theblog :: Hullabaloo Visual Communications

Rejected!

Richard Palmer — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:41:33 +0000

Here's a couple of gems that never made the grade!

It's always disappointing when you present a logo, brochure or website to a client and for one reason or other they just don't wanna go with it, sometimes it maybe doesn't quite meet the brief or maybe they just don't get it! These were a couple which I did some time ago that never got to see the light of day! I always liked them, so here you go!

The first was a concept for an outdoor office company, they provided offices which go in your garden, like a posh shed I guess! Great if you work from home but don't want to be squeezed into a spare bedroom constantly dodging the ironing pile, old books and toys that are out of favour... or maybe that's just my spare room!

The next idea was for a new development of offices and community buildings, situated near to an old cathedral (called St Martins!) I wanted this to reflect the heritage of the development, but also give it a modern, vibrant feel. I thought it was great... but never mind!!

I know you can't win em all, and I actually quite enjoy the challenge of having to come up with new ideas... even when some corkers are cruelly rejected, left out in the cold, left to rot, cast aside... not that I'm ever bitter!

As seen on TV

Colin Higton — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:15:13 +0000

We recently got a chance to see our logo designs on TV when we were asked to create a logo for a company undergoing the Alex Polizzi - The Fixer treatment on BBC2.

Karl McKeever of Visual Thinking is a long standing client of ours (14 years!), and was a key consultant on the show. He was called in to sort out the presentation of the shop and and asked Hullabaloo to design the logo for Kettleys Furniture. Our logo was part of a substantial makeover - and in classic reality TV style, all the in-fighting and squabbles amongst the family were on display, making it all the more entertaining for the viewers.

Sadly, because of the constraints of filming we never actually got to appear in the show - our work was all done with Karl, who fortunately had a very clear understanding of both what the client needed, and what would be acceptable.

The short time frame everyone had to prepare the relaunch meant that we only had one chance to get a new logo accepted by the family. If we pushed them too far it would be rejected, but if we didn't go far enough they would stick with what they had.

Fortunately, this kind of project is something Hullabaloo regularly tackle, and a dilemma we have faced with Karl before. Although you can see from the show that not everyone was immediately enthusiastic, the end result looked great with the logo looking fresh and the whole store revolutionised by Karl and his team.

In fact the end result was actually a success with everyone - except the little girl at the end!

Dyslexicon...

Katie Lymn — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:46:50 +0100

Dyslexia comes in a number of forms and can be highly debilitating for a sufferer. People often think that to help combat the detrimental effects on reading, a clear and uniform font is the key. This would make sense to an individual who does not suffer from dyslexia; the more complex a font, the more difficult it may be to read. However this is not the same issue with dyslexics, who find it difficult to distinguish between similar looking letters, for example b and d.

A graphic designer in the Netherlands (Who happens to have dyslexia) may have come up with a solution. Each letter in his script is unique from the rest in many more respects than the typical font - whilst still retaining the togetherness that characterises the font as a consistent style.

Under testing, the readers of words in the 'dyslexie' font made fewer errors than those reading a more traditional font.

The logic behind this is that the unique nature of every letter in the script makes it difficult for someone with dyslexia to translate the letter into another similar looking one - hence avoiding confusion.

The font is currently on sale for businesses and schools and is just one show of the broad range of application that design has in the world!

Check out this video which illustrates visually how dyslexie works

Fool me once...

Katie Lymn — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:43:31 +0100

Micro-expressions... What are they? And why are they so small?

Well! A micro-expression is the tiny and usually subconscious movement of muscles in the face. Typically, these micro-expressions are too fast and too subtle for anyone to notice with the naked eye and largely can't be faked or inhibited, even if the individual is trying to fain their body language (lying). Some people though, are significantly (in a statistical sense) attuned to these signals, making them very adept at spotting lies or detecting the real emotions or motives behind false statements made by an individual.

Typically, however, video recordings and frame by frame analysis is what is needed to witness the micro-expression. The research, made famous by Paul Ekman, has been used in popular culture such as the television show 'Lie to me' which features a private company that is hired to asses whether people of interest are lying.

While this is clearly a dramatised representation of the science, essentially, it really is all in the small details. When the snapshot is captured, we can all read the message. The talent is in getting that snapshot. Continuing along this tangent, we can apply this notion to design. The sincerity is all in the detail. The artwork is a snapshot of the campaign for everyone to see and make judgment about.

This is why knowing your client and finding a good working relationship with them is key. This gives you the knowledge to include the details that convey the sincerity of the design and really hit the mark with your target audience, driving them to invest in your ideas and believe in your honesty.

Think you can spot a lie? You can try to spot mine here. (I'll be honest in saying it's not the most taxing of lie detection tasks, but a bit of fun all the same!)

Manhattanhenge

Colin Higton — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:10:39 +0100

Sometimes, after we have carefully designed the latest brochure or website for a client, they will ask us to move an element of the design from one side of the page to another, or just to make something bigger.

It's as easy as that to ask for - and in all honesty it isn't a lot harder to do on the computer - but sometimes it leads to scratching of heads and even a bit of swearing here in the studio. It may end up taking an hour or two to make a change which could have been done in 10 minutes - and if you witness this process, you might find yourself asking why - and if you are paying the designer for their time you might legitimately ask why.

The answer to that was kind of illustrated in New York this week with a phenomenon they are calling 'Manhattanhenge'. In a city like New York with a clear grid structure and so many skyscrapers, every so often, the sun sets in line with the city's streets so that it sets between the buildings instead of just disappearing behind them.

The effect is like Stonehenge - and as you can see from the photograph above, the New Yorkers who normally ignore their skyline stop - or even gather - to witness and photograph the event.

But what's that got to do with layout I hear you ask?

The truth is that humans can't help but see patterns in everything - from the stars and clouds to tea leaves and the landscape. In Manhattan as everywhere else, the sun sets every day, but when it suddenly lines up with a road between buildings, the whole event takes on a whole new significance.

But this isn't just a passive thing - we don't just notice the pattern, we actually look for it. We search for patterns in everything - and sometimes we attach huge importance to them - whether it's the slice of toast with an image of Jesus on it or reading omens and portents into the alignment of the stars.

Cloudwatchers love to share the shapes they see - and if you get out a magic eye book in almost any group of people they will desperately try to 'see the picture' - even if they aren't convinced it's actually there. Finding patterns satisfies something deep within us.

And that's the point - we may not always actually see the way items line up with and relate to each other on a page, but we instinctively know when they are right. It helps the viewer to read the page, and keeps comfortable and relaxed - even if the design is vibrant and busy.

The order and structure behind the design makes the difference between something that feels wrong and something that just works.

It isn't always easy to find - but it's always worth looking for, and it's something we work really hard to find for our clients.

Picture credit

4-rilla

Are you under the influence?

Katie Lymn — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:18:59 +0100

I was just reading an article about how the car door has been musically engineered over the years to always produce that satisfying 'clunk' sound whenever we close it. Organically, that noise would not occur with the modern built car, a much more tinny and unsatisfying 'clink' in its place. But, the designers realise that this sound is a very important marketing and sales tool. Without it, the car would instantly become less desirable to potential consumers. This got me thinking, the psychology of design effects us in all sorts of situations, often on a daily basis and in ways which we are almost never really even aware of.

