Troika is the name for a collection of three elements that once combined increase strength, stability and power. It is the power of three. And when three seasoned hospitality recruitment specialists came together to form a new, powerful recruitment company, the name ‘Troika’ was the natural choice.

To set their offer and brand apart, the three principals of Troika Recruitment created a brief that demanded a corporate website design that was very different from those of the established, larger, more general recruitment agencies.

Of course, in a heavily networked industry, ‘word on the street’ is all powerful, and it was this knowledge that inspired us to create a Banksy-inspired, graffiti streetscape that provides a truly interactive experience for the web visitor.

Sounds, tools and posters all provide exciting navigation around the site, with many hidden treasures to be found now, and many more being planned for the future. All in all it’s a website that punches above its weight for a start-up business and not just another brick in the wall.

According to Troika Director, Suzie Boyd, “the team at Design Inc took our brand aspirations & the vision we have for our boutique business and have created for us a online presence that is as unique as we are – we love it – and better still our clients love it.”

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

Has Banksy finally designed a website? is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Attention to detail and a good understanding of the lighting and spatial challenges each shoot presents is essential to ensure the airframe build integrity, design detailing and quality of interiors materials comes through. In addition, giving the impression of space and comfort is always a key priority (especially in helicopters and cockpits).

The challenges internal and external shots present are extremely different. Very often additional exterior lighting is needed when shooting interiors to show how much natural light is available and how airy the passenger cabin is.

Design Inc were recently commissioned to produce a website marketing campaign including a micro site and e-brochure for this rather amazing private jet owned by one very wealthy individual which involved a comprehensive and creative photo shoot.

This project required positioning the aircraft on the apron of a photogenic airport hangar and terminal hard standing location, a stylist dressing the inside and outside background areas and providing models and props including cuisine.

In addition to stills photography in a variety of formats and DV, a 360 degree lens and other specialist cameras were used to create a stunning portfolio of images and presentation footage. It all helps to promote what a unique aeroplane this converted Boeing 727 really is.

See the interactive e-brochure we created as part of the marketing project by clicking here.

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AirCRAFT: The Art of Aviation Photography is a post from the Design Inc Blog

How to best gain internet traffic insights from your website marketing campaigns, optimise your online proposition, capture visitor data, enquiries and new prospects?

With our new Website Visitor Profiling service, using the latest internet traffic profiling technology, you can now analyse  these web stats:
• What companies have been looking at on your website.
• What search words, terms and phrases did they use to find your website?
• What are the most popular pages they are viewing?
• Are they repeat visitors?
• Where are they based?

How is this done, does it cause disruption and introduce a security compromise to our site?
No. You simply need to provide FTP access for Design Inc to make some minor code optimisation and you’ll be given a discreet log-in access to a report screen. This can be set to your own preferred custom reports enabling you to see who is looking at your website and their browsing behaviour.

Alternatively, Design Inc can also improve your website’s performance at the same time by optimising content and filenames for search engines rankings to increase the amount of hits to your website and the conversion of them. Results come through quickly and often will surprise you.

Your sales team can then follow up with informed calls to your website visitors which will give them a massive advantage over you competitors.

Website Development
An added benefit of course is that you can engage with those site visitors who browsed but didn’t contact you so you can fully understand how effective your internet marketing and advertising campaigns are. Target your selected visitors with a research based communication. eg. Why they didn’t make contact? What they didn’t see? What will they base their decisions on? The answers to all of which will aid your web development and formulate your own company’s online proposition to maximise it’s effectiveness.

Please contact us if you’re interested in this online marketing service, and remember, we’ll know if you’ve been reading this blog!

Would you like to see who has visited your website? is a post from the Design Inc Blog

The teams consisted of either clients, suppliers and friends of Isosceles Finance Limited which included Celona, Emergent, InsightSoftware.com, Solsis, Line and Design Inc.

The group stages the matches were extremely tight; games were pinched by the odd goal here and there. This was demonstrated by the fact that the 3rd/ 4th and 5th /6th play offs all went to penalties!

After all of the huffing and puffing, the pump and the grind of the group and playoff stages there were two left standing – Design Inc & Isosceles. This is somewhat of a Germany v England fixture, close neighbours who know each other’s players well. The final turned out to be more one sided than many had predicted and Design Inc were worthy winners. Jon Turner assured the assembled press that they would accept the cup in a spirit of friendship and humility and that they would keep this low key, they would be unlikely to brag, wave the cup around and generally remind Isosceles of their ignominious failure on a daily basis henceforth.

Many congratulations to all the teams that participated, and a big thank you to Mike and the team at Isosceles for making it such a thoroughly successful event.

The Isosceles World Cup Tournament is a post from the Design Inc Blog

He continues, “The big question still being asked is, how is the industry performing? In response he quotes “The 2^nd quarter of this year has started to see some momentum with the increase of confirmed events, an increase in new venues and venue refurbishments and more importantly the green light for the release of funds for event budgets”

Further adding, “ However we are still in unsure times and no doubt there will still be some casualties ahead, for example with Sound London becoming the latest venue to follow the unfortunate trend of nightclubs in trouble by going into administration. But Venues that invest in marketing are likely to be rewarded for their efforts and increase their clientele, raise their profile and secure bookings”

Q. Has the event industry suffered from budget cuts in both the private and now public sectors?

A. The continued financial scene has meant that budgets are tighter and negotiations will be stronger. Smaller venues and a new generation of venue spaces have been given the opportunity to rattle the older, established venues who have had it too easy for too long. In some cases there is definitely a change in the perspective of the client/supplier relationship and a new approach required. Venues sometimes fail to recognise the real value of the creative elements that needs to be invested in the lead up to winning business.

From the point of view from an ex-Events Manager, it is not always the costs that affect the decisions around where to host events. It can also very much depend on how a venue engages with their audiences from first time contact to post event evaluation and markets & advertises themselves through the quality of their communication tools such as websites, promotional literature, direct & email marketing pieces etc.

Leaving that compelling first impression can do wonders for the confidence and trust of the event organiser to know that this is a venue who are professional, experienced and can cater for all aspects of the event.

Venues such as The Business Design Centre has invested heavily in its website and a newsletter to keep its customers informed. “It’s an important way to build relationships with organisers,” says BDC head of venue sales Graham Stephenson. The north London venue also hosts social events for organisers so they get to know the venue.

In an effort to generate awareness in London, one London venue had branded two black cabs following an overhaul of the venues’ customer and event marketing last year. Bespoke campaigns are now tailored to the individual needs of organisers. The strategy has seen the venue awarded a respected Business Superbrand title by independent brand analyst SuperBrands, alongside household names such as Shell, Samsung and Rolls-Royce.

Working with tourism promotion bodies can also help raise a venue’s profile: “London tourist bodies promotes the city internationally and at home. It’s about keeping the venue in the loop and making sure people are aware of the venue.”

A very effective way to reach markets in specific industry sectors is to apply direct & email marketing. Targeting organisers with this medium can increase hits on the venue’s website, build awareness, strengthen the brand, raise the venues profile and more within a very cost effective budget.

Q. How is the latest technology including augmented reality and design tools, changing the way a venue markets itself on line?

A. I see that in the very near future that venues will need to embrace in the technology of ‘Virtual Tours’ to attract more visitors and engage more deeply with their audiences. This has already started with the successful launch of Event and C&IT Virtual Venue Visit. However for venues to truly differentiate themselves and promote their USP’s, the virtual tours should not be presented in a traditional video scenario as is being done, but by the use of a more dynamic and interactive design and system which allows the visitor to explore in more detail the venues spaces and may even include the user to create a virtual event which will include designing room plans, stage sets, room lighting and even a selection of themes that can integrate the creative production into the virtual event.

Q. What about the London Olympics, this is going to be a boom time for UK venues surely?

A. The next 12 months will see numerous public and private events relating to the 2012 Olympics leading up to the games including conferences, seminars, roadshows, product & promotional launches and corporate hospitality. Competition is still rife however and venues need to be proactive in their marketing to share in this business.

We are very excited and looking forward to the many ‘event’ based communication & design projects that we are currently discussing with many of our clients in providing compelling design and effective event marketing strategy for their networking events, experiential campaigns, product launches, conferences, tradeshows, road-show campaigns, exhibitions, hospitality events and the many other events that will be incorporating the theme of the Olympic Games to promote their events.

The key challenge will be to create the association and incorporate the spirit of the Olympic games in all the design & strategy elements and succeed in overcoming the strict design & marketing guidelines in place. We have been researching this area intensively and have some very creative and strategic ways around this that can be implemented for events, email & direct mail campaigns and all online marketing campaigns.

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

Darren’s event and venue marketing clinic is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Getting the most out your own sales data and data captured from your website can automatically create profiles of your prospects and segment them to ensure maximum engagement with the highest possible level of response and ROI.

It’s no coincidence that the direct mailings you receive from the larger corporates and retailers are completely relevant to you, your lifestyle and interests. It’s a scary thought, but they know your age, personal circumstances, the car you drive, what you earn, what team you support and what wine you drink!

These techniques apply across the board. Whether you are a B2B or B2C online retailer and want to promote your products, or you’re a professional supplier promoting your range of services. Initiating the process of data gathering can be time consuming, but once the mechanisims are in place, sending communications and eNewsletters to all your clients and prospects will be fast, cost effective and rewarding.

Just imagine how powerful a professionally designed website with a clear sales route and data capture forms which in turn feeds mailing lists would be for your organisation.

