Point North

I help brands and destinations to attract inbound and domestic tourists in Japan. Uncover your unique value, gain competitive advantage, and craft a compelling brand.

Founder

Parks & Japan

Parks & Japan aims to promote Japan's 34 national parks as a network of equally exciting destinations whilst supporting conservation efforts and local communities.


Current initiatives in development:

🌱 Parklander - a trading card game designed to build interest in the parks through gameplay.

🌱 Poketto - a brand offering backpack supplies filled with pocket-sized knowledge for your adventures in Japan’s national parks. A series of collectible pins & patches will be first to launch, later followed by maps and field guides.


Products are expected to be launched on Kickstarter in 2024.

Want to learn more? Feel free to message me with any questions.

Atelier Japan

I work with Atelier Japan on a freelance basis, categorising and recording store inventory, and developing on-brand messaging and design for store promotions.

Head of Retail Operations

Minted Box

Creating templates, social posts, and animations to promote the company's digital fundraising platform, Ema, across social media.

Designer

FreelanceHer100

FreelanceHER100 is a unique fully funded 12-week business accelerator for women by women working to launch and grow sustainable businesses in digital, creative, media and technology from across the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester. Creating an opportunity for 100 female freelancers so they can succeed in these challenging times, it’s a safe place to test their ideas and grow their businesses.

If you want to be in the next cohort or to find out more information check out: 

https://www.thelanding.org.uk/freelanceher100/https://www.thelanding.org.uk/freelanceher100/

Freelance HER 100 Cohort Member

Project Simply

Design and animation for the agency's clients, creating proposals, learning about UX/UI design, and gaining experience in Figma.

Design Intern

Lanark United F.C.

As a volunteer designer I produced player profiles for use on the football team's social media, and ticket designs for their matches.

Graphic Designer & Social Media Executive 

The University of Huddersfield

Responsible for social media content creation, including Instagram stories & templates, short animations, gifs and assets for the university's student blogs webpage.

Social Media Representative

The Prologue

Graphic Design Intern

With thousands of destinations, services, and experiences for tourists to choose from, you have to fight to be seen. But what if there was another way? What if you didn't have to compete at all?

There are 3 simple steps to winning a tourist's attention 👇

- create unique value
- communicate it effectively
- deliver it in an engaging way

Where most businesses go wrong is they 👇

- are convinced they're unique but really aren't
- communicate in the same way as everyone else
- follow the stale industry standard for delivering value

You will not reach a higher level of profit and impact by making the same moves as everyone else, and doing things the same way they've always been done.

If you want to grow, you've got to change.

If you're ready to attract Japan travellers effectively, drop me a message or email hello@pointnorthbrandco.com

I'll help you to create, communicate, and deliver value that will engage tourists in Japan with ease 🌏

Visit www.pointnorthbrandco.com to learn more.

Japanese train station celebrates its anniversary in style 😁 #Japan

Michelle Lyons

I help brands and destinations to attract inbound and domestic tourists in Japan 🌏

With thousands of destinations, services, and experiences for tourists to choose from, you have to fight to be seen. But what if there was another way? What if you didn't have to compete at all?

There are 3 simple steps to winning a tourist's attention:

- create unique value
- communicate it effectively
- deliver it in an engaging way

Where most businesses go wrong is they:

- are convinced they're unique but really aren't
- communicate in the same way as everyone else
- follow the stale industry standard for delivering value

You will not reach a higher level of profit and impact by making the same moves as everyone else, and doing things the same way they've always been done.

If you want to grow, you've got to change.

If you're ready to attract Japan travellers effectively, drop me a message or email hello@pointnorthbrandco.com

I'll help you to create, communicate, and deliver value that will engage tourists in Japan with ease 🌏

Visit www.pointnorthbrandco.com to learn more.

I’ve always been a bit of an inventor. I grew up drawing, making, and collecting materials, enjoying the precision and technical skill required for good craft as much as the creativity.

This desire to combine fun and function is still present in my work today, demonstrated through thoughtful strategy and design.

I became interested in Japan around 2020 after being introduced to the culture by a friend. I was entranced by the emotionally raw anime, deep respect for nature, quality craftsmanship, and the visually stimulating city streets.

At the start of 2022, I began studying the language with the goal of making Japan the focus of my business.