As human beings, we are inherently influenced by different types of 'cue', and whether that be visual, acoustic of physiological, they can all be quite effectively utilised to influence our behaviour and even our emotions.

For example, when shoppers are exposed to background music, the tempo of the music directly influences the speed at which they shop. Fast paced, up beat music results in a shopper who is more speedy and less likely to stop to investigate any one item for any length of time. Slower and more relaxed music tends to have the opposite effect; people take their time and feel no rush to leave or move on around the store.

I employ a similar tactic in my vlogs - sometimes I will include a 'plinky plonky' tune in the background to try and add colour to my whimsy. (I choose to believe I have a whimsical nature... I don't care what you say!). The tune has quirky qualities yet also has sufficient tempo to keep the video moving, an effort to minimise boredom. (Whether it's enough to combat 5 minutes of drivvel is another question).

This idea is also applicable to print design. Bright colours and contrasting ideas bringing a sense of movement and speed will help to energise viewers to make that decision to purchase, while ambient, muted colours with a snapshot static view of a precise moment, lets associated thoughts remain with the viewer for longer, allowing time for the message to 'sink in' and perhaps result in their donation to the charity or to change their attitude about slowing down when driving.

In addition to these 'cues' there is another, more complex idea involved. In essence these types of emotive advertising campaigns cause something that is called 'Cognitive Dissonance.' Basically what it means, is that our actions or thoughts are conflicting and because of that, we feel uneasy.

For example, an advertisement depicting an emotion provoking scene relating to a starving child in Africa stirs negative emotions in ourselves, as we feel bad abut the thousands of poverty stricken children suffering in Africa, however our actions do not relieve this upset, by not contributing to the relief effort. Thus in order to relieve this cognitive dissonance, one might choose to donate some money to the charity. The individual then feels less conflicted because their actions co-inside with their emotions - they feel its wrong that people are in poverty, so they donated some money to help a little bit with efforts to change it. In a slightly different direction, the dramatic movie poster makes you excited about the movie, but your action of not going to watch it causes cognitive dissonance, therefore you arrange a trip to the cinema.

There are other reasons that designers should be aware of cognitive dissonance to be able to capitalise on it (but I've realised now that I might be here all day writing about it and that perhaps another subject dedicated blog post is in order). Many good designers naturally employ techniques to wield this influence without really knowing any of the theory behind it.

But it's interesting (at least to me) to understand the cognitive influence that you potentially have on your audience.

The power of 'Thank You'

Colin Higton — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:08:10 +0100

I've just received three things from a new client - I won't name them for fear of embarrassing them, but they know who they are...

The first was just the opportunity to work on their projects - a whole range of corporate brochures and other literature, and the promise of many new and even more exciting projects to follow. This was particularly gratifying as it's someone we've worked with before - so they must have liked what we did for them in the past.

The second was a very prompt payment of our invoice - which is always much appreciated and is, after all, why we are here. Again, not a small thing - it doesn't always happen that way, and when it does it usually means someone has gone the extra mile on our behalf.

Either of those things would be enough to secure their position as a valued client (and combined they make them positively precious) but it was the third thing that makes them absolutely priceless - a thank you.

I know it's a cheesy cliche, but when you know you've delivered that bit extra it gives a real boost to morale and makes every member of the team feel their efforts were worthwhile.

Don't get me wrong - it's not that we sulk if we don't get praised for doing what we are paid for - but every now and again a thank you like that just get's you ready for the next challenge.

So bring it on!

Picture credit

Rustman

Can the web be painless?

Colin Higton — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:35:35 +0100

In last week's blog I talked about the battle between Capability and Usability when creating a website - that is to say how you make sure that you are actually able to use all the features and facilities of your new website. Talking with people this week has convinced me even more that bad CMS systems are difficult to work with and obviously make maintaining the website a painful experience - let alone trying to capitalise on the opportunities of the web.

To try to help, we've added a Tip to our Tools & Tips section that shows you what to look for in a CMS system before you commit to it.

Even with good web designers it's easy to be blown away by attractive graphics and even whizzy animations - but if you keep these points in mind, you will hopefull end up with a website where the user experience behind the scenes is just as good...

Related Blog

Capability Vs Usability

Capability vs Usability

Colin Higton — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 09:16:10 +0100

We spent some time in the studio this week looking into a well known Content Management System (CMS) for producing websites. Our reason for looking was that our client has invested in this system but struggles to use it for themselves - so they wanted us to look at using it to produce and edit a new website for them.

It's not an unfamiliar problem. We have done the same exercise before with other systems, and found that whilst we are able to use them effectively, they are frustrating and restrictive - even for users with expert knowledge.

Which is a real shame, because this system for example has some great features - and some very powerful tools. So in terms of capability it was very impressive - but in terms of usability it was a disaster.

The system is meant to give its users the power to build and manage their own websites, and to make that process as simple and painless as possible for people who have no training in web design. In fairness to the developers the features were all there - we discovered many of them and were suitably impressed, and I'm fairly confident that if we had carried on searching we would have found the rest.

But there's the rub - 'if we had carried on searching'. The developers had invested a great deal of time and effort (and money) into developing and installing all the features, but they hadn't stopped to think about the people using it.

It's a bit like muscle cars. I find Top Gear difficult to watch these days without losing the will to live, but when I've seen it in the past they have often featured the latest fantastic muscle car (usually American) with a hugely powerful engine - but then take it round the track and show that it just isn't possible to use most of that power because the handling or the brakes just aren't up to it.

So you're left with a car that has 4 times the power of the sporty coupe next to you, but as soon as it rains they leave you standing as you try to coax 'the beast' around the greasy corners.

There's no point having all those features if it just makes the system too complicated for the target user - burying all the features they want to use right now in amongst all the ones they don't - but might do eventually.

The situation is even worse if the developers don't work to create an intuitive and simple interface. To stretch the muscle car simile just a little further - the cars that do manage to use all their power are the ones that have been designed that way from the start. With the right suspension, the right brakes and the right tyres, all that power suddenly comes into it's own.

It's the real challenge we face today for technology in general - and of the web in particular. It's not really about creating the capability to do things - much of that already exists, and is already far beyond what most people are doing with it.

The real challenge is to create the usability to enable people to actually do something with that technology and to catch up with the opportunities the internet presents.

Picture credit

Wikipedia

Creativity in Mind?

Katie Lymn — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:09:23 +0100

According to the research - we are at our most open minded and creative, when our thoughts are in disharmony with our body. So for example, if we are feeling happy yet pulling a frown, we are in a more creative mind set than when our expressions honestly represent our mood.

I shall explain one of the ways psychologists have come to this conclusion... (I realise you're dying to know!)

Participants in a research experiment were either asked to think of an emotional event (positive or negative) whilst performing the opposite associated expression (frown or smile) or they were asked to be consistent in their thoughts and expressions. They were then asked to rate how well a certain object fits to the 'ideal' of that object type - for example, how well an 'elephant' fits the concept of 'vehicle'.

They found that those who were experiencing dissonance (incongruent thoughts and expressions) said that the examples were more typical of the concept type than those who were consistent.

So people who are not in tune are more open minded?

We also know however, that experiencing cognitive dissonance generally leads to negative behavioural effects... Though when it comes to the effect on 'creativity' as a single case, it is less clear.

