Graphic Design Trends To Be Aware of In 2016

Graphic Design Trends are influenced by culture and media, past and present, technology and fashion.

Madeleine Morley from The American Institute for Graphic Arts (AIGA) says this:

“A trend never simply emerges for a single year and then disappears in a puff of smoke. Instead, an aesthetic becomes popular gradually, even mysteriously, over time before fizzling out slowly without much notice at all.”

The design trends we will be covering didn’t magically materialise at the end of 2015; trends take time, and you’ve likely seen many of them in one form or another during the last couple years.

But even if you’re not one to follow trends, as a designer it’s sensible to be aware of the shifts going on in the industry—if only to perhaps avoid them before they become overused, or just to have the opportunity to tweak them into something new.

While forecasting trends with any certainty is a tricky business, many members of the graphic design industry seem to have developed a consensus as to what styles and approaches are most likely to take off for 2016.

“Modern Retro Style

As opposed to vintage or “old” retro—styles that draw from the early 1900s through the 60s—“modern” retro takes its influences from more recent decades, the late 1970s through the 90s. Think early PCs and video games, pixel art, and space themes: nerdy is now the new cool.

This illustration and t-shirt design by Ralph Cifra has all kinds of nostalgia happening. The technology theme also ties in nicely with modern-retro influences.

Ralph Cifra

This has a retro yet contemporary feel, complete with vinyl records and a solar system, we just love it.

From The Welcome Branding Group

80s style for a stationery brand

From Write Sketch & Officemilano

Some limited “pixel edition” packaging designed for Coke. It features space invaders from the arcade video game of the same name released in 1978. Pretty cool.

From Erin L. M. McGuire

Material Design

via Google

Google made quite a noise in the design world when it introduced its material design guidelines. This visual language is characterised by “deliberate color choices, edge-to-edge imagery, large-scale typography, and intentional white space” for a bold and graphic look.

Some designers are referring to material design as “Flat 2.0” because it’s an update to the flat design trend, adding light/shadow, depth, and movement for a more tactile sense of realism.

Though Google created it for web and mobile, you’ll see material design principles popping up in all kinds of design now.

This fluid website concept incorporates material design principles, including bold colors, large typography, and light and shadow effects. Card- or tile-based layouts (see the menu elements to the left of this image) are also part of material design.

From Balraj Chana

Flat 2.0 illustrations for a weather app from Disky Chairiandy that integrates light and shadow for a sense of depth. Simple, but effective.

From Disky Chairiandy

Another website, designed by Al Rayhan, that features contrasting, bright colors but with a more traditional design—a good compromise between conservative and trendy.

From Al Rayhan

If you want to try out one material design’s vivid colour scheme, look out Material Palette. It’s a colour scheme generator that can help you quickly and easily choose a versatile selection of hues. Go on, give it a go!

Bright & Bold Colors

Fitting in with both 80’s/90’s styles and material design, vibrant hues should continue to prove popular into 2016.

This trend would be a move away from the more muted, 1960s-inspired palettes to favour bright, neons, pastels and richer, more saturated colors.Pantone’s Spring 2016 Color Report falls in line with this prediction for 2016.

Pantone’s Spring 2016 Color Report

Neon shade of green combined with a golden yellow really makes this poster pop out. It was designed by In the Pool. Very cool and trendy.

From In the Pool

Here, some bright pastel gradients over the imagery in his landing web page design, it really makes the text stand out.

From Michael Fangman

A clearly 80’s-inspired design from Tron Burgundy with electric colours and geometric shapes.

From Ton Burgundy

Geometric Shapes

Geometric shapes and patterns are align with some of the 80’s trends we’ve already looked at. This one can be applied in all sorts of ways—as individual graphic elements, as backgrounds, as an illustrative technique.

Keep an eye out for a style known as “low poly,” which got its start as a 3D modelling technique for video games.

From Vivek Venkatraman

There are lots of helpful tutorials for creating a low-poly effect, either from scratch or taking a shortcut with a tool like this. Or just pick up a selection of free low-poly textures to try out the trend the easy way.

Another take on geometric shapes with shapes layered forming a colourful backdrop for some business cards.

From Tank Design

Coloured triangles on this chocolate packaging create an eye-catching background:

From Bag of Bees

Simple circular and rectangular shapes combine to form a versatile visual theme:

From Simeon

Negative Space

Negative space is an essential part of any logo design. We love it. Negative space can be a clever way to add deeper or double meaning to your designs. It can simply help give your composition a more minimal look.

