Google is in the process of sending out mass notifications via email and Webmaster Tools warning of usability errors for websites that are not mobile friendly, and these errors will cause issues for website that wish to rank well for smartphone users.

Google’s message

The notification message with the subject “Fix mobile usability issues found on …” explains that these sites have critical mobile usability errors and that they will be “displayed and ranked appropriately for smartphone users.”

This comes at a time when a new mobile ranking algorithm is about to launch at Google and is part of a wider programme of improving the quality of its search results, with the search engine giant first announcing plans to address non-mobile friendly websites back in June 2013.

What this means

The message can be interpreted as a hint to forthcoming changes in the way Google presents mobile search results. This may mean sites that receive this message will have visibly reduced or, in the worst case scenario, lose visibility altogether, unless action has been taken to fix the issues.

Action to take

1) Determine the impact

Take note of how many pages Google is assessing and how many have been identified as having mobile usability errors. Look at what percentage of the website is likely to be impacted by the search algorithm update.

2) Assess the commercial risk

Assess how much traffic could be lost if the worst comes to the worst and all organic mobile traffic to these pages is lost overnight. What percentage of your business will be lost if this happens? The figures produced from this piece of work should be all you need to convince others that immediate change is necessary.

3) Determine your plan of action

Once you have the figures and the case for remedy, see if you can get this issue ahead of all other development priorities. It is challenging enough if you have only got a few pages to optimise; if your entire site is poorly optimised for mobile users, then the task will be much greater. Time is not on your side and plans must be quickly put into motion to ensure the site is fully mobile-optimised as quickly as possible.

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Walter Potter was a self-taught taxidermist noted for his anthropomorphic dioramas that became icons of Victorian whimsy. For almost 150 years the stuffed animals were displayed at Potter’s Sussex museum where various creatures were posed in a variety of human situations, including a kitten’s wedding and a primary school class of 50 baby rabbits.

Sadly, enthusiasm for such entertainment waned in the twentieth century leading the museum to close in the 1970s and his collection was finally dispersed in 2003. However, the collection has recently been preserved and celebrated with new photographs of Potter’s most popular works in a book by historian of taxidermy Dr Pat Morris and curator Joanna Ebenstein in Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy.

The post Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.

Wemoto (World’s End Motorcycles) hold the UK’s largest range of motorcycle spare parts with over 1 million pattern parts listed for all makes and models of bike from 1970 to the present day.

The company is evolving their approach to ecommerce, with a need to stay current and competitive, by finding new ways to deliver their services easily and efficiently with the end user in mind.

Wemoto approached us to help them rethink their site with immediate work on the information architecture for a new version of the online store and improve the overall user journey.

We began the process with a design workshop to understand the client’s business, from ordering fulfilment to warehouse processes, and the goals Wemoto wanted to achieve. We identified problem areas of the existing website and provided solutions to help improve its efficiency of the website. A series of sketches and wireframes have been produced which set out sensible clear thinking solutions for the site that will form the basis of the end product.

The all-new website is due to launch later this year — watch this space!

The post New ecommerce website for Wemoto first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.

We built a reputation for high quality and reliability with the Subcircle Creative brand, but it wasn’t something we valued as much as we should have. Clearly, we had moved on from the company we’d set up all those years ago in the spare bedroom and it was time to redefine ourselves, and position the brand where we needed it to be in the industry. We needed a brand that was bold and brave.

What’s in a name?

Our brand is about who we are and what we believe. We need our brand to clearly communicate our values and tell our story effectively, in one clear voice. We knew however that this was going to be no mean feat.

We started initially with a workshops lead by business development consultant, Paul Hopwood, who helped us focus on our primary objectives and identify a sustainable advantage over our competitors. We spent a great deal of time defining our values and how we wanted to be perceived by those who we work with. Once we had it all down on paper we could then put together a plan around our core values : Integrity, Ingenuity and Reliability. These three words are who we are and would need to come through loud and clear in everything we do.

The choice of name can make or break a business. The name needed to be memorable, and it needed reflect our personality and values. We knew we had to be brave with our choice so deciding on the right name was an incredibly important at an early stage as this would serve as a benchmark for every creative decision we made. After much consideration, we finally decided on StudioGallant. Perfect!