So I started thinking about some of the creative minds well known in the media. Then for some reason my mind moved on to comedy writers and performers, and I noted that often, arguably the best writers and comedians are likely to have experienced this type of dissonance at some point in their careers.

Take for example, Stephen Fry and John Cleese. Both highly respected as comedy writers and performers - both also suffering from well documented episodes of depression.

Now I'm not saying that we all need to be depressed to get anywhere creatively.

But the research is interesting all the same - and perhaps when next time you think you're not in the 'right frame of mind' to be creative - maybe you'll surprise yourself.

Zombomination!

Katie Lymn — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:26:30 +0100

Are you prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse? You've probably heard about Leicestershire police admitting that they might not be as prepared as perhaps they could be, after being approached by a concerned citizen about the issue.

Now it seems Leicestershires worst fears may becoming a reality. A 200 strong undead flashmob army is due to descend on the city to test its defenses, organised via social networking site; facebook.

'Flashmobbing' has become more popular since the dawn of social networking sites, being used as part of things ranging from protests to marketing campaigns, from lightsabre battles to contempory dancing...

Social media has become a powerful tool in recent years. Be that as a platform to organise gatherings, advertise your business or just circulate your ideas, the level of influence that can be harnessed via social networking sites (particularly the two giants, Twitter and Facebook) truly is astronomical.

Such influence should not be underestimated...

Zombie apocalypse survival guide still to come...

Liberty lost

Colin Higton — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 00:29:14 +0100

I was deeply saddened this week to see the Liberty Bell burning in a field, and along with it 77 years of history.

If you don't already know, the Liberty Bell is a B17 Flying Fortress that survived the bombing raids on Dusseldorf towards the end of the second world war. This week, this magnficent plane was being flown to Indianapolis when one of the engines caught fire. The crew were able to land the plane - and thankfully all escaped unhurt - but then they had to stand and watch as the plane they had restored to factory condition slowly burned as the fire fighters were unable to get their vehicles across the muddy field.

The plane cost over 3 million dollars to restore, and the running costs for such planes is astronolmically high - with insurers and the FAA putting them into the same category as commercial airliners. The problem is even more acute for cold war jet aircraft like our own Vulcan that is now thankfully flying again, and the Victor and Lightnings that are air-worthy but prevented from flying by costs or regulations.

So why do we bother? Why not simply put them in a museum where they will be safe - or, since they are after all weapons of mass destruction, just leave them in the scrap yards they were rescued from?

The answer is obvious I'm sure.

It may be expensive to keep these aircraft flying, and there are a thousand things we could spend the money on instead. But take a look at the money we put into promoting the arts and our heritage - lottery funding for ballet and alternative theatre, money to keep significant paintings and sculptures in Britain, art galleries to make sure you and I can see the works of great artists for free.

These aircraft may not be high art, and may not be accorded the same respect or lent the same cultural significance - but they are not only part of our recent history (and part of what kept us from falling prey to tyranny) they also represent a magnificent achievement for a species that only mastered flight in the last hundred years.

In the case of the Vulcan, Victor and Lightnings, they also represent the very pinnacle of Britain's achievements as the nation that brought the world the industrial Revolution. They perfectly capture the brief moment after the second world war when we still inspired and led the world in aircraft design, and when no other country could better our achievements in engineering - and just before we realised that we were incapable of taking advantage of that lead and we lost it forever.

To lose these aircraft forever (like we could have lost the Liberty Bell) would be appalling - but to have the opportunity to see them fly and choose not too would quite simply be a crime.

Picture Credit

Enviromedia and Don't mess with Texas

Size really does matter...

Colin Higton — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 22:52:49 +0100

Digital photography is fantastic. It offers so much more convenience than the transparencies, prints and negatives we used to use - and this is particularly true for studios like us and for our clients. It makes collecting, storing and using photographs effortless - and with email and the internet those images are much easier to distribute instantly to wherever they need to be.

But it also creates problems for us - and one of the biggest of these is the way it fools people into thinking that because they have a digital image that looks good on screen it will be suitable suitable for use in print.

We are often sent images to put into brochures, onto adverts and even onto exhibitions that have simply been taken from the internet - and unfortunately it just doesn't work.

So why can't we just use the image - especially when it looks so good on screen? It all comes down to the image's resolution - the higher the resolution, the clearer the image.

The problem is that on screen we view images at a resolution of roughly 72 pixels per inch - and this means that even a low resolution (or low-res) image tends to look good on the screen. But when we print images in brochures etc, these images need to be much higher resolution - ideally at least 300 pixels per inch.

That might not mean much to you - but what it basically means is that if you look at the image at the top of this article - a photo that looks like the eye top left on screen, could end up looking like one of the eyes at the bottom if we reproduce it at the same size in print.

You can see why it is confusing for clients - they look at the image on screen and it looks beautifully crisp and about the size they want to use it - so when we tell them it isn't good enough quality for print it seems like we are just giving them a problem.

It's made worse because it's hard to find out the resolution of an image without a photo editing programme like Photoshop - and not everyone has access to Photoshop.

But you can get a good idea from just the size of the image file on your computer. Typically images will be supplied as JPEGs, and an A4 (210mm x 297mm) image at 72 ppi will create a JPEG of approximately 500kb or half a megabyte. To use that image at A4 in print, however, we need the image to be 300 ppi, and at that resolution the JPEG will be around 3.5 Megabytes.

So even if you don't know what resolution the image is, just by looking at the size of the file, you can get a good idea of whether it will be suitable for print.

The bigger the file, the better the result.

Vyou what???

Katie Lymn — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:47:40 +0100

I have a confession to make...

Yes another one. And yes it' true. I am addicted to another social networking site. Vyou.com is now where I spend a large amount of my procrastinating time - and that's not even the end of the confession...

But first let me explain what this nifty new site really is. Think - a social networking hybrid. People type questions to you in under 140 characters - then you make a video response in under 2 minutes...

It has the speed of Twitter, the intimacy of Facebook and the community of Youtube. A massive hybrid, which actually - seems to be working.

I for one have been sold. I've been spending so much of my time on this website, that I am almost on the front page for most video responses recorded... that is, shortly I will be in the top 25 responders on the site - EVER. I can't help but feel that it's kind of tragic on my part at some level, but then I could say most of my hobbies are borderline tragic on most levels.

I've even somehow gotten access to a private facebook group dedicated to the site, of which the creator of Vyou is an active member... Yeah, I don't know.

And while I'm sure you are wondering why in the world I am 'wasting my time' on such a thing, I've already had opportunities to work with other 'Vyousers' on projects which otherwise, I would never have even considered viable options.

And I can see other applications of this relatively young site emerging for businesses. I've already seen teachers using it to answer students questions, professional kitchens sharing recipe advice. FAQ's on product websites could be made redundant - each question individually answered for a mass audience and networking could be made easier than ever. The applications are wide and I for one am excited to find out how it is going to be used once business' start taking advantage of it's services.

Augmented reality - Hogwarts or Hogwash?

Colin Higton — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:14:50 +0100

Augmented reality is in the news. You can't move on the BBC for people holding iPads up to London landmarks to have video content magically appear in the cityscape - and it's all very exciting.