In my free time, I love to hike and explore the natural world. I particularly enjoy books and documentaries about ecology and palaeontology, learning about the intricacies of nature’s systems and origins.

These fundamentals of life often inspire my own systems, strategies, and ideas, and I believe this broad and unusual knowledge base pays dividends when solving complex problems.


Why am I sharing this?

Well, I finally wrote the About page for my website! 😅 

If you'd like to learn more about me and Point North, visit the link in the comments 👇 



_________________________________

I help brands & destinations to attract inbound and domestic tourists in Japan. Visit Point North to learn how you can dominate Japan's travel market 🌏

#Japan #Strategist #Designer

My strategy for the Parklander trading card game is to build interest in Japan’s national parks through gameplay, simulating a positive relationship with nature whilst eliminating TCG burnout and buy-to-invest culture.

Here's why I decided on this approach 👇 

💛 Japan’s affinity with TCGs
Japan is well known as the birth place of Pokémon, including the franchise’s beloved trading card game. Parklander can take advantage of Japan’s strong associations with gaming and collecting to draw attention to the national parks through a medium known to cultivate passionate fan communities.

😢 Unhappy TCG customers
Much of the global TCG community resents what their childhood obsession has become. With disappointing pull rates, sets oversaturated with ‘rare’ cards, multiple product releases to keep up with, and scalpers driving up prices, people are feeling financially and mentally drained. By undermining category norms, Parklander can offer a more joyful experience that established TCGs can’t replicate, and ultimately build a profitable brand that can afford to support the parks financially.

🌼 Attitudes towards nature
Overtourism can significantly deteriorate the environment over time, however it’s not only the number of tourists that contributes to the damage - it’s their behaviour as individuals. By utilising storytelling and game mechanics that encourage respect for nature, Parklander will aim to instil an environmentally conscious attitude into players.

🤓 An untapped audience
Gamers and TCG collectors aren’t typically associated with national parks, but we can rely on their obsession for the transmedia franchises they love. By promoting the parks indirectly, people won’t experience the resistance that manifests when being sold to, and may be inclined to visit the real-life locations that their new favourite game is based on. Irregardless of this result, the parks could still benefit from product sales alone.

Stay tuned for an exciting update about Parklander's story 🔔 

Need help with your strategy? Drop me a message, I'm available! 😊

_________________________________

I help brands & destinations to attract inbound and domestic tourists in Japan. Visit Point North to learn how you can dominate Japan's travel market 🌏

#Japan #NationalParks #GameDev

Japan's national parks hold so many interesting stories and ideas that I'm keen to weave into the Parklander trading card game. Some examples:

☁️ Daisetsuzan NP is known locally as "The Playground of The Gods". There's an Ainu song about the gods playing with golden fish in the clouds that form above the mountain.

🌏 The name of Shiretoko NP derives from the Ainu phrase siretok, meaning "End of the Earth".

❄️ The snow-blanketed trees in Towada-Hachimantai NP are referred to as "snow monsters" due to their unusual shape (pictured below).

🐉 Also in Towada-Hachimantai NP is the "Dragon Eye", a natural phenomenon of Kagami-Numa Lake where melting snow forms a ring, and the sky reflects off the middle of the lake. The emerald-green Megane-Numa Lake which is located nearby has recently been dubbed the “Tears of Dragon”.

🚢 In Sanriku-Fukko NP, there are records of a ritual for placing a spirit inside a newly built ship as a talisman for fishermen, helping them to get a good catch. The dynamic cliffs on the northern side of this park are named "The Alps of The Ocean".

🗾 The Japanese mythology, Kunibiki Shinwa, took place in Daisen-Oki NP, and involved a god pulling "spare land" from other areas to make the nation of Izumo bigger. He is said to have stretched a rope between Sahime-yama Mountain (Mt. Sanbe) and Honokamidake Mountain (Mt. Daisen) and pulled it until the new land mass was made.

I'm definitely intrigued to learn more about the mythology and customs that were born within the park regions 🤓 

If you'd like to learn more about Japan's national parks, you're welcome to join the new Parks & Japan Facebook group. We are currently 16 members strong! Link in comments.

_________________________________

I help brands & destinations to attract inbound and domestic tourists in Japan. Visit Point North to learn how you can dominate Japan's travel market 🌏

#JapaneseCulture #Japan #NationalPark

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