magentadotbrands.com

Auto Restorations website homepage after redesign, showing Automotive Dreams marketing slideshow and table of links to website feature articles and pages.

Energise an image heavy website

April 9, 2019 / magentadotbrands.com / No Comments

Energise an image heavy website by design

AUTO RESTORATIONS, 52 STEWART ST, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

Links to PDF of New Zealand Classic Car magazine cover story on the 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso

Making it to the cover of Classic Car magazine, the superior quality of Auto Restorations’ work speaks for itself in this 6 page cover article (linked).

Established in 1973 Auto Restorations has a story to tell. Every year it must mobilise new car restoration projects. To do this it relies on existing clientele, affluent, discerning people who might already know of the company by word of mouth, prestigious Concours D‘Elegance ‘First In Class’ wins, the publicity that generates in classic car enthusiasts’ media, their advertising, website and brochure—sales brochures, basically—designed to showcase the superior quality of the work they do. Showcase the process of restoration, the completed works, among them some of the most refined and rare cars in the world, and do it justice with advertising and promotional material that has the maximum effect and gives the impression to their select international clientele of an organization worthy of trusting one’s precious, valuable car to.

Well crafted and well made custom built motor cars, widely regarded as some of the most rare and beautiful, are the results of the restoration process, a process which varies. Some rebuilds are particularly challenging and may take many hundreds of hours of meticulous work by expert technicians that sometimes stretch over years. The strict rule for their sales material is a focus on the process of restoration and the advantages Auto Restorations offers their niche customer base, working faithfully to an exacting standard at a fair market price.

Racing action image of the Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C, #32, racing at Thunderhill Raceway Park, California. Peter Giddens at the wheel.

Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C, #31, restored by Auto Restorations in 1998, cresting the hill at Thunderhill Raceway Park, California, 2018.

“I chose Auto Restorations to restore my rare Alfa Romeo Tipo C race car, one of only three remaining, because of the Kiwi attitude that if you can’t buy it, you’ll make it”.
~Peter Giddngs, owner/driver

Four of Auto Restorations skilled workforce wheel a custom body Delage Roadster into position in the carpark.

Informal portraiture at work

April 6, 2019 / magentadotbrands.com / No Comments

Informal portraiture in the workplace using available light

AUTO RESTORATIONS WORKSHOP, STEWART STREET, CHRISTCHURCH 2009–2012

When shooting informal portraiture avoid distraction from the most important purpose—getting photographs. These photos were shot and photo composites produced 2009–2012, they offer a historical profile of Auto Restorations during that time soon after Allan Wylie stepped up from the Mechanical Shop floor to the role of General Manager. Pictures of their employees on their redesigned website, and capabilities brochure in print helped Auto Restorations transform from a faceless company to people that their customers can relate to. The highly specialised, high value personal service that Auto Restorations’ workforce offer to customers is an advantage that they have over large companies, their multiple international Concours D’Elegance awards attest to this. Good photos of their skilled workforce reinforce this.

Lineup of classic cars in carpark of Auto Restorations, Stewart Street Christchurch workshop.

Italy, the United States, France, and Australia are represented in this lineup of 20th century classic cars, from the current work in progress at Auto Restorations in September, 2009.

Whether shooting outdoors or indoors, consider using the flash to light the subject. If the available light is insufficient then you need to build up more light until the clearest and best photo is taken. This may involve bouncing flash light up off the ceiling or outdoor canopy. You shouldn’t see light in the final picture—you should see the subject.

Dropping to one knee and shooting up at your subject yields a heroic image.

Informal portrait of Allan Wylie, Auto Restorations’ manager leaning against his 1938 Ford roadster.

Visual anthropology: Work method documentary photography

Pomeroy’s staff group photo. Halloween Party 2008.

Pomeroy’s Petrifying Halloween Party 2008

March 29, 2019 / magentadotbrands.com / No Comments

Pomeroy’s, that pit of petrifying pestilence! Be afraid—be very afraid!

POMEROY’S FIRST HALLOWEEN PARTY, FRIDAY 31 OCTOBER, 2008

Galleries of good social event photography should be an energetic expression of the real event, which was such a great time. The photos need to do justice to it by conveying all of the paranormal pestilence and deadly energy of the night, and the sense of place, a Halloween Party in Christchurch’s favourite old English pub. Read More

Friendly “Meet the Staff” articles — more than a mug shot

March 26, 2019 / magentadotbrands.com / No Comments

The Pomeroy’s Press welcoming “Meet the Staff” profile articles are more than a mug shot, going above and beyond showing the pub staff’s faces is important and beneficial to improve connection with patrons.

POMEROY’S OLD BREWERY INN, KILMORE STREET, CHRISTCHURCH

Showing the faces of the real people front of house and behind the scenes working at Pomeroy’s in The Pomeroy’s Press pub newsletter is important and beneficial to the pub’s best connection with its customers and reinforces the fact that Pomeroy’s pub is a friendly and welcoming family business due largely to their wonderful staff.

