A few weeks back we opened our new Stafford based studio and now slowly the boxes are disappearing.

Opening a studio in Stafford has given us a number of benefits. We are just on the edge of Stafford town centre which means it’s just a 5 minute walk from one of the best linked train stations in England, and about a 10 minute drive to the M6. Whilst still being close to all our clients in Leicester, the new location gives us great links to the rest of the UK, including London and Manchester, two of the cities with our most clients.

The new studio is larger then our Leicester base which makes working conditions more comfortable. As in Leicester, the quality of business in Stafford is very high so we look forward to working with some of the local organizations in the near future.

We wont be forgetting about Leicester though, the birth place of Digital Arts. We still have a keen interest in new and existing clients based there so we will be keeping our Leicester based studio.

Work continues as normal, we are currently working on some exciting projects with some great clients. We hope the move will help us to provide an even better service to clients throughout the UK.

There is nothing more powerful then to see your business through the eyes of your clients. It helps to find where your strengths and weaknesses are, provides you with testimonials to use on your website and can be a great boost to your confidence. Customer feedback is essential to building and marketing a successful brand. But what should you ask?

How would you describe us to a friend?

In my opinion, this is the most important question when planning your marketing, and it usually comes with interesting answers. Often where you think you excel is not where others feel your real benefit is. Find out how others describe you and use this when promoting your company.

How can we improve?

No matter how successful you are, you should always be looking for ways to improve and the best people to ask are your clients. When you get suggestions, take them on board and thank the client for their input. Addressing these areas is also a great way to get good at doing what your competitors don’t offer.

What do we do well?

This question is crucial to your marketing plan. It is important to find out what you do well, and use these points to market yourself.

Why did you choose us?

Find out why people choose you, and use these qualities to build up more work.

Where did you find us?

It’s essential to know where clients are finding you, and strengthen these links. If they have clicked through from a site, work on building more links from similar sites. If someone recommended them, make a point of thanking that person.

Would you use us again?

This question is great for getting quotes to use as testimonials, and can be a real boost to your confidence.

A great time to ask these questions is when submitting your invoice, but you can also post these questions to your blog, as a survey or even via a polite email. Always remember to thank your client for taking time to help you.

An important time to get such feedback is before designing your website or marketing material such as a brochure or flyer. Let your designer know what clients have said, and ask him how best to implement this into your design. If you have any problems collecting or interpreting feedback, please feel free to get in touch with us for some pointers and help.

We would love to know how you think we are doing, so if you would like to let us know, click though to our questions here.

In recent weeks we have had a few organizations ask us to provide spec work for them, here’s why we don’t work under such terms…

What Is Spec Work? 

Spec work is a short term for work done on a speculative basis. In other words, the client asks for design work to be done without agreeing to a fair and reasonable fee.

Let’s look at an example. You work for a company who needs a new logo designed, and you come up with the idea of a “logo competition”. Basically you contact a few designers and ask them each to submit a draft of the logo. You can then compare the logos side by side and choose the best logo for you, and only he gets paid.

What’s Wrong with Spec Work?

Successful design work results from building a strong relationship with the client, and understanding their objectives, competitive situation and needs. A good designer values your business and provides a design based not only on aesthetics. It involves looking into your company mission, background, business plan, ethics, way of dealing with people and many other aspects.

The result of all this work is a timeless piece of design built around your business rather then something that may look good, but doesn’t fit the business and soon dates. Your designer should create something tailored to your business, rather then expect your business to fit the design work.

Can a designer really do this if they are entering a contest against other designers? How much research do they conduct into your business? What questions do they ask? Were brainstorming, mind mapping and sketching carried out? Do the designers show they value and understand your business? When it comes to spec work, all these questions are always answered negatively. Speculative design relies on poorly planned work based on a superficial assessment of the client’s business dynamics, if any.

Spec Work is Unsafe for the Client and Designer Alike

The AIGA (a large association of designers) report countless stories of companies who use spec work only to find out six months later that the designer copied another logo, website or brochure.

A Lack of Respect for the Design Process

We spend hours researching and planning your design project before we even start on the initial draft. Is it really fair to request such work to be done for free? If you were looking for a solicitor, how would they respond if you asked several of them to write a brief for you, from which you choose one and pay only them?

Is There an Alternative?

Spec work is dangerous for your business and the designer alike, but there are more ethical approaches to choosing a designer. For example, we suggest you spend time looking through past examples of their work (you can find ours at the bottom of our home page). A good designer will always offer to sit down with you, and discuss the project. You can ask for a statement of how they will approach the project (we supply proposal documents on request).

