Bridget & Dev

Bridget looks after bridging: seventies, warm, unflappable and razor sharp, explains things like a favourite gran but nobody pulls one over on her. Dev looks after development: mid twenties, cheeky, a bit of a know-it-all, and usually right about anything that gets built. Those two descriptions are the brief for every line either of them says.

Most people borrowing this kind of money are 30 to 55 year old developers, so one rule sat over everything: exaggerate personality, never age. Bridget is the sharpest person in the room, never the punchline.

We drew them three ways before the look stuck: ink caricature, vinyl toy and foam puppet. The puppets won. Then a round of variations to settle her plum cat-eye glasses, his beanie and how much they smile.

The name came out of the products. Bridging Bill, Bridging Bob and Bridging Ben all had a go first (one sounded like a bill, one sounded like a builder off the telly, one only covered half the job). Bridget and Dev covers both and sounds like two people you'd ring.

Six typefaces tried out for her name. Gremie lost because it hasn't got a pound sign, which is a bit of a problem for a finance brand. Sonttak won. Dev is set in Bricolage Grotesque, a plainer, chunkier face, and his D is nudged up 3% so it stands exactly as tall as her B.

The logo was the easy bit once the characters existed: her glasses and his beanie next to the name. Plum for her, yellow for him, ink and cream to set them on.

Two minutes with Bridget and Dev on the site. What are you working on, what's the property, what's the plan, what's the exit. They take turns, in character, and every answer fills in the broker's case form in the background. By the time a specialist rings, the first call is already done.

The rules are built in and can't be talked round: no advice, no rates, no promises, and homes people live in are handed over rather than discussed. Every action is logged.

The case goes to a specialist broker. A call is booked at a time that suits. The case is packaged, and the offer is chased on day one, three and seven without anyone remembering to. Behind it is one system, built for the job, that also finds the leads: new property companies at Companies House, planning approvals, Land Registry.

Nobody asked for a chatbot. They asked why the first call takes forty minutes. That's the difference between a custom build and a gadget.

A DIP that isn't an offer. An auction with 28 days to complete. A finished development that hasn't sold. A bank that said no. Each advert is one of those, as a little scene with the two of them, and each one sends people to the chat. Characters, scripts and all eight films made in-house.

The website in Next.js. A four-week social plan across Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube: a quote post from every advert, carousels that explain the jargon in plain English, reels and text posts. Plus a full social kit, so the logo, the banners, the profile pictures and the email signature all match without anyone having to think about it.