The idea appears tobe to embed moving and talking images into everyday life - like the Daily Prophet or the paintings that hang on the walls at Hogwarts. It's instantly appealing to me, both as a technophile and as a visual communicator, and on the surface at least it opens up a world of possiblities.

But look further and all is not quite as glossy as it seems. The BBC's reporter recreated the classic Daily Prophet scenario with a newspaper featuring an image of Sepp Blatter that turned into a live video of the press conference he was holding. But unlike the magical communities favourite rag this wasn't simply an added dimension to the photography.

To achieve this moving image it was neccessary to buy the newspaper, and then sit with the paper open on the table and 'read' it through an iPad. This decidedly muggle solution couldn't help but raise the question of why the iPad owner (other tablets are available by the way) wouldn't just save the cost of the paper and navigate to one of the many websites that already feature this video content for free?

On top of this obvious flaw, many of the samples I have seen have been crude and uninspiring, and it's hard to avoid the impression that this is a technology that is desperately looking for an application (no pun intended).

But is this impression any more accurate than the initial excitement of replacing still photographs with moving images?

In truth, I think augmented reality shares much with the explosion of Apps across Apple and Android devices. Like apps, there are bound to be many examples where having realised that they 'could', the developers fail to stop and ask whether they 'should'.

Look beyond the BBC's mainstream coverage and there are genuinely exciting examples like this National Geographic example that uses AR to add layers to our perception of the world, and to impart imformation in a new and accessible way. It lacks the drama of the BBC's video examples where the iPad held up to a movie poster shows the trailer - but it achieves something that is both useful and functional, and will last and indeed grow far beyond the initial novelty value.

In fact I think the coverage could be in danger of damaging the technology before it even starts. I still remember the early days of mobile internet where journalists and advertisers raised expectations far beyond the capability of the technology.

I genuinely believe that augmented reality will actually become an immensely useful and exciting communication tool - but I also fear that to do so it will first have to survive the hype of Rita Skeeter and her friends at the BBC.

Picture credit

Daily Prophet Reporter Badges available from Etsy

Happiness in perspective...

Katie Lymn — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:17:28 +0100

Are you happy?

Well are you? Really? Psychologists have informed us that we can only really be happy with our lives when we put it into context. That is to say, we are only happy with certain aspects of our lives, when comparatively to those around us - we are 'better'. For example, studies in to whether money really makes us happy have shed a 'wealth' of light on the matter...

First of all, a nations collective wealth really has very little to do with the nations collective happiness. We are no more or less happy as a nation than we were fifty years ago. Sudden economic changes; crashes or booms may have a short term effect on national happiness, though these are inherently transient in nature.

Where does money effect our happiness? When put in local context. Basically, if we earn more than our neighbours, then we're happy. If we earn less, then we become dissatisfied with our jobs and in the worst circumstances, our selves.

We can also apply this logic to other aspects of our lives. For example; Richard is better than me at blogging - this upsets me. However so is Steven Fry - this upsets me less.

Simply put - we want the best (in context).

Here at Hullabaloo, we understand you as a client and the context your company operates in. This helps us to make sure that the work we do for you keeps you - Happy!

Name your price

Matt Dolan — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:52:09 +0100

Imagine... you're browsing the shelves of your favourite shop. You come across an item and think to yourself, "mmm, that'd be very nice to have". Looking at the price tag however, your sense of excitement instantly evaporates - "it's HOW much?!"

But then you look closer at the price tag, and notice something unusual - the tag is actually a tiny whiteboard. Wiping your thumb across the glossy surface results in one grubby digit and one blank price tag. Having retrieved your handy marker pen from your pocket, you execute a quick scribble and the product is now conveniently well within your budget! No quibbles at the checkout - the price you wrote is the price you pay.

Imagine if shops really did have rewritable price tags on their products, and tills that accepted whatever price the customer writes. Well shockingly, I've recently discovered a number of websites that allow you to do just that!

At the weekend, I was heading off to stay in a hotel. I wanted to know whether the hotel would have wireless Internet available, so Googled '[name of hotel] wifi'. The first result was one describing how to avoid paying the £10 charge for wifi at that hotel. It described a loophole in the payment system that the hotel had in place, which is very similar to wipeable price tags.

When you use a website, there is communication between your web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc) and the web server (the computer hosting the website). On an online shop, when you click a link to buy a product, your web browser tells the remote web server to put that particular product your basket. The server should calculate the price of your basket, and charge that amount to your credit card when you checkout.

The loophole I have seen with the hotel WiFi, and other places, is that the price to pay is sent from your web browser to the server. The server simply accepts whatever price it's sent and charges that amount to your card!

In these poorly designed websites, the price is stored in the web page on your computer, as a hidden value. The developer evidently assumed that that price would remain untouched. However, it is rather easy to change this value, using standard web developer's tools like the one built into Google Chrome, or the widely used Firebug for Firefox.

In an ideal world, we could rely on people's honesty and this wouldn't be a problem. But in the world we live in, can you afford to have such loopholes in your e-commerce website?

We have recently developed a user-friendly website that lets our client's customers build a bespoke product package to fit their requirements. We worked hard to develop a sophisticated communication system between the customer's web browser and the web server that combined convenience that customers will love, with the tight security that is needed.

At Hullabaloo, we pride ourselves on attention to detail, whether it's perfectly aligned text in a brochure, painstakingly matched colours across your exhibition stand and flyer, or carefully written code in a website shopping basket.

If you want your next project to be treated with the care and expertise it deserves, just give us a call.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisinplymouth/5561010983 (modified) - used under Creative Commons license

I'm a Lover...

Richard Palmer — Fri, 27 May 2011 16:21:50 +0100

I was chatting with Katie in the office recently and (I don’t know how we got on to the subject), but it turns out – she’s a hater! As a lover myself I am always amazed when I discover someone who has entirely the opposite opinion of the world’s greatest sandwich spread!

Marmite has just been banned in Denmark – they claim that (along with Rice Crispies, Shreddies, Horlicks and Ovaltine) that Marmite is a “threat to public health” due to its added vitamins!

Maybe the fantastic marketing campaign employed by Marmite has finally backfired, maybe Denmark has collectively decided that they fall on the side of the Marmite Haters?

Marmite clearly took the bull by the horns when devising their ‘Love / Hate’ campaign, they embraced the fact that there really is no in-between – you never hear anyone say “yeah, I don’t mind Marmite now and again”. No, its either people can’t get enough of the stuff, or it makes them physically sick!

Marmite is a catalyst for debate, it is the cause of arguments and it divides families. My good lady finds Marmite totally revolting while I myself would happily dive into a huge vat of the stuff! She is mortified that my young daughter has now (after intense training!) developed a taste for Marmite – in fact it was one of her first words!

The advertising clearly plays on this division and has been a real springboard for the brand – spawning endless marketing material and branded products, T-shirts, wall-art, even a marmouse! Although a challenging campaign, it’s clearly been a massive success.

So how many other nations will follow suit and turn their backs on this delicious black gold? Loads I hope – more for us. Yum.

lolcano? or roflcopter?

Katie Lymn — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:41:32 +0100

It seems that I've gotten myself something of a reputation for being a little bit clumsy... When handling mugs of tea at least! In fact, whenever anyone else has a mishap whilst walking with a cup of tea - they've done a Katie.