A new identity for Studio Gallant (Part 2): The Process

The post A new identity for Studio Gallant (Part 1): What’s in a name? first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.

Over the past few months we’ve made some big decisions about the identity and direction of our company. Our business has grown slowly but steadily since our humble beginnings in 2004, where we started out in the spare bedroom, before quickly renting desk space, then progressing on to our new home. Throughout that growth, while so much about what we do has changed and improved, we’ve held on to the same identity that we made in the very beginning, and while it served its purpose, it no longer represented the calibre of our work or the clients we do it for.

What’s in a name?

We built a reputation for high quality and reliability with the Subcircle Creative brand, but it wasn’t something we valued as much as we should have. Clearly, we had moved on from the company we’d set up all those years ago in the spare bedroom and it was time to redefine ourselves, and position the brand where we needed it to be in the industry. We needed a brand that was bold and brave.

The choice of name can make or break a business. The name needed to be memorable, and it needed reflect our personality and values. We knew we had to be brave with our choice so deciding on the right name was an incredibly important at an early stage as this would serve as a benchmark for every creative decision we made. After much consideration, we finally decided on StudioGallant. Perfect!

The Process

Our brand is about who we are and what we believe. We need our brand to clearly communicate our values and tell our story effectively, in one clear voice. We knew however that this was going to be no mean feat.

We started initially with a workshops lead by business development consultant, Paul Hopwood, who helped us focus on our primary objectives and identify a sustainable advantage over our competitors. We spent a great deal of time defining our values and how we wanted to be perceived by those who we work with. Once we had it all down on paper we could then put together a plan around our core values : Integrity, Ingenuity and Reliability. These three words would support the development and creation of the name, visual identity and communications, and would need to come through loud and clear in everything we do.

Research and Inspiration

The meaning of our chosen name and its synonyms conjure images of Victorian England, a particularly important period in history for the decorative arts and design revolution. Research and development led us to discover beautifully illustrated antique children’s story books, titles such as Reineke Fuchs, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (published in 1867). The combination of storytelling and the values of the victorian design was a perfect fit for our visual message.

Developing the symbol

Aware of a need for a bold, recognisable symbol, it was agreed that this plucky and smartly adorned cat with appealing floral embellishments would make an ideal logo mark.

By taking a modern approach to the visual language and typographic applications of the Victorian era, our identity reflects an important place in history and our place within the industry today.

The Outcome

The rebrand was a long and drawn-out process and was one of the biggest projects we have ever undertaken.

From a business development point of view the rebranding process has been of great value. This really helped us understand what our brand means to us and to our customers. It has helped us identify the kind of clients we want to work with and has given us a sense of purpose. It’s not just a logo anymore. We have a brand to feel immensely proud of and one to shout about which is helping us win new clients that are integral to our growth plan.

The process has been a great educational exercise in experiencing the emotional side of the branding process from a client perspective. For any rebrand it’s going to be about the long term value versus the short term pain. I’m glad that the process is now over and in November I officially launched the Studio Gallant website, feeling confident that the branding would carry through my vision. The end of the rebrand marks the start of exciting times, and as for the vision for the company, driven by integrity, ingenuity and reliability, We’re only just getting started.

The post A brand new identity for Studio Gallant first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.

It’s been an exciting start to 2014 for Studio Gallant, with the new office providing space for a growing team and space to think, meet, sit and relax. Since starting our company back in 2004, we have gone from strength to strength, and as the company grew so did our need for a larger and more functional studio environment. As much as we have thoroughly enjoyed the past 5 years based out of Lighthouse in the trendy North Laine in Brighton, it was time to explore new opportunities in an amazing new space — which also happens to be located right by the beach!

This seemingly unassuming building was best known as the Brighton Media Centre and was home to a several digital businesses until it closed in May 2009. The building soon fell into disrepair and remained unused until, in early 2013, fellow user experience agency Clearleft closed a deal to buy and redevelop the building to meet the needs of the modern socially conscious agency.

Clearleft invited us to continue the story with them and it was quickly decided that sharing this beautiful space on the seafront with one of the UK’s top user experience agencies would be far too good an opportunity to miss.

