All posts of Non Wood

How to create valuable, actionable content that drives results

It’s frustrating to start reading a piece of content marketing that you hope will reveal some inspirational ideas, only to find that it says an awful lot about nothing. What you hope will deliver valuable, actionable content turns out to do anything but. Such content will have no unique insights, contain no subject analysis, interpret […]
1 year ago

Editorial designers: We need YOU!

We’re on the look out for talented editorial designers to join our growing team. If you’d like to be part of an agency that’s doing things differently, that puts people before profit, that offers paths to success, get in touch with your portfolio today: workwithus@nwc.design Who you are Our high standards ask much of our […]
2 years ago

Thought leadership campaign assets: Reach farther, achieve more

No flippancy intended but a thought leadership campaign requires some thought. Part of what makes the work exciting is that we must be innovative. For some of our clients, the endgame in thought leadership activity is getting the audience to sign on the dotted line and become customers. For others it is more a question […]
2 years ago

5 content design agency myths: busted!

In our line of work, we often come across what we like to describe as content design agency myths. These are misconceptions about the way we do things and what we are like. Assumptions get made about our cost, our ability to deliver what is wanted, our knowledge of an industry and even our temperament. […]
2 years ago

Create content that connects: REALLY get to know your audience

Getting information about your audience in order to create content that engages them is in the 10 Commandments of campaign activity. But not just any old information. We’re not talking about a long list of mobile numbers and email addresses in a plain client profile but rather a resource that is more in-depth and more […]
2 years ago
why use a content design agency

5 reasons for using a content design agency

One question businesses and organisations will ask themselves when planning a content design project is whether using the services of an external content design agency is a good idea. Well, there’s a lot to think about. On one hand, a competent in-house editorial team may already be in place and able to do the work, […]
3 years ago

A beginner’s guide to microcontent

We love microcontent. A lot. It’s simple, easy to do and effective. In this article we introduce you to microcontent, the various formats in which it comes, why you should use it and how you can get started. What is microcontent? Microcontent is a collection of small graphics, snippets or videos that are generated from […]
3 years ago

Visual content: 10 ways

From news articles and blogs, to tweets and eBooks – these days, we’re reading (or at least skimming) so much more visual content than we’ve ever done before. In 2019, the average person worldwide consumed 8 hours of media every day. This is up from 7 hours in 2011. And as people consume more, the […]
3 years ago

How to create a professional report design in Word

The ability to produce a professional report design is not a dark art. By adopting some simple guidelines, you can create documents that your audience will be able to read and understand more easily. The report designs we create for our clients are based on the science of how our brain and eyes work when […]
4 years ago

Presentation design: 5 ways to break the mould

Presentation design is all about emotion. A business presentation is a powerful opportunity to engage an audience and inspire it to take action. But so often we see lacklustre default designs that fail to seize that opportunity, leaving audiences disengaged and contents under-sold. By planning and using imagination, you can break the mould and create […]
4 years ago

5 tips for professional graph design

As businesses become more and more data-driven, so it follows that the professional graph design, charts and visualisations that communicate this data are more important than ever. Data is everywhere in our daily lives. We see it being presented in so many slick and attractive ways, on fitness trackers, weather apps, software dashboards, even TV […]
4 years ago

How to create a ‘good’ infographic (+FREE template)

Following a conversation with a client about why we felt we had to rewrite and restructure the content that they’d sent us for an infographic design, we thought we’d share our knowledge about what makes a good, and therefore effective, infographic structure. We’ve also put together a handy FREE INFOGRAPHIC TEMPLATE to help you plan […]
4 years ago

3 things we’ve learnt so far

It’s been almost four years since we started NWC Design. From the outset, we were very clear in our minds about the type of culture that we wanted for the business and how we would create it. We saw it as growing through how we worked, who we worked with and through our own behaviour […]
4 years ago

We’ve grown! Introducing Creative Director Dom Bartram

Earlier this month we welcomed our newest member of the team, Dom Bartram, who worked with Director Non Wood previously at a Cheshire-based design agency. Dom joins the team as Creative Director, and brings with him a wealth of experience across a range of design applications. He has specific knowledge and experience in information design […]
4 years ago

5 reasons why infographic designs are perfect for internal communications

We work with many large businesses and organisations who use infographics to communicate reports and research in a way that makes complex matters easier to understand. As a result, their audiences, including clients and key stakeholders, are more engaged and interested their activities. As our relationships with clients develop, we understand more about their cultures […]
4 years ago

The science of infographic design

We love the challenge of using our knowledge of how the brain works and the design principles that stimulate it to solve the problem of presenting complex information so that it becomes more easily digestible and more memorable. The process of unravelling reams of data and creating a visual narrative that tells the story uncovered […]
5 years ago

Use animation to make your visual report jump out from the crowd

When you see something moving out of the corner of your eye, it instantly catches your attention. It could be a butterfly, your pet, or someone creeping up on you. No matter how much you don’t want to be distracted, whatever caused the movement now has your full attention. Animation uses the same principle to […]
5 years ago

Expand the reach of your research report: how to use graphic assets

Clever use of graphic assets saves time and money. You can extend the reach and timeline of your project by making your graphics work harder on your behalf. All it takes is some smart planning and a designer with a keen eye and technical know-how.  Projects that form part of a wider awareness campaign can […]
5 years ago
good-presentation-design

3 powerful ways to improve your organisation’s presentation design

Presentations can be a compelling way to showcase your knowledge, experience and specialisms. Delivering a successful presentation is not just about how you speak, it’s also about the quality of the supporting information you use. For most of us, this comes in the form of a slide deck. A great set of slides grabs the […]
5 years ago

An Interview with Peter Lippitt

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing fellow designer Peter Lippitt of Peter Scarks Design about his journey into infographic design, how he creates his work and what advice he would give to clients looking for an infographic designer. Here’s what he had to say: Can you tell me a bit about your career/education […]
5 years ago

How to show multiple datasets

A little something I’ve been working on whilst waiting for some content through for client projects. I wanted to play around with showing 3 data sets on the same chart. Why didn’t I go into Petroleum Engineering?!
5 years ago

A day in the life of an information designer

I’m often asked “So, what is it that you actually do?!” Well, here is a typical working day for me… My first act of the day – no surprise – is to check my emails (if I wake up before my daughter that is). Most of my clients are US-based so I tend to receive […]
5 years ago

Book Review: slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte

Slide:ology is a reference book covering much more than just presentations. It details visual storytelling development for the layperson as well as the designer. Containing guidance on conceptual thinking, inspirational ideas and case studies the book helps readers to think outside the box and create presentations or graphics that are highly compelling for the audience.  ….. […]
5 years ago

Top 3 scientific rules for effective information design

I never understood why I like things to be neat, tidy and – most importantly – to work. As a perfectionist I’m always looking for ways to improve my designs – make them clearer, have more focus, get a stronger message across. It was only when I looked deeper into the theory of information and […]
8 years ago

3-step design process to guaranteeing client buy-in

Some clients find it very hard to imagine the design you’ll create. Often they aren’t able to visualize a project and feel nervous about the end result, leading to delays and difficult relationships. One of the most important characteristics of a successful designer is the ability to instill a sense of confidence and vision in […]
8 years ago