BE BRILLIANT AT THE BASICS

Don’t try to accommodate every customer. The more you do, the more you can potentially dilute your initial strength that people loved you for. Sure, it’s a balance; just keep it tipped the correct way.

Building a better business is certainly about giving the customer what we want e.g. the plumber who tidies up after his/her work. But it’s also about giving the customer what he/she didn’t realise they needed e.g. a text telling of the exact arrival time at your home to start work.

Don’t use email for anything that needs the expression of emotion unless you have the skills of a Mills & Boon novelist. No: see them face-to-face or pick up the phone.

Your corporate culture is not something that can be ‘rolled out’; it is the sum of what individuals do on a day-to-day basis. And understanding why they do what they do.

Notice how the small stuff can really wind you up when you’re in a line for a coffee or dealing with your bank. Does your business do that to its customers?

More important than great offices, a cool logo and a function spreadsheet is a sustainable, differentiated, profitable idea on which to build your business.

Yes it does matter. Many people really do mind that ‘customer parking’ has no spaces, that reception has last month’s business magazines, and that the account manager had an indifferent attitude.

Never talk negatively about a team member who is not present. Talk to him or her.

Everybody sells. Everybody talks value, everybody dissolves resistance to purchase, and everybody spots sales opportunities. Sure, there are some in the business (salespeople) for whom it is their final and number one accountability. But everybody sells.

Why do you want to be big? Quite. You really want to be profitable. Which may or may not correlate with size.

Make price the smallest issue. The one which is just a simple question — and how much is this/and what are your fees? — not a big debate nor negotiation. How? Through talking and illustrating and referencing the tremendous measurable value and benefit they will get when they become one of your customers.

"This was something i found on a blog and its very useful and has a lot of information that will effect a lot of people" 

SOPHIE MABONA

"Sipho Mabona, a young artist currently residing in Switzerland, was commissioned by ad agencyNordpol+ Hamburg to design and create the origami model"

When i first seen these hand crafted animals, building and flowers they caught my attention and made me want to look for some more of her creation. i came across a video that these were created for. 'Asics' is a well know brand and for a young designer to have any involvement in this business would be a massive step. 

PPD - TASK - PERSONAL BRANDING

 Personal Branding 

Reviewing Personal Brands : Task 3

Work Examples

Name of Examples

JK

What works well?

From my first view I could tell that she was very serious about her work and that most of it was in order and very professional. The only thing I couldn’t stand was her identity because I don’t know what her name is I only know what it says which is JK. 

What doesn’t work well?

The identity that she has created does not work well at all and it is very hard to understand. Also it doesn’t give you any indication on what her name was I only got her what could be initials JK.  

Design / Layout?

The layout was the same as before the original straight forward design with most of the work on the page and a little corner taking up by her identity, this is something I would intend to change just because it will take it away from the norm. 

How branding is displayed?

The branding is displayed in the top left corner. It is a very poor branding design as it doesn’t let you know what her name is. 

Quantity of work? 

There is more than enough work examples and I prefer to see more than less. I like how she has uploaded most of the work she has because it lets you see where her talent lies and what field of graphics she understands more. 

What would you change?

If I was to change anything it would be her personal branding because it is just to minimal and you don’t know what she is called, from a designer to find some of her work and not know her name is very un-professional 

PPD - TASK - PERSONAL BRANDING

Personal Branding 

Reviewing Personal Brands : Task 3

Work Examples

Name of Examples

Sophie Murphy

What works well?

I feel that the whole work examples work really well, I like the layout she has gone for because not only can you see all her work she tells you what the work was for which is a very good choice to do because people can relate to her work if they know why she has done it. 

What doesn’t work well?

There wasn’t much that I can fault for this design because everything is in order and nothing looks out of place or even wrong. 

Design / Layout?

Once again the layout s just the norm but I feel by adding the little description under her work has set it apart from the rest because the others I have viewed haven’t done this and I really think it’s a good idea and will defiantly consider putting it on my work. 

How branding is displayed?

