graphic design Archives | &Something Studio

June 20, 2023 — No Comments

Branding for startups – where to begin

Often an afterthought for new business startups, branding is an essential element that sometimes seems overly complicated – and expensive to implement. But it doesn't have to be that way, and having some idea of branding can help you establish an identity and make all of your marketing so much easier.

Before we go into what branding is, it's important to consider the reasons why and dispel a few misconceptions around the discomfort you might feel in how much you can feasibly do yourself and when it's necessary to employ a graphic designer.

A little bit of research is always useful in planning your branding. Sure, you can use apps such as Canva to create a simple logo in the beginning, and many startups do. Depending on your business type, having a simple logo design and a portfolio website is enough to get you started. There are ways you can 'DIY' these things if your budget is tight. But bear in mind that there will come a time later on when you outgrow these, and then it would be beneficial to seek the help of a designer who can help you to pull all of the elements together in a neat package so that it all looks sleek and professional.

But let's start at the beginning. What is branding, and how does it work?

What it is, and why it's important for startups?

Branding, in a nutshell, is your business identity. It gives people a flavour of your business type, who you're most likely to appeal to, and your core values. Take advice, for example, don't demand a blue logo because blue is your favourite colour. Your brand, done well, allows you to stand out and be seen amongst other similar businesses.

These things are important in marketing yourself because they give you a unique personality that people will learn to recognise and seek out. Good branding also goes a long way in making you look much more professional and convincing people to trust you.

Is a logo the same as branding?

On its own, a logo is simply a badge that identifies your business. It is just a small piece of the puzzle but a necessary one, and often it's the first element of branding that's done.

While the logo is important, branding involves everything else – the colours, language, environment and tone of voice. All these elements come together to make the brand recognisable, whether people see you on social media, landing on your website, purchasing products or walking past your shopfront.

Any website you wish to visit will have its unique branding. Usually, you'll find the logo, but then if you look deeper, you'll see that there will be specific colours, font types, and image styles that become familiar throughout – and those things will translate onto every element of their marketing. In the same way, your branding should convey your own business style. That might be inspired by your logo, or the logo you come up with might be inspired by something else important within your business ethics and style.

How do I find my brand identity?

I find it useful to first define who your customer will be because you'll want your branding to appeal to the right audience. A brand that did this exceptionally well was one that I worked with, GlouGlou, where they knew their target audience very well and tailored their whole aesthetics, from the furnishings to their online presence, to suit. They could have easily become generic by trying to please everybody, but they clearly understood who they wanted to appeal to.

The 'who' is always a perfect place to start. If you're marketing to a young, vibrant audience, you don't want to use old-fashioned styles and a dry tone of voice. You want to be seen as youthful and use styles and language that appeal to that audience. The key is not to try and please everybody but to get clear on the type of person you'll target and learn to do it well.

From there, think about the core values of your brand. If you have a brand that focuses on environmental ethics, you might choose 'green' branding styles – not just in the colours you use but also in the imagery and language. Perhaps you want to push a more masculine, industrious type of image. The strong dark, metallic styles might suit – you get the idea!

Your brand identity will be largely influenced by your product, the people you're selling to, and the core beliefs and values you want to convey. Those things together will give you a unique style across your branding that will be recognisable and appeal to your audience.

The cost of branding – or not!

How far you invest in your branding depends on the type of business and its location. For example, a high-street shop or café would need to 'look the part' to the passer-by, using branding for the shop face, signage, interior décor etc. But for a service-based business, perhaps you only have an online presence, in which case your efforts will first go into your website and logo.

In both cases, having input from a designer can be worth its weight in gold – having someone to help create the right logo to go on to your website is well worth the investment and doesn't cost a fortune. Of course, a website is a necessity these days, but you don't need to over-complicate it.

To wrap this up, my advice to startups thinking about how to begin with branding is to do some research first. It's always best to get your style right from the outset, as it can be difficult to put these things right later on and can damage your reputation. And if you need help figuring out where to start, get advice. Even if you have a small budget, it's better to invest it in getting a professional to get the essentials looked at – and my studio is always on hand to give advice if you need it.

