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10 Sites that will make you a better Blogger

Posted 30 Nov 2009 - 2 Gratefully received comments

This is another first for my blog, that’s 2 in a week. I ran my first competition last Thursday, and now I present to you my first list article.

I’ve been running my blog for almost six months now and felt that it might be helpful to others if I share the sites that have helped me through that time.
A few of the sites have helped me directly, some of the sites I admire and hold up as examples of how blogging ‘should be done’, and others are helpful resources.

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Design Book Giveaway… Winners

Posted 30 Nov 2009 - 5 Gratefully received comments

Thank you to everyone that took the time to enter.
The three people that will be receiving a copy of ‘Wally Olins: The Brand Handbook’ are:

John Gooderson
Carolyn Harrath
Tim Newton

Congratulations to them, and better luck next time to everyone else!

I’ve enjoyed running my first competition, and plan to do more in the future. I’d appreciate any feedback of suggestions you might have for further competitions or any general musings you might want to offer about my blog in general. Please get in touch.

Thank you all once again.

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Design Book Givewaway

Posted 26 Nov 2009 - 11 Gratefully received comments

This competition is now closed, however, please feel free to contribute to the discussion in the comments section.

I’m giving away 3 copies of “The Brand Handbook” by Wally Olins. I reviewed this book earlier in the week and was impressed with the amount of information it delivers in a compact and concise way. This book is not specifically designers, it is aimed at a broader audience. Anyone that might be concerned with branding of any type will find useful information between it’s covers.

I’m a great believer in books, I love knowledge, and good knowledge should always be passed on, so that’s what I’m doing. You can read my review of this book in an earlier post.

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Wally Olins: The Brand Handbook – Book Review #4

Posted 23 Nov 2009 - 3 Gratefully received comments

Ever wanted to know what a brand is? Do you know your product brands from your corporate brands? What about brand structures and value? How do you make a brand work?

If those last four sentences meant nothing to you, or even if you think you know what it all means this is the book for you.

Blurb: Many people talk about branding, but very few people know how to actually do it. Wally Olins, generally recognised as the world’s most experienced practitioner of corporate identity and branding, draws on a lifetime’s experience to present a concise, practical guide. He explains – in trademark straightforward fashion – what brands are, how to create them, how to make them work, and how to sustain them. All aspects of the process are covered, from developing the ‘core idea’, creating the name and designing the logo to launching and managing a successful branding programme. Inspirational as well as practical, this easy-reference manual is essential reading for anyone interested in the field of corporate identity and branding.

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My Life as a Cartoon #14

Posted 19 Nov 2009 - 4 Gratefully received comments

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“Bendy” Logos, Consistent Branding – Google

Posted 15 Nov 2009 - 2 Gratefully received comments

Have you ever worked for a client that confused their logo with their brand?
When this happens the client usually provides a huge booklet of “branding guidelines” that details exactly how their logo should be used, specifying sizes, positioning and colours. These guidelines are given to you to keep their brand identity consistent. There is nothing wrong with this for most companies/organisations, but sometimes it all goes too far.
Occasionally a company can be so obsessed with the rigidity of their logo that they confuse it with their overall brand. A logo alone doesn’t make a complete brand identity.

A classic example of a fluid logo that holds true to it’s overall brand identity is Google.
I’ve collected a selection of the special/seasonal logos that Google have made for their search page over the last year. I’ve selected some because they are clever and others because they are beautiful. No matter how far removed they are from the original logo, they all scream ‘Google’.

I’m sure everyone is familiar with it, but for comparison purposes, here is the standard Google logo:

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Organised Creativity – Does a mess breed inspiration

Posted 10 Nov 2009 - 4 Gratefully received comments

How do you work?
Is everything in neat piles, filed away, labeled and cross-referenced. Are all of your books and magazines sorted alphabetically on clean shelves that are easy to peruse?
Or are you sitting on a pile of research materials, your laptop perched on your knees, surrounded by sketches and the crumpled detritus of hopeless ideas?

The point of this post isn’t to discuss the merits of being tidy or messy. I fully realise that everyone is different and we all fall into our own work patterns and practices. However, I am interested in different ways of working and different approaches to design and ideas generation.

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