Think Manchester

ABOUT

Project at a glance
-Long-term creative partnership
-300+ projects delivered
-4,000+ hours of creative support
-Brand and marketing communications
-Brochure, report and presentation design
-Infographics and campaign creative
-Digital and joint venture projects
-Large-format graphics
-Video, animation and photography
-Website design and development

Supporting a leading infrastructure business
Over the past nine years, we've provided creative support across more than 300 projects for Balfour Beatty, one of the world's leading infrastructure groups.

Operating across the UK, US and Hong Kong, Balfour Beatty delivers, maintains and operates major infrastructure projects. Our relationship stretches back beyond the launch of Think!, with design support first provided to various areas of the business in 2005.

Since then, the partnership has grown alongside the organisation's needs. From strategic campaigns and major publications to fast-turnaround design support during busy periods, we've delivered creative solutions across a wide range of teams and disciplines.

An extension of the team
For large organisations, creative demands can fluctuate quickly. Having access to experienced support that already understands the brand, internal processes and stakeholder expectations can make a significant difference.

Our role has evolved into that of an extension to Balfour Beatty's marketing and communications teams. Rather than approaching each brief from scratch, we're able to apply years of brand knowledge and organisational understanding to deliver work efficiently and consistently.

That approach has helped build a relationship based on trust, responsiveness and dependable delivery.

Supporting diverse requirements
No two projects are ever the same.

Over the years, we've produced brochures, reports, presentations, infographics, stakeholder communications, marketing materials and digital assets for both Balfour Beatty and its joint ventures.

Some projects focus on simplifying complex information. Others are designed to engage senior stakeholders, support internal communications or help teams meet challenging deadlines.

Whatever the objective, the outcome must remain consistent: work that feels true to the Balfour Beatty brand and communicates effectively with its intended audience.

Making the most of the brand.
Strong corporate brands rely on consistency, but that doesn't mean creativity should be limited.

Our role is to find the most effective way to communicate within established brand guidelines. Whether through engaging layouts, clear information design, illustration or creative storytelling, we help maximise the impact of every piece while maintaining brand integrity.

The benefit of a long-term partnership is that less time is spent learning the brand and more time is spent solving the challenge.

Supporting internal resource
Alongside project delivery, we regularly provide additional creative capacity to support internal teams during periods of increased demand.

Because we work closely with stakeholders and understand existing assets, systems and expectations, we can integrate quickly into ongoing projects and provide support where it's needed most.

This flexibility has allowed the relationship to continue successfully across multiple teams, divisions and project types.

Evolving into digital collaboration

As Balfour Beatty's requirements have grown, our involvement has expanded beyond traditional creative services.

A key part of this has been the development of an enterprise WordPress platform designed to replace fragmented websites with a scalable framework for divisions and joint ventures. The system has since been adopted across several businesses, including Balfour Beatty Living Places, Balfour Beatty Investments, Balvac, Painter Brothers and Balfour Beatty Ground Engineering.

It's a reflection of how a creative partnership can develop into wider strategic and digital collaboration over time.

What the partnership has delivered

To date, we've delivered more than 300 projects, contributed over 4,000 hours of creative support and completed more than 15 digital projects for Balfour Beatty.

While those figures demonstrate the scale of the relationship, its longevity tells the bigger story.

Years of collaboration have created a genuine understanding of the organisation, its people and its brand. That means being trusted with both critical deadlines and high-profile projects, while continuing to provide the creative thinking and support needed to help teams succeed.

Over 9 years working together
300+ projects delivered
15+ digital projects completed
4,000+ hours of creative support

MADEIT CREDITS

  • Balfour Beatty plcClient

Who pooled - Creative support at scale