Lark
I’ve worked with Lark on lots of projects over the past few years — from defining a new lacrosse league to rebranding enterprise education. And we even (no big deal) teamed up on a campaign for Oxford University (okay, kind of a big deal).
But this one kickstarted it all: the tone of voice, brand story, and web copy for Lark. Of all the agency brand voices I’ve created, it’s probably my top favourite. If you’d like to see why, dive in.
‘Lark is a nimble branding and design studio for people who like their style with a side of substance.’
Website copy: homepage
Blegh isn’t always bad. Some businesses and sectors need a little bit of blegh, here and there — the clichés and jargon and other bobbins that perhaps isn’t very imaginative, but tells the audience they’re in the right place and they’ve found what they’re after. But creative agencies really, really take the biscuit — and Keith wanted none of it.
Before founding Lark, Keith spent over 15 years designing for big brands and agencies, which left him with a super clear vision of how he wanted to operate and how he wanted his studio to come across. He was after a refreshing, pared-back voice with zero jargon; something that captured his warm and honest way of working, without relying on stereotypical buddy-buddy nonsense (my words, not his). And if I could bring in some references to the name to strengthen the brand, that’d be a bonus, too.
‘Whether it’s a small start-up, big brand or a not-for-profit, we like working with people who care deeply about their brand and believe in what we do. If that’s you, you’ll love the way we do things.’
Website copy: about
‘The best projects start with good conversations, so we listen to your ideas and take time to understand what you need. And we’re not afraid to ruffle feathers. If we disagree, or think we could do something better, we’ll say so. Because honest, collaborative relationships lead to better work.’
Website copy: about
From three voices and narratives, all tackling the brief from slightly different angles, Lark chose a route that’s both human and straight to the point. The language has plenty of heart — it uses emotive words like ‘care deeply’, ‘like’, ‘love’, and conversational modifiers like ‘just’, and there are playful touches of wordplay peppered sparingly throughout. But it’s also disarmingly simple, with short sentences and clear descriptions that say it like it is. There’s no smoke and mirrors, nothing smug, nothing confusing; it’s just great work by thoughtful, friendly people, and there’s something really reassuring about that.
‘Our work is simple, honest, and thorough. But it’s much deeper than what you see on the surface. We use powerful ideas, solid strategies and thoughtful designs to help your brand look better, sound smarter, and fly higher.’
Website copy: work
With the voice settled, I set to work on the studio’s website copy — and I’m especially proud of the case studies. Each is split into three short sections — the brief, thinking, and outcome — which creates space to break down the challenges and reasoning before getting geeky about all the juicy design details. And I ditched the typical hurr-hurr punny subtitles for descriptive summary headers. Have a read; I wrote them all.
Altogether, the study structure brings out the studio’s thoughtful approach to brand strategy and design, while the pacey language makes each project a brisk, high-impact read. All killer, no filler, as Sum 41 would say.