In this design for a restaurant called “The Swan & Mallard,” has creatively managed to fit a swan, a mallard duck, and an ampersand all into one logo though positive and negative space.

From John Randall

In a different way, the negative space in this logo has movement and context to the word being spelled out:

From Sameer Ahmed

Have a look closely at the shapes created by the violin. They form a series of numbers 1, 2, and 3—which are part of the event name. How clever!

Sam Hadley

Modular Layouts

Modular layouts have been adopted by some of the largest brands for their websites.

It’s the self-contained modules or cards used as the primary organisational principle that has created the twist of a new trend.

From Balraj Chana

Layouts don’t have to follow a grid where everything is aligned. They can be a little more freeform and still serve as an organisational tool. For example, this design below.

From Natalie Armendariz

Typography

Typography isn’t just for reading—it’s for making a statement. Look out for big, bold type that’s the center of attention. You can create drama, fear, love through size, but also through colour and texture.

Look at this handcrafted a series of letters to create the cover art for a magazine.

SNASK

From SNASK

From Brendan Prince

This much more minimalistic freeform approach depends largely on colour and shape.

From Ben Schade

This poster features a more freeform arrangement of some of the letters plus textures.

From Julie Joanny

Illustrations

It’s been said that stock images are dead. Stock photography and graphics are more frequently being replaced by custom illustrations.

No graphic designer wants their work to look the same, and no business wants elements of their branding to show up on another competitor’s website. So that is why designers have been putting in the extra work to create one-of-a-kind solutions.

As bigger brands continue to embrace designs, this tactic of making imagery more personalised should continue to grow in 2016.

From Vlad Shagov

Dropbox takes a personalised approach to its imagery with casual illustrations—more like doodles:

Dropbox

Beautiful watercolor illustrations:

Saudade Tea’s

From Saudade Tea’s

Minimalistic & Abstract Style

In contrast to the more 80’s-inspired design styles we’ve seen, this design trend relies on minimalism and deconstructing or distorting recognisable shapes and forms.

For instance this identity for a music school picks apart some of the shapes associated with musical notes and puts them back together in a different way:

From Aurėja Jucevičiūtė

These designs from StudioBrave and Kajsa Klaesén integrate geometric shapes and bright colours in a simplistic way, with plenty of white space.

From StudioBrave

From Kajsa Klaesén

A Summary

Following design trends just for the sake of being trendy usually isn’t a good solution. If you do decide to try a trend, make sure it fits your project and audience.

February 3, 2016 admin Graphic design, Graphic Design Adelaide Comments Off

Stand out venues

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January 25, 2016 admin General, IT, Uncategorized No comments yet

Technology upgraded

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January 25, 2016 admin General, IT, Uncategorized Comments Off

Why Not Everybody Should Design

OK, let’s just say my car is not working, and it has some serious issues.

I’m not a mechanic and I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t know what the problem is and I don’t want to go to a mechanic because I want to save the money.

Instead I buy a book and I take the time to learn about cars, then I look at a bunch of tutorials about how others repair cars, I talk to a specialist about my problem and then I go under the hood and try to fix it. My hands get dirty and I lose so much of my valuable time on understanding what happens with all those cables and other pieces. I think I see the problem and I attempt to fix it.

I get into my car and start the engine. It’s working! What a relief. I think that I’ve solved the problem. I’m happy that I didn’t have to go to the mechanic and spend my money. Even if I lost a lot of time on educating myself, looking at tutorials and talking to specialists.

I drive my car and guess what, clank bong bang boom… my car just stops and I don’t know what’s wrong. I get really nervous and have go to a mechanic. The mechanic looks at the car and says “You have an old problem here and a new problem here. Why didn’t you come when you experienced the first one problem?”

Now if I had gone to the mechanic in the first place, he would have solved my original problem faster with some money invested, and with more time gained.

So why is when something is wrong with our cars, we go to the professionals, to a car mechanic?

Now let’s get back to our topic at hand, if you have a design problem, why don’t you go to a specialist, as in a graphic designer?

Let’s say you want to design an logo, you find an online clipart site which creates logos you can easily use add some basic text to. You design the logo, print on business cards or signage on your car are you wait for the phone calls. Guess what? Nothing. Why? Because your logo is ugly. It’s not so visually appealing and nobody likes it. Because your logo was a template where you edit some text.

What if you invest some money and start working with a professional graphic designer?

Why? Because graphic designers understand the power of visuals, the power of good looking visuals and most of them have the experience of creating values through their work.

