astrid wehling – designer notes from a large island

Marketing Collateral

Consistency in design is one important part of branding success – the others being authenticity, responsibility and engagement (© Nicole Armstrong, More than a logo)

Following are some samples of marketing collateral for Sydney company TouchMarketing.com.au
I already spoke about their logo earlier, highlighting the importance of vector based designs: Scaling logos with a 3D look

For the business cards we developed a fold up card with information about the business, contact details and even a small section for recipients to add notes. The finish being spot UV varnish and silver foil. This card still attracts a lot of attention.

The logo often sits on a portrait format shape with round corners, eg with Facebook or Twitter. The red swirls have now become part of the brand.

Presentation slide templates

Pull Up Banner 

Website Background

 

Branding Essentials

Mosaic Financial Group is a boutique financial services provider in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Whilst there already was an existing logo and some collaterals, the necessity for a comprehensive branding strategy became clear when the business moved into new premises.

The following first elements as signage, stationery, presentation folder and blank inserts (which will be used inhouse on a laser printer) were developed in collaboration with TouchMarketing.com.au

 

Who's that guy? About stockphotos and choices.

I'm pretty sure you've met him before. A distinguished, grey haired business man, silver framed glasses, light blue shirt and always smiling. You must have met him before as he is working in so many businesses around the country.

At least I got the impression that he is working in lots of places, when I go by all the company brochures, newsletters and websites his image is in.
As is his colleague, that friendly smiling girl with long brown hair, who is always wearing a headset.

Looking for stockphotos to illustrate a brochure or a website is a regular part of a designer's work. 10 – 15 years ago we had to go through huge catalogues, order a transparency for quite a lot of money, scan it in and then send it back to the stock photo bank. Most of these transparencies were of high quality and professional photos.

Today we mainly go through online image banks. Their images range from high profile and very professional images down to freeware.
There are image banks like istockphoto.com who offer a broad selection from low priced photos to expensive ones. You can tell the difference just by looking at them. Images who have the 'wow-effect' are usually more expensive.

I'm not saying that stock photos aren't any good. Not at all. One of the photographers who works exclusively for image banks, Yuri Arcurs, is one of the world's famous microstock photographers, he sells around 2000 licences per day. And his photos are great and professional. He has set a certain 'look' for microstock images you would certainly recognize in a second. And he offers a large variety of images. As hundreds of other photographers do.

What I don't like is seeing the same face of the same model in so many publications. I don't know if it's laziness or if designers and clients are so used to these images and therefore like them, that they don't want to look any further for alternatives.
'To like something' is not a good way to start working on a concept.
 
It certainly won't help you and your business image if the man, whose photo is in your 'About us' section on your website, is the same guy who appears on many other websites. It makes you and your business exchangeable and faceless although you are showing good looking people.

So if you can't afford to have your own photos taken by a professional photographer, at least ask your designer to spend a little bit more time to look for the right stockphotos for your business and not just click on the first good looking image on the first page.

Happy New Year!

Bertie and friends (detail), Belgian Chocolate, cocoa butter, h: 28cm
work and photo: Irianna Kanellopoulou, 2008

Ok, I admit, this Australian Summer has been a very relaxing one so far. First Christmas, than New Year. And as most of my clients have been away on holiday during the month of January, nothing really pushed me into full work mode until this week.

I might also be under the influence of the upcoming Year of the Rabbit (3 February 2011 – 22 January 2012). According to the Chinese, the Year of the Rabbit is a year where you can catch your breath and calm your nerves. The focus should be on creativity, beautification projects and peaceful lifestyles to make this coming year a successful one.
I was born in a Year of the Rabbit, so that's perfectly fine with me. I've already started with a new branding project, some brochures for self development courses and there's lots more in the pipeline for the upcoming months.

A very calming effect on me had the rabbits in the photo above. Created by Australian ceramicist Irianna Kanellopoulou in 2008, they were not made from clay, but from Belgian Chocolate and were fully edible.
More rabbits from Irianna can be seen here - but I wouldn't try to eat those:
Brenda May Gallery

A good and successful year to everyone!

December Quote

Step by step towards building a brand

It's not done with a logo and business card alone. Small and micro businesses have to build their brand as much as any large company. Visual consistency  and keeping the same tone is an important part in any successful branding.

Following a strategic approach and ensuring that the brand is visible in all advertising material doesn't need to be expensive. After starting with a logo and a card a few months ago, this German client was then looking for a brochure, outdoor signage and gift vouchers to help promoting her business and getting new patients.

 

When less is more – a logo for a Start-Up

University Stays Pty Ltd is taking a proven European concept to Australia. The start up business provides a platform for University Colleges to advertise their free beds during holidays to tourists and the general public.

When the clients approached me for a new logo, they already had a pretty clear idea on what they wanted to see in the logo: a crest, a bed and the colours red and beige.

It was a smooth design process, that kind of productive teamwork between designer and clients I love.

I am looking forward to the final website www.universitystays.com.au, which is developed by www.numbereleven.com.au

 

First ideas, which later in the process turned out to be too detailed:

 

 

The final result:

 

First steps in branding a new coaching business

"Lime Green", "boutique", "passionate", "memorable" and "exclusive", but "not too corporate" were some of the keywords the client sent back to me with the filled out questionnaire I usually hand out before I start working on a logo.

