As we celebrate another Valentine’s Day,
Let me pause for a moment, simply to say…
Why I love my job and love what I do
Creating logos, and brochures and websites for you!
Celebrating 10 Years in Business
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Creative Joy – whoop whoop!
So I’d like to start the year by thanking all my past and current clients, for keeping me in business over the last decade.
Championing local independents…
For most of us it’s a competitive world out there. Many local independents compete against far bigger organisations, with enviable budgets to tell the world about their products and services.
However, they also often lack the invaluable personal touch, that we smaller local businesses pride ourselves upon.
7 Major marketing mistakes to avoid
We market our business to impress and retain our customers, entice new prospects and ultimately make sure new work keeps rolling in. However mistakes in marketing are much more common than you’d think. Here are a few common mistakes, to help you avoid slipping up:
Give your marketing a boost
Promoting your business and engaging with prospects and customers is a must to keep new business rolling in. Yet hiring an all-bells-and-whistles design agency can be expensive and, employing an in-house designer might not be quite what you need.
More than making things “pretty”
Effective graphic design can be critical for the success of a project and compel your audience to respond in the way you want.
Here are some of the top reasons why…
5 tips to avoid a Bland Identity
Bland: (adj) Devoid of any distinctive or stimulating characteristics; uninteresting; dull; insipid; unemotional.
Boring graphic clichés such as swooshes, globes and random shapes will fail to deliver anything meaningful. To catch your customer’s attention, you’ll need something with a bit more substance.
Graphic design becomes a real investment when it engages with and informs your audience.
So make your marketing meaningful by ensuring every piece has something to say. Great design is founded in your company’s history, its vision and, most importantly, why you’re the best option for your valued customers.
How to hook new customers
I recently came across the following quote, which beautifully illustrates the importance of knowing your ideal customer and how best to “hook” them in:
Personally I am very fond of strawberries and cream, but I have found that for some strange reason, fish prefer worms. So when I went fishing, I didn’t think about what I wanted. I thought about what they wanted. I didn’t bait the hook with strawberries and cream. Rather, I dangled a worm or grasshopper in front of the fish and said: “Wouldn’t you like to have that?”
Dale Carnegie
Keep your bait both interesting and relevant to your target audience, appealing to their specific needs and wants. Make it irresistible. Your audience should be left in no doubt as to how or why their life would be so much better if they buy.
Design trends for 2017
As I sat down to eat the obligatory post-Christmas turkey curry earlier this week (lovingly nicknamed Quirky-Murky-Turkey Curry in our house!) the new graphics on the table jar of mango chutney caught my eye. I noticed that the previous, rather ornate typography had been replaced by a hand-drawn brush script, giving the brand a lighter, more informal appeal.
My interest was piqued as this clearly follows the current design trend towards a more hand-crafted approach. 2017 has seen a return to a more organic, hand-crafted style. Many brands are looking to create a more authentic look that will appeal to customers who seek products that reflect their own values, culture and beliefs.
Breathing new life into School Prospectuses
As a friendly, vibrant and aspirational school, St. Alban’s existing prospectuses were looking tired and dated and did little to convey the school’s vision and the excellent opportunities available to students.
So I was commissioned to create new prospectuses that would showcase the school’s best assets and better appeal to prospective pupils and their parents. Collaborating with a talented local photographer and the region’s leading print specialists, I organised the entire project from concept through to delivery.