Creating templates with free design sites or apps which everybody can use does nothing but underestimate the designers’ importance.

If you love design but you are just an amateur starting out, you can design for yourself. But when we talk about brands and companies that need to create valuable identities here is the place where the professionals should look for design.

Another example: how would it be if a plumber could do your logo design work with a free app where he could just press some buttons?

Now think about graphic designers in this situation and just start to work together.

Let us professionals do our jobs with the tools we have learned.

January 21, 2016 admin Graphic design, Logo design Comments Off

Logo Design Trends 2016

Logo design is constantly changing as businesses can now engage consumers in a number of digital ways. The frequency of engagement is increasing at a rapid rate, while the quality of engagement has become more inclusive, more personal.

The rules (so to speak) that worked before no longer count in today’s modern technological world. In fact, what has held true for the last couple of years is no longer the same. The art/ science of logo design is changing as fast as the “opportunity to engage consumers” grows. This “opportunity,” is changing as fast as technology develops everyday.

Fortunately, there are many designers who dedicate themselves to studying changes, establishing trends in logo design. An example is Bill Gardner of the LogoLounge (read the interview here), he remains one of the most credible sources. His observant eye and attention to detail, as well as his innate “radar” to detect design approaches fast becoming “trends”, is what sets him apart.

So what will logo design be like in 2016, or in the near future? Here are some logo design trends that are predictions.

Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Flat

Flat logo designs will continue to dominate, and not because they look clean, but they register well in any browsing device, especially due to SVGs. They load a lot faster also. Patterns, textures, shadows, gradients will give way to simpler lines and colours. These register better in print or online, in black, grey or colour, and on any browsing device. Businesses will simplify their design elements making them easily identifiable.

Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Handmade

Handmade logos speak of personality. They convey intimacy and personality. This trend has been slowly gaining ground for a while now. A small sketch of an arrow, or scribbled letters prominently combined with some other elements have been evident in a growing number of businesses logos. Some look like “hybrids.” They’re the ones that don’t look “truly” handmade but they don’t feel digital either. Such designs suggest the idea of being handmade and they register the same charm, though not on the same level.

Handmade elements and font sets, or a suggestion of such, will be more evident in logo design as the year progresses. Bespoke font sets will be a valuable design asset.

It is important to emphasize that typography is no longer just the style of text you add to the design to spell out something. It is, and will always be, a great contributor to communicating the brand’s personality.

Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Kinetic Logos

Kinetic logos that change but remain the same will find greater appeal. Perhaps because this particular style offers freshness, or it could be because the decision of what is attractive becomes even more appealing, while the need to connect to as many people as possible becomes the main focus.

These types of logos have the ability to make the consumer unconsciously aware of the diversification the company and brand is pursuing in real-time. The danger lies when the “kinetic” change does not rhyme with the core values the company has effectively communicated and has established for itself.

For example think of the regular changes in the Google Doodle, you get the idea of how this growing trend both excites the consumer and answers the need to present something fresh on a regular basis.

Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Negative Space

Negative space will ALWAYS continue to amaze me. A design is something you see first, but then it speaks to you, and then you understand what it is saying. That is what makes design work. If it is able to convey more than this, and the consumer is able to pick up on a deeper message, it becomes something special. This is why negative space will continue to make many designers explore its strengths.

The ability to communicate more to the consumer without adding extra elements is always a challenge to any designer. To the public, it’s like a welcome visual “egg hunt.”

Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Letterstacking

Letterstacking is continuing to hold ground. This trend has been around for a while and it’s not losing popularity. We think it because it draws in the consumer and challenges them to make sense out of it.

Our tendency to break down things and discover how we can rearrange them better is not the reason for this continuing trend. We think it may be because it offers a creative solution for logo designers to be able to communicate long “text” in visual bytes. It offers them a creative way to break down long messages. Whatever the reason may be, the style seems to work and has gained a foothold in logo design.

Logo Design Trends 2016 Prediction : Mono Lines

Thin Lines/Mono will present itself as “the new fresh, clean look”. This is the use of a line, unchanging in thickness, to design and compose the entire logo in something akin to “wire”. At first glance, this logo design style seems to run against the idea of simplification because of the intricacy of the execution.

It will result in an appreciation of the ability to present something cleaner and clearer, with a hint of craft (handmade). This makes it more in line with the above mentioned forecasts rather than against them.