Design Inc have implemented integrated direct marketing processes for the Aviation, Energy and Conference & Events industries.

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

Making Email and Direct Marketing Campaigns Work is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Darren explains, “From a venue’s point of view I was their archetypal buyer. From the clients side I was the trusted, experienced and venue expert.

This experience has provided valuable insight into the decision making process for companies selecting a venue for their own events and the essential marketing requirements when a venue needs to promote themselves”.

I have summarised the criteria for Venue Finding and Venue Promotion as follows:

Venue finding

Venue finding provides a mammoth task for many people every day with more and more corporate events being held every year. More than 80% of the success of any event, meeting, conference or any type of event is dependent on the choice of the venue itself. Spending money in venues should be looked upon as an investment in your company’s future and should not be looked at without due consideration. Consider your requirements fully, look at the venue carefully and book the venue confidently.

Start early! Venue finding can be a very time consuming exercise. It is never too early to start looking for a suitable venue. If you are thinking about hosting an event, then you can be sure that there are dozens of other companies thinking about hosting one also.

Identify your objectives and format - what do you want to achieve from your event and how are you going to achieve it? Is it increased sales, sales recognition, employee motivation, product launch, customer appreciation day, etc?

Attendees - How many people are you going to invite? Who will be attending – employees, existing customers, prospective customers, media, members of the public, any VIP’s or celebrities?

Location, location, location - where do you want to host the event? Close to company offices; easy access from major road networks, train stations or airports or in a luxury countryside setting away from it all? Consider the widest geographic area. Think not just in terms of miles but minutes of commuting time. A location may be further away but well served by motorway and other transport links

Budget - Yes, this is important and needs to be realistic to your objectives? Has one been approved? How does it compare to other events you have arranged? What does the budget actually need to cover? Set a budget you are comfortable with. Everyone has financial constraints but you need to get the best value for your spend.

Specialist Support – Of course, there are many venue finding specialists you can call upon who will know the ins and outs of hundreds of potential venues. These companies can help reduce the aggravation, time and hopefully cost in finding & booking your venue. Be sure you provide a full brief as to your requirements, which could include:

Venue style and service quality
Does the venue have a high level of standards and ethics
Accommodation proximity
Quality of food and beverage services
AV production support
Availability of meeting space, activity rooms, discussion space and break out areas
Specific room dimensions, capacities, ceiling heights, natural daylight and lift access etc
Compliancy with the Disability Discrimination Act
Dietary requirements; kosher, halal, gluten-free, vegan etc?
Availability of team building activities, florists, entertainment and games for after dinner, etc
Does the venue provide creative production services and inspiration for themed events?

Venue Promotion

Building an effective venue-marketing plan is like sowing a field for a successful crop. There are certain methods that are absolutely necessary. You can tweak a little here and there adding your own special methods as long as you include the main components’

Distributing seeds instead of planting them in one place by not just reaching people individually and telling them what your venue does or has is a tough way to do it and an uphill battle. Instead thinking of each person you interact with, as someone who can carry the seed of your venue to someone else is valuable. Your goal shouldn’t be just to convince them, it’s to give them some way, large or small to carry your venue message forward.

How are you as a venue making things happen and distributing the message? Do you…..

Blog – demonstrating your venue industry awareness, expertise, knowledge and establish yourself as a recognised venue industry voice connecting to the topics of the moment.

Send tactical e-shots & newsletters – To reach out and engage with your audience, telling them about your venue’s successes, latest events at your venue, your venues new features, the venues new services or even the venues new staff. Also to solidify your current client relationships, strengthen your venue ‘brand’ and keep your venue constantly in the public eye.

Strategically Advertise – With calculated planning, compelling copywriting and powerful messaged advertising design for your entire venue advertising campaigns. Making sure it is tailored to appeal to your target market using compelling and strategic design, graphics and messaging to entice a reaction, an enquiry and a venue booking.

Design your marketing collateral tactically – Making sure your brochure and direct mail pieces truly reflect and delivers your venue’s image, values and core services. Creating interactive elements such as incentivised response devices for data capture and the use of enticing formats and tactile materials.

Stand out at Exhibitions – to distinguish and differentiate your venue amongst all the other venues doing the same thing. Making sure your stand fascinates, captivates, generates interest, interacts with your audiences, creates the WOW factor and leaves a compelling impression on your visitor.

Optimise your Website – incorporating strategic, valuable keywords & phrases that relate specifically to your industry so your prospective clients find your website ahead of your competitors and integrate strategic creative designs, high impact copywriting and a fully comprehensive statistics area to gather that all-important marketing data.

For More Information & Design Inc’s Portfolio click here

How to … Find a venue / Promote a venue is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Search engines favour constantly updated websites containing rich and relevant content, so make regular company and industry comment, post news and media bulletins, and link it all with your Twitter and other social media accounts such as LinkedIn to spread a strong and consistent message across all forms of online media.

Of course, if you have already gone through the process of keyword research, you will already have a list of highly relevant & Google-friendly keywords. These can be added into your daily/weekly blogs to significantly increase the flow of visitors to your site. Remember, for every blog story you add, Google will see this as yet another content-rich page on your site. And, the more of these pages you have, the higher up the search rankings you will appear.

Blog systems are fully content manageable and offer detailed controls to ensure each entry is both creative and powerful within search engines. Style text, add images, set links, categorise stories and automatically archive all entries for total ease of navigation for the user.

Blogs have usually been written by one person, although more and more companies are setting up their blog to allow different staff members to contribute. This enables the blog to be kept regularly up-to-date (especially when the bloggers are on blog rota) as well as promoting a different message about the company. This would enable a company to better cover stories relating to product, sales, marketing, manufacture, despatch, aftercare, etc.

And, as already mentioned, the more blog articles with content-rich (key)words, the more Google will find your website when searches are made.

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

How to Create an Effective Website – Blogs is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Following on from my last post about Augmented reality, I thought I’d share with you some examples of this amazing new communication tool.

Making your business card design really stand out.

Even Lego have embraced this tool. See 3D versions of your model before you buy.

A great tool for your next augmented reality hallowe’en party. Swapping heads with a rat.

I’ve got a few magazines in my car. Here’s how to fit a car into a magazine.

The car right in front of you is a Toyota.

Should have gone to the augmented Specsavers.

Bringing your trading cards to life.

Making your tattoos come to life.

You can even try this for yourself. James Alliban’s webpage allows you to print an AR code symbol and try it out on your own webcam. You’ll be amazed.

Augmented reality – some great examples is a post from the Design Inc Blog

It’s not just business cards, but company brochures, magazine advertising & direct mail too. By adding little barcode symbols, which, when viewed through a webcam, come to life, providing more information about the company, the service & the campaign. A single page advert is no longer a single page – it becomes a video, a website, therefore packing so much more into that single page advertising fee.

Even June’s edition of BBC Focus Magazine has been set up to show you just what can be done. Hold the magazine’s front cover up to a webcam and watch what happens on screen. Perhaps if you are an arachnophobe, don’t try it, but the sight of spiders crawling around the page is exciting and bewildering at the same time.

Augmented reality is relevant for many industries – even the fashion world has embraced it. Benetton is using AR for their It’s My Time campaign that kicked off last month, in which it is trying to find models from among the general population.

Adidas, too, has launched trainers with AR symbols in the tongues: hold them to a webcam and you are taken to interactive games on the Adidas site.

Augmented reality – AR, as it has quickly become known – has only recently become a phrase that trips easily off technologists’ lips; yet we’ve been seeing versions of it for quite some time. The idea is straightforward enough: take a real-life scene, or (better) a video of a scene, and add some sort of explanatory data to it so that you can better understand what’s going on, or who the people in the scene are, or how to get to where you want to go.

Sports coverage on TV has been doing it for years: the superimposed winning line in a rowing race orthe swimmer’s name superimposed onto the lane they are in. More recently cricket, tennis, rugby, football and golf have all started to overlay analytic information on top of standard-speed replays – would that ball have hit the stumps, the progress of a rally, the movement of the backs or wingers, the relative flights of shots – to tell you more about what’s going on.

AR took its first lumbering steps into the public arena eight years ago: all that you needed to do was strap on 10kg of computing power – laptop, camera, vision processor – and you could get an idea of what was feasible. The American Popular Science magazine wrote about the idea in 2002 – but the idea of being permanently connected to the internet hadn’t quite jelled at that point.

“AR has been around for ages,” says Andy Cameron, executive director of Fabrica, an interactive design studio which works with Benetton, “maybe going back as far as the 1970s and art installations that overlaid real spaces with something virtual.” He mentions in particular the work of pioneering computer artist Myron Krueger.

What’s changed in the past year is that AR has come within reach of all sorts of developers – and the technology powerful enough to make use of it is owned by millions of people, often in the palms of their hands.

The arrival of powerful smartphones and computers with built-in video capabilities means that you don’t have to wait for the AR effects as you do with TV. They can simply be overlaid onto real life. Step forward Apple’s iPhone, and phones using Google’s Android operating system, both of which are capable of overlaying information on top of a picture or video.

Within the small world of AR, one of the best-known apps is that built by Layar, which – given a location, and using the iPhone 3GS’s inbuilt compass to work out the direction you’re pointing the phone – can give you a “radar map” of details such as Wikipedia information, Flickr photos, Google searches and YouTube videos superimposed onto a picture you’ve taken of the scene.

More usefully, Yelp offers an augmented reality application that will show you ratings and reviews for a restaurant before you walk in – the sort of thing that could make restaurants quiver with delight, or shudder in horror.