Todays victim of the clumsy was Rich. And of course, a reference to myself was made at the time of spillage - and without much thought, I responded with 'Lol!'.

An expression which was instantly met with vague ridicule and a mixture of mild shock and disgrace once I'd revealed that 'lol' had now been officially inducted in to the english oxford dictionary.

'You know it's bad when you're talking text talk...'

Is it though?

Everyone knows that language has evolved over the years. Thou, Thee and Thine have been largely replaced by you, me and mine. And I defy you to read a shakespearean era text and completely understand it.

So, is the introduction of 'lol' into current accepted speech not just a continuation of this evolution?

The meaning of 'lol' itself has already gone through an evolutionary process. Upon it's introduction it was an acronym typically standing for 'Laugh Out Loud' or occasionally 'Lots Of Love'.

But today, it's meaning is different. People don't put 'lol' on the end of an instant message because they are actually laughing. It has lost the literality of its meaning and become more of a mark of politeness. It allows the recipient of the message to understand the intentions behind the message, which otherwise may be taken for an ulterior motive. It allows for a freer and more accurate expression through text - doing a job much akin to the exclamation mark or the elipsis.

In vocal linguistics it has come to mean something different again. Almost the opposite of its original purpose. If someone says 'lol' (as a free standing word; not enunciating each letter as an acronym) it means 'yes, I understand the joke, but I'm not actually laughing at it'.

Modern language is all about what's popular. We phase words in and out of our vocabulary often without even realising it. It adapts to trend, much like our choice of clothes, cars, hairstyle and even graphics.

While some language conservatives my be calling it a travesty - I believe it to be simply another step in our language evolution. I for one won't be surprised in a time that acceptabley denotes 'see' as 'c' and 'you' as 'u'...

Does this make you uncomfortable? lol.

Ask a stupid question...

Colin Higton — Fri, 27 May 2011 10:03:06 +0100

You must have experienced it.

You're sat in a meeting, listening to what everyone is saying, and then somebody asks how this will affect the TUA figures for March. Suddenly you realise you don't have a clue what TUA means.

You look around, slightly panicked, but nobody else has even paused. They're all nodding knowingly and following the convesation, but inside you're stuggling to follow because you're desperately coming up with words that begin with T, U or A.

Obviously you don't let any of this panick show on your face - that would give the game away - but inside you're feeling like an idiot and wondering if you really belong in this highly professional world where everybody except you knows what TUA means. So you keep quiet and keep your head down and soon the conversation moves on to safer ground and you mentally log that you must Google TUA later to find out what it actually means.

The problem is that when you do Google it, TUA stands for a hunndred different things - from The Unauthorised Autobiography, through TUrkmenistan Airlines through to Total Unconditional Acceptance (all genuinely listed in Google by the way).

So what does it mean? That's the problem with acronyms - they are deeply ambiguous and just don't tell you very much - but it's a much bigger problem than just acronyms.

When I've been in this situation in the past with a colleague, I've asked them after the meeting what TUA (or whatever) meant. They obviously knew because they nodded and listened attentively when it was mentioned - but 9 times out of 10 they actually say "Oh! I was hoping you knew that - I didn't have a clue".

In truth, you will probably find that half (or more) of the people in that meeting didn't have a clue, but everyone nodded and did everything they could to avoid looking like they didn't know.

That's why I've stopped nodding and decided to ask the stupid question instead. If I don't understand I'll ask and take the risk of looking stupid. You feel daft for a moment, then the person answers, and half the people in the room try to hide the sudden realisation that's what it means.

I do this to be more honest and direct - and for my sanity - but it's also my job.

Good visual communication is about helping everyone to unerstand a subject - and if I don't understand it after years of sitting in on these meetings - the chances are our audience won't understand it either. Often our job starts with helping the client to see the wood for the trees, and even if everyone in that room (except me) understood, or even if everyone in the industry understands - it doesn't mean your customer will understand.

For years I received letters from printers who would give me a 'Plant List' of all the machines they had - as if simply telling me that would make me understand what they could do for me. It didn't. I don't know their machines and I don't care - they need to translate.

If only someone in the meeting where they were pulling together that list together had had the sense (or the courage?) to ask the stupid question "does that mean anything to our clients?".

Only once you ask the stupid question can you clarify what your message needs to be - and start the graphic design to make that message striking, clear and memorable - but above all clear and understandable to the person it's aimed at.

And if you're wondering why I chose TUA for my example - bravo for asking the stupid question - it stands for Totally Unneccessary Acronym (Google it).

Picture credit
Turkmenistan Airlines

A blot on the landscape?

Richard Palmer — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:08:22 +0100

Nearby East midlands Airport has recently installed two new wind turbines on its site, they say that they will generate around 5% of its electricity usage.

There has been talk of the new turbines for years, but of course the plans had to be submitted, approved and then go to public consultation. Of course all the people constantly moaning on about the airports’ impact on the environment immediately starting going on about the new turbines, stating that they would be a blot on the landscape and wouldn’t justify the expense as a worthwhile source of energy. Some even said that it was a mere publicity stunt, that the airport just wanted to be seen as an ‘environmentally friendly’ business!

Environmental issues aside – the new turbines look incredible and my drive home has been much improved! I can’t understand how anyone can be offended by these structures. I personally find them quite hypnotic – bad news when driving!

So – architectural, mechanical & environmental marvels or ugly, obtrusive wastes of space?

The airport also wants to install a 25 acres of solar panels to further reduce their carbon footprint – but yet again face public opposition.

Digital Citizen

Katie Lymn — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:17:43 +0100

It seems to have become something of a bad habit of mine, that when the new 'it' thing that the masses are flocking to emerges; I reject it. I'll be so impassioned about all of the things that make it stupid and pointless that I'll argue it down until I'm blue in the face... Then I'll actually use it one time out of vague curiosity and need for factual ammunition in my ongoing argument against the very things existence - And then I'll be addicted.

It happened with Facebook, it happened with Twitter and then it happened with Youtube.

Vlogging was one of the most pointless and irritating exercises in self promotion I had ever heard of. Just another platform for irritating and slightly nerdy wollies with annoying faces to talk about the mundane like they had the most ridiculous and entertaining lives in the world...

I am now, that wolly.

The turn around began with the spontaneous booking of a post university tour of America of all things. Looking through the day by day activities list, I discovered that hiking up to Angels Landing; a pretty serious looking mountain/cliff (people die climbing this thing) came up quite early on. A couple of days later, a quick stroll down the Grand Canyon... I turned to Youtube looking for video logs of people walking these routes to try and get a gauge of how much of a task it was really going to be...

I quickly decided that I needed to prepare.

This prep somehow became scaling Mnt Snowdon, and I decided that I would document my journey using a standard digital camera on movie mode... I'd even started drawing up ideas on how exactly I would edit it, things like the varying emotional stages of mountain hiking (it's an emotional process) amongst other wonderful things. I could imagine my first vlog clearer in my mind every time I thought about it. It was going to feel purposeful, it was going to be great - definitely rebelling against the poor trend in vlogging that I had witnessed heard about.

Needless to say, while hiking up a rainy mountain in Wales, (when you're just discovering; that 'waterproof' doesn't really mean waterproof, and the true meaning of the phrase 'blowing a gale' whilst making excuses to stop for a rest at any and every given moment, much to the annoyance of the fitter members of the group) creating your first movie masterpiece isn't really the first thing on your mind.