The clean thin lines do strike you with an “honesty” so to speak, that is quite refreshing. It presents a welcome from seeing so many gradients and colours in the last years. The use of thin lines, or lines with a consistent thickness in mono scripts, mono icons and mono crests, is a beautiful progression of just how strong this design trend has been growing over the few years.

In Conclusion

Trends are forever changing, so what it is now, does not necessarily mean it will be the same for years to come. One thing we all know, are trends come around full circle after many years. All the above design trends we mention are not new ones, they have been around for years, but are now popular this year. One thing which is always constant in logo design….simplicity. All the above trends have this in them, which for designers is a blessing.

January 5, 2016 admin Logo design Comments Off

The best logo designs of 2015

It’s that time of year when we review the most impactful logo designs and redesigns we believe have had the biggest impact.

When a new logo design is launched for a familiar brand, usually first reactions are overwhelmingly negative. And then once time has passed and the new design has entered daily use, it can be a different story.

So lets take a look back at the biggest brands to release a new logo in 2015. Now that you’ve got used to them, what do you really think of them?

01. GoogleGoogle has had a bottom-up rebrand, and it’s provoked plenty of opinion

It comes as no surprise that Google’s redesigned logo caused a stir when it launched in September. When you are the world’s most popular website, everything you do is going to be criticised by everyone.

The online giant’s new logo represents the biggest rebrand since 1999, when the search engine had nestled on the thin flowing letters that everyone now associates with internet giant.

Now with flat shapes and sharp colours, Google works better across a multitude of platforms, most notably the new ‘G’ logo which brings together all of the colourways. The company’s playful attitude is also hinted at in the cheeky slanting ‘e’.

02. Verizon

This new logo has caused instant controversy, but why?

At the same time Google revamped its logo, America’s largest telecommunications provider Verizon revamped their signature word mark design. But where Google’s simplicity was welcomed, Verizon seemed to take it too far.

The new logo was purposely designed to not be flashy or showy, which we think it isn’t. While ‘less is more’ is what every designer believes, the simple type and a timid red tick annoyed a lot.

However, if their aim was to become an easily adaptable, ubiquitous part of American life, Verizon have improved on their previous design.

The old logo

With its gradient shading, irregular shape and highlighted ‘z’, the old Verizon logo seemed like it was trying to do too much at once. Perhaps its time they settled down with this more sensible design.

03. Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clintons logo had a massive social media response.

Hillary Clinton declared she would run for US President. What was more surprising, was the logo she released with her announcement.

Created by Pentagram, the new design set social media frenzy, with commentors pointing to the logo’s similarity to both the WikiLeaks logo and a hospital sign; the irony of the arrow pointing to the right; and their even was some bad-taste jokes about the Twin Towers.

Lots of graphic designers joined in on the fun, coming up with their own designs for the Hillary logo.

04. Facebook

This is the new Facebook logo: a subtle and distinctive change

At the start of the year came the latest update to the Facebook logo – a subtle tweak of its iconic typeface Klavika.

Users will be familiar with the social media platform rolling out new logo redesigns. This was the first time the company had changed its logo typeface since it launched as ‘Thefacebook’ way back in 2004.

Old logo – can you spot the difference?

The new typeface was a collaborative effort between Facebook’s own in-house design team and Process Type Foundry’s Eric Olson.

The new logo was revealed in a Tweet (a new way of revealing news is now though social media)

The obvious change to the font includes a single-deck a and a more organic stem on the letter ‘b’, while the important ‘f’ remains instantly recognisable.

05. Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall’s logo is very different

The famous London performing arts centre had a communications overhaul at the start of the year, it was in a bid to appeal to a wider audience and the logo change was part of its new strategy.

The Royal Albert Hall worked with strategy consultancy firm BrandPie‘s charity arm and the purpose of the new logo was to emphasise the reputation as a world class venue.

The Hall’s distinctive silhouette is a main feature on the new logo which is designed for use across different media.

06. Daily Motion

Daily Motion goes for only typography in its latest rebrand

One of the biggest video platforms on the world wide web, having over 300 million viewers on its player and 30 billion video views worldwide per month, Dailymotion came up with this new logo in March, it said goodbye to its icon and opted instead for a simple logotype. It was created by London-based agency venturethree.

07. Electrolux

NEW LOGO: This font was created specially for the Electrolux logo

Electrolux has been the leader in home and professional appliances since the 190o’s. At the start of the year it unveiled a brand new logo (above) with an original font that’s only unique to Electrolux.

The logo was designed by Prophet who are based in London, who worked in close partnership with the Electrolux marketing team on the project.

