Blog
Reading up an appetite
Posted on: 2nd February 2012 in Copywriting
The crime-fighting, adventure-seeking youngsters of Enid Blyton’s imagination always found time to enjoy a jolly picnic of boiled eggs and sandwiches, cake and ginger beer.
Tales from the design desk
Posted on: 17th January 2012 in Design, Studio, Sarah, Packaging
Today it is freezing in studio (well, not literally – there isn’t ice forming on the inside of the windows and my diet Coke hasn’t frozen solid but it is distinctly chilly and we’re all huddled over heaters) and I am trying to design packaging concepts. This is fun but complicated. I have the company’s logo to work with, so I have a basic colour scheme to base the designs on, and I have some sample packaging I’ve rounded up to show to the client to see what sort of approach they prefer. I’ve selected some paper stocks that I think are rather spiffy (unusual, fancy paper is like cat-nip to designers. You should see Paula sniffing magazines, hoping for a whiff of Munken Polar, or just stroking a sample book with a wistful look on her face) and am considering the use of screen-printing, spot UV, debossing, embossing and laser-cutting
The end of internal email?
Posted on: 8th December 2011 in Email, Editorial
In February 2011 Atos Orign, an international IT services company employing 80,000 workers in 42 countries, announced its ambition to become a zero internal email company within three years. Thierry Breton, CEO of Atos, explained his reasoning in a recent bbc interview as being part of an initiative called “Wellbeing at work” whose mission is to enhance working conditions. New members of staff joining the company were using instant messaging tools rather than internal email and this got the “Wellbeing at work” team thinking, how much time is spent on internal email? Their study found that on average employees were dealing with 100 emails per day and that only 15% of those emails were useful, that equated to 15 to 20 hours per week checking and answering emails. Is this the way forward? I am not sure, instant messaging has its place but an email is something we can file away and go back
What makes a logo?
Posted on: 7th December 2011 in Design, Sarah, Logo, Identity
A logo is the visual identity of a company or business. It communicates the owner’s intended message in a distinct and unique form that sets the company apart from its competitors within the same market. It doesn’t need to show what the company does, makes or sells but it does need to be appropriate, simple and versatile. Think of some of the most iconic logos that you see regularly – Nike, McDonalds, Apple, Coca-Cola. They can be used on a variety of applications and even be reproduced without their corporate colours and yet they are still instantly recognisable. They are simple, timeless and memorable. They are also fun to design. I love designing logos. So do the others. We have sometimes been known to break into a fistfight to decide who gets to work on a logo (I exaggerate slightly – we normally settle it with a game of rock, paper,
Doodlers anonymous
Posted on: 5th December 2011 in Design, Studio, Sarah, Doodle
Hello. My name is Sarah and I am a doodle addict. There, I’ve said it. Phew! There isn’t a support group for doodlers but there really should be. It is an addiction, a compulsion that is beyond my control (though it’s not as embarrassing as the mild OCD which compels me to repeatedly check I’ve locked the front door, much to the bemusement of my neighbours. “She’s checking the door again, Stuart. She only locked it ten seconds ago.” “She’s mental, poor thing.”) Be warned – if you leave a piece of paper near me, you may get it back covered in meaningless scrawls, scribbles and sketches. I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, most of it will be in pencil (pens don’t last long around here as several other members of staff belong to kleptomaniacs anonymous) so if I’ve drawn penguins, octopi and whales all over your report, at least it’s
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The crime-fighting, adventure-seeking youngsters of Enid Blyton’s imagination always found time to enjoy a jolly picnic of boiled eggs and sandwiches, cake and ginger beer.
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