I have just finished creating another animated gif advertisment for an Intellectual Property Services client, Handsome IP.

The challenge was to create an eye-catching ad, which got the message across within a 40kb gif file size. From the initial ideas, it took two hours to create and is currently being advertised on www.growingbusiness.co.uk.

If you require help in creating online advertising, please contact Andy at Designbull

I have just downloaded probably one of the most useful iphone applications. WhatTheFont basically identifies the fonts in a photo or web graphic!

How it works:
You simply take a photo or find a photo in your iPhoto library, it connects to the MyFont servers and will identify the font from your photo!
Amazing for any graphic designer who's out and about and wants to know what a font is they've seen on a poster design or sign.
If you're a designer with an iPhone, this is a must-have! Download it here

As part of a recent marketing campaign to promote the Bring Innovation to Life seminars for one of our clients, we completed some banner advertising, which included an animated gif. These are tricky to design and optimise, as the maximum file size allowed is only 39k! To make it eye-catching and clearly put the message across, we eventually completed the final banner ad below:

Bring Innovation to Life animation

Additional design work included a home page banner and an 'e-shot' email:

We created and designed an advertisment for one of our clients, Westland Construction for insertion into various publications.

The Bath Business Club have been successfully running independently for over a year. We hold weekly breakfast meetings every Tuesday at the Bath Rugby Club and this year decided to exhibit at the GWE Exhibition at the Assembly Rooms in Bath.

It was a fantastic success, with 30 new visitors attending the Tuesday networking meeting. Our stand so busy we couldn't get any pictures of it on it's own! Designbull created and produced the posters and pull up banner with Nigel Marriot providing the headline stats and Adam Morris who took the photos.

According to a report by the Royal Mail, we send around 750 million Christmas Cards each year in the uk. The study found that 84% of people prefer the personal touch of a Christmas Card whilst only 32% like to receive a festive text or email!

So this Christmas here at Designbull we're offering to our clients, both small and medium sized businesses, quality cost-effective card printing:
50 A5 Christmas cards for £49.00 or 150 A5 Christmas cards for £109.00
This includes full colour inside and out printed onto 350gsm card, gloss laminated on the outside, and creased.
And we've also thrown in the cost of packaging, delivery AND white envelopes FREE!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND ORDER YOURS TODAY!

On behalf of the Bath Ecademy group, organised by Richard Hill, I was asked to give a presentation about logo design and effective branding for small businesses last night.
This was the first time I've had to talk for over an hour! I went through the history of brand logo design, showed some examples of my logo designs, examples of how not to design logos, and the logo design process.
Ending with them having to get creative with supplied pencils and pads, and create ideas for each of their company's or product's. It went really well and ended on time with a discussion on each of their final chosen logo ideas. You can download the presentation slides here

Download the full page article in pdf format

The associate approach to marketing and communications proves successful for two Bath-based companies, Designbull Ltd. and DWP Public Relations Ltd.

Henry Ford, the American Industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said that ‘Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is a success’.

Working together has proved very successful; as their associate approach to marketing and communications is the perfect fit with clients. In just twelve months, DWP Public Relations and Designbull Ltd. have swiftly developed a network of communications and marketing professionals who can deliver on client requirements.
The complementary businesses have developed a one-stop shop for clients to access a range of key disciplines including media relations/reputation management, brand development design/marketing, web development/e-marketing, media training/planning and crisis management. Andy Fuller, Director of Designbull comments:

“The benefits of our associate approach are plain to see. Clients not only have access to a team with almost 100 years collective experience of delivering communications campaigns, they can receive a more structured marketing, design and PR approach, as we can manage the entire communications efforts.”

The associate approach also provides clients with a wider access to sector knowledge. For instance, Designbull has worked with clients within the Construction, Charity, IT and Financial Services sectors, whilst DWP has a proven track record in Management Consultancy, Telecoms, Government and Manufacturing. David Pippett, Director of DWP comments:

“We can also provide experts for very specific requests. For instance, when we have a national client that has a high profile media interview, we can work closely with our media trainer who presented The Money Programme and has written for The Sunday Times to provide a much needed refresher, or a more intense full media training session.”

Rather than accepting that rigid shells for automobiles as the norm, the designers at BMW went soft and came up with this new concept car, called the GINA. Flexible fabric covers the interior and exterior and can change shape to fit the environment. I love the way the 'eyes' of the car wink open! Great design thinking from BMW.

Designbull have completed the Tryscore brand logo identity, for an expert business solutions provider. They offer a full range of services for businesses - starting with a thorough, in-depth review of the existing business to identify immediate or critical issues and fully understand what resources are available.
The swirl icon was created to visualise the constant evolution of a business, with the tryscore ethos of 'test and measure' added into the mix. A subtle 't' is also created from the central white space. For the logo type, the Frutiger font was used as a template and redrawn for it's clear and modern style. The Tryscore brand logo identity is now being rolled out to their marketing material including website, stationery and information cards.

Working with Pantheon Homes and Westland Construction, Designbull have created the branding and marketing for their latest development, Severnpoint in Bristol. A selection of 24 contemporary one and two bedroomed apartments. This will also include brochures, advertising and PR in the run up to the show home opening in January 2009. An exciting time for us so watch this space for more details as we get nearer the date!

Designbull have just finished the design for the new Lifeline newsletter for Send a Cow. This version is A5 in size to reduce postage costs and is printed on recycled paper. They will be sent out to around 40,000 subscribers. You can download the pdf web version here