“We set out to create a visual identity that would enable Electrolux to tell its story to the world in an appealing way,” says Hector Pottie, Associate Partner and Creative Director from Prophet, London.

OLD LOGO: The typeface was beginning to look a little dated

08. Lemark

NEW LOGO: this new logo is based on an camera aperture

Lexmark, the well-known global manufacturer of laser printers, has unveiled a beautiful new logo (above) and branding.

When compared with Lexmark’s familiar red diamond motif (see below), the new green shutter logo was a huge change.

OLD LOGO: Lexmark is retiring its diamond design

The new design, it says, captures the company’s continuing evolution.

Danny Molhoek who is Managing Director at Lexmark, explains that the previous diamond shaped logo was intended to evoke clarity and durability.

By using a shutter, the new design is intended to suggest opening and expanding possibilities. It was created by Moving Brands.

09. Alitalia

NEW LOGO: Alitalia gets a more dynamic makeover

Italy’s airline received a new brand identity courtesy of Landor. The new logotype was given a more dynamic overhaul, keeping the green, red and white colours of the Italian flag, and a more prominent ‘A’ was created. It’s described as “a bold statement of the heights the airline is striving to reach and its enviable experience in the field of aviation”.

OLD LOGO: The previous logo was more upright

You can see this was inspired by Formula 1 racing cars, striations were added to the red triangular interior of the Alitalia ‘A’, creating a pinstripe effect designed to reflect exclusivity, attention to detail with a strong focus on design.

The aircraft fuselages are now painted in ivory to reflect of understated Italian style, reminiscent of both original and new Fiat colour ways, and progressively banded rearward to create an impression of movement, speed and progress.

A look at Italy’s flag-carrier with the all-new tail fin design

10. YouTube kids

A safe space for kids watching videos online

In February, YouTube launched a free app titled YouTube Kids for iOS and Android, described as “the first Google product built from the ground up with little ones in mind.”

Its logo was created by Hello Monday, who also designed the entire brand identity.

“The logo draws from the original aesthetics of YouTube, which is the parent brand,” they explained. “It’s fun, quirky and embodies the YouTube Kids brand.”

11. Andy Murray

This clever design combines ‘AM’ and ’77’

Andy Murray now has an official logo. It was designed by Aesop to create a uniform visual identity across of the tennis player’s commercial ventures, from endorsed products to his own branded products.

The logo combines Murray’s initials with the number 77, to celebrate his Wimbledon victory on the 7th day of the 7th month, a full 77 years since a British player had won the contest. Very clever.

What a year it has been both in graphic and logo design, like all things it continues to evolve. Can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store!

12. Freeview

The new logo is a vibrant and colourful

In February Freeview, which is now the UK’s most watched digital TV service, underwent a major rebrand, it was led by creative agency DixonBaxi. The move is part of Freeview’s strategic drive to bring connected television to a mass UK audience.

The old logo

The new logo retains the red heritage of the logo, but has been completely redesigned with added dimension – an angular form that suggests agility, choice and a sense of fun.

December 23, 2015 admin Logo design Comments Off

Advantages of using WordPress

Advantages of using WordPress to Power Your Company’s Website

At DesignLab, we only build our websites for our clients using WordPress. It has been around since 2003 and is the most popular blogging software around. Over the past years, WordPress has also become the content management software of choice for non-blogging websites. Here are some advantages why WordPress is so popular and why you might want to consider using DesignLab to build a WordPress platform for your company’s website.

1. Easy to Use

WordPress is very easy to use. Adding new pages, blogs, images, videos, etc. on a regular basis is a easy and can be done quickly. The technology is so simple, which means less time spent on formatting.

2. You Manage Your Website from Any Computer

WordPress is a browser-based software. You can login from any Internet connected computer and manage your site. Simple. Easy.

3. There is no HTML Editing or FTP Software Required

WordPress is a self-contained system and does not require any HTML editing software such as Adobe Dreamweaver or Contribute. You can easily create a new page or blog, format text, upload images (edit them), upload PDFs, video files, image galleries, etc. all without the need for additional HTML or FTP software.

4. Search Engines Love WordPress

The code behind WordPress is clean and simple, making it easy for search engines to read and index a site’s content. Each page, post, and image can have its own meta tag keywords, description, and title, and be optimised for specific keywords, allowing for very precise search engine optimisation. You can also use tags to further enhance your search engine optimisation efforts.

