So true.
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Found this classic flowchart over at Ben Blogged.
Actual time spent designing
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 | General | 2 Comments
I came across this amusing diagram at HCGGD.com about the time breakdown of modern web design
New Logo? Things to think about before we get started
Friday, September 19th, 2008 | Business tips, Design, Great website tips | No Comments
Do you need to like your logo?
Yes, it’s important that you like your logo. But remember, this logo isn’t to help you fall in love with your business, it is a marketing tool to increase business from other people …so what really matters is that your potential customers respond to it positively.
If you have a children’s clothing company, it’s not always the best idea to use your own kids or your kids drawings in the marketing just because they mean something to YOU.
Let’s face it – your logo is the first impression many of your customers you see. It may be on your business card, signage, packaging, clothing or may other brand related items. If you potential customer doesn’t respond well to your logo, you may have lost them forever. For thsi reason it’s very important to know your target market well and market directly to them. Are they professionals, creative, young, old, rich, poor. Where do they eat? Shop? What music do they like? The moer you know the better we can target the identity design towards them
Logo Dimensions
Think about the dimensions of your logo. Do you want a tall thin logo? Also, what if you decide to print your logo onto pens?
How about if your logo appears next to a collection of others – i.e. as a list of sponsors. It may appear smaller than it’s neighbours and get lost in the crowd. Often your brand is given a maximum width or a square to fit into so make sure your logo will get as much exposure as possible in these circumstances. How about if you ever need to squeeze the logo into a small square such as on a poster or a favicon?
What’s the message?
What do you want your logo to “say” about your business? What kind of impression should it leave about your product or service? What kind of look do you want for your logo (ie, techie, contemporary, old-school, artsy, eco, corporate etc.)
Very often clients want their logo to tell a story. Where the business came from, what it does, who is behind it. Don’t make the mistake of trying to cram too much information into a logo. Remember it’s about creating an impression, a feeling. A logo that says “Caring, Vet service, based in Christchurch, run by 3 men who love gardening” is probably going too far!
You hope that people will see your logo and immediately know what you do. But this may be asking your logo to do too much. Perhaps just a feeling of “professional” or “caring” is enough, so keep it simple. Together we can develop a logo that can represent the values and ideas your business stands for.
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1000 Free compliment slips
Thursday, September 18th, 2008 | Specials | No Comments
Printstop have just sent their latest deal for September. This month only buy 1000 A4 letterheads (100gsm paper) for $199 and get 1000 free compliment slips. Damn good deal.
Contact us anytime to organise design and layout if you want to take advantage of this special.
PLUS we have six $10 Printstop vouchers to give away. Just email us to enquire.
Kowhaiwhai pattern
Friday, August 29th, 2008 | General | 1 Comment
A client has asked me to design a Kowhaiwhai pattern based on their logo. I admit I had to look up exactly what a kowhaiwhai pattern was and found a useful but ugly page that got me sussed. Also found an interesting essay snippet (below) about the development of kowhaiwhai patterns. Check it out
New Zealand has a long history of Eurocentric appropriation and assimilation that has led koru and kowhaiwhai to become signifiers both of New Zealand Art and more widely New Zealand. It began with Sydney Parkinson’s drawings of kowhaiwhai painted paddles produced during Captain Cook’s 1769 voyage and continued to the present day with an excess of koru motifs advertising logos. Since the politically engaged 1980’s this appropriation of motifs by Pakeha artists have spurned great debate in New Zealand. Pakeha artists have been seen by many to have created works using koru and kowhaiwhai problematically placing the motifs in a distorted context.
Here’s where I got to:
My first kowhaiwhai pattern
Prevent your email newsletter from being trashed
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | Business tips | No Comments
In preparation for sending out an email to my clients advising of
- this Blog
- the ability to purchase domain names through our website via credit card
- the start of a quarterly newsletter
… I did a bit of reading about email newsletter ettiquette and ways to ensure your emails are firstly receieved (not deleted by spam filters) and secondly, read (not considered rubbish and manually deleted). I came across this really useful list of ‘Nine great tips to keep YOUR newsletter from falling prey to spam filters and ending up in the trash.’
A few hilights are
- Avoid using the words “remove” (unsubscribe is preferred), “free”, “limited time” and “money”
- Don’t send attachments
- Don’t write all in CAPS
- Don’t send unsolicited emails
I hope this is of some help. It sure is a pain when half your recipients don’t even get the email.