Going further, the application can get personal, very personal. A prototype application demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February showed the scary future. Point the phone at a person and, using facial recognition software, it can pull their information off the web and attach details – their Twitter username, Facebook page, preferences and other facts – and stick them, rather weirdly, into the air around their head (viewed through your phone, of course).

Social networking may never be the same again.

Augmented Reality – the new communication is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Market intelligence and message development at these planning stages can help exhibitors to make the most of the commitment to attend. Apart from the obvious attraction of some December sunshine, many smaller companies who offer highly specialised services are investing in shared-stand accommodation. This can be very cost-effective as not only enabling the face-to-face on stand contact, but in participation as show exhibitor enabling additional supporting guerrilla activities on the show fringe. The organisers of most aviation industry trade fairs like MEBA encouraging and accommodating creative participation as business seeds are sown.

The design of exhibition space usually falls into two clear camps, the ’stakeout your territory approach’ all walls and stools with flags and towers at each corner, demonstrating the maximum acreage of your expensive floor space – but a little intimidating to approach as your visitors may be fearful of being rounded upon by lurking salespeople. Better perhaps to design an innovative stand with a seamless boundary transition that blends into the surrounded aisles – the prospect then being drawn onto the stand by the ambient feeling of space and calm. Actually arriving right in the middle of your brand and message without even being aware that they have strayed into the zone! Gotcha.

Design Inc at MEBA 2010 Dubai is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Wenlock and Mandeville, created by iris

On 19th May London 2012 finally revealed the mascots that will help characterise the capital’s Olympic experience. The futuristic part alien one-eyed figures, called Wenlock and Mandeville, were unveiled at an east London school.

The mascots will soon be everywhere, with merchandise going on sale in July to mark two years to the London 2012 opening ceremony.

Chosen from more than 100 designs, including animated teapots, pigeons, lions and a Big Ben with arms and legs. The characters can be customised into recognisable costumes and even celebrity identities due to their digital potential.

Design Inc Event & Venue Marketing specialist Darren Scurville commented “There will be numerous public and private events relating to the 2012 Olympics leading up to the games including conferences, seminars, roadshows, product & promotional launches and corporate hospitality events heavily tied in with investor relation events to name a few. Undoubtedly the mascots will be integrated into these events and even required with the “ceremonial scissors” to hand to launch and promote the events. “The brand & Identity of the mascots will also be heavily incorporated into the design for the event marketing & promotional literature.

He added “We are very excited and looking forward to the many ‘event’ based communication & design projects that we are currently discussing with many of our clients in providing compelling design and effective event marketing strategy for their networking events, experiential campaigns, product launches, conferences, tradeshows, roadshow campaigns, exhibitions, hospitality events and the many other events that will be incorporating the theme of the Olympic Games to promote their events.

He continued “ The key challenge will be to create the association and incorporate the spirit of the Olympic games in all the design & strategy elements and succeed in overcoming the strict design & marketing guidelines in place. Also to navigate successfully through the minefield of the brand protection rules set out for all non-official sponsors. He commented “We have been researching this area intensively and have some very creative and strategic ways around this that can be implemented for events, email & direct mail campaigns and all online marketing campaigns.

London 2012 Mascot Branding …. On your marks, get set, go for your 2012 Olympic Events & Promotions? is a post from the Design Inc Blog

With 2012 on the horizon, professional sportsmen and women know there is nothing more detrimental than carrying out dead weight. So, for those considering a weight loss program, accurately assessing your body fat percentage is one of the most important measurements you can take.

Moreover, with the knowledge that excess body fat is directly linked with a number of serious medical conditions, including heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers, accurate measurement and continual monitoring is crucial.

Founded in 1923, Tanita Corporation is an ethical health care product manufacturer. They are the supplier of choice for body composition monitors, and supply their monitors to fitness and health organisations, surgeries, clinics as well as to the end consumer. Tanita monitors provide instant measurement, not just of weight but also:

• Body Fat
• Visceral Fat
• Body Water
• Muscle Mass
• Bone Mineral Mass
• Daily Energy Requirement

With the London Olympics only 2 years away, Tanita Corporation made the decision to push their brand and products further into Europe through international print advertising for both consumer and trade campaigns. And in March 2010 following a creative pitch from several marketing communications agencies, Tanita Europe selected Design Inc as their preferred partner.

Our winning creative promotes an aspirational message: healthy bodies tattooed with a ‘food packaging ingredients’ list.

Design Inc Marketing Consultant David Parker says, “We wanted to show just how delicately balanced the human body is and show just what the healthy body is made of. We are all made of the same stuff, although of course, the amounts differ from one person to the next. Our creatives provide the message that Tanita body composition monitors accurately keep your health on track to what is right for you. The new Tanita advertising campaign has been designed to provide a simple, strong and on-brand message. We look forward in ensuring this campaign is delivered over the next two years.”

The Design Inc team were involved with all aspects of this advertising design campaign including:

• Creative & Marketing Strategy
• Creative Design
• Artworking
• Copy Writing
• Photo Shoot
• Photo Manipulation
• Models
• Project Management

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

What are you made of? – Fitness versus fatness. is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Whether your business is actually based and sells online or simply marketed online, an effective website is your most important communications asset. There are many elements to the location, design, build and population and promotion of your site. All of which present both opportunities and threats. Opportunities that is, to get it very right, and the real threat of getting it very wrong.

Here is our guide to the elements; can you tick all the boxes? First off, what is the desired response from your user? If you can answer that question instantly and have the resources in place to react to that response, then you know what we are working to achieve.

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

Design Inc’s guide to a sucessful website is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Today’s Farnborough is a shop window for the World’s aerospace industry. Ensuring that a presence at the show maximises the return on cost requires detailed planning, Prospect and customer relationship management, hospitality, some ear-to the ground market intelligence and guerrilla tactics.

Getting a hearing in a crowded room, full of competing vendors can be a challenge. However getting a large chunk of your target audience in one place at one time is still a logistical opportunity to be made the most of.

Design Inc help clients focus on the event attendees that count and put together tailored packages to support the dialogue and engagement between visitors and hosts.  You may have existing clients to entertain, prospects who are about to become clients to close deals with, you will certainly have contacts you will want to network with and colleagues you will want to exchange best practice and insights with.

As a creative design company providing online marketing strategies, including corporate identity creation, digital email marketing campaigns and corporate video presentations. It Is not too late to create some Farnborough related PR interest, client hospitality or sponsorship campaigns in connection with the networking events, seminars or the exciting Futures Day aimed at getting young minds thinking about flight and space engineering.

Everyone has a favourite ‘Farnborough’ story or memory, what ’s yours? My own is borrowed from dad I’m afraid – but witnessing a DH Mosquito flypast at zero feet with BOTH props feathered takes some beating in my book!

Please leave a comment; we’d love to hear some myths too!

Farnborough Fly Past is a post from the Design Inc Blog

This issue features an aviation theme and includes news about our private jet charter, aviation and travel related clients and shows some of the great work we have produced for them recently and on the lead up to EBACE 2010.

Our recent achievements include the completion of an interactive online brochure promoting an amazing Boeing 727 private jet, as well as the delivery of promotional materials for Bombardier. This includes a range of collateral for the Learjet 45XR and the groundbreaking Learjet 85 business jets, along with trade show exhibition stand designs and various client email communications.

You too can receive regular Design Inc news updates by signing up on our website.

Come fly with us is a post from the Design Inc Blog

The main story of this year’s exhibition was the growing optimism within the private jet sector of the aviation industry which is being fueled by increasing demand for business jets within the $25m category. Even the various proposed new supersonic jet projects are gaining momentum with talk that we may actually see one built within the decade!

Client wise, Bombardier is forging ahead with the development of the new Learjet 85. Currently, tooling and production processes are being finalised and the first model should be ready at the end of the year. The Learjet 85 will continue to deliver the outstanding performance, technology and value Learjet aircraft owners have come to expect. The Learjet 85 is the first all-composite structure business jet too!

Also, Bombardier has just opened its first wholly-owned European service centre at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The facility features 4,240 sq. meters (45,639 sq. feet) of hangar space, includes a staff count of approximately 50 and is equipped to perform a variety of maintenance tasks.

The next big aviation exhibition is the Farnborough International Airshow 2010 on the 19th of July through to the 25th. There will be the usual mix of commerce, networking, displays and entertainment. Design Inc will be in attendance throughout providing marketing support and assistance to our exhibiting clients with the set up and display of the exibition stands and show literature we’re currently designing for them. Hopefully see you there!

EBACE 2010 – Next stop, The Farnborough Airshow 2010 is a post from the Design Inc Blog

a. Those that make things happen

b. Those who watch things happen

……………….What venue are you?

I’m sure we all like to think we are venue a, but are you??? Darren Scurville, Design Inc’s Events & Venue Marketing specialist explains ‘Building an effective venue-marketing plan is like sowing a field for a successful crop. There are certain methods that are absolutely necessary. You can tweak a little here and there adding your own special methods as long as you include the main components’

He added ‘“Distributing seeds instead of planting them in one place by not just reaching people individually and telling them what your venue does or has is a tough way to do it and an uphill battle. Instead thinking of each person you interact with as someone who can carry the seed of your venue to someone else is valuable. Your goal shouldn’t be just to convince them, it’s to give them some way, large or small to carry your venue message forward.

How are you as a venue making things happen and distributing the message? Do you…..