5. Control of Your Site is Yours

No more waiting for a web designer to make simple updates on your website. You have control of nearly every aspect of your site and can easily make those simple updates yourself, and if you run into trouble there is tons of free help on the internet.

6. Design of Your Website is 100% Customisable

WordPress acts as the engine for your website. The look and feel of your site can be customised so your brand of your company can come through on your site and provide a unique experience to your visitors.

7. Blogs are Built-in and Ready to Go

WordPress was originally created as a blogging platform, which means blogging capabilities are already built-in and easy to integrate. Setting up a RSS / email subscriptions to your blog, commenting capabilities, automatically adding the most recent blog posts to other pages of the site are also simple to set-up, and help to extend your company’s reach and make your site more dynamic.

8. Extending the Functionality with Plugins

You can add an video gallery, event calendar, photo gallery, shopping cart, Twitter Feed, Facebook Fan Box and more to your site. WordPress makes this possible with plugins, most of which are free or reasonably priced. You don’t need to be a web guru to install them.

9. Your Site Will Grow as Your Business Grows

WordPress sites are so scalable. There are hundreds of thousands of pages or blog posts on your site and the performance of the site will not be compromised in the least.

10. Multiple Users

As an administrator of a WordPress site, you can set-up multiple users for the website and assign access levels and capabilities to each user.

December 16, 2015 admin Web, Web design, WordPress Comments Off

The importance of logo identity

Why is a logo identity so important? Because we mostly choose the products we buy based on their perceived value rather than their real value.

Logos are all around us. Think clothes labels, running shoes, TVs, smart phones, computers. From the moment we wake to the moment we sleep, they’re an ever-present part of our every day routine.

The average person sees 15,000 advertisements, logos, and labels in a day.

Don’t believe it?

To illustrate the constant presence of logos in our lives, I decided to spend the first few minutes of a typical working day looking at all logos on the products I interact with, beginning with my morning alarm. They ranged to Apple logo on my iPhone, Kellogs logo on my cereal box, Channel 9 logo on the TV show I was watching, Toyota logo on my car, school logo entrance at my sons’ school, a variety of logos on shop fronts as I drove to work.

All these logos in only 2 hours from me being up already, that’s just a glimpse into my day, which is not to say that there weren’t plenty of other logos around at the time — on other food products, books and newspapers, billboards and my clothing.

A logoless company is a like a person without a face.

For years, we have needed and desired social identification. Think of a farmer who brands his cattle to mark his ownership, or the stonemason who proudly chisels his trademark.

When you close your eyes and picture McDonald’s, what do you see? Golden arches? For those products and services that have a strong logo identity, it’s the identity that people often think of first, rather than the product itself. Think of Apple, Nike, Coke and BMW. Chances are good that without even showing you their logos, you’d have a fairly good idea how they look. But also be, a huge marketing budget is necessary to achieve the recognition rates of such organisations, but it’s important to “put on your best face.”

So you see logo identity is vital to any business that wishes to succeed and be remembered. Can you really out a price on that?

Call Spiros at DesignLab to discuss how we can help better your logo identity.

December 3, 2015 admin Brand Identity, Branding, Branding Adelaide, Logo design Comments Off

Pricing Logo Design

Every graphic designer ask the age-old question…. “How much should I charge my clients for logo design?”. So if you don’t know what your skills are worth, rest assured you’re not alone. I still wonder whether we are doing ourselves justice with the rates we have set, and I’ve been in charge of my business for what seems like a very long time.

There is a great quote I use with new clients which reads ‘It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds’. This sums it all up so nicely. As an experienced designer you may be quick, but it has taken years of practice to get to that point.

You can’t be expected to price a design project without first understanding the needs of your client. I just don’t know how some designers can advertise a list of predetermined prices for x amount of concepts with x rounds of revisions, they are attempting to commoditize a profession that by definition can’t be commoditized.

Every client is different, so every design project will be also.
It makes no sense to me to pigeonhole your client into a specific price bracket. What works for one will not work for another, and your time profit a big hit when you limit yourself to a set range and attract clients on the basis of price alone.

The pricing formula

Pricing logo design is far from an exact science formula, and even when you think you’ve covered every factor possible for determining your costs, another one will crop up and force you to recalculate. It’s important to consider what affects the amount you quote, and how you can ensure you actually make a profit.

Print costs

A logo design is likely to contain a range of print design, such as business cards, letterheads, or a brochure, and it is difficult to determine how and what to charge your client for providing this service.

Designers normally charge a markup on the total print costs when they handle this service for the client. This is their way of recouping the time and effort spent liaising with the print company. There’s no industry standard percentage, but somewhere between a 15 and 20 percent markup is a good starting point.