The branding is once again in the top left corner which I think works well because its out the way of the work but not out the way of your view. 

Quantity of work? 

The work quantity is more than enough and I enjoyed that I could flick through her different styles of work and see what she was good at and what she found a little harder than others.  

What would you change?

There wasn’t anything I would change on this work examples because it linked all together and flowed really well, over al I really enjoyed this portfolio and thought it stood out from the rest I viewed. 

PPD - TASK - PERSONAL BRANDING

Personal Branding 

Reviewing Personal Brands : Task 3

Work Examples

Name of Examples

Rhys Tomlinson

What works well?

The layout on this portfolio was above average and came above the rest I viewed, I really enjoyed looking through the PDF because every new piece of work showed a new side to his design skills and he had a lot of different design that you could easily view. 

What doesn’t work well?

I feel that everything works well with this design the layout and everything else is perfect and it really works all together well.

Design / Layout?

The design layout is different to others I have looked at because he has put more than one thing on a page which I like, you can compare each bit of his work with easy. He also has a little description on the side of each work example and I really like how it doesn’t over power the page and it feels as if its there if you want to read it but you don’t have to. 

How branding is displayed?

There is no branding on this CV which is a let down because a little bit of his own thought would of went well with this design. 

Quantity of work? 

The work quantity is more than enough and I enjoyed that I could flick through his work with easy. There was plenty to look at because there was more than one thing per page, which was a good idea to have because you can easily compare the design styles. 

What would you change?

There isn’t much that I would change but the only thing I didn’t like is that there wasn’t any personal branding so a little bit of identity is what I would incorporate in my design. 

PPD - TASK - PERSONAL BRANDING

Personal Branding 

Reviewing Personal Brands : Task 3

Work Examples

Name of Examples

Carl Rutherford

What works well?

Carl’s opening page was a very vibrate and outstanding piece of design, His work stood out from the rest of the other work examples I viewed. His work is outstanding and I can automatically tell that he is a very talented designer.  

What doesn’t work well?

I feel that all the design examples he gave worked to the highest of standards and I couldn’t really find a fault in his work I was very impressed with what I seen. 

Design / Layout?

The design layout was very basic; it was just a straight forward four pages of his work. I personally think that it is fine from my point of view because nothing over powered his work and the work examples is what it was all about. 

How branding is displayed?

His branding is a small print in the bottom left of the page and I think it works well with his design because it doesn’t over power anything and people can still see who the work belongs to and people can still see his identity 

Quanity of work? 

The quantity of work might be a little bit on the short side but the work he has put forward is very professional and of a very high standard. 

What would you change?

The only thing I would change is the description because there doesn’t seem to be any, although his work speaks for it self a little information on why he created it and how he created it would also be nice. 

PENCIL DRAWING

I have chosen this video because i like to concentrate on more than one design field and i am still very fond of drawing as i was from a young age. This video was posted by a everyday youtube user i like it because it shows that not everything is impossible and it also shows that if you take your own style upon things it can work.

LETTER'S IN THE SKY

"We thought that they were fab - and desperately wanted to suggest that maybe Expedia should use them in some way - what with their blue skies design and branding. They're the sort of thing that makes you want to get your camera out and have a crack at them yourself."

I found this whilst searching through David Airey's blog. because i really like type and how it can be manipulated in many different ways this grabbed my attention straight away. 

Kanye West 'College Drop Out'

This CD cover attracted my attention because of the negative space used, the bright brown, yellow and gold leaf surround pulls this picture out from the paper and it caught my eye straight away. 

'TYPE ADDICTED'

This is one of my favourite designs and i have always been 'ADDICTED' to type.  I chose this design because finding new ways to express type and experiment with different styles of type is what i love to do.  

'YOUR SPECIAL PLACE'

NARC - Live Brief

This was one of my Live briefs, I was asked to create a magazine cover, CD packet and a CD print. They wanted anything random and i went through a lot of different designs that i wasn't to sure about and designs that just didn't work. I then drew up a rough example of the both and i really like it because of the negative space which makes the design stand out a lot more.