In the end I'd managed to record approximately half an hour of film. And nearly all of it was during rest breaks half way up. The remainder was made up of shaky camera work documenting the walk up from the car park to the beginning of the trail and then the same portion of road upon our return. There was approximately 9 seconds of the summit captured, and it was almost entirely a white mist accompanied by the sound of the wind (something akin to a hurricane) - which was a pretty accurate depiction of my general experience of the summit actually. All in all, it was an unfortunate anticlimax to my debut as a vlogger.

However, the vlogging seed as it were had been planted, and suddenly the idiosyncrasies of my life began to morph into the basic frameworks of vlog topics in my mind.

It wasn't until I returned from America that I actually made any kind of effort to try again at the whole 'vlogging thing'. The first effort was quite honestly - appalling. It became clear to me that talking to an inanimate object as if it cared in the slightest about what I was saying, wasn't actually as easy to pull off convincingly as I'd first imagined.

I stuck with it though, determined to at least record the ideas that I had down in the moment and to see the real response I would get from the millions of Youtubers world wide who might accidentally stumble across my channel.

And now I can pretty much say that I am a Vlogger/Youtuber. Yep. I'm one of those. I have over 100 combined 'subs' and 'friends', which in the grand scheme of things, isn't all that many, though there is a steady interest in my videos and the numbers are continually growing... And actually I think I've gotten a lot more out of it than perhaps I'd even considered back when I'd shunned it so fervently.

I actually view it as something of a creative process. And while you might scoff at such a claim (I did) it isn't until you actually try to replicate it yourself, that you realise what is needed from you as a presenter and an editor. I have to come up with 'design concepts' and judge what I think my audience will enjoy watching the most. What's going to grab and hold their attention and entertain them. Sometimes I will make a plan of what I'm going to talk about, or make notes on things I need to mention. Then I have to produce the content, being mindful of colouring, light and background. Then editing. Cutting out anything that might be detrimental to the video's objectives; to entertain and hold attention (even if that means cutting out my favourite moments in the footage). Getting timings right and creating the right kind of feel to the video is critical. In my last post I talked about the relevence of psychology in what we do, and I think it also applies here.

And never did I ever imagine that making vlogs could lead to me being asked my opinion on certain projects here at Hullabaloo - let alone be given the opportunity to come up with concept ideas...

So I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, evolving my brand with each video and see where it takes me!

Logo revolution - or logo evolution?

Colin Higton — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:32:14 +0100

What do you do, when the devil on your left shoulder wants to change your logo and create a new look for your company or organisation, but the angel on your right wants to keep the old logo at all costs?

How do you square that circle and achieve a successful compromise when both 'sides' offer convincing arguments?

Change it?

Creating a new logo and a fresh new look for your organisation has lots of benefits. it shows your customers that you are fresh and dynamic - and able to grow and change as they do. It creates a new perspective for your whole team - and shows them that things can be improved and that they are part of something that has a clear new direction. Most importantly, it creates new impetus that can help carry you, your sales and your whole marketing or communications forward.

Keep it?

But what about history and heritage? Your old logo has served you well - and at one time was the way you achieved all of the above to get you where you are now. People know and recognise that logo in the same way they know and recognise the people they work with - whether they are customers, colleagues or suppliers. Do you really want to throw all that away?

Sometimes the answer is glaringly obvious. If you're CocaCola, Abbey or Gap you will realise you shouldn't mess with a successful brand - even if it's after the event. But if you're BP or Ratner jewellers, you might be wise to think about making - and being seen to make - a fresh start.

But for most businesses in the real world it isn't so black and white - so which way should you jump?

The answer...

The answer is to stop thinking in terms of right and wrong, jumping or staying still - they're both right, and with the right approach you can achieve both objectives.

Logo evolution - or more accurately Visual Identity evolution keeps the strength and the history of your brand, but reinterprets it in a fresh new way. Show your customers and staff that things are changing and moving on - but that your building on everything that is great about your organisation right now.

It might be taking your existing logo and reinterpreting it in a more modern or dynamic style (BRUSH), or creating a new logo but applying it in a traditional way that reflects the company's heritage (deVOL). It might even be like our project for Chubb Locks where we had to manage a transition that saw everything about the old brand disappear - but carried the values and prestige of the old brand across to the new.

It's just a case of finding a creative approach that identifies what is important and valuable about the old, and carries that forward in a dynamic and effective way. It's a process that every company and every brand has to go through - even if you think you're too small or too mundane to qualify as a 'brand'.

It's just evolution - and like evolution it makes sure that only the smartest, the fittest and most adaptable will survive.

Picture credit
The History of the Shell Logo

Am I still 'Cool'?

Sue Higton — Fri, 20 May 2011 09:19:39 +0100

When I told my 14 year old that I was writing a blog, he mumbled that it would not be 'cool'.

I'm hoping that what he meant is that blogging is not cool, but there's no getting away from the fact that in a 14 year olds eyes, I am not cool.

When did I stop being cool? Do I want to be 'cool' ? Was I ever 'cool'?

So I began to think about the word 'cool'. We use it all the time in the studio, "yeah thats cool..", "now that would be cool.." and quite often ending a sentence with just that one word 'cool'. So where did it all begin?.

Cool as a slang word was first used in the Eighteenth Century to describe someone who was 'cool as a cucumber' or ' keeping a cool head', so really referring to someone who was unemotional, calm and in control of themselves. At about the same time a second meaning developed from this standard English term and cool meant ' exciting', 'enjoyable' and 'acceptable'.

In the 1950s 'cool' meant controlled or discreet as in 'stay cool'. Over in America it meant the complete opposite and was used from the 1930s in the same way as 'bad and 'wicked' are used today. Turning the meaning and spelling around, so we now have 'kewl'.

So 'cool' has been around for a lot longer than either I or the grumpy teenager realised and it's as popular today as it was in the 50s and 60s.

Cool....

Does Coke taste better out of a bottle?

Richard Palmer — Thu, 19 May 2011 11:48:46 +0100

I read in the news that Coca-Cola is celebrating it's 125th anniversary by launching a commemorative set of it's iconic bottles 'through the ages'. Now I know there's rich history in the evolution of the shape and form of the bottle – which can be seen on the company's website, but the real issue is this... does it actually taste better when Coke is drank from a bottle?

There must be many contributing factors to this conundrum... temperature, location, use of a straw, ice, amount of tiny umbrellas used, not to mention the use of sliced citrus fruit enhancements (lemon etc).

So, let the nation decide, how is the bestest fizzy pop ever best served? My personal view is in a straight glass, 3 ice cubes, slice of lime, next to a swimming pool somewhere very hot.

What say you?

I am a Virgin...

Richard Palmer — Thu, 19 May 2011 08:26:50 +0100

There. I’ve said it, it’s out there. I think the first part of coming to terms with it is first admitting it to yourself, then of course facing up to the dreadful task of telling family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances. How will the news go down? Will you be the subject of ridicule, constant snippy comments and become the subject of endless gossip?

Well, I don’t care, because sometimes you just have to face facts. I have never, ever, written a blog in my life.