My advice is to advise clients to deal directly with a printer locally. This helps clients in two ways: They save money that is otherwise spent on my markup, and they build a business relationship with someone local, which can save a significant amount of money on future print runs. And if your clients take the time to ask a printer how to make the most of the money they plan to spend on their printing project, they likely will be surprised at the advice and help the printer delivers.

Level of expertise

Only you know how much your skills are worth, and this value is the result of your experience in dealing with clients. I frequently ask myself if I’m charging too much or charging
too little, and I reckon every other designer does too. But the main goal is to make sure you’re compensated for the level of experience and education; the overheads for your office space, equipment, electricity and heating, etc; and the expenses you will incur as a result of working through the design project with your client (travel costs, your time, etc).

Quick turnaround times

If a client is under pressure to have a job completed within a tight time frame, then you need to consider applying a “rush job” markup. Accepting the request means that you, too, will be under increased pressure to get the job done, and might result in a rescheduling of your existing projects. I recommend a markup of 20 percent to 50 percent, depending on the urgency of the deadline and the client.

Additional services

When a client needs a new website to go along with their logo, consider it a wonderful opportunity, even if such a service falls outside your skill set. It’s situations like these that allow you to provide that extra level of service and support that is most useful to your client.

Down payments

It is essential that you receive a down payment prior to commencing work—especially when dealing with a client with whom you have no prior relationship. If you don’t get one, it’s easy to be taken for a ride.

I made a mistake of falling into this trap in my early days of being in business. I once worked with a client with whom I had an understanding that full payment would be made after I sent final artwork. I supplied my client with the designs, but almost immediately after, my client contact evaporated, and I was left with nothing.

I would recommend at leat 25 – 50% deposit. This is not unreasonable to ask, and it quite common practice in business.

The money exchange

After having worked with overseas clients for some time, I began to wonder about fluctuations in exchange rates, and whether I should factor these into my initial quotes. It’s worth considering, because there might be a sudden dip in the exchange rate before you receive full payment, potentially leaving you out of pocket.

November 11, 2015 admin Brand Identity, Branding, Logo design Comments Off

BOOST YOUR SEO RANKINGS WITH GOOGLE+

There seems to be an on-going debate if you can boost your SEO rankings with Google+ really helps your websites SEO ranking. I have heard both sides of the coin, and there seems to be sceptics and believers. At DesignLab, we are true BELIEVERS! I mean if you want to be on the first page of Google then why would you not use of all Google’s free add-ons (i.e YouTube, Google Analytics, Google Maps, etc). Any blind person could see that if Google own the SEO market, then you would be crazy not to take opportunity of all they have to offer.

It should go without saying that a businesses Google+ Page signals (any Google property’s signals) have a significant impact on its organic — and more specifically local pack — results. And while many discredit the influence of Google+, the simple fact is that studies of SERP ranking factors continue to highlight the influence Google My Business signals (and therefore Google+) have on your company’s organic rankings.

Google My Business now makes it easier than ever to manage your company’s presence on Google. But setting up an account and a Google+ Business Page is not enough to keep your business ranking in a good position. It takes a little bit of time, in the following steps will help you with the SEO benefits of Google+ and maintain your local rankings.

boost-your-local-google-plus

Pizza New York

Example of Local Pack results for a search query: “Pizza New York”

A Google+ Guide for Local SEO Success

The following guide presents recommended steps to boost a local business online presence.
Note: these steps apply to a Business Page for local businesses and not a Brand Page.

Set Up Your My Business Account

Visit Google My Business to create a business listing on Google Maps. You will then be prompted to verify the listing with a unique code that you can choose to receive by phone call or a postcard (be wary it can take a few weeks to post, and Google only give you 30 days to activate the code). Once verified, your Business Page is ready!

There is another scenario in which you may now — or already — have two Google+ pages for your company:

a pre-existing Brand Page (where you actively post updates)
a local Business Page (connected to Google Maps and displays reviews)

Luckily after the release of Google My Business, Google introduced a feature enabling you to transfer core data from the local page (Google Maps pin, location and verification, as well as reviews) to your brand page, creating one united Local Business Page (connected to Google Maps, displays reviews and you can post updates, add images, interact with others etc). Google offers very clear instructions for connecting the two pages.

Once you have verified your Business Page, it is important the business information you supply is 100% complete, accurate and up-to-date. The following are core Business Page elements that when properly optimised, help push your organic and local pack results in the right direction.