An interesting portrait adds emphasis to the vividly written bio and captures readers’ attention.

When your potential customers stumble upon Pomeroy’s Pub website, one of the first things they do is look for the craft beers on tap and the restaurant menu. What happens when they look at the team page and see more than just a mugshot, they can read a brief, vividly written bio. Pub patrons feel comfortable knowing something about the staff’s character and their story. Having the staff images along with names and brief bio’s on Pomeroy’s “About Us” page helps patrons connect with Christchurch’s historical English style pub, which increases the site’s conversion rate and makes them less likely to bounce.

People pictures add life to The Pomeroy’s Press

March 25, 2019 / magentadotbrands.com / No Comments

What nicer way to illustrate Pomeroy’s Old Brewery Inn’s “social capital” as a local English style pub, between 2003–10, than to picture their local clientele?

POMEROY’S OLD BREWERY INN, KILMORE STREET, CHRISTCHURCH

The Pomeroy’s Press published one “locals like…” and one staff bio feature article every issue with beautifully lit photos of happy people—In addition to document the frequent social events organised and hosted by Pomeroy’s, the pub newspaper’s photographers were on hand to shoot galleries of great photos for the pub newsletter and web galleries for the pub’s website.

Pomeroy’s management understood that doing a good job of consistently documenting the pub clientele’s participation in their sensational events would result in their locals building the image of Pomeroy’s of themselves. Nothing is stronger.
Keep on reading!

Excellent design conveys care

March 22, 2019 / magentadotbrands.com / No Comments

POMEROY’S ON KILMORE BOUTIQUE ACCOMMODATION, CHRISTCHURCH

Excellent design conveys care, craftsmanship, professionalism, it is beautiful to see and fun to do

THE BEST DESIGN—design that moves people’s hearts and minds—has something more. It expresses a concept, a great underlying vision that combines imagination and wisdom. Without a great concept, it is fair to say, design is only superficial decoration. A great concept is what gives purpose to the communication art of design. The design of Pomeroy’s on Kilmore Boutique Accommodation’s brand and corporate identity components, from signage to print & web, to bathroom products is all about vision—the art of imagining and thinking and seeing a world that does not yet exist, and that needs graphic design to bring that to life.

Pomeroy’s on Kilmore boutique accommodation signage

Entrance to Pomeroy’s on Kilmore Boutique Accommodation.

Pomeroy’s on Kilmore Boutique Accomodation custom bathroom product range packaging.

Pomeroy’s on Kilmore custom bathroom product range packaging.

“Pomeroy’s and daughters and son” is a family business, having welcomed lots of guests through its doors over the previous eighteen months, in 2007–8 Steve and Victoria Pomeroy decided to complete their plans to fully refurbish, upgrade and rebrand the colonial villa, formerly known as Pomeroy’s B&B from 2006. Snug, comfortable Pomeroy’s on Kilmore Boutique Accommodation is centrally located next door to Christchurch’s own historic, English-style pub! Managed by Ava the atmosphere is private and personal, complete with delicious continental breakfast, what more could you ask for but their fantastic value tariff? Steve’s career in construction and Victoria’s flair for interior design came together in a great luxury b&b concept that positioned Pomeroy’s on Kilmore as a top of the line B&B.
Keep on reading!

Pomeroy’s pub newsletter

March 11, 2019 / magentadotbrands.com / No Comments

The restrained look for Pomeroy’s English style pub newsletter is pure news

POMEROY’S OLD BREWERY INN, CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

THE QUARTERLY POMEROY’S Old Brewery Inn and restaurant newsletter had a name inspired by their brand, “The Pomeroy’s Press”, it was well-edited by Chrissie Terpstra who was also chief reporter between 2005–2010 and was designed and laid out with a look that made the news.

The secret of The Pomeroy’s Press is attention to detail in terms of the classic newspaper look, visual hierarchy, placement, spacing and being laid out in cooperation with the editor makes The Pom’s Press newsletter look designed. Its layout is designed to impart the news quickly and sequentially. When pairing the name with a typefont for the masthead I chose the classic look of Goudy Oldstyle. I paired that with Goudy Sans and a heavy Grotesque sans serif for story headings, banners, accents and dropcaps for a newsy look. For the body text classic Goudy Oldstyle light, set tight with a moderate amount of leading gives the look of a dense “read” typical of the newspaper style. Heavy top rules and half-point rules were used between vertical columns, heavier horizontal rules between stories and to “finish” the bottom of the page.

Adding to the dense structure are good photos, custom illustration, and simple straightforward photocomposites that kept the graphic focus in the newsletter on information, making the stories approachable to the reader and on pro-social fun!

Keep on reading!