any digital agency is keeping ahead of the curve, this could be the way you build sites or the hosting platform you use to house your client’s sites. We always have to be looking ahead in this business!

How did the pandemic change your work? 

I feel the pandemic has in no way affected how we as a business work – we still communicate regularly on Teams, but being able to choose to visit the office or work from home gives me a good work/life balance. Working from home has its advantages and allows me to see my children far more than I did over a year ago. I can also go the occasional run at lunchtime which is great! I think going forward a mixture of office and home working will be a good thing for us all.

What advice would you give to a young person wanting to get into digital work?

The key for any young person coming into this industry is to stay ahead of the game and make sure you are knowledgeable in modern web techniques. I would also say this as a WordPress based agency, but I would get involved in this CMS and learn how to code within it, with over 60% of the web now powered by WordPress sites a large number of agencies now work with the platform and having experience and knowledge of WordPress will help get further in the industry.

Well, I’ve certainly learned a lot from Peter just from that quick chat. If you’d like to learn a bit more about Peter and his work here at SHINE, click here.  

I wanted to understand the different paths into a career in design; for many, the route isn’t always straightforward. Looking back, design seems like it would have been a natural choice for Kieran, who from a young age enjoyed designing football strips and badges at the back of school jotters and scrap paper. But it was only later that he realised this.  

“Originally, I actually wanted to study architecture. Throughout school that was the plan, until I did work experience at an architecture firm in the west end of Glasgow. Long story short, I absolutely hated it. I think I was just young and naive at the time, and if I had done more research into the type of place I was going to, I could potentially have got more out of it. But it just wasn’t for me.  

So I went back to school at the end of the summer, and I ended up doing really well. I was particularly inspired by my art teacher, who had trained as an interior designer. She was great at guiding me and helping me figure out my next steps. At the time I didn’t know if I wanted to go to college or university, but she ended up helping me put together a portfolio for an open day at The Met (now City of Glasgow College). I enrolled on a graphic design and visual communication course on the back of that portfolio – which was made up of things like studies of album covers – so that I could learn the more technical knowledge and theory behind the designs. 

To be honest, I didn’t know exactly what graphic designers did when I first went to college. I just knew that I already loved designing football crests in Pro Evolution Soccer and covers for CD mixtapes. I was already practicing graphic design without realising it. Looking back, I think I was always going to end up in this industry in some way or another and I’m glad that’s how things turned out.” 

It’s sometimes funny when you look back at how you’ve gotten to where you are, and realise that something not working out was actually for the best. It seems that this still rings true for Kieran. 

So, how has design changed because of the pandemic? 

“The usual processes of face-to-face briefings, meetings and studio gatherings disappeared almost overnight, and we had to learn how to adapt to the situation pretty quickly. We had to be agile and introduce new, flexible ways of working. We had to learn how to present our work differently and sell our ideas over a zoom call rather than a cup of coffee.  

Going from a studio environment to a home office really highlighted how important collaboration is to the design process. As a studio we used this as an opportunity to connect and collaborate with as many local creatives as we could, when a project allowed, and we have built some great relationships from this.” 

I’m really interested to know what’s been your favourite project to work on so far, and why? 

“One project I’m particularly proud to have worked on was our rebrand of The Torridon as it was briefed and delivered during the early months of the pandemic. We worked closely with owners, Dan and Rohaise to realise their vision for the hotel without ever meeting face to face which would have been unthinkable 18 months prior.  

The rebrand and repositioning gave The Torridon a platform to refocus their guest experience and since launch the hotel has gone from strength to strength even after the challenges of the pandemic.” 

On a final note, Kieran offers some great advice to any young people who are wanting to pursue a career in design.  

“Be yourself. Focus on your own craft and don’t worry too much about what other people are doing. Reach out to fellow creatives and agencies that you admire and introduce yourself. Passion and drive can go a long way in this industry.” 

I think that’s some great advice that can apply to many of us.  

If you’d like to learn a bit more about Kieran and his work here at SHINE, click here.  

20 years ago, the potential marketing reach was very limited as outbound marketing was much more prevalent whether that be billboards, newspaper ads or cold-calling where the audience could be warm or cold leads, there was no way to manage or track the leads generated and if there was it was very inconclusive.

Nowadays, we are able to utilise Social Media not only as a form of communication but a highly effective marketing tool.

Using Facebook Ads to Boost Revenue

As Facebook advertising is one of the cheapest forms of advertising available (significantly cheaper than print, radio, television and other forms of digital advertising), utilising Facebook’s advertising platform you are able to reach the right people for your business through specific targeting.