If you're considering your branding, or re-branding, call us. We are happy to help with all aspects of your branding, from websites to logos and everything in between.

Published by admin in Branding

Tags: Business Launch, graphic design, Startups

May 15, 2023 — No Comments

Adapt and Change

How did the internet change graphic design?

The internet has made a massive difference in the graphic design industry. The marketing landscape has changed a lot, leading to a change in consumer behaviour. And all of this has meant that designers have had to adapt and change to not only keep up with trends but to take into account advancing technology and things like social media.

Looking back at the early to mid-eighties, online communities and digital marketing were unheard of. We were still living in a world where print advertising was king, and consumers relied on newspapers and magazines to learn about products and services.

Even into the nineties and the early noughties, graphic designers were still developing the majority of their skills in print media, such as brochures, flyers, posters, and traditional advertising – though we were starting to see an obvious shift with businesses starting to pick up on banner ads as the internet as a whole began to be more accessible and widely used. And that is where the biggest changes started to happen.

The print advertising age

In the old days, we used to get things printed to send out in the post or design a brochure or ad, aiming to make a better impression than other designers doing the same for their clients. Businesses would then follow up, usually by telephone, to build a rapport and sell something. It was methodical, extremely well-targeted, and awfully slow and expensive.

Back then, a lot of people were used to having a daily paper through their door, as well as print magazine subscriptions, many of which came with little flyers tucked into the covers selling all sorts of goodies. You still see them sometimes, but nowadays, most people, particularly the younger generations, have forgone print media and get their information mainly on the web.

There is, however, an interesting overlap…

The new print age (yes, there is one!)

People nowadays are so much savvier when it comes to how they buy. We no longer trust traditional advertising – most people would rather not be sold to in that sense. With all of the information available online, it’s a lot easier to research products and services, and most of us will do at least some research online before we decide on our purchases.

That shows in modern print design. If you see flyers, brochures and advertisements that are produced these days, in most cases, they’re not trying to sell you something. Instead, they will direct you to some online source to research or learn more about the company or the product. It’s less about selling and more about sharing information.

The world now, like it or not, is online. So businesses invest a lot of time and money in getting their print material to guide people to their websites and online spaces – where they can build relationships and communities that will eventually buy from them. Online is where sales happen – not so much advertising in print.

Modern graphic design

Businesses need a strong online presence to succeed, with websites being the most essential tool for building sales. Social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram are vital for growing audiences and guiding people to those websites.

From a graphic design point of view, not only have the tools we use advanced massively, but many graphic designers now have chosen to focus more on on-screen design, like websites and online/social ads. Many graphic designers now sell themselves as ‘web designers’ and specialise only in that area.

It’s no longer about designing to sell. Nowadays, it’s all digital – website design, social media posts etc. And the main focus is now much more statistics. We measure the success of a design by how many likes it has, how many people have viewed it, and how many times it’s been shared.

We no longer have tangible items to admire; instead, we focus on creating images that will achieve a clicked button as a way of admiration.

That’s where our efforts must be. Our designs must be able to ‘stop the scroll’ and encourage people to follow the path from a graphic to a website to a sales cart. And that’s a whole different skill.

Has the internet killed print design?

I don’t believe that’s the case at all. The internet has changed print design, but print is still a big part of most businesses' marketing strategy – it’s just that it’s moved away from the ‘Sell! Sell! Sell!’, and instead needs to nurture and guide the audience to build relationships online through social media graphics and quality web design.

Although many designers now put much of their effort into digital design, I think those who can adapt to both print and digital are perhaps well-placed to future-proof the industry. Businesses will always require a mixture of both, so if we can offer that, we can be that ‘go-to’ for many different types of business.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you design predominantly for digital? I’d love to hear your views.

Published by admin in Digital, Other things, Print

Tags: graphic design, Print

February 17, 2023 — No Comments

How important is graphic design in marketing?

