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Sunday, 29 December 2019 21:07

Making Logos Work for the Web

When you design for the web, no matter the industry, there are expectations that must be met, and realities that must be accounted for. Although this is true for all forms of web design, it is especially true for logo design. This is something we’ve encountered numerous times. Think about the many different conventions of logo design. They’re usually placed in the top left-hand corner of the page, they are usually linked to the homepage, they’re usually used to reinforce ideas or messages about the brand itself… I could go on. So how do we craft innovative logos in a world where there are so many standards and expectations? We take advantage of them.

Published in Design
Sunday, 29 December 2019 21:01

How Long is the Perfect Blog Post?

Now there’s an old saying about dresses and speeches which rightly points out that both should be long enough to cover the subject. In the modern era, men in particular would be well advised to drop all reference to female attire and talk about blogs instead. How long should a blog be? The infinite Internet has done away with strict word counts and in theory, every online article can be as long as the author feels necessary to get their point across. Unfortunately, many bloggers forget the second part of the old joke relating to dresses and speeches: they should also be short enough to be interesting! The ideal length of a blog will, to an extent, depend on why you are writing it. Is its primary purpose SEO or social media engagement? Do you want to drive sales or gather backlinks? Does your writing seek to provide detailed knowledge, or entertainment? The answer to those questions will have a strong bearing on how long your blog posts need to be. But before we look at the possibilities, there’s one thing you need to know…

Published in Design
Sunday, 29 December 2019 20:10

From Freelance to Design Firm

Picture it: You’re working full-time as a digital designer for one of the world’s largest advertising agencies. The paycheck is steady, the hours are (somewhat) flexible, and you really never have to take work home with you. To sweeten the pot, there are plenty of perks–free swag from clients and swanky company parties to enjoy. You take for granted the fact that you don’t need to worry about where the work is coming from. That’s someone else’s job. You love your job and your co-workers, but something substantial is missing. Perhaps you are dissatisfied with what you are designing or, even more frustrating, you can’t take ownership over the end results. What is a talented, hard-working web professional to do? That was me a few years ago, before starting my creative digital agency, and something needed to change. In addition to the sentiments previously addressed.

Published in Design
Sunday, 29 December 2019 20:01

Sunlight, Fresh Air and Exercise

The autumn air is fresh and clear, the light is soft and uplifting and the autumnal forests are at their most beautiful. Combined with some smooth Swiss tarmac under my wheels, cycling conditions are perfect and I’m often out enjoying the hills in the middle of the day. But I’m not skiving, this is an important part of my work routine. Cycling doesn’t require a lot of engagement of the brain, so it’s a great time for thinking. The rhythmic motion of feet on pedals seems to literally crank up my brain, so that soon it’s racing way ahead of the road in front of me, seeing angles in stories nobody had realised were there, or picking quotes that offer the key to explaining a complex issue. With creative tasks, inspiration is crucial and most people can’t achieve that…sat in the office When I return home to my desk, I often hit the keyboard straight away. Showers, food and checking emails can wait: I have words in my mind that I want to get down. Whether you’re a web designer, writer, marketer or programmer, you need to feel refreshed and positive in order to do your best work. With creative tasks, inspiration is crucial and most people can’t achieve that for 8 hours a day, sat in the office.

Published in Lifestyle
Sunday, 29 December 2019 19:45

18 Tips For Running a Design Sprint

Development time is a precious resource. In order to be more efficient and responsive, product teams continuously try to use advanced techniques for product creation. One of the most popular frameworks that help the product team to achieve this goal is a design sprint. A design sprint is a framework that helps answer critical business questions through rapid prototyping and user testing. Basically, it’s a shortcut to learn without building and launching a real product. In this article, I want to highlight key things that should be taken into account when running a sprint. Preparing for a sprint is one of the most critical steps in the process. Proper preparation will help make the best use of the time you’ll spend on this activity. 

Published in Design
Sunday, 29 December 2019 15:42

6 Tips for Writing Content

Okay, you need three to five new ideas for articles, all on the same general topic. Go. Now here’s where we separate the people who have to come up with regular content all the time from the people who don’t. The people who have things they want to write about but can never get around to it can probably start listing ideas off the top of their head. The people who have to do this for a living, or at least as a part of their job, just groaned in mock agony. Generating new ideas regularly can be rough, whether you’re doing it for blog posts, social media posts, videos, memes, newsletters, art, or anything else you can imagine. Waiting for inspiration to strike is, for the most part, a sucker’s game. If you want that lightning, you’re going to have to make like a scientist.

Published in Design
Tuesday, 16 January 2018 07:48

5 Things Nobody Tells You About Freelancing

Starting out on your own as a freelancer is exciting. You’re making your talents available to the world, and are ready to make your mark. While this career path can be very rewarding (monetarily and otherwise), it’s not all kittens and unicorns. There are going to be challenges and days when you wonder why you ever wanted to do this. It’s not necessarily the care-free lifestyle you may have been lead to believe. As someone who has been freelancing for almost two decades, I’ve experienced a whole lot of ups and downs. Here’s a look at some of the joys and pains of freelancing. You know, the stuff nobody tells you about!

Published in Business
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