Targeting Big Spenders or Select Niches with Facebook

No matter what your budget, you are going to want to maximise your ROI. Facebook can allow you to do this by targeting people who match your value proposition through geographic, psychographic and demographic targeting.

This is down to the fact that when you set up ads, it gives you the ability to target based on behaviours, interests, demographics, age, location, language and sex. With this information, you have the ability to truly narrow in on your perfect audience. While the whole world is at your fingertips, the more specific you are, the better chance you have at reaching your desired audience.

Installing the Facebook Pixel 

In 2021, the key to long-term success is data. The more data the better. By installing the Facebook Pixel on your website you can gain access to all sorts of insight to help you make better business decisions that will help you boost your revenue.

Once you install the pixel to your site, Facebook will take data (either sales, lead forms or anything you choose) to use it to optimize your bids for website conversions—it will literally make algorithmic decisions to show ads to people who are more likely to convert into sales for your business.

Remarketing for Your Site

The Facebook Pixel data also allows you to re-market to your website visitors. Whether they added items to their basket or simply browsed the pages, you can gather that data and use it wisely to maximise purchase potential by showing them and reminding them of your brand through ads.

We are currently working with Hotels, Resorts and Property Developers on developing their Digital presence and we are passionate about producing results that matter! If you would like to collaborate on a strategy together – get in touch!

For many of our hospitality clients, they want this standard to flow through to their booking engine so the customer has a smooth and informed journey from first impression to conversion.

What is a hotel booking engine?

It’s an intricate application added to a hotel’s website, allowing visitors to check the availability of rooms and eventually make a booking. 

It is often considered to be the most valued and most important part of any hotel website as it is the location of all final decisions and conversions your customer makes on their journey.

The importance of a Booking engine

A booking engine is a gateway to efficiency through the medium of automation. Long gone are the days of manually maintaining real-time inventory, rate parity and overbookings. A website booking engine resolves these issues through live and accurate integration with your booking software taking time off your teams’ hands by reducing the amount of email and phone enquiries by displaying real-time availability to your customer and allowing them to book directly.

Furthermore, standing independent from OTA’S and Third-party booking sites is hugely beneficial to brand value as it allows your brand to appear more credible and transparent with your offering.

Overall, they provide a much better booking experience for potential guests.

Although it’s good to get bookings from third-party distribution channels, walk-ins and other sources, it’s not always worth the effort.

Choosing a Booking Engine

In 2021, a good booking experience is expected by most consumers. This expectation is derived from the improvements in technology that has made everything we do online faster, which has ultimately reduced the attention span of the average consumer paired with the fact that as consumers, we need information up to date and live or else, we lose interest. 

So, it is essential that a booking engine be tailored to the consumer for maximum acquisition combined with an aim for guest retention.

So, what needs to be considered?

Fit for millennial mobiles

According to a TripAdvisor study, 42% of travellers around the world use their smartphones to make a booking. If your booking isn’t designed for mobile-responsiveness, almost half of potential guests might be turning away. With a clumsy booking engine, the drop-off rate can be much higher than expected. 

While 67% of smartphone users say they’re more likely to book from a mobile-friendly website, 61% of these people say they’d probably leave a website that’s not mobile-friendly.

Therefore, even if your website is extremely mobile user friendly, if the booking engine doesn’t match that, you could be losing a serious amount of potential customers.

It shouldn’t take more than a couple of clicks to reach the booking page from the first initial lead.

Integration

The booking engine you choose must be able to be integrated seamlessly into your site not only to allow for a smooth customer journey but also so the developers of your site can manage it.

These days modern hotel booking engines provide a variety of methods on

what’s the best practice on how to integrate their code into your website.

These methods are: –

• Using an HTML iFrame
• HTML and JavaScript

These methods provide the cleanest way to integrate your booking engine into

your new website. Both methods provide a neat way to: –

• Display a custom booking form to your users
• Allow them to enter their details
• Be responsive

At SHINE, the websites we build are built with WordPress, which has moved on from being ‘just’ a blogging platform to a fully-fledged CMS, agile enough to handle any 3rd party

Integration and is one of the most secure systems available.

This means that the websites we build are strong and powerful, capable of handling most booking engines, so it is the booking engine that must be compatible. 

Does it fit your needs?

An important to factor in when deciding on a booking engine is that does it suit the size and offering of your property. 

The Booking engine should be able to adapt to suit offers and promotions if required or the addition of optional extras such as Champagne in the room or table bookings.

Your booking engine should support this but also be able to grow and develop in-line with your property.

There are many booking engines out there to choose from, and at SHINE – design & digital, we are well-versed in the integration and recommendation of Booking Engines to our clients.

If you are looking to develop and progress your website, get in touch below. We are always seeking to collaborate and work with new properties to expand their positioning and performance.