Into the White Web Update

Just a small update about my main website design portfolio for Into the White Design. It has been given a facelift with all new layout, content and responsive design. If you've stumbled on this site and think it's looking a bit dead it's because this is my new web home, so take a look and find all my latest news and work in the design news section.

Recent Design Work

Once again I've been a little lax on the blogging front, but not without good reason. It's been all systems go for the last few months with my regular clients all busy and some new client wins. Hopefully good signs that the economy is getting a little more stable and marketing budgets are returning, but only time will tell.

To prove I've not been slacking take a peek at some of my recent design work for a lovely new client Lily Lolo Mineral Cosmetics. Great to work with a company that really invests in their on and offline marketing and work with some beautiful photography. Shown below are some recent posters, newsletters, e-mailers, year planners.

Also worth noting is the company's Facebook presence. Lots of small businesses are setting up Facebook pages but don't really do anything to warrant becoming a 'fan', or provide any use other than shameless plugging. Lily Lolo's is a shining example of how to do it right, with plenty of discussions, tips, information videos, and Q & A. The amount fans and user generated activity speaks for itself.

NTI Healthcare Website

Apologies that it's been rather quiet around here since Christmas. After the expected slow down in December things have got very busy since the 1st of Jan. Lots of interesting new opportunities and February seems to be whizzing by so may not get much chance to post for the next couple of weeks.

Here's one of the projects that has been keeping me busy in January. Following on from the branding work I completed last year I've been working on a new website for NTI Healthcare. The site aims to provide a quick introduction to the company's services but is also designed to easily allow for expansion of content in the future. I implemented a clean, uncluttered design, suitable for their target audience, and a simple jQuery slider on the home page to offer an instant overview of the services on offer.

Core Branding Processes

I've always found the processes behind design work as interesting, and sometimes more so, than the results. Having noted that I regularly show new work on this blog but have never gone through processes involved, I thought I'd redress the balance.

The steps I take in core branding briefs is something I need to explain quite often, (mainly due to many budget 'designers' willing to knock up a logo in a couple of hours), but that is a whole different blog post! So I thought it would be of interest to show my processes when it comes to tackling branding briefs.

This is by no means a comprehensive 'how to' guide but does explain a some of the basic steps involved in any considered branding brief. The images (click to enlarge) take you through some of the of prep work I created for a recent branding brief.

Research
The first step after defining the needs of the brief is to do a bit of visual research on competitors, target markets and associated industry. The depth of this research often depends on the clients needs and available budgets. However I always put together a short research report to identify any market trends and get a feel for the sort of approach the client prefers and what is appropriate for the target market.

Initial Thoughts

Following on from the research I then set about brain storming, sketching initial ideas and putting together a broad selection of possible base typefaces and colour schemes.

Initial Concepts

Exploring as many possible routes in a rough and ready fashion starts to sort the wheat from the chaff. Any ideas that have possibility for expansion go forward to the client for feedback.

Refined Concepts

From initial client feedback generally one or two routes are chosen for further development. Shortlists for base and supporting typefaces, refinements to icons and colour palette are made.

Final Revisions

Following any further comments from the client, final decisions about the finer points of the logo are made, along with final print and web safe colour palettes and house typefaces.

Final Artwork Files

Once the branding is approved the final artwork files are produced. Typically this consists of full colour, single colour and mono versions of the logo as vector EPS files, high res CMYK Tiffs, and web ready Jpegs or PNG files. If required basic or full brand guidelines are produced including logo usage guidelines, Pantone, CMYK, RGB & HEX colour references and web and print rules.

Basic Branding Implementation

Depending on the clients specific requirements a number of core branding stationery and template items are produced, with close reference to the core brand guides, typefaces and colour palettes. Typically including options for letterheads, comp slips, business cards, powerpoint and word templates.

Solid, considered logo development from the outset not only helps create the foundations needed for establishing a coherent brand, but also makes the development and implementation of all subsequent materials easier and stronger.

Illustration Work

Just a quick update with a couple of illustrations I have produced for a new client Apache Associates. They required two vector illustrations for the developing LGBT holiday section of the Sunsational Leisure website. The first is a image is bespoke commissioned illustration whilst the second has been adapted to suit from a stock illustration (click to enlarge).

Ateronon Product Introduction Catalogue

One of the most enjoyable projects I have recently completed is a high spec product showcase for Ateronon. The 44 page oversized A4 catalogue features some nice print finishing including, a high gloss cover with red foil blocking and embossing, and semi-transparent lining sheets for the opening and closing pages. The catalogue is screw bound with inside pages printed on a heavy uncoated stock. As this was a short run it was printed digitally but the quality is outstanding. Big shout out to Emmerson Press who we're a pleasure to work with on what was a fairly complex job with a very tight turnaround.