Further Reading

Most good designers and design agencies actively oppose spec work. Possibly the biggest design association in the world, AIGA have some interesting reading on their site, linked to below, along with a few other good links and resources.

The AIGA position on spec work

The No Spec Campaign Website

Zeldman Design News

David Airey

It was the famous writer and aviator Antoine de Saint Exupery who once wrote “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Simplicity is essential when it comes to good design for your business.

A simple design catches the eye and appeals to the persons curiosity, whereas a cluttered design can look daunting, boring and turns people away. It is no coincidence that the most memorable designs, be it logos or websites, are the most simple. The old adage “simple is best” is true when it comes to many aspects of your branding and marketing, but lets take a few moments to look at just two.

Simple Logo Design

A logo usually receives but a quick glance, so simple logos will get your message across, whereas more complex logos will confuse and alienate those who dare set eyes on it. Simple logos have proven to work better for both small and large organizations. Here are some examples of simple, memorable logos you may have seen before.

1. Apple Logo 1977

2. E4 Logo

3. Shell Logo 1971

4 Nike Logo 1971

5. Fed Ex Logo 1994

Simple Web Design 

In web design, a simple interface allows the user to focus on your message rather then the pack around it. Statistics show that simple websites have a much lower bounce rate (the rate at which users leave your website after just looking at the home page).

A simple website is also more accessible, appealing to a wider audience including those who may not be proficient with technology, and lowering loading times for those on hand held devices such as mobile phones. Don’t take our word for it though, take a look at some examples below of simple websites.

1. Google

2. Apple

3.Istock

4.Firefox

5. HTC

If you are interested in learning more or finding out how you can incorporate simplicity into your branding or marketing, why not get in touch and find out how we can help you.

What is the +1 Button?

Google have recently released their latest attempt at social media, the +1 button. They themselves describe the button as shorthand for “this is pretty cool” and “you should check this out”. The button will soon start to show up next to search results and on websites across the web.

When you +1 something, you associate your name with the link, recommending it to friends and family. It shows up on your Google Profile, which is required to use the +1 button, and also on the search results of your contacts (including those in Gmail and any linked social networks such as Twitter).

Haven’t I Seen This Before?

Googles +1 button has been described as Google copying Facebook’s “Like” button. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Like button, it’s basically a way to share web pages you like with friends or colleges on Facebook. This is great for getting your website viewed by a wider audience through third party referrals. It has been said that some 2 million sites already have Facebook’s Like button installed.

So How Can the +1 Button Work For Me?

Google have confirmed that +1 results will effect a websites ranking. Another thing to keep in mind is that google is working hard towards personalised search results, so the +1 button will effect the search results of your contacts, so building a strong social network is more important then ever.

Whatever the case though, by integrating the button into your site, you give loyal clients a way of recommending you (hint hint), and it is an indisputable fact that recommendations are the best form of marketing.

How Can I Get it on My Website?

If you have a basic understanding of HTML, you can get the code from Google Webmaster Tools by clicking here. Or if you have word-press, there are a few plugins that will do it for you. Alternatively, if you have no HTML skills or WordPress, just contact your web designer and ask them to integrate it for you.

So what do you think to the +1 button? Will it change the way we use the web or will it flop like some of Googles other social media projects in the past? Leave us a comment with your thoughts below.

You may have heard or read somewhere that all our websites are made to W3C standards. But what are they? W3C stands for The World Wide Web Consortium, an international group that work together to develop Web standards. Designers across the globe endeavor to work to such standards, but what are the benefits?

Websites made the W3C standards have less unnecessary code and thus have considerably lower loading times. This makes websites more friendly to users on slow internet connections, or hand held devices like mobile phones. These standards also make your website more compatible with different browsers and thus more people can see your website without it looking like a Picaso. Something else to take into consideration are the ease of maintenance (which leads to lower costs), and it’s also believed it may have impact on google rankings.

We see W3C standards as a great way to ensure the quality of your websites. If you want to learn more, please feel free to contact us, and see how we can help.

Marketing is one of the most important aspects of modern business. Your branding is often the first contact potential clients have with your organization, and they will judge you on the basis of this. How well does your branding work? It’s very likely that there are small things you could be doing to improve how clients view your organization.

Why not contact us and arrange for a free one to one marketing review. We can show you where you excell, and advise how to improve in other areas. To arrange such a review, contact us via our contact page.