Blog – demonstrating your venue industry awareness, expertise, knowledge and establish yourself as a recognised venue industry voice connecting to the topics of the moment.

Send tactical e-shots & newsletters – To reach out and engage with your audience, telling them about your venue’s successes, latest events at your venue, your venues new features, the venues new services or even the venues new staff.  Also to solidify your current client relationships, strengthen your venue ‘brand’ and keep your venue constantly in the public eye.

Strategically Advertise – With calculated planning, compelling copywriting and powerful messaged advertising design for your entire venue advertising campaigns. Making sure it is tailored to appeal to your target market using compelling and strategic design, graphics and messaging to entice a reaction, an enquiry and a venue booking.

Design your marketing collateral tactically – Making sure your brochure and direct mail pieces truly reflects and delivers your venue’s image, values and core services. Creating interactive elements such as incentivised response devices for data capture and the use of enticing formats and tactile materials.

Stand out at Exhibitions - to distinguish and differentiate your venue amongst all the other venues doing the same thing. Making sure your stand fascinates, captivates, generates interest, interacts with your audiences, creates the WOW factor and leaves a compelling impression on your visitor.

Optimise your Website – incorporating strategic, valuable keywords & phrases that relate specifically to your industry so your prospective clients find your website ahead of your competitors. Integrating strategic creative designs, high impact copywriting and a fully comprehensive statistics area to gather that all important marketing data.

Do you wait for opportunity to knock at the door or do you knock at the door of opportunity? is a post from the Design Inc Blog

This support extends across all aspects, covering branding, websites, advertising, events, exhibitions, directories, brochures and newsletters.

As the governing body for the UK’s subsea industry, working alongside government, industry bodies, research & education institutes as well as for the benefit of the 1000 UK companies and 50,000 people involved in the industry, it is crucial that their message and creative profile is always accurate, trustworthy & knowledgeable.

Aberdeen-based Subsea UK rely on creative agency Design Inc not just for these values but also to manage their needs in the most cost-effective, hassle-free and innovative ways.

The publishing of the quarterly Subsea UK newsletter is just one of many design & creative projects for which Design Inc is responsible.

Design Inc Commercial Director, Frank Norman explains “A well-designed newsletter campaign can be a great way not just to inform your subscribers of all your company’s latest news, products & services, but also to keep your name on their ‘radar’ to maintain & enhance customer relations. For Subsea UK however, the newsletter keeps all subscribers informed of the latest trends, innovations & research within the industry as a whole as well as providing a platform for industry bodies, members and associated companies to announce their own news.”

Paul Munday, Design Inc’s Creative Director adds, “How our clients’ brand identity and values are effectively reflected through their corporate literature will be at the heart of our newsletter design concepts. For Subsea UK, we have always opted for a more news-based creative style with a more conceptual design style being implemented when the publication coincides with a major industry event.”

Paul continues, “The way the process works couldn’t be simpler. Subsea UK, their members and associated companies are invited to provide their latest news and press releases, and once approved by Subsea UK we are responsible for artworking, formatting, illustration, image supply and image retouching where required. We also offer the full range of litho and digital print management services ensuring this publication perfectly meets the required quality, cost and timescale.”

View more creative work for Subsea UK and the subsea industry.

View examples of brochure design, newsletter and corporate literature.

Subsea UK – Newsletter Design & Publishing Services is a post from the Design Inc Blog

With a team made up of highly-experienced producers, composers & songwriters who have worked with clients such as Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Lionel Richie, Alicia Keys and U2, Triumph Recordings have already firmly established themselves on the international stage.

Managing Director, Nelson Gilpin recalls the first meeting with Design Incorporated. “We approached several creative agencies, all of which we were confident of delivering a high-quality website. But, it was more important for us to work with a company who could quickly see our vision and understand our ever-changing brief. Design Inc ticked all the boxes.”

“Since going live with the new website design, we have been inundated with compliments. More importantly it raises our profile to match the service we provide. One client even contacted me the other day saying that she is honored that we want to work with her – this is exactly the emotion we wanted our website to achieve.’

The website has been dynamically created with a Flash music player added that, over time, will grow to feature all their artists’ work. Furthermore, the website also provides an individual and dedicated showcase for their own talented artists.

The Design Inc team were involved with all aspects of this website design including:

Creative Strategy by David Parker

Creative Design by Paul Munday

Artworking by Jon Turner

Image Supply & Manipulation by Anthony Westoll

Programming by Jonathan Murdoch

Flash Coding by Jonathan Murdoch

Project Manager – Frank Norman

Website Hosting – Design Inc

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

Website Design Services – Triumph Recordings is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Whilst researching a regional campaign for one of our aviation clients, we came across this amazing video which illustrates clearly how and where the air traffic started again, which routes became active first, and how gradually it all got back on track.

It also shows how busy European flight routes are normally, so it’s easy to understand the level of disruption that absolutely no flights at all would have caused!

The flight data is courtesy of aviation video specialist flightradar24.com.

Click here to see the film.

Aviation gets moving again in Europe is a post from the Design Inc Blog

As part of a photography proposal currently being written, Design Inc are suggesting this rather interesting, but widely underused photographic technique which really brings images to life.

HDR (high dynamic range) imaging, gives a larger dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of a photo and combines them. This offers a larger dynamic range and visually represents evenly all the intensity levels found in any one scene.

This technique can be constructed either by the photographer using camera at the photoshoot, or by merging and photo manipulating images of the same scene taken with varying dynamic ranges back at the studio.

I hope it is considered, as it would create a very individual brand style indeed. Let us know what you think!

3D Photography is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Orphans In Need has been set up to help the world’s most vulnerable and needy people. Their main focus is on orphans and widows, often the weakest members of society.

Over the past month Design Inc have designed and produced a number of innovative designed company brochures, posters and advertisements for this UK-based charity.

Following an initial consultation, Design Inc were commissioned to work on these projects. And within weeks a new dynamic style, design & message was developed to focus on the positive and happy aspects of the solutions they, and your money, provide.

Our involvement consisted of creative strategy, design, artwork, copy writing & image source & supply.

Our team for this creative project comprised:

Creative Strategy & copy writing by David Parker

Creative Design & image manipulation by Paul Munday

Artwork and print set-up by Jon Turner

Account Management by Frank Norman

See more examples of our brochure design services

Donate to this charity

Brochure Design Services – Orphans In Need is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Derrick Offshore is a leading international shipbroker in the offshore oil & gas and subsea cable industries and approached Design Incorporated earlier this year for high-quality website design services.

Upon initial consultation, it was understood that Derrick Offshore’s website should be designed in such a way to:

• Compliment the company’s high quality service levels
• Attract new clientele through effective SEO tools
• Display a more industry-led content
• Be easily navigable
• Be fully content managed

Effective search engine optimisation procedures (keyword research, site optimisation, Google-led copy, Blog facility, RSS feed) were carried out.

Our team comprised:

• Website design by Design Inc Creative Director, Paul Munday
• Website programming & blog by Jonathan Murdoch
• Website SEO services by Rob Dobson
• Website hosting by Design Inc
• Client & Project Management by Frank Norman

See more examples of our work within this industry.

Website Design Services – Derrick Offshore Ltd is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Of course, the events are your clients and they bring in the money. If you have no events, whether they be celebratory, conference or expo, then your venue can sit empty. As a venue you need to market all the forthcoming features and events, where permission is granted. As a venue marketer it is so important to market the venue as a brand.

Some may say that venues are only as good as the events inside them. This may be true but prestigious client, events and shows like to host in prestigious venues. How you brand the venue can help you sell to host the events that you want.

Understand that your venue is an unique brand and needs an individual approach to market it. Your venue requires unique branding, message & design throughout all your communications. So what really is your unique selling point?

Could this be your;

• Location
• Style
• Size
• Architecture
• History
• Blank Canvas appeal
• Clients
• Theme
• Food
• Experiential and sensory experience

Events and venue marketing specialist, Darren Scurville reports, “Once distilled and defined as the single-minded proposition, venues can then tailor a targeted, results-driven creative campaign. The key is to know your own strengths within the saturated market and to deliver a differentiated marketing communications package based around this.”

“Of course,  once the message is understood internally, it can then be promoted externally through new or tried and tested channels such as website and email promotion, direct mail, advertising or a combination of all of these. Differentiating your venue brand and setting your values, profile and identity is the key to engage interest from your audience.”

It is true that we cannot all have the same USPs as

• 30 St Mary’s Axe- for its icon appeal
• The Crypt at St Pauls for it’s architecture
• Altitude 360 for the view

But, understanding what you do have to offer and how to turn this offering into a strong brand is vital in these times. Perhaps, more importantly, is whether this brand can be strong enough to be also applied for London 2012 marketing. More on that later.

Does your venue act as your brand? is a post from the Design Inc Blog

1. A logo must be simple.  A simple logo design allows for easy recognition and allows the logo to be versatile & memorable. Good logos feature something unexpected or unique without being overdrawn.

2. A logo must be memorable. Following closely behind the principle of simplicity, is that of memorability. An effective logo design should be memorable and this is achieved by having a simple, yet, appropriate logo.

3. A logo must be timeless.  An effective logo should be timeless – that is, it will stand the test of time. Will the logo still be effective in 10, 20, 50 years?

4. A logo must be versatile.  An effective logo should be able to work across a variety of mediums and applications. For this reason a logo should be designed in vector format, to ensure that it can be scaled to any size. The logo must work in just one colour too.