In fact, to be honest, I don’t really know if I could ever write a blog. I’m not really regarded as particularly articulate, freely expressing my opinions with gay abandon, stirring up long-running late-night debates on the state of the planet and other such important topics, so why bother? What IS a blog anyway? What’s the point in a blog? Does anyone actually read a blog? I’ve already dipped my toe into the world of ‘social media’ websites – I joined Facebook and have so far managed the princely sum of exactly 37 ‘friends’ (I have no idea how though – I don’t think I actually know 37 people, let alone ‘friends’!). I’ve even managed to get involved in Twitter, using those precious 140 characters to impart some of my much sought after knowledge, witty comments on everyday news stories, fascinating insights into my thrilling personal life and even told the odd lie!

So, blogging eh? I suppose given the location of my blog – on the works website, I should probably think about making it related to work. But what on earth am I going to say about being a graphic designer for the midlands most prestigious design company (boss might read it). I can’t possibly bore you with tales of day-to-day in-studio activity.

Maybe I could have a crack at relating graphic design to other aspects of my life? But hang on, does anything else I am interested in or exposed to bear any relation to my professional life? What possible topics should I pick to form the content of the few paltry paragraphs that I shall be passing off as my blog? So what is there…

Kids

Yep, I’ve reached that point where my life is no longer my own, I have 2 amazing bundles of joy to keep me busy, morning, noon and night! But surely nothing about them will have anything to do with design? I suppose I could talk about their toys and how we try and pick things that are designed to inspire, teach, stimulate and entertain. In fact I suppose their toys and playthings are really designed to help them move onto the next stage in their development and set them up for school. So that could be something I guess? But what other interests do I have? Well I do quite enjoy….

Nature

Before the aforementioned kids – my weekends were mainly spent ankle deep in mud, walking through field and o’er dale, taking in the countryside and hunting down our native wildlife. Aah it takes me back, but we’re getting off beam here, how can I relate my love of all things outdoors to design? Perhaps a study of colour in nature? I could produce a long meandering passage about my favourite bird – the Kingfisher. I mean have you seen one? The colours on this little beauty are unbelievable, you would think it had batteries as it appears to actually glow as it skims low along a river, with light majestically bouncing off its … Hang on… birds? Really? No, that won’t do at all, perhaps that’s one for when I’m in more poetic mood. Ooh, I know, what about…

Music

I have been wondering lately about the artwork used on album covers and thought that it’s not really as important as it once was, I mean it doesn’t have to stand out in HMV anymore does it? Most music is downloaded straight onto an iPod (other mp3 players are available), so it’s almost redundant. Or I could rave on about the amazing technicolour light shows that normally go with live concerts – I have seen U2 loads of times and their shows are held up as some of the most visually stimulating and exciting stage shows ever, with more creative design built in year on year, or the stage sets that have accompanied Depeche Mode shows – I once travelled the length and breadth of country, following my boyhood idols everywhere they played, their stagesets, videos and sleeve artwork used to be designed by the now much lauded film-maker and photographer Anton Corbijn, his works would make for a fascinating blog…

Photography

I’ve always fancied myself as a bit of a photographer, inspired by amazing works caught on film by the pros! I mean how hard can it be to get great images, I mean anyone can point a camera right? I soon discovered that taking great photos that don’t resemble blurry, unrecognisable blobs is an artform – and perhaps one best left to the professionals, I will always be interested in photography and am constantly amazed at how a photographer can capture draw-dropping landscapes & beautiful portraits, it also gets me closer another one of my interests…

Architecture

Now I may not have the outspoken views on architecture as our future king (I also don’t talk to plants, very often), and I am certainly not the new Kevin McCloud, the bobble-headed hero off of Grand Designs, but I do love a good building. I have also always had a strange fascination with bridges, a few years ago I achieved one of my lifelong ambitions to go across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was only when I stared out across the bay at this engineering masterpiece that I ‘noticed’ the Oakland Bay bridge, which is far more impressive! Maybe that could be the subject of my blog?

You know what? I don’t think I’ll ever settle on a suitable subject for a blog, I will just have to resign myself to the fact that I’m just not a blog person. I mean what if I put my personal opinion out there and it’s just held up for ridicule? What if my opinions stir up a frenzy of emotion and I am bombarded by hatred and abuse? Or… worse still not one single person reads it?

No that’s sealed it for me, I don’t think I will ever write a…

Oh.

Is your website too slow?

Matt Dolan — Wed, 18 May 2011 10:02:44 +0100

The speed of your website is really important.
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Are you losing business and frustrating customers because your website is.... just.... so.... slow?

Here at Hullabaloo, we work hard to make websites to not only look great but load fast. We care about the experience your users have on your website - be they customers, potential customers, clients or staff. We work hard to give them a great experience, knowing that happy website users means more business for you.

Our Caboodle system has lots of features that speed up the user experience. And because we host websites ourselves, we are able to fine-tune every aspect to deliver simply stunning speeds.

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Want to talk speed? Give us a call.

Tortoise photo by Craig ONeal - used under license (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)
Speed limit sign photo by Photo Monkey - used under license (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Psychobabble?

Katie Lymn — Tue, 17 May 2011 15:29:12 +0100

Strolling blindly into the lounge of my house the other day, (as you do) I unwittingly found myself invading the company of my parents and their friends. Since it would have been rude to simply turn around and stroll right back out again, I quickly decided to stay for a little bit, even if it was awkwardly hovering in the doorway through lack of chair space. After the standard 'hows my job going' break into pseudo conversation however, I was left waiting for the all too familiar follow up question, 'What did you do at Uni again?'.

And on this occasion of course, they didn't disappoint.

I have found, over countless encounters such as these, that people tend to react to the notion of 'Psychology' in one of two ways - either intrigue and fascination or complete and total dismissal. Some might argue this to be two sides of the same, slight suspicion arousing coin; both requiring a lack of information on the subject, both also requiring some form of pre-judgement regarding its validity.

People still seem to view Psychology with a sense of mysticism and trickery rather than treating it as a science - which it is classified as. 'Can you read my mind then?' being a common, though no less annoying than the first time I heard it, example of public attitude. Other bug bears including such flippant comments as, 'I am so OCD' also doing nothing for the validation cause. Though the banes of my existence as a student of psychology is another story, rant, rage, controlled rage.

Moving back to the initial anecdote, the reaction to the revelation of my academic focus, on this occasion was one of total dismissal and skepticism. I could tell this by the immediate scoff and not so subtle eye roll of the asker... Observant one, me.

'And what does that have to do with graphic design?'

Well, quite alot actually.

Graphic design in advertising is about creating a response in the target audience. Whether that be evoking an emotional reaction, provoking a certain behaviour or consolidating a memory of the product - these are all things that are at the core of psychology. If you can understand why a certain response occurs, then you can engineer input to provoke that same response on cue.

A quick example; Did you know that enforcing an item purchase limit, advertised in the 'proper' way can actually increase the average number of items purchased per customer?

By applying this thought process to the design and implementation of advertising we can create the real possibility of massively improving the effectiveness of any message you are trying to put across.

And in the end, isn't that what every design agency strives to achieve?

Whatever happened to... Cow Gum?

Colin Higton — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:05:36 +0100

If you are a Graphic Designer of a certain age, you will remember Cow Gum with a mixture of deep affection and amazement that we ever relied on such a troublesome solution to what today is a simple problem.

