Lino-Prints...

It takes quite a bit of patience to cut out lino, but I absolutely love it, and can easily lose an entire day cutting away.

The bit that I don't like is getting the print right. That bit takes nearly as long as the cutting.

How much ink to apply, how much pressure to apply...

That, I'm still working on, here's a couple of prints that are nearly right...

A cut above...

A new venture I've embarked upon (or should I say rediscovered) is lino-cutting, here's one of the lino-cuts I've been doing this month...

Based on a design I did for a friend who was moving house..


I have also been re-discovering doodling (lots of re-discovery going on here!!) and made these note books, which I might start using myself - as an obsessive notebook purchaser!!

Also, I have finally done something with my Lighthouse Keeper pattern that I did aaaaaages ago - I've turned it into a toiletries bin and a toiletries bag, and even though it's white it's still pristine...

Brand Values??

I was at a networking event recently and someone asked what it was that I did. When I said we were a design agency (giant plug... The Design Project NW) I could sense the confusion, so I then said that we specialised in branding... "oh, you mean like logos and stuff".

It occurred to me, whilst ranting on about valuing things (see previous posts), that quite a lot of people don't realise the value of a brand, to dismiss your brand as "logos and stuff" is almost like turning up to the royal garden party in your pants!

A brand is an image that evokes emotion with consumers - that's how important a brand is. Imagine getting that wrong, how many customers might walk past/ignore/throw business cards away because the branding is wrong or just totally confusing.

Remember when Coca-Cola did clear coke (many moons ago). It didn't last long did it?! The confusion between client, brand and what they were getting from the brand was just all wrong...
Brand said "Coca-cola", appearance said "lemonade" taste said "WTF".

If you get branding right and it creates the right emotion within prospective clients the possibilities are endless. The clients enjoy being a part of that brand (as well as your staff)!

A brand should reflect the company values and integrity. Even if you, personally, have no integrity whatsoever and your values are completely selfish, if the brand of your company reflects a value/integrity that the consumer can relate to it almost doesn't matter what you, as a person, stand for.

The consumer is looking to that brand for stability and confidence in the product/company. There will, however, come a time when you as a person may affect your company brand - just for being an @r$ehole, but that's a whole other blog post!!!