Our online and offline world is saturated with images, graphics, photographs, animation, and video. We see evidence of the effectiveness of good graphic design all around us – yet it’s something many take for granted. It’s something that the average person barely even notices – yet it’s a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to brand recognition and marketing.

If you think about it, nearly every aspect of our lives is influenced by graphic design. We make decisions on what we eat, the car we drive, and the magazines we read purely by a brand’s logo and imagery. I have friends who refuse to eat baked beans if the Heinz logo isn’t on the tin!

Yet for businesses, particularly small businesses, brand design is often an afterthought. It’s just not something they’re willing to invest in. I believe that’s at their peril – if you can get your graphic design right and make your branding work well, then every piece of marketing you produce becomes instantly recognisable, and that is where the real magic happens.

What is graphic design?

In simple terms, graphic design is using visual tools to communicate. Subconsciously we are wired to seek out colour, shape and image before we even think about speech or written words. It’s important to remember that no matter what kind of marketing material you’re working with, the very first thing that people will notice is the graphic imagery, not the text – and that’s what’s going to make people stop and look.

Graphic design is vital in grabbing people’s attention – you’ve just got to know how to get it right.

Graphic design does boost business.

If graphic design communicates a message, then using it as a branding tool builds trust in your audience.

In the instance of online content, for example, providing you’re sending out plenty of quality content across mediums like social media, email lists etc., when people are constantly bombarded with stuff, making yours of great quality AND instantly recognisable is key to your success.

When people see your imagery consistently, they get to know you, they start to like you and seek you out – and then guess who they’re going to look for when they’re ready to buy what you have? Clue: it won’t be the person who produces boring content accompanied by generic, inconsistent Canva-style graphics.

Graphic design kills the competition.

Nowadays, everyone is a graphic designer thanks to tools like Canva, and everyone’s a photographer thanks to the phones in their pockets. It’s so easy for people to take a photo or grab an image online to use in their branding and marketing – but actually, very few people put thought into what they’re doing.

Good, professional graphic design is much more than that. As designers, we have vast knowledge about things like colour theory, composition, and even font design. The average person isn’t going to know how graphics will work, on a psychological level, to get their message across and persuade people to look at their products/website/brand.

And that’s exactly why most brands you see on social media are so easy to ignore. They don’t stand out – and they don’t know how to. Their graphics are all over the place, and every single one is different from the last – there’s nothing coherent about the branding they’re using if they’re using it at all.

In truth, graphic design isn’t a cost to your business – it’s an investment. I can’t stress enough how imperative it is to get it right.

Where to begin

If you’ve invested in your website, chances are you’ve already got the beginnings of a brand story. Perhaps you’ve already sorted a logo and have some kind of colour- and font theme. This will give you a strong marketing backbone, and it’s where you look for the tone and voice of the rest of your marketing.

If you haven’t got any of that yet, & something can help. Contact us for advice on creating your branding identity, and we can work with you to bring your vision to fruition.

Published by admin in Branding

Tags: graphic design

January 10, 2023 — No Comments

Using goal-setting to get the right work

I don’t want to sound like a cliché here, but as we start a new year, it’s hard not to think about goal-setting. Of course, it’s important to set and review our business goals at various points in the year, but it feels kind of fitting to align new goals with the start of a new year, doesn’t it? So, cliché or not, I’d like to put some thoughts on paper about how I’m setting new goals to focus my marketing efforts as a graphic designer. Sharing some ideas on how and why I think it’s important to set goals so we can get more of the work we really want to do and less of the work we don’t necessarily enjoy.

I’m sure you can relate to this, particularly if you’ve been in graphic design for as many years as I have – feeling like you’re at a crossroads. A point where you’ve spent so many years taking any viable project that comes your way and being convinced that you have to do that because you need it to build a well-rounded portfolio and get enough money rolling in.

