Some short snippets to help with your design

Design snippets
1 for everyday of the month

Have you ever wondered what you could be doing to help your company with its design yourself? The answer will most likely be yes and so we have put together some design snippets to help you with one for every day of the month. Below are some small things for you to put in place for your business that will have an impact for better results with your image.

1. Make the most of your business cards by making sure they have information about what your business does
2. Use a bank of colours for your brand and stick to them – they will get recognised as yours
3. Keep all your material consistent and keep your logo and contact details in the same or similar place
4. Always have a ‘call to action’ on your marketing material ‘for more information contact us on…’
5. Create variations of your logo to work on different materials and coloured backgrounds
6. Your logo needs to work as big as a billboard and as small as a postage stamp
7. Create mono, white out and single colour versions of your logo
8. Include a strapline within your brand to help explain more about your business quickly
9. Keep your advertising simple – busy adverts don’t work
10. What your business does is more important than your company name
11. Include a reference or offer on advertising so you know what material is working
12. Ask any new enquiries how and where they heard about you
13. Get professional printing as poorly printed material won’t reflect well on your business
14. For leaflet and advertising design always include a strapline to catch the readers attention, then an intro para
15. You have 3 seconds to make your advert stand out from the page as a reader scans the page before turning over
16. An exhibition graphic should have an interesting design with limited text
17. All design is about impact and being memorable – design sells
18. Your brand design is the most important aspect of your business image
19. Brand colours need to reflect and compliment your business
20. Professional design will grow your image which will grow your revenue
21. Any material that is given out with your logo on needs to have a message and purpose
22. Use social media at least once a week to stay in touch and keep your name out there
23. Give your advertising a friendly approach to give a subconscious message
24. Use a strong grid base for any designed material including your website
25. Be confident in your brand and it will grow with you
26. Create custom colour coded icons for your website – it will make you stand out
27. Think about what you don’t see rather than what you see – say no to visual clutter
28. If you sell products take some professional shots and artwork out the background
29. Add contrast to your design – the human brain loves contrasting colours
30. Never fall into the trap of saying “no one will notice” or “its good enough” for small details – they will
31. Keep all text above waist height on exhibition graphics is unlikely to be read below

And lastly, one for luck…

Your customers are your brand but you create it.

 

Well hopefully you will find these useful to help grow your business.

Thats all for now until the next blog.

Bunny

 

Update

So – its been a while but all good things come to those who wait!! Lots have been happening this end and had a super busy start to the year which is great. Clients are building and building and repeat business is also growing.

The office mascot – Buster is working hard at my feet which is always nice company.

So what has been happening in the Brandall Bubble? Quite a lot really, broadening my horizons and working closely with other creatives to offer copywriting, web design as well as teaming up with a local exhibition company to produce graphics for us at really high quality we now offer a wider range of products to help make your exhibition go with a bang – that is the bang you want!  So it is Salisbury Expo soon on the 22nd September and we will be there wondering about chatting to all the businesses that attend. Its always a good event with lots of local business there which I love supporting.

Local business JM Associates is putting on an event to help raise money for charity NACC. Happy to say that as a joint prize Simply Great Copy and Brandall Design have supported this event by donating a prize of design and copy for an A5 leaflet. See my news page for more details. www.brandalldesign.co.uk

Thats all for now – have to dash out for a new client meeting.

Its stormy

Hi all

Well in my world its quite stormy! I have loads of new enquiries and I am meeting new people and networking lots which is great and I love my job. I was umbrella’d by another company, hence the name ‘Steelhenge Design’ BUT I am now changing my name. To what? I hear you ask? Well keep posted as there will be a big launch. I can’t wait. My very own business!! With all my years of experience in design I am now putting my business hat on and doing it.

I am looking up at the moon which is quite moody tonight and I have some caramel cooking downstairs for my really fattening caramel chocolate covered shortcake biscuits. OH YUM. Is it possible to eat them hot – NO damn it I have to wait for them to cool down. Oh the suspense! I’ve got three old bananas so banana cake too – I should of been a baker.

Soon to be a land of snow with a board under my feet – crazy huh! Who ever thought of that!!! Can’t wait.

Been on a seminar today about social sites which brings me onto mine. Go and add me – I need friends (haha) also you can see examples of my work too.

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SteelhgeDesign

Follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=name&id=100000589692809

Hello world!

So here it is – my first ever blog. The question is????? Who is going to want to read about me and my design life I ask myself as I sit here still working at 19.45. BUT my loyal friend (who has four legs and a lot of fur) will also play a large part of my blogs. He gives me inspiration you know (as well as music of course)!

So, sitting with Last.FM blaring out playing Jet, working out next plan of action. Just sent my January news with details of a new referral book I am working on. The idea is its business2business in Salisbury. Very exciting!

So to all reading this I am a designer and creative about colour and design. More on that to follow.

Well welcome anyway.

PS the fluffy one is Buster – he is cute and fluffy and a Jack Shit – yep you heard it right, Jack Russell x Shitzue, he’s 7 months old and spends his days normally chewing my slippers while I am wearing them!