Fabric is the Way Forward

Looking for a cost effective way to stand out from the crowd at your next exhibition? Moving on from the usual pull-ups and pop-ups, there is a new style of stand around and it is perfect for exhibitions, easy to put up and washable! Fabric stands are all the rage!

Ever thought of lightweight fabric stands? 
Made up of just two main components – A strong, lightweight frame and a printed fabric cover. The printed cover fits snugly over the frame and can be printed both sides giving your brand more presence. Secured in place by a zip fastening, the cover is washable and changeable meaning additional covers can be printed so you can swap the design depending on the event.  

Great for large and small events or in the office
Available in a multitude of sizes and shapes including a more traditional pull up banner stand as well as straight or curved backdrops - similar to a pop-up. The printing technology gives vibrant colours making these fabric stands a strong presence. Perfect for small and large events as well as in the office, as backdrops or room dividers. 

More cost effective than traditional pop-up stands
Where as the traditional 3x3 pop-ups are made up of multiple panels that create visible join lines through the middle of the design, these bigger backdrop style stands remove the issue, as the fabric is one continuous piece. Options of adding lights and fabric graphic wrap tables and counters make a dynamic looking stand, which you will be proud to present and they cost less.

Transportation
These new fabric stands pack down into small lightweight bags – making them easy to transport.

Exhibitions are great place to meet potential customers and are perfect for showcasing you business, products and services. Stand out from the crowd with lightweight, portable fabric displays.

Head over to our offer page to find out about our latest design offer or have a look at our portfolio for more examples of large format design. If you would like further information about banner sizes and prices contact us here. 

Have a read of our latest case study all about our experience design the exhibition stand for Penguin Ventures.

Six Reasons Why Good Design is Essential for Small Companies

Resources can be limited when you’re starting in business. Making good decisions about your marketing material is key and in the long run it always pays to use talented design professionals.

In fact, there are six great reasons why good design is absolutely essential in helping your small business grow:

1. It creates a great first impression

You know what they say: you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression. Whether it’s your logo, an email signature, your business card or website, potential customers will judge your company in just a few seconds based on visual appeal alone.

Designers are great at putting themselves in the potential clients shoes, this can be hard to do when it’s your own business! Let them give you feedback on how they think your brand should look and feel.

2. It builds confidence

As you grow your company it’s important to inspire confidence in your customers and prospects. Who are they going to give their money to? Probably the company that looks experienced, professional, trustworthy and established.

Designers ensure you communicate your brand’s culture, character and personality with your marketing. This will inspire trust in both your consumers and employees, creating solid long term foundations for your company to thrive.

3. It makes you stand out

Small businesses all have one thing in common. They face stiff competition. They thrive or they die. To make themselves stand out and have a better chance of success, they can use high quality, good pricing, excellent customer service, rapid response, or something else entirely.

They can use creativity. In fact, your company image can go a long way towards making your business unique. The problem is, many business owners seem to shy away from the bold design that will set them apart from their competition. They don’t want anything out of the ordinary. So they go for the safe option and their business just gets lost in the crowd.

Anything you can do to make your company more memorable is crucial. So hire a professional design agency to develop a unique image for your business. They will use colours, typefaces and imagery to create a unique mood for your business. Then, your customers will have the same experience reading your brochure as they do browsing your website. It will help you become recognisable and memorable.

In short, give your customers or visitors something to remember and talk about. Then they will not only buy from you and keep coming back, they will recommend your brand to other people.

4. It helps you sell without selling

Good design and consistent branding also makes referrals easier. New customers are like gold dust for any small company and the better you are at catching their eye and bringing them in, the more your business will grow. In fact, professional design makes your company and its image memorable without you having to use any hard sell.

What’s more, high quality design helps you to turn first time shoppers into loyal customers. An eyecatching, memorable logo, well-designed website, emails, ads and brochures all with a consistent look can be the difference between someone coming back to you or choosing a competitor. You need to make the act of looking at any of your marketing materials a pleasant and consistent visual experience.

5. It saves you time and money in the long run

You can almost guarantee that when a company doesn’t commission proper graphic design in the beginning, they will definitely have to do it properly at some point down the line.

The irony is, good design has longevity and it can often work out cheaper to pay for great graphic design once rather than paying for inferior design many times over. As the old saying goes, ‘Buy cheap, buy twice.’ Worse still, redesigning a company’s image over and over again wastes time and money and can disrupt and disjoint your brand image.

6. It can become a valuable financial asset

So with good design at the heart of everything you do, you can really build a successful brand. How successful?

Well, here are a few statistics that will give you some food for thought. According to Forbes’ annual ‘The World’s Most Valuable Brand’ list, Apple’s brand is worth $154.1 billion alone, while Google comes in at $82.5 billion, and Microsoft rounds out the top 3 at $75.2 billion.