Is that the point of this gig, though? I know from my experience I had something else in mind. I want to win projects that excite me. Yet it never quite ends up that way. I’ve been here long enough to know which projects I’ve done that have really got under my skin. I can so easily tell you about the designs that have been so perfect that I’ve enjoyed doing above all others. So why am I not chasing more of those perfect projects? And why aren’t you?

Why bother with goals?

I know – creativity is mainly about spontaneity and creative inspiration. It seems to go against what we do to; make plans and goals. And yes, in the creative sense, it does, but I’m talking about setting future goals to get the work that allows us to tap into our natural creativity.

We’ve all had those jobs, haven’t we? The ones where it feels as though we’re wading through treacle. The inspiration is hard to cling to because we’re, in all honesty, not that passionate about it. And that’s not what we signed up for, right?

By setting goals, we can pinpoint those ideal jobs and find ways to seek them out.

Steps to finding the right projects

The first goal to consider is the type of projects we want to work on. I think the simplest way to do that is to look back at your current portfolio and reflect on what’s in there. Which projects stand out? What was it about those projects that made them enjoyable? Was it the style? The client? The niche industry?

This will give you clues about who you want to target to get more of those jobs.

Secondly, go back and find out where those clients came from. Did they find you through your website or social media? Did you contact them? See if there are any patterns to where those people came from.
Now you’ll have an idea of the kinds of projects you’d like to do more of and the type of clients you’re most happy working with.
Now, you’ll want to think about exactly where you need to focus, given the information you gathered in points 1 and 2. If most of those ‘perfect’ clients seemed to come from LinkedIn, double your efforts there. If they seem to trickle through from your email newsletters, then that’s where you need to put most of your energy. On the other side, if you’ve been doing loads of work on one of those or on something else with no return – stop doing it!

Relationship building

One of the things I’ve become aware of is that I need to focus on looking for people rather than projects. Because although I have a good idea of the types of projects I want, I know from past experience that it’s most often a particular type of client that makes my work most interesting.

Although I do a fair bit of cold marketing, I often get good results from online sources, such as my website, blog, social media, and LinkedIn. From my perspective, putting more effort into those going forward makes more sense. It might be different for you, so it’s a good idea to dig into it.

But throwing out social media posts and blogs, while important, is only part of the whole picture. Because what we really need to be doing is building relationships on our chosen mediums. For me, that means actually seeking out and talking to the kinds of people I want to work with via LinkedIn etc. I’m now starting to spend more time reading people’s posts and taking the time to reply and comment – striking up conversations. Sometimes, that’s potential clients, and sometimes, design and marketing agencies that could potentially outsource or collaborate.

The point is if we don’t think about our goals, who we want to work with, and the direction of our business, we can so quickly end up just…plodding.

How about you? Have you set any new goals recently? Are you using those goals to grow your business, find more niche projects, or maybe change direction altogether?

Published by admin in Design Community, Lists, Other things

Tags: collaborate, Goal-setting, graphic design, re-energise

February 17, 2022 — No Comments

Errrmmmm…

Are you talking to your clients?

Being a designer, having a regular stream of paying clients is a big deal. Without them, we’re nothing more than hobbyists. But here’s the thing; we have to know how to talk to them to have people hire us. It’s essential that we speak their language and not bamboozle them with our jargon.

If people don’t understand what we do, and more importantly, what we can do for them, why should they ever want to pay for our services?

Talking to your clients is a skill that is hard to master for some, yet it’s so important that we learn it. For what it’s worth, here are my thoughts on the subject.

You’re not selling to designers.

Picture this: You’re at a party, and you get chatting to a friend of a friend. They ask, “So, what do you do?”

If you’re anything like me, it’s a question that strikes a blade of fear into your very soul. I’ll admit that every time I’m asked that question, my brain freezes up for a moment while I stumble to find something that sounds remotely intelligent before I utter, “I’m a designer.”