5. A logo must be appropriate.  How you position the logo should be appropriate for its intended purpose. For example, if you are designing a logo for children’s toys store, it would be appropriate to use a childish font & color scheme. This would not be so appropriate for a law firm.

Of course, some logos are extremely clever in their design and simplicity, incorporating extra elements that backs up the values of that brand.

Check out the following 5 logos to see what I mean.

< Toblerone

Do you see more than the Swiss Alps here in the Toblerone logo? Take another look and see if you can find a bear in the logo design. The story behind this is relatively simple. Toblerone originated in Bern, Switzerland – A city whose name is rumoured to mean, “City of Bears”.

Amazon >

Amazon has gone through many logo changes since opening to the public in 1995. By 1998, the logo included a curved line underneath the company name so it looked like the web address was sitting on top of the world.

Two years later, the company changed logo again and the curved line was changed to an arrow starting from the a and ending at the z, obviously suggesting they offer everything from A to Z. In addition however, the arrow has been deliberately created to form a smiling face. Genius.

< FedEx

And, keeping with the theme of an arrow, how many of you have really noticed the arrow embedded in the heart of the FedEx logo. Take a look between the E and the x to see how this has been designed.The logo has been designed this way so as to use the arrow to help convey speed, direction and reliability.

Sun Microsystems >

Look closely at the designed logo icon, what do you see? Does this say Sun to you? Look again, more closely this time.The logo has been designed using just one simple shape and duplicating this 8 times in different positions. The logo does not say ‘Sun’ at all, but you believe it does, from all 4 directions. Clever.

< Kingfisher

My own favourite is the simple and delicately designed logo of Kingfisher, where the F and I in the centre of the word have been subtly designed and coloured to create the shape of the kingfisher bird. A kingfisher sitting perfectly within the word ‘Kingfisher’. Beautiful, simple, perfect.

Of course there are many other logo designs we could talk about. We would be keen to hear your thoughts on other cleverly-designed logos that you have seen. More information regarding branding services.

What’s in a logo? Check out these 5 cleverly designed logos is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Production is now in full swing at Design Inc with the creation of various marketing materials and exhibition stands for our aviation clients attending this year’s event. EBACE 2010 is shaping up to be biggest for several years, and we’re expecting to be working round the clock up until the first day of the exhibition!

Combining business, manufacturers, corporate aviation and all types of business aviation professional, EBACE is THE meeting place for the European business aviation community. Aircraft avionics companies, and private jet charter brokerages will also be showcasing their products and services.

Each year, the European Business Aviation Association (the top association for business aviation in the EU), team up with the National Business Aviation Association (the main body for the business aviation industry in the US) to host EBACE, and this year will be the 10th exhibition.

View our portfolio of marketing work for the aviation industry.

EBACE 4th-6th May 2010 – Geneva is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Search engines provide the majority of traffic to websites across the internet, regardless of website focus. Therefore, if your site cannot be properly located and indexed by the leading search engines, you are missing out on the best opportunity to drive targeted visitors and potential revenue.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation or SEO, is the process by which web pages are optimised to increase their organic search engine rankings. This is done by assessing what the individual search engines are looking for and providing that. The outcome of an SEO campaign is to create high organic rankings for the keywords/phrases for which the client is an authority. This will ultimately create an increase in targeted traffic.

A good SEO campaign includes the following three aspects;

1. Keyword Analysis
2. Onsite Optimisation
3. Offsite Optimisation

Keyword Analysis is the process by which you analyse and select keywords based on traffic, competition and relevance. If you are not selecting the most effective keywords, the rest of the optimisation process is really a lost cause. The text and theme of the site needs to revolve around these keywords and very much define how the site appears to both users and search engines.

Onsite Optimisation deals with changes made to the site itself. This involves making changes to the text content, architecture of the site, HTML code, and page layout. This is the most commonly understood aspect of SEO, but only accounts for about 40% of a site’s rankings. This is where your keywords are placed throughout the code to show the search engines what your site is about.

Offsite Optimisation deals with changes made outside the scope of the website. This mainly involves increasing the quantity and quality of inbound links to the site. Approximately 60% of Google’s current ranking algorithm is based on inbound linking. Your goal is to maximise the site’s exposure on the web and get as many high quality sites as possible to link back to your site.

What is a good keyword and what is not?

This is the ultimate question we have to ask ourselves when judging keywords. There are many variables you have to take into account when selecting exactly what keywords your site will be optimised for.

Use the following criteria to determine the viability of a keyword:

• the estimated amount of searches for the keyword in a 24 hour period
• the number of sites competing for the keyword
• the quality of the sites competing for the keyword
• the ability of the site to support the keyword
• relevance between keywords
• the target audience of the site

Keep in mind that your number one goal is to accurately depict what the site is about through the keywords (and the eventual text content). If your site is not properly described by the keywords then either the site is targeted wrong or you’ve selected the wrong keywords.

Search engines like sites that are targeted to a specific topic. If a site is spread too thin as far as topic goes, then it will be harder to appear as an authority for any one topic. Search engines do favour large sites, but generally it is better to have a smaller targeted site than a larger broad site that is about many topics.

It is not uncommon to discover site theme issues when doing keyword selection. Often, it leads to a reassessment of the site as a whole (which is a positive thing). In this way, general marketing, user experience, and SEO overlap. If you do not feel your site is targeted towards the correct keywords and themes, it is important that you retarget the site and its content prior to optimisation. You should understand your audience, the purpose of your site and its themes before even starting an SEO initiative.

It is also common for sites to get caught up in industry jargon. You have to look at your keywords as your target audience would. If you’re targeting the general consumer and you use lots of industry jargon, then you cannot expect much of a return on investment.

Another thing to watch out for is overly generic keywords. If you are attempting to optimise your site for keywords that can mean many other things, you are bringing in a whole lot of new competition.

So, we now have a small list of what to avoid:

• * keywords that are not relevant to each other
• * keywords that do not fit the theme of the site
• * industry jargon if it is not applicable to the audience
• * keywords that are too generic/overly competitive

Links

Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a ‘vote’, by page A, for page B.

Link popularity is one of the most important factors search engines use in determining where you will rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for your keywords and phrases, as it helps them to determine how important or popular your site is and what its reputation is. Link building, as part of the offsite optimisation process, is the process of finding related/relevant websites and receiving a link from them to you. Natural linking occurs when a site has good content that others will link to without being asked. But to get these links, people have to know about you. It is a catch 22. Building links has become pretty sophisticated over the past couple of years. Today, you need a mixture of links from various sources including articles, press releases, social media, blogs, directories and others.

HOW TO?… Optimise your website for Search Engines is a post from the Design Inc Blog

You may have heard the term “FSC Accreditation/Certification” used by print companies previously but not fully understood it’s meaning and benefits to the environment, below is some information of the processes involved in trying to be a ‘green’ company.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. The FSC was established in 1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation and is widely regarded as one of the most important initiatives of the last decade to promote responsible forest management worldwide.

FSC Accreditation is a certification system that provides an internationally recognised standard-setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services to companies, organisations, and communities interested in responsible forestry.

The FSC label provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value. See www.fsc.org for more information.

It is the case that recycled papers tend to cost slightly more than papers manufactured from non-sustainable sources, however the more demand that is created for earth-friendly papers and cleaner manufacturing processes, the greater the chance of reduced prices more swiftly. For companies wishing to print their corporate literature and collateral on FSC Accredited paper stocks, not only do the papers come with certification of where they have come from, but the actual wood used can be traced back to guarantee its authenticity (subject to request).

As well as an awareness that papers and boards need to be further sourced from sustainable forestry as an eco-friendly act to the environment, print processes have been given the green treatment too. Good print production houses are more frequently using waterless print production techniques as well as the reduction in usage of solvent based inks in favour of more natural organic-based inks too. Couple this along with non-solvent based varnishes and advancement in biodegradable plastic laminates, we can all help to ‘do our bit’.

Design Inc. is committed to eco-friendly print processes and paper manufacturing methods and we are doing everything we can to reduce our carbon footprint including the use of electronic artwork supply, PDF invoices and estimates and even car pooling when commuting to work and meetings.

Would you like to do a bit more to help the environment? all FSC certified papers need to be quoted specifically on estimates and invoices to guarantee their chain-of-integrity so if this is of special importance to you and your company, don’t forget to mention so when requesting prices.

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

Printing on Recycled Paper – Our Chance to Help Ourselves and the Planet is a post from the Design Inc Blog

For example, if you printed a business card onto a low-gsm paper it will feel flimsy and most probably give a negative view of your company. On the other hand you wouldn’t want to print an A2 poster onto a high-gsm paper stock either. It would certainly feel good quality but it wouldn’t be practical, the posters heavy weight would cost more in delivery and there is a greater chance of it falling down as well as being more bulky for transportation purposes.

Therefore there are general guidelines when printing these types of standard items, of course these are not set in stone and the application of paper weight to each item needs to be considered for every print project. Below are some standard print items and the gms weights used:

Corporate 24 page brochure – anything between 170gsm – 300gsm, an important point to remember is that the more pages printed onto a heavy stock increases the chances of the pages springing open and the brochure not laying flat.

Oversized A4 company literature folder – between 350gsm – 400gsm, folders are used to contain many different items whether datasheets, product sheets, note pads, invoices or proposals and as such need to be strong and study. A lightweight paper stock would simply fall apart under the stress.

Business cards – either 350gsm – 400gsm, business cards are generally your first introduction to a potential client and need to express your company and values suitably. To a customer, a flimsy lightweight business card, might be a reflection of your company and quality of your product or service.

