Ballyhoo are web developers based in Birmingham and they approached me to design a new set of business stationery for them, including business cards, letterheads and compliment slips.

The design brief

Ballyhoo loved the brand that I’d already developed for them, especially the spot UV varnish that we added to their last business cards. So, we decided to modify the business card design slightly to give it a fresh feel and to also extend the design onto letterheads and compliments slips.

Designing the stationery

With the logo and brand already developed I knew the design had to be clear and fresh, whilst keeping a little element of fun (hence the bubbles).

The letterhead design was clean and clutter free, but we didn’t need much white space on the compliment slips so I let the design take over.

The results

The letterheads and compliment slips were printed on standard uncoated paper stock that is perfect for office use.

The business cards required something a bit more special, so these were printed on 380gsm art board with matt lamination. For that extra luxury finish, the logo and bubbles were spot varnished to give them a glossy coat.

Image from mkandlez / Flickr

It was great to watch graphic design being discussed on the telly last night.

The BBC’s Newsnight program hosted a discussion on how politics might adopt better graphic design to help people understand complex or perhaps even boring ideas.

The case studies in question were David McCandless’s beautiful information graphics and he chatted to host Kirsty Wark alongside veteran graphic designer Neville Brody.

Unfortunately, Brody seemed to dismiss McCandless’s designs as pointless eye candy and almost managed to steer the entire conversation off topic. For me, the fact that McCandless’s designs are beautiful enough to be as used decoration is just a side-effect and by focusing on that, the feature missed the point.

Graphic design can (and should) be used to enhance visual information so that the data can be better understood. Plain text and numbers and tables are boring and hard to understand, unless they have been thought about and presented properly.

Admittedly some of McCandless’s work is experimental, but mostly the designs are simple and clear allowing the message within to be communicated and understood.

Tony Kluge Photography required a brochure to show off his range of wedding photographs and services.

After successfully completing a new logo design and website for Tony, the next step was to design a printed brochure that he could hand out to potential clients at meetings and wedding fayres.

The brief

• A4 brochure design
• Landscape format
• Communicate Tony’s message of unique, hand crafted photography
• Allow the photos to speak for themselves
• Consistent branding

We needed a style of graphic design that both complimented his work ethic and would stand out in a crowded market. The brand that we had already developed used a unique font, strong colour palette and subtle background textures. This was created to stand out from the other wedding photographers in Swansea.

We knew that these elements, together with his strong portfolio, would create a stand-out brochure.

Designing the brochure

Tony’s relaxed, personal style is important and it comes through in his photographs and style of writing, but we didn’t want the brochure to end up looking like a scrap book.

To achieve the right quality, I decided to use a consistent but flexible grid based layout. This enabled me to create a brochure full of unique page layouts, allowing each photo room to speak, whilst keeping a strong sense of rhythm. The result was a user-friendly design with a clean yet organic feel.

To finish, the brochure was printed on some gorgeous uncoated paper stock to perfectly compliment the textured, tangible feel of the design.

The results

By working closely, we further developed Tony’s identity into a strong visual brand, and we were both pleased with the results.

More importantly the brochure has been popular at wedding fayres, with potential clients keen to pick up a copy and take it home.

Not only has Tony seen bookings increase since introducing the new brochure, some couples are asking for a similar unique design to be applied to their wedding photo albums. These albums and story books are great opportunities for wedding photographers to offer extra products and this further enhances Tony’s unique position.

Visit Tony Kluge Photography’s website

This advert was designed to go into Ballyhoo’s local Chamber of Commerce printed magazine.

I took elements of their existing brand (already established on business stationery, social networks and websites) and created an advert that communicated their core product in a clear and attractive way.

Discount Fire Supplies needed help starting out on Twitter, so they could drive more traffic to their e-commerce website.

I helped them by;

• Opening the Twitter account
• Enabling automatic tweeting of all their blog posts
• Creating a custom design to match their website

Setting up a Twitter page is simple, and making sure your company is consistent across social networking sites can work wonders for your online brand.

WordPress 3.0

The new update brings lots of cool new features, strengthening WordPress’s ability as an all round content management system, capable of editing all kinds of websites (not just blogs).

Some WordPress 3.0 Features

• Custom post types – e.g. create product listings or a contact database
• Custom menus – hand craft your website’s navigation
• Improved SEO
• Cleaner interface design
• Context sensitive help
• Shortlink support
• Power multiple blogs from one installation

Read more on the Official WordPress blog

I’m looking forward to trying it out soon (this site is built on WordPress), keep your eyes peeled.

My brother Luke Stanton has just finished his Photography degree and I think his work is great. He takes candid shots of people interacting with images (such as billboards and street art).

Through the camera lens the inanimate objects come to life and the subjects interact in unexpected and often humorous ways.

See more of Luke’s work

He’ll be exhibiting his work in the Old Truman Brewery in London from Thursday 10th June until Monday 14th June.

Cadence Interiors offer high quality furniture packages for property developers in the UK and Europe. They required a design to show off their furniture collections and also highlight their other services.

A WordPress Website

The website was built on the WordPress content management system (CMS) which allows the staff at Cadence Interiors to update their website via a web browser.

WordPress is also extendible, meaning that you can add new features such as contact forms and image sideshows in the future, as a site grows.

Take a peak at the Cadence Interiors website

A 44 page A4 brochure design containing photos, technical info, illustrations and tables. Individual products pages were designed one by one and added to the Zeta website, so users could download them as PDFs.

Once finished, the entire brochure was printed full colour on FSC certified Regency silk art paper with a slightly heavier 250 gsm cover. The finish is smooth and slightly glossy.

Tony Kluge needed a logo design for his expanding photography service which includes weddings, portraits and food photography.

The logo design brief was clear, and we worked closely together to develop a colour scheme and font choice that reflected Tony’s personality and business style, whilst setting him apart from his competitors. The result is a simple, but refined design that is both professional and individual.

Tony is based in Swansea and you can read more about his photography services here.

The Police Federation of Devon & Cornwall required a new website design for their community portal. The site is built on Joomla (an open source content management system) and was developed by Ballyhoo Ltd.

I revamped the old design to include new functionality such as the user login, email subscription and search forms as well as a latest news ticker.

Source Wines is a specialist wine supplier that  “…brings together a collection of pioneering wines from both small, off the beaten track winemakers and larger quality-led producers”.

They required a website redesign that improved on the usability and style of their old site. It also includes a content management system (CMS) that allows staff to edit text, insert images and link to documents and other websites.

Gower News

The design was inspired by signs you might see in the countryside (e.g. The National Trust) and it also includes the recognisable shapes of Three Cliffs bay.

Gower News is a free, local, independent online guide to the Gower Peninsula, Swansea.

“The aim of this blog is to provide resources and tutorials for all web designers and web developers, from the beginners right through to the experienced.”

The articles are well presented and easy to digest, so if you’re interested in web design then I recommend you head over to the site and start subscribing to the content.

This e-flyer was designed for the Swansea Grand Theatre who used it to promote an upcoming production.

An e-flyer or email newsletter is basically a single web page, designed to be sent out and viewed in email clients such as Outlook, Gmail and even on mobile devices.