Usually, that’s followed by a string of incoherent babble as I try to express to them what, exactly, that means, before I excuse myself, half-embarrassed while their eyes glaze over…

Back when I was in college, one of my tutors said to me, “Remember, you’re not designing for designers.” We forget that, sometimes, don’t we? We are creators by nature, and perhaps we’re a bit apt to show off what we can do – but it doesn’t help us when it comes to marketing ourselves. Because we’re also not selling to designers. People don’t much care about the technicalities of design – they just want to know how we can make their websites and branding speak for them.

If we can learn to adapt our language to speak to them on their level, rather than using design jargon, they’re much more likely to see how our vision can work for them – and hire us to do that. Put yourself in their shoes, and think about what it is that they need and the outcome of your design projects for them.

Use positive (and simple) language, always.

We tend to over-complicate things that really should be simple. Maybe it’s through a lack of confidence in ourselves, or maybe it’s to do with ego. But there really is a lot to be said for keeping things simple, including how we describe the design process.

Again, we need to look at each new project from the client’s point of view – they usually have some clear ideas on what they need (but not always), and it’s up to us to coach them to understand the scope of what can be done.

There might be times when what they think they want isn’t in alignment with their brand, or they’re just asking for the impossible. Rather than saying, “No, I can’t do that.”, try to use positive, straightforward language to help them to visualise how things should work. Perhaps, “I understand what you’re saying, although I think if we try it this way instead, we’ll get better results”, or “In my experience, that can appear confusing to your customers – can I suggest we try and do this instead?”

Help them see that you know what you’re talking about clearly and simply. Don’t assume that they will know design terms just because you do.

Who are you talking to?

What about you? Does the way you speak to your clients impress or confuse them? Does your marketing appeal to your ideal customer, or is it geared towards other designers? If it is, perhaps you could look at simplifying your messaging in a way that will grab the attention of future clients.

Need help or advice with your branding or design? Give me a call – I’d be happy to help.

Published by admin in Other things

Tags: graphic design

January 7, 2020 — No Comments

The Benefits of a Design Community

I wanted to talk about a subject that I touched upon in a couple of earlier articles, where I write about why I went back into education to complete my design MA, and then about being a designer working within a smaller community. I’ve been thinking a lot about my own working location, a small-ish market and college town, and how perhaps larger places have a much closer design community.

Shrewsbury, where I live and work is quite a unique, and in some respects, vibrant town. It comes with a lot of history, and is also a great hub for businesses.

What surprised me, though, is when I began to look around at my own industry, there really isn’t much of a community at all. It’s not for lack of designers or design agencies in the town – if you know where to look, there are some very successful designers here. But they seem to be quite isolated; hidden away from view. Seemingly keeping to ourselves, not through lack of interest, but more because we don’t go out of our way to know about each other. There is simply no interaction between us.

The discovery led me to look around, at other places, and how they have come together to collaborate and communicate, creating a ‘hub’ for their design communities. I looked at some of the most successful ones – the Graphic Design Festival Scotland, and closer by the Birmingham Design Festival. These designers seem to not only willingly collaborate, but celebrate doing so. They come together for events such as these – perhaps because, rather than see each other as competition, they see the value in working together on occasion, in pulling together to learn from one another, and creating their own ‘hub’ in their own communities.

The positives of design communities

There are many positives that can come from being part of a close design community – and creating local festivals and exhibitions to celebrate and collaborate. Of course, it does have the obvious benefit of showing off our work in order to give publicity to our individual studios – but I think it does much more than that.

Being so isolated, in many ways, can be such a negative. For starters, by working in such close quarters, you lose that sense of the world around you – you become self-absorbed in your own work. And yes, you might argue that we are all part of the ‘online’ community, but is that really the same thing? Is there really any substitute to getting to know what’s going on in the immediate community, what’s happening in your own industry, in your own town?

The opportunity to bounce ideas with each other, to learn for each other’s experiences, to come together to work on bigger projects, can only help us to thrive as designers.

Being part of such events as the ones mentioned above can be such a positive experience, a moral booster, and give us a sense of where we are going, as an industry collective. There’s such a lot we could learn from each other.

Can we create our own communities?