It was a rubber solution glue that came in a red and white tin with the word 'cow' emblazoned across the front and a smell and consistency that can never be forgotten. It was an everyday staple of studio life before the advent of Apple Macs and bubblejets - and the complete opposite of the convenience of on-screen composition we know today.

In fact, even as a web designer who never deals with print you pay testament to the memory of Cow Gum every time you 'cut & paste' text and graphics in your designs.

It may seem hard to believe, but in the 1980s and before, artwork wasn't emailed or uploaded - it was literally cut up and pasted into place using this remarkable rubber solution and a host of other mechanical, analogue and immensely time consuming techniques.

The Cow on the tin wasn't a reference to the animal, but apparently to Mr Cow who invented it. It's character and properties were similar to Copydex (Blue Peter fans) but with the added advantage of being spirit based - which made it cleaner to use and resulted in a mild high after an all-night artworking session.

At least 50% of all Cow Gum ended up where you didn't want it, and had to be cleaned from your artwork with a Cow Gum rubber that looked a lot like a shoolboys collection of bogies. This was actaully just a ball of used Cow Gum built up like a snow ball - but designers and artworkers would take great pride in having the largest balls of Cow Gum for the purpose. Eventually, these would become too large to be useful, and would have to be discarded - but fortunately they had the redeeming quality of bouncing like the most powerful rubber ball you've ever seen.

It's not available anymore - they stoped making it when the Apple Mac took over. You can buy alternatives - and they even come in the famous red and white tin, but why would you bother when it doesn't say 'Cow' across the front?

There's part of me that thanks God we now have computers to make all this so much easier - but part of me misses the skill and craft required to use Cow Gum properly, the fun we had throwing and spreading it around improperly - and particularly the fumes - and the high that came with it.

Take the work out of website management

Roger Styring — Fri, 13 May 2011 15:28:34 +0100

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A change is as good as a rest...

Colin Higton — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 17:51:58 +0100

We all have to cope with change. It's part of any working environment, but it's often forced on us, and because we aren't in control it can be stressful and painful. That often leads people to try to keep things as they are and preserve the status quo - but sometimes being made to look at things differently can bring its own rewards.

Sometime ago we had a change round in our studio. No pressing reason - we all just swapped desks and moved computers, phones and personal belongings - it took the best part of a weekend of my time and at least an hour or two of everyone else's.

At the end of it all, we had only moved a few feet, and there were a couple of muttered comments from people who weren't sure they liked the new arrangements. With a weekend gone and knees sore from crawling under desks to find the right cables I began to wonder just why we had bothered.

But then we started to see the benefits - nothing spectacular, but definite benefits.

Little things like the member of our team who was no longer by the window and was now too hot - we turned the thermostat down and suddenly the whole place felt fresher and lighter and we saved money and carbon. Suddenly, things that had been easy to do from your chair became something you had to get up to do - but that extra effort made you look for a better way to do that - or even realise that you don't actually need to do it at all.

I'm looking at a different part of our studio everyday - literally looking at things from a different perspective - and the move meant I had to clear out files of things I've been waiting so long to get round to, they aren't actually worth doing anymore!

Tiny little things that on their own mean nothing - but combined together are delivering real benefits. But even more than that is what it has done for the members of the team. Sitting down at a different desk just reminds them that just because we've got used to doing something this way doesn't mean we can't change and do it a different way.

It's genuinely enabling and curiously uplifting.

Physical moves like this can be a great way to start this process - but isn't always practical for larger companies. Looking at the way your organisation presents itself can have the same effect - but can be easier to control and involve less upheaval.

Clients looking to do this often ask us to create a new look for their organisation - it might be a revolutionary new logo, a revamp of their website or literature - or just an evolution of their existing identity to give a fresh new look to a familiar face.

Whatever it is, it helps people see the familiar in a new light - and just a few small manufactured changes can enable customers and your whole team to stop seeing things the way they were, and start seeing them the way you want them to be in the future.

Picture credit: David Reece

Inspire the Buyer - turning the recession into an opportunity…

Colin Higton — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:40:18 +0100

The recession has hit retailers and manufacturers hard – and particularly those in luxury goods and services. Consumers and businesses alike are more focussed on value for money than ever – but not all products and services lend themselves to the ‘easy’ route of discounts and price-cutting seen across the High Street.

And yet some businesses – whilst still suffering - are bucking the trend by maintaining or even increasing their market share – why?

The ‘trick’ these and other companies have learnt is to inspire their customers.

Whether it’s Apple selling slick consumer products like the iPhone and iPod at a premium, Iceland Frozen Food stores offering customers the lowest possible prices – or like the rest of us, somewhere in-between – we all need to ‘inspire the buyer’.

But how do we do that during a recession where prices have already been slashed, and there simply isn’t the money available to develop new products or services?

The simple answer is by building on what you already have in place – the products and services you offer now.

Most companies concentrate on developing and polishing their offering, but then fail to actually tell their customers about it! Because we are so steeped in a detailed understanding of our products and services, we fail to realise that our customers are only aware of the tip of our carefully created iceberg.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. Are your customers aware of the full range of products or services you offer?
If you hear the words “Oh! I didn’t realise you did that…” it should ring warning bells! Even customers who have bought a product from you already almost certainly won’t know all the other things you do - unless you tell them and (importantly) KEEP telling them.

2. Are your customers aware of all of the features you’ve built in to your product or service?
If you’re over 30 - how many features are there on your mobile phone that you either didn’t know were there or don’t know how to use? Never assume that people read the instructions – they usually don’t!

But most important of all:

3. Are your customers aware of the BENEFITS those features deliver – ie what your products or services can do for them?
Even companies that do all this can still fall into the trap of telling customers everything their products or services do – but not telling them what it does FOR THEM.

The other day, I picked up a computer magazine and read a couple of the articles. These were on subjects that I was genuinely interested in – and importantly that I genuinely had a need for. The articles told me everything that each of the products does, and offered endless statistics on how they perform against each other – but completely failed to tell me how those products could help me.

Contrast this with the advertising on web, TV and in the press for the iPod.

One of the reasons designers love Apple is that they have always concentrated on simplifying their products and making them intuitive and easy to understand. In a world where computers have massive power and can do almost everything, they have concentrated on little products like the iPod that do only one or two things – but do them very well.

But most importantly Apple then tell people about these products and show us what they do – but in such a stylish way that we are willing –and even happy – to pay the premium. Look closely at the website and adverts and the technical statistics are still there for those who want them, but only after you’ve been hit by the products useability, innovative design and simple features.

Now look at your product or service. OK, your offering might not be as exciting or as pretty as an iPod – but it still does something for your customers that they want and that they need. The fact that it isn’t as instantly desirable just makes it even more important to identify the benefits you can deliver for your customers – and to make sure that you tell them in a way that they can understand – and feel.

And if you’re tempted to dismiss all this as just another designer waxing lyrical about the Apple – just remember the hard business fact that the iPod has over 70% of the huge MP3 player market, and has turned Apple into one of the biggest players in the music industry.

It all comes down to one word – inspiration. To survive the downturn and take advantage of the upturn when it comes, we all have to inspire our buyers – and make our ‘products’ something they WANT to own.

Hullabaloo can help
If you want help to inspire your buyers, download our free inspiration checklist here or contact me on 01509 224466 for a free consultation.