Hero Coaching is a young and enthusiastic coaching business, focussing on Innovation and Creativity Training, Project and Personal Coaching. Ute, who founded Hero Coaching, had some specific ideas about how she wanted to present her business to her target group:
"... to have a company image that represents what I do, that is intuitively connectable with what I do, that is memorable ...".

During further brainstorming sessions and discussions we settled on more keywords: vivid, flow, development, empowering, break through barriers, a fun delivery.

In the end it took not long to find the icon that symbolises all of what Ute wanted to communicate.

Following the logo and the business cards will be a website, promotional and training material.

 

 

November Quote

 

About Sol Sender

Logo Revamp No 2

MCA® - Business Education & Training is one of my earliest clients from my very first years here in Australia. The company provides a comprehensive range of Business Education and Training Programs, Business Management Systems and Consulting Services, mainly for the trades industries.

I designed a logo and all the necessary collaterals as stationary, signage and advertising material for MCA back in 2005. Now, 5 years later, the logo came across a bit tired, not progressive and strong enough for future directions.

 

Logo 2005:

New logo:

 

We've also used the opportunity to freshen up the separate icons for the three pillars of the business - OHS, Environmental Management Systems and Business & Quality Management.

October Quote

Logo Redesign for a boutique law firm

Dimos Lawyers, a well established boutique commercial law firm from Melbourne, approached me this winter and asked for a logo redesign.

The firm, founded in 1967, had last upgraded their visual identity in the mid 90ies. Over the last 15 years their clientele had changed to more larger corporations and a new and younger generation of clients who might regard the existing identity as too old fashioned.

The new identity had to include the colours grey and blue. The distinctive capital D from the old logo should also be represented in some way. Another requirement was to highlight the founding year.

The first step has been completed now, with the new logo being launched today. More collaterals will follow over the next months.

 

Old logo

 

 

New logo

Stationery

 

 

September Quote

Highly valued - longterm clients

I think it's about time to introduce and to say thank you to one of my long standing clients, Webasto Product Australia. Webasto is one of the leading manufacturers of innovative products to the transportation industry, as air conditioners, heaters, coolers and sunroofs. With their headquarter located in Germany, Webasto has companies worldwide.

In 2005 I started working on Webasto's advertising and promotional material. Since then we have developed - always according to the company's corporate style guides – advertising campaigns, product sheets, exhibition banners and posters and other below the line material.

Here are a few of the many ads from the last 5 years:

2005

2006

2007

 
2008

2009 

2010

Snowed under, downunder.

photo: stock.xchng; Karin Lindstrom

No, I have not deserted my blog. And no, it's not that nothing is happening here at the moment. Quite the opposite. I'm just waiting for some approvals and releases from clients.

Should be done before spring.

August Quote

July Quote

With free pitching no one really wins

 

photo: istockphoto.com

Free pitching has over the last couple of years been associated with open contests on pages like 99design and the like. I don't want to go there, enough has been said about that and all arguments are easily accessible online.

But there is another practice of asking for free pitches, where potential clients ask for unpaid design submissions from a few design studios and promising the job to the 'winner'.

I'm not implying that these clients act this way because they want to get as many as possible ideas without having to pay for it. At least not all of them.

I rather think it's because the whole process of sourcing and choosing a designer is a process too unknown and therefore scary or too time consuming for them. Some might even hope that they might gain more in-depth understanding on the design process on top on getting free samples.

 
 
So, what are the pitfalls?
 

In my opinion the biggest one for the client is an unsatisfying and uneffective outcome. Without a proper consultation, enough time for research and time for developing a concept, a designer won't be able to deliver a proper result.

 

Most requests for a free pitch come with a poorly written brief (if any) and it would be up to the designer to start guessing, trying to work out the context and any strategies the client might have in mind. And all of this within a short timeframe and - don't forget – all for free.

 

Designers - if they run a professional business - can't afford to spend unpaid time on projects they probably won't even get. A design business is not set up in such a way that these costs are factored in. Defining the business communication problem, developing the design solution and reproducing the design solution are all part of the costing. Having the reproduction part alone to finance development and design is just not feasible. Just imagine the margins that have to be factored in for the design business to survive.

 

A designer is not just a designer, but also a consultant. Without an intensive dialogue there are no effective results.

A professional designer will have a professional portfolio to show his experience and case studies. Most of them will be happy to provide referees. Most of them are happy to come in for an informal chat.

 

The Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) and the Design Institute of Australia have a strong opinion against free pitching and can assist their members and the public in any way.  I am happy to send out a checklist to anyone who is in the process of choosing a designer as I am all in for a proper, fair and substantial selection process, a comfortable client-designer relationship and a fruitful outcome for all.

Contact me at design_at_astridwehling.com.au

Design Currency - AGDA's interview series

I was interviewed by AGDA, the Australian Design Association, a few months ago, as part of their series on Australian designers.

Enjoy the read:

Design Currency - Interview Series by AGDA

June Quote