This is where I am right now. This is the big question I’m asking – how can I facilitate putting together something in my own community which can bring together other designers?

I’m looking at other local events – there are regular, and successful events for other creatives in my town. There are exhibitions for local artists, both traditional and modern, festivals for writers and comic book artists, amongst others. So there is scope – and some really great venues in which to host such things.

I’d be interested to learn how other places do it – perhaps you have even been where I am, and have seen the opportunity in your own town or city. If you have, maybe you could give me the benefit of your experience. Tell me how you did it, what obstacles stood in your way. Were you successful?

Shrewsbury, I think, would be the perfect place to host a festival for graphic designers – and I’m hoping that in the future, I can facilitate that. I can see a huge benefit in raising the industry profile in the town and surroundings.

Published by admin in Other things

Tags: design festival, designcommunity, graphic design, shrewsbury

August 29, 2019 — No Comments

Reasons for Graphic Designers to go back into education

Graphic Designers – never stop learning

I’ve worked as a graphic designer for a long time, graduating from Wrexham Glyndŵr University in 1993 and working in various studios, bringing me to launch The Severn Agency in 2017. You might say that I’ve made it – that there’s nothing else that I need to achieve from here. But you’d be wrong. Graphic design is a fluid industry, ever changing, ever evolving, and to stay in the game, it’s important that I don’t sit still, because chances are, if I do that, I’ll fall behind, and things will move without me.

Digital Evolution

In the early 90’s, things took a real leap in the field of graphic design, as it was in 1990 when we saw the first version of Photoshop arrive on the scene. This changed the industry a lot, as it meant that designers could experiment with graphics in a way that we’d never seen before. The techniques it allowed were ground-breaking, with overlapping text, image overlays, and faded elements, which previously had been impossible to achieve on-screen.

By the 2000’s, the tech had become much more powerful, and we saw a surge in portable devices. Graphics evolved again with this new technology, and images with movement came into focus. Corporate design and logos began to look much more like they were in motion, using new techniques with angles and shadowing.

Now, trends change year on year, and there are so many styles and techniques open to us in the graphic design industry. But both design and technology continues to change and evolve.

The next step

This year, I have embarked on a Master’s Degree in Graphic Design. Why? Because I want to safeguard my future in this industry, and I want to be the best that I can be.
And that is the reason for my writing this article. Whether you are a graphic designer, are looking to get into the industry, or are pursuing another job entirely, I think there are huge benefits in going back into education in order to get better at what you do and advancing your knowledge.

It can be a great refresher on what you’ve already learned, or it can take you to the next level in the evolution of your career. And of course, it gives you the opportunity to learn about advancements within the industry, whether that’s technological changes, changes in trend, or changes in the industry that you might otherwise have missed out on.

As well as this, you could be connecting with people who are at the same point in their career as you, which gives you the opportunity to learn about what others in the industry are doing.

Why go back into education?

For me, going back into education, to get my Master’s Degree in Graphic Design, is about me keeping up with the industry, and becoming an expert in what I do. But there are many reasons for you to seek further education, whether you’re already working in the industry or not. And you can do it at any age.

It could be that the career path you’ve chosen is no longer a good fit for you, and you’re looking to change. There are plenty of people who decide very late on in life which career path they have a passion for – it’s a myth that everyone who leaves college or even university has a clear idea of what they want to do for the rest of their lives. People change, and so you shouldn’t be afraid to make changes in your career, no matter your age.

Perhaps you are in your chosen career but have come to the end of your potential, either by salary or skill. If this is the case, you might decide to take the next step and go back into education in order to climb the ladder and further your career.

Or it might be that you simply want to learn something new, to accompany the education you’ve already got. There are plenty of jobs in which graphic design feature, and having some kind of formal education can do wonders in enhancing your skills.

Graphic Design never stays still – and whatever your reasons, learning the skills needed to keep yourself current in the industry is always beneficial.

Published by admin in Other things

Tags: falmouth university, graphic design, online learning, personal development, re-energise