All the grown-up things we must do to get here.
Graft. Organise. Gather. Research. Purchase. Pack. Wake up on time. Travel. Arrive. Sleep. Rise. Eat. Kit up. Clip in.
All the grown-up things... to feel like a child in a playground again. To Slide. Speed. Fly. Jump. Grin. Whoop. To ski. To feel.
We’re not selling toilet bleach. Or car insurance. We’re selling magic. And we’re selling it to the big kid hiding in every grown-up.
Does your marketing remember this?
That first moment your toes hit damp, warm sand. The thwack of your forehand on a tennis court lit by Grecian sun. The blissful shock of cool water as you plunge beneath the surface of the sea. The smell of aftersun on warm skin.
These are the moments we helped Mark Warner find as we art-directed a photoshoot in Greece with GlobalShots. Captured on camera, they will form the basis of ad campaigns we’ll deliver that epitomise the pure, giddy joy of summer holidays.
Magic to sell magic.
“From the minute we started working with the Tusk team, they’ve hopped onto briefs with incredible speed, turning artwork around swiftly and on brand. Whether it’s rolling out assets based on existing creative, or developing concepts from scratch for brand new campaigns, they’re easy to work with, and get the job done on time and on budget. We’re excited about doing more with them, taking advantage of their expertise in making travel brands sing.”
On our phones, late at night, we scroll and frown. Frown and scroll. Whizz past (almost all) the ads. Searching for something - anything - meaningful. We are a terrible audience. Impatient, like kids. Fickle, bored. Cynical, distracted.
But print. A brochure squished through the letterbox. A weighty magazine hastily unwrapped. The smell of the pages, the depth of colour. The adventures within. The excuse to curl up on the sofa and disappear into a tactile world of travel, snow, possibility. Now you have our attention.
With print, your audience is captive. Hooked. Ready for the story. Willing to invest time. Those who say print is dead just aren’t doing it right.
This is not London. It’s not Olympia. It’s the top of the glacier. It’s the best aprés bar in town. The taste of raclette. The clatter of skis hastily abandonned for a big, sunny mountain lunch. It’s the rush of cold air against your cheeks as you fly down a red. The feeling of snow compacting underfoot. Twinkling lights in the trees at night. The dull stiffness in your legs after an amazing day skiing. It’s hot chocolate at dawn and snowball fights at dusk. Highaltitude joy, a million miles above everyday life.
This is not exhibiting, this is teleporting.
“We tasked Tusk with rebranding the London Snow Show, a massive B2C event for the ski industry. We’re thrilled with the result - a bold brand identity that’s brought back the excitement for both exhibitors and consumers (since implementing the new branding we’ve been inundated with exhibitor enquiries). With their extensive travel industry experience, we know Tusk are the best creative team to now deliver all the supporting assets we need to make the 2025 show go off with a bang.”
Babsi Lapwood CEO, Mountain Trade Network
To conform is to slip up.
One. Ninety-four. Eight. Twelve. Forty-three. Eighteen. Seven. Thirty-nine. Three. Twenty-one. Nine. Sixty-eight. One hundred and five. Daffodil. Eighty-eight. Eleven. Seventeen. Fifty-one. Forty-seven. Two hundred and twenty. Six. Forty-four.
You remembered the flower.
There’s a reason soldiers wear camouflage. And a reason Lady Gaga donned a dress made of meat. Don’t slip up on the blending-in banana skin. Look at your competitors and dare to be dangerously different. Be the firework, not the chameleon.
In a sea of blue sky and white snow, don’t be blue.
The thing about branding is that it’s easy for it to slowly but surely
apart over time. fall
Lovely logo: tick.
Brand guidelines: tick.
Sample Instagram template: tick. But place all these tools all in the hands of a time-poor team with a million things on their plate, and your smart-looking marketing can suddenly start to lose its cool.
What’s the answer?
An in-house designer = big commitment for something you don’t need all the time. A fancy London marketing agency = eye-wateringly expensive.
We work differently. Think of us as an out-of-house design department with all the chops of a big agency, minus the crazy overheads. With a serious love (and understanding) of skiing. An extension of your team, as and when you need it.
The creative arm of your business… that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Here for the big stuff
Like a re-brand. A juicy brochure. A monthly magazine. Or a complete website overhaul.
And the smaller stuff
Like a flash-sale ad campaign. Some new web icons. Or a last-minute magazine ad.
Brand identity
Magazine design
Brand evolution
Brochures
Brand guidelines
Direct mail
Copywriting
Exhibition kit
Point of sale
Digital ads
Social campaigns
Email campaigns
Website wireframes
Print production
Art direction
Animation direction
Animation
“We handed all our creative requirements to Tusk about 3 years ago under a retainer, and it’s the best decision we’ve ever made.
The transfer from our previous supplier was seamless and swift, and our brand has been significantly elevated as a result.
Tusk always seem to nail the brief, and they deliver added value on every job - all for a great price.”
James Gambrill COO, Ski Club of Great Britain
Tusk Design Studio was founded by us: two heavy-hitting creative thinkers who believe that graphic design should serve a real, tangible purpose. Done well, it can enhance every aspect of your business – and get your customer over the line. With buckets of experience in ski and beyond, we specialise in dishing up brilliant creative for the travel industry. We bring the magic because as skiers, we feel it ourselves.
Chris Graphic designer
In it for the long run since 1998. Chris has a wealth of experience with a career spanning TV motion graphics, conceptual design, advertising and branding. A heavy-hitting conceptual thinker who can turn a scribble on a beer mat into a multifaceted campaign that’s bang on brief and budget. From scribbles to high-end retouching, art directing a photography shoot or finessing a brand identity, Chris takes the whole process in his stride.
Kate Graphic designer and copywriter After working several seasons in the mountains, Kate became a marketeer in the ski industry, with a particular focus on writing sparkling copy. Eventually got fed up with just doing the words bit, so trained as a graphic designer in 2010. From a humble first logo for a start-up, to full-blown ad campaigns, brochures and brand identity, she now works across multiple industries, always focusing on aligning great design with great words.
We run a flexi-studio, which means you can turn the creative tap on and off when needed, or you can opt for our all-year-round design service.
Still no clearer than skiing in white-out? Book a free, no-obligation consultation with us to find out exactly what we could do for your business.
