LAIRDESIGN has illustrated over the past 13 years an excellence in creativity that has seen this successful Omagh based company, competing and winning some of the biggest creative design contracts in Ireland.

With a committed team of design experts Lairdesign transform a businesses corporate identity by offering a complete service of graphic design, event management, advertising and web design and development.

With such a talented team, proprietor of Lairdesign, Niall Laird has spent the last two years researching and developing their latest venture that will take them into the complex world of fashion by creating their own label - Squareball.

Having worked closely with fashion designers over the past couple of years, Lairdesign has earmarked April to launch its eagerly awaited new product line.

Niall explained where the inspiration for this venture came from. “It started in 2003 when we created the Peter Canavan T-shirts for Sally O’Briens which was then followed up with the Goochbuster campaign, which were both a great success.

“Introducing design into the GAA and seeing that people seemed to like it because it was something different with an element of quirkiness, we decided to make this move and create our label Squareball.

“The products have a GAA theme, but it about creating a product that anybody can wear because they like the look off it.

“It will take a long time as it is a brand we are trying to build and expand over the coming few years. We have met with fashion designers in London in the last year to produce a high quality range.”

Although customers will not be able to get their hands on these items until the Championship season starts in April, it is possible to register on the website www.squareball.com now to keep updated of all developments to ensure you will be first to be wearing this new must-have line of clothing.

The Gaelic games connection with Lairdesign doesn’t end there, as Niall has had a close relationship with this sport for a number of years with a strong association in the creative design and branding of Club Tyrone and the Cormac Trust.

It is Niall’s talent as an illustrator however that he will be most familiarly known by most Gaelic football lovers with his paintings of Cormac McAnallen, Peter Canavan, Clann na Gael duo Stephen O’Neill and Brian Dooher, the legendary Iggy Jones and Art MacRory that sold for thousands under the hammer with the proceeds going to their respective good causes.

It has taken years of hard work and dedication to make Lairdesign the success it is today, as at the beginning Niall explains being based in Omagh proved to be somewhat of a hindrance.

“I started out of my daughters bedroom with a credit union loan on my own almost 13 years ago and have grown steadily since to the stage we are now with a team of seven.

“I learned a lot from working with Venture International, watching how they worked, dismissing the Omagh distance scenario as a problem, if you have a meeting in Belfast or Dublin at 8am you be there, distance doesn’t matter if you want that job badly enough and that ethic was instilled in me from early on.

“You sometimes have to work twice has hard as some Belfast companies, fighting to win contracts to gain a reputation. I am always more concerned with the visual look of the job rather than making money on it, that is our most important concern.”

Niall explained of the diverse range of design services they offer, always moving in exciting new directions.

“Painting would be my first love, but through the business we have worked now on fashion design and interior design. I would say I am a creative person and if you are a good designer you should be able to jump into different areas, not pigeon holing your talents,” he sated.

“If someone came into us and asked us to create a brochure, we could do easily but we wouldn’t be doing our job, we offer a full creative process so the business can tangibly say that their sales are significantly up as a result of the imput we have put into that business. We want to make an impact and it would trouble me if we didn’t.”

Now at a stage of building the business he can get away from the mundane running of the business and concentrate on painting and have a hands on role working with the creative design team.

“I hate the running of the business, and would rather concentrate on the creative aspect of the work. Now with a team who have key roles I am able to take a step back from the daily running of Lairdesign, giving me the freedom to be more creative, get Squareball off the ground and do more paintings. Three or four years ago I wouldn’t have been able to that.”