A4 datasheet/insert sheet – between 170gsm – 250gsm, a datasheet promotes your company/products and can be presented within folders, presentation wallets or literature dispensers (possibly at an exhibition) and is generally of a medium-weight feel.

This is especially important when choosing specialist paper stocks. Due to the way papers are manufactured, the fibres in some paper stocks are not as compacted as they are in others, even though their sheet-weight may be the same, some papers will appear to be thicker than others. Whatever the printed item and whatever its purpose is, each project needs to be considered carefully and the correct paper stock decided upon. Paper samples are always available and if necessary mock-ups can also be supplied to get a real feel for the finished item.

What paper weight gsm should you use to print on? is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Seb Coe

With 850 days to go til the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, many companies have planned their marketing and advertising strategies.

The closer we get to the event, we will inevitably see more and more advertising by brands and companies hoping

to associate themselves with such a sensational & prestigious event.

But businesses should bear in mind that a legal minefield awaits the unwary, and it’s crucial to get the publicity just right.

The Olympic organisers and ‘official partners’ have invested heavily to create the event, and the law aims to protect that investment and the value of licensing deals.

Back in April 2006, Seb Coe announced he wanted a “clean advertising environment” following new intellectual property rights of the new London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006.

Any non-official company’s marketing or advertising that refers to the event are very tightly restricted. The 2006 Act even clamps down on ‘ambush marketing’, whereby businesses try to advertise near an Olympics venue to bask in the event’s reflected glory.

In all these locations, businesses will have to avoid infringing something known as ‘Olympic Association Right’ under the Olympic Symbol etc (Protection) Act 1995 as well as the ‘London Olympics Association Right’ (LOar) under the 2006 Act.

Use of words such as ‘Olympic(s)’, ‘Olympian(s)’, and ‘Paralympic(s)’ are restricted. Meanwhile, a person infringes LOar if he uses a “representation” (of any kind) in the course of trade in a manner likely to suggest to the public that there is an association between the London Olympics and his goods or services.

Put simply, it’s unlawful to pass your business off as being ‘associated’ with the Games. Knowing where to draw the line can be tricky.

The 2006 Act gives some guidance, stating that when considering whether a particular advert has breached the rule, a court may “take account of” its use of specified – but otherwise innocuous – words, including ‘London’, ‘Games, ‘twenty twelve’, ‘gold’, and ‘summer’.

Errant advertisers who refuse to accept that parts of the English language may now be off-limits could face a claim for damages, an account of profits, and an injunction. They could also be prosecuted for a criminal offence.

London venue marketing specialist and Design Inc’s newly-appointed Senior Account Manager, Darren Scurville says “The 2012 Games remain a golden opportunity for brands & local businesses. However, Olympic-associated promotions can be a minefield and no company would want to infringe on the intellectual property rights. The key is knowing the safe-zone, or ‘reference without association’. There are many specialist lawyers who can help get your marketing approved. And, if you get it right, you will come out with the business equivalent of a gold medal. Get it wrong, and the disappointment of not being a business medallist could be accompanied by serious – and expensive – litigation.”

Olympic marketing – be careful what you say! is a post from the Design Inc Blog

The first national survey of the UK design industry since 2005, released by the Design Council, shows an industry in growth, increasingly comprising freelances and micro businesses.

The design sector has grown over the last five years despite the recession, according to the figures, with numbers of designers increasing by 29% to 232,000 and combined fee incomes of freelances and design consultancies and budgets of in-house design teams increasing by £3.4bn to £15bn.

The Design Council’s research also shows that the design industry is increasingly fragmenting with more independent freelancers and micro businesses. There are now 65,900 freelances, 39% more than in 2005, with total freelance fee income growing by 22% over the same period. And whilst there are 35% more designers working in design consultancies than in 2005 – bringing the total to 82,500 – the total number of consultancies has declined by 13% to an estimated 10,800. Despite budget cuts, in-house design teams are being retained. Collectively in-house design team budgets are down 34% since 2005, but the number of in-house design teams in the UK has increased by 10% to 6,500 suggesting that employers are holding on to creative employees despite downward pressure on budgets.

The Design Council has organised a national debate with leading industry figures to discuss the important issues which the survey raises around the composition of the industry. The debate will be webcast live from Royal Society of Art in London from 9.30am to 11.00am on Friday 26th March.

Designers who would like to attend the event are asked to register by emailing: info@designcouncil.org.uk.

During the debate designers at the event and watching online will be able to comment, pose questions and vote online on three motions:

1. Recessions are good news in disguise for designers
2. Networks are fine but they won’t keep me in business
3. Tighter finances mean more on the job learning and that’s a good thing

Digital design specialist Simon Waterfall is the compere for the debate and the pairs of speakers debating the motions are celebrated product and furniture designer Tom Dixon and creative industries number cruncher Mandy Merron (speaking on ‘Recessions are good news in disguise for designers’); design business advisor Shan Preddy and retail design specialist Callum Lumsden (speaking on ‘Networks are fine but they won’t keep me in business’); and graphics grandees Mike Dempsey and Brian Webb (speaking on ‘Tighter finances mean more on the job learning and that’s a good thing’)

The survey was conducted by the Design Council in autumn 2009 and is the second comprehensive analysis of the UK design industry. The survey examines design consultancies, in-house design teams and freelances working in communications design, digital and multimedia design, interior and exhibition design, product and industrial design, fashion design and service design. As such it provides a fascinating analysis of how UK design is evolving and a profile of UK design in the 21st century. The results also show:

• The South East region is home to one in six design businesses with London being home to almost one in four (23%)
• Well over half (60%) of design consultancies employ fewer than five people and a further quarter (27%) have less than ten staff. In-house teams tend to be larger than consultancies, with over a third (37%) of them comprising five or more designers.
• Many design businesses are relatively young: at least 29%, in every region or country of the UK having been in business for three years or less.
• 55% of design consultancies have an annual fee income of between £100,000 and £500,000, 58% of freelances have an annual income of less than £50,000
• There is still a lack of diversity in the industry, with the average designer being male, 38 years old and white.
• Most designers are not members of national design bodies. Designers rarely join networks, but are most likely to be members of business organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses (14%) and the British Chamber of Commerce (12%). Beyond this, they are also more likely to have joined a regional design network or forum (9%) than a national design body.

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

Research highlights the need for good designers is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Kiera Knightley before & after image manipulation

It is said that beauty is eye of the beholder. Or perhaps that should be ‘…in the eye of the beholder after a lot of photo manipulation’!

Marketing communication tools such as company brochures, website design, direct mail, advertising campaigns, etc all rely on promoting the right message to the right people at the right time. Use of imagery to project the message & values of a company, service or product is paramount. But who do we turn to if the actual image is flawed in some way?

From the earliest days of expensive scanners and Barco Creator software to the recent explosion of Adobe Photoshop and the digital backed camera, one thing has remained constant and all-important: the creative flair and eye of the digital artist.

Some creative teams in marketing & design agencies employ specialists in image retouching and manipulation. They provide many services, from simple clipping paths that cut around the edges of the product image so they can be pasted onto a new background, through to complex retouching services to enhance the overall image, whether this be a product, person, building or landscape.

Rest assured, the team at Design Inc have extensive experience in digital retouching. Our services are wide-ranging for a whole host of creative image requirements and include:

• Expansion of image
• Image changing (reshape, resize, re-angle, reverse)
• Image editing (creating images that do not actually exist to be photographed)
• Removal of items
• Addition of items & filling in gaps
• Merging
• Street litter removal
• Replacement backgrounds, skies, landscapes
• Image/body reshaping & recontouring
• Recolouring & colour enhancement
• Restoration of damaged areas
• Face improvements (eg blemish & wrinkle removal,teeth whitening, hair adjustment, etc)
• Dust and glare removal
• Shadowing & reflection (addition and removal)

Contact us now for more information.

Changing Faces – image retouching & manipulation is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Team Design - Jon Turner, Darren Scurville, Daniel Gilbert, Frank Norman, Anthony Westoll

Congratulations to engineering specialists and Design Inc client, Verderg Engineering, whose team ‘Verderg Blue’ came home first in the 2010 Oil & Gas Karting Challenge on Monday evening.

The karting challenge is an annual event for all companies who work in and around the oil & gas supply chain. As creative designers to the oil & gas, subsea & engineering industries, Design Inc were also invited to field a team at the 2.5hr endurance event.

Starting from a grid position of 9th, Frank Norman, Design Inc’s Commercial Director made headway in his 30 minute stint. After the half hour was up, Frank and Design Inc were in first place and already a lap ahead of the 2nd placed team.

At the driver change, Frank swapped with Design Inc’s new Senior Account Manager, Darren Scurville. Perhaps it was Darren’s poor choice of shoes or his excuse that he is a specialist in venue marketing (rather than oil & gas marketing) that saw the fortunes of Team Design slip down to 10th place (and 3 laps down on 9th) at the end of the hour.

One and a half hours to go, in 10th position and 3 team members left. The challenge was on.

Next up into the kart was Anthony Westoll, Design Inc’s Operations Manager, who drove sensationally and managed to claw back the 3 laps to put us firmly in 8th place.

Then we unleashed the big guns: Daniel Gilbert, Design Inc MD, complete with his own racing helmet, jumped into the kart and proceeded to get the quickest lap time of the day so far. Dan fought hard to get up back up to 6th place. This meant we had overtaken our ‘friendly rivals’ and another industry client of ours, Guildford-based Derrick Offshore.

