The Big Ideas Collective blog entries, within Design

Knowing what inspires you is the key to recharging your creative batteries..

In times of so much doom and gloom on the news and the seemingly gleeful negativity of the presenters, everyone needs to recharge their enthusiasm and positive energy – that is what the summer is for...

Unless strictly necessary, secrecy and keeping information to oneself is not always wise or indeed possible – so, rather than trying to work it out alone – share. Without open communication a project will be lifeless, opportunities will be missed and life would be dull...

Business management guru and best selling author Tom Peters said:

"Design - it’s a word with wide interpretations...  To most people it's the gloss over, icing on the cake, the pretty bit afterwards, but it's so much more than that, it's a the core of an idea, an evolution of thoughts, problems and solutions."

It set me thinking... Just look at nature and how everything is meticulously designed to work, thrive and survive, or else it becomes extinct...

Twelve years ago I needed a 600 ft sq studio to do what I do today. The last decade’s technological advances in the design industry has meant that I can now operate from a rucksack, from anywhere and with a larger toolbox.

Would you climb Everest without a guide? How writing a good design brief is only half the journey…

For something as fundamental as the concept and execution of design it’s important to get it right. Design is important, a recent study by the Design Council identified that for every £100 invested in creative communications, £225 is added to turnover, which means the savvy organisations bring in the creatives at an early stage of the process.

In today's competitive market it's not enough to simply have a recognised brand: a great illustration, a powerful unique selling point or a low price. Today's consumers are far savvier than ever before and they want to know more about the story behind the product or brand, its provenance and ethics.

                                     … consumers expect to be informed and therefore make an informed choice.

Dolly Daydream first appeared in a song in the 1890s so she's been around doing what she does best for over a 100 years; man, however, has been doing it since time immemorial.

I recently sent a job to print which had an orange logo in the design of the letterhead and a glossy leaflet.
I prepared the documents for print using 2 different printing processes, and as a result had to pay special attention to the orange colour...

Fonts are an amazingly powerful tool in branding, which are often left till last or forgotten about completely. A font can tell you so much about a product, purely by the curve or slab of its serif it can speak volumes about quality or reams about rubbish.

It may seem simple but one rule to follow when creating and building a brand, to ensure its success, is... consistency.

The power of the computers we use today has brought the ability to use design software to many users. The ability to have the software on your PC does not however make the user a designer.