Update: The building has (almost) been completely redeveloped and now features a large auditorium, rooftop garden, our own bar, and an entire floor dedicated to social and community activities.

The post A new home for Studio Gallant first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.

Once, long ago, a fox and a cat were in a field, comparing tactics for escaping their enemies. The fox was boasting of its clever devices for escaping its enemies.

“I’ve got a whole bag of tricks, which contains a hundred ways to escape my enemies” he said.

The cat thought on this for a moment and replied: “I have only one, but it works for me.”

“What kind of a trick is it?” asked the fox.

“When the dogs are chasing me, I can jump into a tree and save myself.” replied the cat.

Just at that moment, the cry of a pack of hounds rang out, and the cat immediately ran up the tree they were standing next to.

“Here’s my plan,” said the cat. “What’s in your bag of tricks?”

The fox was stumped: he had too many options, and while he was mulling them over, the hounds closed in on him, giving the huntsmen the chance to capture and kill him.

The cat, who saw the whole incident from the trees wisely said: “Better one safe way than a hundred on which you cannot reckon.”

From Children’s and Household Tales — Grimms’ Fairy Tales,
7th ed. (Berlin, 1857), no. 75.

The post The Fox and the Cat first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.

A HARE one day ridiculed the short feet and slow pace of the Tortoise, who replied, laughing: “Though you be swift as the wind, I will beat you in a race.” The Hare, believing her assertion to be simply impossible, assented to the proposal; and they agreed that the Fox should choose the course and fix the goal. On the day appointed for the race the two started together. The Tortoise never for a moment stopped, but went on with a slow but steady pace straight to the end of the course. The Hare, lying down by the wayside, fell fast asleep. At last waking up, and moving as fast as he could, he saw the Tortoise had reached the goal, and was comfortably dozing after her fatigue.

The Moral:
Slow and steady wins the race

From The Fables of Jean de La Fontaine – Aesops Fables,
Published between 1668 and 1694

Image adapted from Francis Barlow’s 1687 edition of Aesop’s Fables

The post The Hare and the Tortoise first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.

“Look” he said. “What have you to compare with this? I am dressed in all the glory of the rainbow, while your feathers are gray as dust!”

The Crane spread his broad wings and flew up toward the sun.

“True,” replied the Crane; “but it is not only fine feathers that make fine birds.”

The Moral:
The useful is of much more importance and value, than the ornamental.

From The Fables of Jean de La Fontaine – Aesops Fables,
Published between 1668 and 1694

Image adapted from Francis Barlow’s 1687 edition of Aesop’s Fables

The post The Peacock and the Crane first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.

Our first instinct is to cut costs to the bare minimum in a bid to weather the credit crunch, but is this the right approach? While avoiding unnecessary costs and finding smarter ways of working are vital, cutting back on your marketing budget is not one area where you should reduce spending.

Increasing Marketing Improves Your Chances of Surviving Recession

Research shows that companies that maintain or increase their marketing budget during a recession are more likely to survive their competition and gain a larger market share.

Any economic contraction can be a good opportunity – providing you have a good website, professional advice and clear marketing strategies. A cleverly-targeted marketing campaign can be a very effective and powerful sales driver.

Also, advertising will become cheaper as demand drops off, meaning you can get more for your money.

Free Marketing Opportunities

There are several ways that you can market your company for free. Using blogging and micro-blogging sites such as Twitter, Plurk and Identi.ca you can keep up to date with existing customers and reach new audiences. All of which will bring more traffic to your website and increase awareness of your company.

Signing up to and using social networking tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and FriendFeed can also have the same effect.

Every piece of correspondence you send to clients or prospects can also carry a message to help promote your company. Email footers are a great place to carry messages about your products or services, special offers or links to interesting things on your website.

Not the End of the World

It’s worth remembering that a recession is a period of negative growth – a difficult period to do business in – but it does not mean that life stops. People continue to work, play and shop. The world continues to turn and businesses can either adapt to the new economic climate or gradually burn out.

Article By Kate Watson

The post Credit Crunch? – Seeking Success in the Recession first appeared on Studio Gallant: Marketing Design Studio, Brighton UK.