With half an hour to go and one driver left, Design Inc Studio Manager Jon Turner, zipped up his overalls, lowered his visor and put his foot down.

With the driver change, we had slipped down to 7th and we were 6 full laps down on the team in first place. Jon drove like a mad man, clawing back laps, getting the fastest lap of the whole tournament and bringing the kart past the chequered flag in third position.

Well done for all involved in the organising of this event. We look forward to working and racing with you next time.

Taking the Chequered Flag at the Oil & Gas Karting Challenge is a post from the Design Inc Blog

International Standard (ISO 216) specifies paper sizes used in most countries in the world today (except for the US and Canada which uses its own sizing standard) and the development of these paper size ratios can be dated back to the Eighteenth Century. Before the adoption of this standard, paper sizes did not fit into any formal system and did not work with metric units and it wasn’t until 1975 when so many countries were using this paper sizing system that the International Standard was formalised.

There are a lot of mathematical fomulas behind the workings of A, B and C paper sizes but the underlying feature is that any successive paper size (eg. A1, A2, A3, A4) measurement is determined by halving the dimensions of the preceding one. For example the most commonly used paper size is A4 (297mm x 210mm) and the next paper size is A5 (210mm x 148.5mm) which is equal to half of the A4 dimensions.

The main uses of A, B and C paper sizes is their application to a particular print project. For example C paper sizes are solely used for the manufacture of envelopes and are sized in a way that would allow an A4 piece of paper to fit nicely into a C4 envelope. B sized papers are larger than A sizes and are generally used for oversized projects such as posters and folders, and allow for multiple page documents to be printed on fewers sheets and more economically.

Commonly printed items such as a postcard (A6), flyer (A5) or newsletter (A4) will be printed at a standard size, it is at the special request of a customer to create something with a bespoke size that would change this. Therefore a request to quote for a postcard would be based on A6 size (148.5mm x 105mm):

• A0 (841mm x 1189mm)
• A1 (594mm x 841mm)
• A2 (420mm x 594mm)
• A3 (297mm x 420mm)
• A4 (210mm x 297mm)
• A5 (148.5 x 210mm)
• A6 (105mm x 148.5mm)
• A7 (74mm x 105mm)
• A8 (52mm x 74mm)
• A9 (37mm x 52mm)
• A10 (26mm x 37mm)

Click on the images below to see paper size dimensions in greater detail.

A1, A2, A3, A4 learn about paper sizes, if you’d like to know more is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Michael Portillo attended the Subsea UK Awards dinner

The UK’s subsea industry Business Awards ceremony were held at the Exhibition Centre in Aberdeen on February 10th.

This prestigious black tie event was packed to capacity this year, attended by over 750 guests from companies throughout the industry supply chain, and entertained from guest speaker, Rt Hon Michael Portillo MP.

Congratulations to Design Inc client, Dominion Gas for winning the main accolade – Subsea Company of the Year Award.

Dominion Gas is an international oilfield services company specialising in the supply of offshore cylinder gases, liquids, chemicals and equipment to the global oilfield industry.

View our work for Dominion Gas and the subsea industry in general.

Dominion Gas dominates is a post from the Design Inc Blog

This issue, as well as a gallery of horribly romantic designs, we are showcasing the launch of the Senate House venue marketing website. This has just gone live. Targeting both the historical academic conference marketplace and a new dynamic events offering: the site takes users on a journey in either direction to a final destination that results in venue bookings.

You too can receive regular Design Inc news updates by signing up on our website.

Happy Valentine’s from the team at Design Incorporated.

Happy Valentine’s with love from Design Inc. is a post from the Design Inc Blog

• A great commercial proposition, what are you selling? Something hard to find elsewhere? Something individually customised, collectors items, something unique or specialist?
• A search policy that enables your customers to find you. What have you got to sell, what does it do for purchasers, on what occasions would they buy it?
• A website design that clearly showcases the products on offer – a striking shop window display, and path to purchase navigation.
• A partnership with a hosting and maintenance provider who will keep your shop open 24/7.
• A secure method of receiving payment from your customers.
• A way of providing peace of mind for customers providing you with their credit and debit card details.
• A returns policy that extends at least beyond a consumer statutory rights.
• A logistics partner who is a safe pair of hands.

Design Inc, definitely not business as usual.

Looking to set up an online retail business? is a post from the Design Inc Blog

A design/marketing project without a good brief is doomed to failure before the project has begun.

Here are some examples of poor briefs we have seen.

1. The Closed Book. Here, the brief is so tight, with no room for manouevre that you wonder why the client has approached a creative agency rather than an artworker, or worse still, done it themselves.
2. The 360. In this scenario, the client doesn’t really know what they want and cannot provide any information beyond the size of the document. You are left with all options open and no tangible route to go down.
3. The Chameleon. This brief changes constantly over hours, days or weeks. This is where the client keeps seeing new ‘inspiration’ in other places and constantly adds these new requests
4. The Collision. Here the client’s brief is full of contradicting info, making it appear as though it is actually a merge between two separate briefs
5. The Dreamer. All creative agencies have seen this one. The expectation here is so high, yet the budget or deadline is so low.

There are loads more examples, and I shall describe them in a future blog, but for now, we continue to support our clients with a set of brief guidelines that will help them help us help them.

These are a few things we would always ask;

• Information about the company, what they do, their product/service/solution
• The market & the competition
• The profile of the ideal recipient/buyer/customer
• What makes them different? MSPs, USPs
• Expectations -what are they really trying to achieve with this project?
• The profile – how would they like others to perceive them?
• The project message/theme
• Are there any corporate guidelines?
• Examples of similar things they like
• Examples of things they have done before
• Budgets & deadline
• Technical Spec

The more information we have, the more likely we are to fulfil the clients’ requirements.

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

Bad Brief – Good Grief! is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Depending on the desired result and project budget, each of the print finishes has it’s own pros and cons and in any print situation the suitability of a laminate or varnish needs to be considered carefully.

Lamination is the process of using an ultra thin plastic film which can be applied to almost any paper or board and is more commonly used in gloss, silk and matt finishes. A lamination will cover the whole side or sides of a document and cannot be used to cover a specific area alone.

Lamination Pros:

- can be used to enhance the appearance of standard paper boards at relatively low cost and is generally cheaper than a spot uv varnish in most cases

- will make a paper more durable and long lasting and can actually offer some water/grease resistance

- eliminates cracking of ink on creases

- no set up costs

Lamination Cons:

- can only be used to cover a whole side of a document

- matt lamination over a dark colour will show scratches and finger prints, more so than gloss

UV (ultra violet) Varnish is a liquid coating used to ‘mask off’ any area of a design and enhance it (ie. varnishing text, logos or images whilst leaving the remainder of the page unaffected). Unlike a lamination, UV varnishes come in an array of finishes and not only include gloss and matt but also glitter and colour-flip versions as well as many others.

UV Varnish Pros:

- can be used to enhance specific areas such as text, logos or images rather than cover a whole page

- additional substances can be added to varnish to increases its versatility such as glitter

- can be used in conjunction with a laminate and printed over the top to create a more creative and diverse result

UV Varnish Cons:

- if printed over a crease in a document it will crack in the same way ink does

- if printed over text or images will be subject to ‘make ready’ die charges which increases its cost

- due to additional set up required uv varnishing is a longer process than lamination

A neutral Varnish (which is invisible to the eye) may also be used to ‘coat’ or ’seal’ the ink and can be applied ‘online’ (the varnish is applied directly to the product on the press after the ink has been printed) or ‘offline’ which means it is applied some time after the print process. This is not the same as a Spot UV Varnish will generally cover the whole of a document to prevent ink offset.

Many factors will determine whether a lamination or varnish is used such as budget, usage, and the creative brief and we at Design Inc. are happy to offer advice and expertise for any requirement you might have.

Print Finishing Methods – Lamination and Spot UV Varnishes is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Most importantly, the regulations surrounding financial exchanges online are constantly changing, and this is of course a big responsibility for any company looking for online sales success.

Since September 2009, every online merchant dealing with credit card details, whether via an integrated payment system or external payment facility, is required to meet certain security standards as set out by the PCI SSC and complete a self-assessment questionnaire, so anyone who hasn’t yet looked into their own requirements could be facing possible fines and/or prosecution.

Internet-based merchants at each PCI Compliance level must undergo a quarterly vulnerability scan performed by an approved scanning vendor. Though some PCI Compliance Level 1 internet-based merchants may be able to perform annual self-assessments (with the permission of their processor and card brand), the vast majority of internet-based merchants will be held to these PCI Compliance expectations.

PCI Compliance Level 1
Merchants process more than six million transactions per year. Level 1 merchants must complete an annual on-site PCI security assessment, performed by a qualified security assessor, or QSA.

PCI Compliance Level 2
Merchants process between one million and six million transactions per year.

PCI Compliance Level 3
Merchants processing between 20,000 and one million transactions per year.

PCI Compliance Level 4
Merchants processing up to one million transactions per year.

These guidelines have been put in place to provide your customers with data security.  If in doubt about your business categorisation it is recommended that a professional assessment body is consulted to assist you further when deciding whether you need to take any further steps.

eCommerce Made Easy is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Many of these additionally have a renewables connection through the development of offshore wind farms and tidal power schemes.
Our subsea design and marketing services is provided to all companies in the subsea industry, and also: compressed gas suppliers, ship brokers, pipeline support, specialist travel agencies and other support service providers.

