Design & marketing advice, tutorials and discussion for SME's

It is winter, it is cold,Santa Claus is getting old, He’s only gone and lost his sack, He’s desperate now to get it back Can you help him find it please and put his aching mind at ease Can you help find Santa’s missing items? Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new […]

Throughout life’s journey – and social media is just an extension of this – we learn to interact with one another on a personal level. To earn knowledge and trust. This engagement is something we learn naturally. It is how we grow and learn. Yet online we can all be a bit guilty of neglecting […]

Christmas cards are in decline in the UK. It is becoming increasingly popular among the next generation to send electronic cards instead of traditional paper ones. And why not? Ecards are cheaper, more environmentally friendly and arguably offer greater opportunity to be creative with moving images and flashing lights. Our present to you this year […]

“When your day seems topsy turvy, and as stormy as can be, there’s nothing quite as tranquil as a nice hot cup of tea!” A good cup of tea is synonymous with British culture. In offices and places of work across the land tea is being consumed throughout the day. The average Briton devours 900 […]

For Halloween this year we wanted to help unearth some of the monstrous myths that have been plaguing the world of design. Where these scary myths have emerged from is unclear, but we are hoping to illuminate matters by cornering the tallest tales and revealing them as nothing but myth. #1 | Designers know everything […]

In a ever more digital marketing world, where the success of each online campaign can be measured and quanitified, it is easy to forget about the power of print. According to the ACA, 62% of people across all demographics still see printed marketing materials as the most effective advertising channel. Digital marketing can be fleeting, […]

Which social media platforms are right for my business? “You can’t run away from trouble. There ain’t no place that far.” Or social media, in this case. When you’re next on a train, bus, a busy street, or out and about anywhere – count the people with their heads buried in their phones and you’ll have […]

Last time we had too much time on a Friday we decided to have some fun and posted a blog post called Animal Mashups. It had quite a good response and we have been eager to do another ever since. This time we are we have chosen to some Vegetable Mashups. I’m not sure why. […]

Animated Gifs often receive a similar reaction to that of Marmite, you either love them or hate them! Personally, I love them. They are easy to make, you can pop them in an email campaign or use them to add some interest to static images on a webpage. They do not require any plugins or […]

The humble business card is a great direct marketing tool. It’s an essential component for building your brand and gaining new customers. It’s shareable, durable and can leave a lasting impression (good or bad). So how do you guard against ending up with a business card that doesn’t cut the mustard?

The last Symbian logo was launched over 10 years ago. It was originally designed to represent the print side of the business, so when Symbian Create was born a few years ago the word ‘create’ was simply bolted on as a temporary fix. Whilst the original logo served us well, it was felt that it […]

These colour palettes are taken from images of famous places all over the world. Chosen for one reason–they all have a colour in the name. >I created these colour palettes from photographs using Adobe’s Color utility (formerly Kuler). Which is dead easy even if you haven’t got an Adobe ID! Editor’s note: Make your own themes with our tutorial: How do I create a […]

TIP 1. Embrace all things social Social media is a fantastic way to show the personality of your business and speak to your customers on a more personal level. Create an Instagram and Facebook account to show off your beautifully presented dishes. Offering ‘social specials’ rewards your followers and retweet campaigns on twitter can be a […]

About 33% of the worlds population use email these days*. With over two thirds of those being business emails This makes email marketing an important and relatively inexpensive option in driving your business. We are experts at creating succesful email marketing campaigns that will help you achieve more. Get in touch and find out how […]

In today’s post we show you how creating a theme from a photograph and installing it as swatches in Adobe Photoshop is much easier than you thought! For this tutorial, we will be using Adobe’s Color utility, mainly because it can be easily synced with creative cloud, and therefore, all of your adobe applications. Editor’s note: you will need an […]

The success of great websites and print projects are often determined by subtle choices in the colour palette. Your design is vastly improved – or ruined – by simple adjustments in colour palettes and here are some inspirational resources to get you started. Even before you add content, your design can begin to feel warm, bright, menacing, corporate, or ice cold – just by […]

Valentines Day is just around the corner and if you have not planned anything for that special someone by now – then you might be experiencing some level of anxiety. The impending disappointment, that is certain to wash over your better-half’s features as you hand them a tacky Valentine’s Day card you picked up an […]

Never underestimate the power of the vegan voice. The message of compassion goes a long way, especially when heard in large numbers. Gourmet Burger Kitchen found this out the hard way over the weekend, when complaints came flooding in for their latest ad campaign, forcing them to backtrack and pull the ads after just two […]

What does a bored graphic designer get up to when he is sitting at his desk twiddling his thumbs on a Friday afternoon? He uses Photoshop to put together amusing images to pass the time of course. Here are a few of Animal Mashups that have helped to pass time in our office…enjoy! Animal Mashup […]