Where do “i.e.” and “e.g” come from?
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | Walk me through... | 1 Comment
I stumbled upon this post explaining what i.e. and e.g. stand for which really tickled my fancy as I have often wondered. In case you have too…
i.e. vs. e.g.
Ah, Latin… you’ve just gotta love it. As antiquated as they might seem, these two little Latin abbreviations are pretty handy in modern writing, but only if you use them correctly.The Latin phrase id est means “that is,” so i.e. is a way of saying “in other words.” It’s designed to make something clearer by providing a definition or saying it in a more common way.
Copyblogger has jumped the shark, i.e., gone downhill in quality, because Brian has broken most of his New Year’s resolutions.
The Latin phrase exempli gratia means “for example”, so e.g. is used before giving specific examples that support your assertion.
Copyblogger has jumped the shark because Brian has broken most of his New Year’s resolutions, e.g., promising not to say “Web 2.0,” “linkbait,” or “jumped the shark” on the blog in 2007.
Mistakes to avoid when writing website copy
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | Great website tips | 1 Comment
1. Using so much emphasis that NO ONE knows what you are trying to say.
Try to keep your bold, italic and caps to a minimum and save it for when you really need it.
2. Overuse of exclamation marks!!!!!!!! – One is enough unless you are writing a teenagers skating blog. OMG LMAO!!!!!
3. Underlining anything that isn’t a link – this is confusing for your audience. It’s commonly accepted that if a word or phrase is underlined it’s a hyperlink. So if it aint linking, keep it naked.
4. Try to avoid writing “Please feel free to look around”. No one needs permission to look at your website and it will make you appear amateur.
5. A main heading that says “Welcome to our website” is another overused, unneeded line. Search engines take notice of these H1 headings, so make them useful – use your keywords “Outstanding Real Estate in Christchurch”, make them inticing “Top tips for selling your house” or try some of these collected from CopyBlogger
- The Secret of [neon lights]
- Little Known Ways to [lose weight]
- Get Rid of [viruses] Once and For All
- What Everybody Ought to Know About [UV rays]
- Warning: [Two Out of Every Three People in Your Industry Will be Out of Work in 5 Years].
- How [this product] Made Me [a million bucks].
- If You’re [a parent], You Can [save money on..].
- [10] Ways to [gain muscle].
- Give Me [a week] and I’ll Give You [a better complexion].
- If You Don’t [eat right] Now, You’ll Hate Yourself Later.
- The Lazy [woman's] Way to [beautiful skin].
- Do You Recognize the [15] Early Warning Signs of [meltdown]?
- See How Easily You Can [increase web traffic].
- You Don’t Have to Be [superman] to be [good in bed].
- Do You Make These [accountancy] Mistakes?
6. Pretentious drivel: Company X is dedicated to remaining fully committed to fulfilling your needs as pertaining to every project you summon our marketing assistance with.
7. Too much text – Write for skimmers. Online users scan the page looking for information they may want to read. Break up text into short paragraphs, use clear headings, bullet points and simple to-the-point text.
8. Apostrophe in the wrong place. It’s amazing how often people get these ones wrong. There are two situations where you use an apostrophe…
- For contractions – it’s is short for it is
- When something belongs to someone – New Media Design’s new blog – means the blog belongs to New Media Design
Copyblogger says
If still in doubt, leave the apostrophe out. It causes more reader confusion to insert an apostrophe where it doesn’t belong than it does to omit one. Plus, you can always plead the typo defense if you leave an apostrophe out, but you look unavoidably dumb when you stick one where it doesn’t belong.
RSS explained in simple terms
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008 | Walk me through... | No Comments
If you are anything like me, you may have wondered or maybe still are wondering what this RSS thing is all about and how it affects you. Like many other recent new technologies, once I understood it I feel in love and couldn’t keep away. I came across this cute and very easy to understand video that explains what RSS is and how you can harness its fabulousness. These guys at Common Craft make understanding stuff simple!
Now the only thing to figure out is what RSS stands for. I always thought it was “Really Simple Syndication” though half the information online suggests that it’s “Rich Site Summary” or “RDF Site Summary” – (I think using an acronym (RDF) in an acronym (RSS) is taking it a bit far!)
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