We are proud to support Subsea UK in the promotion & marketing of their flagship UK subsea conference & exhibition:- Subsea2010.

Design Inc shall be present at this exhibition and others throughout the year and if you are involved in and around this industry, we look forward to meeting with you there.

Subsea2010 is a 2 day conference & exhibition in Aberdeen and runs for two days on February 10-11.

For information on this event and all other industry events throughout the year, click here.

Subsea Design & Marketing Services is a post from the Design Inc Blog

The calendar we had designed and created for global engineering company, NOV ASEP Elmar had been entered into the Pictorial Bespoke Calendar category.

The calendar, entitled A Toy Story was inspired by the toys that their engineers first played with when they were children.

Twelve items of the company’s equipment (ranging from small items to multi-ton trucks) were selected and our team of creative designers set about recreating those items by using the toys.

The equipment was recreated with a number of ‘engineering’ toys including; building bricks, fuzzy felt, balsa wood, needlework, etch-a-sketch, mould maker , lego, meccano, airfix, etc.

The calendar can be viewed here.

We were very pleased to hear that this calendar was indeed shortlisted for this award. There were six entried in this shortlist, these being:

• Cuba – 50 years of Revolution
• JCB 65th Anniversary
• Pirelli Calendar 2010
• The Sun Page 3 Calendar
• Royal Academy of Dance

Regrettably, A Toy Story did not win. The renowned Pirelli Calendar 2010 scooped first price, with JCB 65th Anniversary receiving the silver prize.

All was not lost however, as A Toy Story was specially selected for display & commendation for ‘possessing a strong creative flair’.

If you are considering a forthcoming creative/marketing project, you may be interested in receiving Design Inc’s  Information Pack.

National Calendar Design Awards is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Logo Designs are all around us

Now there’s a new board game to show just how knowledgeable we all are about the brands and logo designs around us.

The Logo Board Game by Drumond Park is the enthralling family game of brands and logos we all know and love… or at least think we do!

The aim of this game is to answer questions based on pictures or our general knowledge of many well know brands. We tried it and we loved it.

Here are a few sample questions. How many can you get right? email your answers to jon@designinc.co.uk     The first email we receive with all correct answers wins a copy of the game.

1. Which of the following chocolate bars does not contain peanuts: Snickers, Lion or Picnic?
2. Which classic brand of British sportscar is also an ex rugby player who also appear on Strictly Come Dancing?
3. Which sportswear brand is also a big cat?
4. Which brand of mobile phone is named after a city in Finland?
5. Which boys name when added to Aston and Remy, forms two fine brands?
6. What does TSB stand for, which merged with Lloyds Bank in 1995?
7. Which coffee company has a twin-tailed siren as its logo?
8. Which brand of battery has the copper-coloured end?

The game is for 2-6 players and for the ages 12 and over. It is available to buy from all good retailers.

The Logo Design Board Game. is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Jenny Saville’s original painting for the cover of Manic Street Preachers’ Journal for Plague Lovers took second place in the competition, while Martin Ander’s design for Fever Ray’s eponymous album was named the year’s third best cover. A total of 50 awards were made, with an appearance by Damien Hirst – for The Hours album See The Light – at number 20.
Andrew Heeps, director of vinyl framing company Art Vinyl, says album cover design is enjoying a revival, driven by last year’s vinyl sales rise of 30 per cent.

‘With CD sales losing their importance, the canvas that a vinyl record sleeve provides is really adding value for the owner, as they are also purchasing a piece of collectable art. Also, both the majors and indie labels are investing money in really stand-out sleeve art,’ says Heeps.

He picks out the Florence and the Machine album cover, which was placed 17th in the list, as being particularly labour-intensive. It involved a team of at least four, including art director Tabitha Denholm, layout designer Hugh Frost, photographer Tom Beard and illustrator Orlando Weeks

The 50 winning designs will be on display at The Art Vinyl Gallery at Selfridges in London, the Snap Galleries in Birmingham and the Georges House Gallery in Folkestone.

Muse album picks up sleeve cover design award is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Well, we have to say that Design Inc has had a memorable ten years. Ten years ago, the company comprised of:

• one member of staff
• five small clients
• a cheap computer
• a fax machine
• a pantone book
• a strong self-belief

Today, the self-belief is still very much present but the company is so different with a number of design awards in our trophy cabinet, some very talented designers, marketers & programmers, a digital design studio, a web division, many fantastic clients and a clear idea of the direction in which we are heading for the next ten years.

Inevitably, things will continue to change within our industry during the next decade;

New communication tools will come, some will go (our fax machine has not delivered a message in the last 4 years!). We expect to see websites become easier for the individual to build themselves, but new search engines will make SEO techniques invaluable.

Online printing tools like blurb, and digital print machines will sadly reduce the number of traditional litho printers.

Advertising media will continue to diversify as more and more programmes & films are watched over the internet and mobile phones.

Design Inc are ready for all these changes and more. Of course, we don’t know all the changes that will happen in the next ten years, but we relish the opportunity to embrace them, whatever they may be.

So, as we say goodbye to the noughties and slip quietly into 2010, perhaps we should spend the next few moments reminiscing about the past ten years. This is what we have all been talking about during those years:

Afghanistan, Al Quaeda, Basra, Beyonce, Big Brother, Blogging, BNP, bonuses, Broadband, carbon-offsetting, Da Vinci, dead soldiers, Digital, Dubai, Dubya, Ebay, Eminem, Enron, Euro, expenses, Facebook, global warming, Hadron Collider, Hannah Montana, Harry Potter, High Definition, High School Musical, Hurricane Katrina, ice caps, iPhone, iPod, Iraq, Jacko, Leona, Lewis, Lord of the Rings, Maddy McCann, Mars Exploration, megapixels, New Orleans, 9/11, Obama, reality tv, Recession, renewable energy, oligarches, open source, Rooney, scandals, smoking ban, space tourism, Take That, Terrorism, Tiger Woods, tsunami, Twitter, World of Warcraft, World Trade Centre, YouTube

If you think I have left anything out (and I am sure I have), please add yours into the comments area below.

2000-2009 A Design Odyssey is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Each quarter we will bring you news of our proudest moments, they may be strategic, creative or technological as well as updates on what is going down at the office. This issue, as well as a gallery of glorious festive designs, we are introducing our Incorporating process, how we approach all projects, combining our 3 core skills and targeting the brief. While we are talking about briefs, a big thank you for all the briefs from clients old and new this year and we look forward to moving into the new decade together in January!

You too can receive regular Design Inc news updates by signing up on our website.

Happy Christmas from the team at Design Incorporated.

Season’s greetings from the Design Inc. is a post from the Design Inc Blog

The London Olympics and Paralympics are an outstanding opportunity for UK based entrepreneurs to outperform their own personal best and go for their own business ‘gold’.

And Design Inc are playing our part too. We have helped a number of our customers pitch for and win government and public sector contracts through the creation of impressive bid proposals and associated promotional literature. Other companies are already working with us in the planning of new company initiatives & product launches.

Creating compelling tender documents and product launch material has always been one of Design Inc’s main strengths. So if your company is planning to launch a product or service let the creative team at Design Inc help you make it an outstanding success.

• Proposals, branded tender documents, prospectuses & business plans
• Product and service launches – Marketing guidance, PR, photoshoots & advertising
• Product illustration, visualisation & packaging
• Advertising campaigns
• Signage & Poster Design and Print
• Tender stationery (business cards & digital brochures)
• Promotional Brochures, Flyers & Leaflets
• Commercial and eCommerce Website launch & e-marketing campaigns
• Even smaller details such as ceremonial scissors

Team GB athletes are already in training & planning for their future. Shouldn’t you be too?

Olympic Marketing – carrying a torch for the UK Ltd is a post from the Design Inc Blog

Flexible, fast access, low value short term loans are quickly becoming a popular form of lending in this country and are currently one of the most common form of short term loans in America. Since August 2007 and June 2008, the number of these loans grew by 130%.

Design Inc. Managing Director Daniel Gilbert said “Winning this contract will give us a great opportunity to showcase our expertise in marketing for the financial sector through an effective digital and search marketing as well as associated advertising campaigns”.

“It will be our mission over the coming months to raise our American client’s profile and corporate image, raise awareness of it’s products here in the UK. Our regional marketing expertise will prove very valuable indeed.”

“Based on our preliminary consumer research, we think the timing is perfect for a UK brand re-launch. We have identified many target market opportunities, and also have good expectations of a high ranking within Google and other search engines.” The campaign will be supported by trade PR and targeted IFA comms.

Money Makes the World go Round is a post from the Design Inc Blog

It’s probably the ambition of every company to have dynamic movement on their website. Whilst a static picture does paint a thousand words – vastly more users can be entertained by moving images and will sit through an informative presentation rather than reading paragraphs of text to get the same message.

A live company introduction on your home page, an interview with a key team member, or viral video will all add to the ‘depth’ of your service and product message.

Movement or animation doesn’t have to have prohibitive associated costs. If a conceptually strong message is developed – then the related animation, flash and production fees can be quite low.

An actual video presentation involving scripting, actors, filming, and editing is of course a higher cost, but used in the right way and place, the returns can be higher. Video created for your website can easily be used virally and linked to YouTube and other social media networks, for further promotional, accessibility and search engine optimisation benefits.

The technology is there to be used, so what are you waiting for?

Please view one of our video presentation examples.

Lights, camera, reaction! is a post from the Design Inc Blog