• Business Category

Make sure you select the correct category tags for your business to ensure Google displays your SERP result for the right searches. The category describes what your business is (e.g. real estate agency), not what it does (e.g. property valuations) or the product it sells (e.g. houses). You can set a primary category followed by secondary categories, but it needs to accurately represent your business.

• Set the NAP (name/address/phone number)

These are displayed below your business name and profile image on your Business Page. Your business name, address and phone number should be referenced in the same manner across your Business Page, your website and any other platform where they are displayed. Google now has strict guidelines for representing your business on Google+, including:

Your business name on Google+ should reflect your business’s real-world name as it is displayed on your storefront and all other marketing material.
Use a physical address, not a PO BOX, so Google Maps can pin your business to the map and your customers can find you! Trust me we have had many customers with PO box issues.
Use your local/landline phone number, not a 1800 toll free number.

• Business Information

Put your business’s official website because this will create a link to your site. Ensure the company introduction is filled out, making sure it is clear and concise. It is beneficial to include keywords your site already ranks for as the introduction is used as your page’s meta description in Google’s SERPs.

• Opening Hours

Check your opening hours are correct- there are reports that Google may not include your Google Plus page result in its local SERPs if the hours listed indicate the company is closed and especially if no opening hours are listed at all. You can also add information regarding payment options and images for better engagement if you like.

Optimise your Page for Better Local Organic Rankings

Now that your account has been set up, here are some additional actions you can take to increase the SEO of your Business Page.

Encourage Reviews From Your Customers on Google+

Encourage customers to write positive reviews of your business by clicking ‘Write a Review’ on your local Business Page or from the SERP or knowledge graph results.

review-summary-4.0

Reviews can increase the authority of your Google+ page with more high quality, positive reviews, the likelihood of ranking well in the local search pack increases. Just take a look at the Local Pack results for a local search (example above), or the organic results and knowledge graph for a local brand-name search and you will see exactly why reviews are so important- because Google loves displaying them in search results! Users also trust reviews, so the more positive reviews your brand has, the higher your CTR and conversions. So, start encouraging your customers to help you out!

Claim a Custom URL

Once the local page has been verified, you can claim a custom URL to match your brand. This incorporates your brand name in your page’s custom URL to increase your brand’s visibility in Google’s SERPs.

Connect Your Business YouTube Channel

Your Businesses YouTube channel’s settings provide the option to link your channel to your Business Page. Once they are linked, your channel’s videos will be displayed under an additional “YouTube” tab offering additional elements for engagement on Google+. A link to the Business Page will also appear on your channel, sending more valuable traffic to your Google+ page. With the additional activity on your Business Page, the social signals from your business’s account will also play a bigger role in your rankings.

Remove Duplicate Business Pages

Run a search for your business in Google+ to track down any duplicated Business Pages. If you have access, you can remove the pages or if you do not want to delete the page, leave an update directing visitors to your active Business Page. It is quite common to find a number of Business Pages with your company name (such as additional local pages linked to an old location on Google Maps, different Business Pages set up by different accounts etc).

Promote Your Google+ Page to Gain Followers

It is not enough just to set up a Business Page and integrate it with other Google properties to achieve top results in local search. You must maintain the page and use it to interact and build brand awareness across the web. The following are some tips to gain followers and increase your page’s engagement:

Post updates frequently and keep your profile fresh. Users are more likely to engage with a page that is up to date, active and complete. Always use hashtags related to the topic you are posting about for better searchability. Incorporate images and videos to encourage engagement from your followers. All simple steps.
Add influential people and pages to your circles (especially in your local area). The key to building your following is to engage and interact with other personal and business profiles by commenting, sharing and +1’ing their relevant content as many will often reciprocate these actions. The more activity and engagement you receive on your content, especially +1’s, the more likely Google will favour your page in SERP results.
Encourage your website’s visitors to visit your Business Page by embedding the Google+ badge on your site. This allows your site visitors to directly engage with your page, consolidating +1’s from your website and your Business Page.
Include a link to your Business Page in other marketing material such as your company’s email signature and your AdWords advertising campaigns.

anna-pet-supplies

In summary the key to Google+ success, as with most social networks is to remain active, to engage and be engaging and to send a consistent message to your users. With a little bit of time and effort, your Google+ Business Page has the power to keep your business highly visible both within Google’s local pack and local organic search results and organic results overall.

October 28, 2015 admin Google, Google Plus, SEO Comments Off