As you can see, your brand can be a valuable asset in a number of ways, not only building up your brand awareness but instilling confidence and professionalism for both existing and potential clients. Building a business doesn’t happen over night but developing your own brand with its unique design style and aesthetic is a great step in the right direction. All it takes is a call to a good design agency.

For some design inspiration head over to our website or to see this months special offer.

My Useful Guide: Effective Brochure Design

It’s funny how things go in cycles. Remember what all the digital marketing gurus and social media experts were saying just a few short years ago? That the internet and online marketing were going to change everything.

Kindles and e-readers would replace books. Online news and information available 24/7 would mean that newspapers, magazines and even TV would become obsolete. Emails would do away with direct mail. And when you have websites you can view and order from whenever you want, wherever you want, who needs boring old brochures?


Well guess what, none of those changes took place. People still read books, newspapers and magazines. TV is as popular as ever, direct marketing is thriving again and brochures are making a comeback.

So, you might be thinking of commissioning a brochure from your design or marketing agency. Before you write the brief, here are six questions you need to ask.

1. Why a brochure?

There’s nothing quite like a brochure for creating an impression of prestige and luxury. It’s all about the smell of fresh ink on quality paper. It’s a powerful trigger which goes straight into the brain and gives the reader a feel-good sensation. When that feeling is associated with your brand it’s good news for your business.

Moreover, brochures work precisely because they are not digital. Online campaigns are fast, here today, gone tomorrow. They have to have an instant impact. If it doesn’t work, scrap it and try something else. Brochures are the exact opposite. They can be around for a long time, selling your company and its products and services over and over again. They can influence the buying decisions of your customers over a long period, as all the information they need to make a decision is right there in their hands. This also makes them very cost-effective.

Talking of cost-effective. If you’ve gone to the trouble and expense of commissioning high quality photography for your business, are you just going to put the images on your website? Get your new photography into a beautifully printed, well-designed high-quality company brochure and your business will really stand out.

Finally, in a world of smartphones and social media, stand out, be different. Focus on being unique by making the most of high quality, design-led medium and set your business apart from the competition whilst using social media to highlight the highlights of your brochure.

2. What’s the budget?

There’s no point in asking for a luxurious multi-page brochure with bespoke photography, embossed lettering, six colour print including specials onto heavyweight luxury paper if your budget simply doesn’t stretch to it.

Of course, if you have the money available, go for it. But a smaller budget doesn’t have to mean a smaller idea. It can actually help your agency be more, not less creative in their design, layout, copy, choice of brochure format, photography or illustration style.

3. Who is your target audience?


It's vital that you know your target audience when you brief the agency. This will influence the whole look, feel and content of the finished piece. Is it going to the general public or to targeted businesses? Is it intended for existing customers, warm prospects or a cold audience? What sort of people are they? What do they like and dislike? What is their age range, income level, social status? 

You might not have all of this information, but the more you can find out about your prospective readers, the more your brochure will appeal to them and be read. For example, a brochure you’re aiming at a largely female audience, say for baby products or services, will be radically different to a car brochure or a sales piece aimed at trade buyers of printed circuit boards.

4. What kind of brochure is it?


When a company decides that they need a brochure, they’ll ask their design or marketing agency to create one for them. But often they don’t know what kind of brochure they actually need. Is it a sales tool? Is it a shop window? Is it designed to raise awareness of the brand? Will it be mailed out with a letter or just used at trade shows and exhibitions as a giveaway? 

As you can see, there are several different types of brochures:

• Glossy company brochures often with large images and minimal copy

• In-depth corporate brochures with detailed company information designed for your shareholders or investors

• Sales brochures including selling copy and specifications for a range of your products

• Point-of-Sale brochures often seen on display in retail outlets, supermarkets, banks, building societies and so on

• Direct Mail brochures sent out if requested by a customer or to a mailing list of your potential customers, usually with a covering letter and order form. These days, with digital printing technology, brochures can be cost-effectively personalised too, making them even more tailored and personal to each recipient

• Sales support brochures usually created to help your salespeople when they’re doing their sales pitch

5. Who’s writing the copy?

A professional copywriter will be able to write copy that is a joy to read, flows seamlessly, is well organised and above all, is in line with the company’s brand values and tone of voice. With expertly written copy, the company will look more professional. The copy will sell the products or services much more strongly. And people will want to buy.

Compare that with supplying your own copy. It will certainly be cheaper. But investing in copywriting will be worth it, potentially increasing your return on investment tenfold.

6. What’s the deadline?

Most important of all. Find out at the start of the process when the finished brochure is required. Then work backwards, from print back to proofing and so on, including all of the stages you’ll need to go through. 

If the schedule is tight and has no flexibility to allow for changes and snags, then give the agency a longer deadline. Remember, it takes time to create a visually impactful, sales and brand-building brochure, and a rushed piece of work could reflect badly on everyone involved.

Throughout August we are offering £100 off the design of a brochure. Want to find out more? Go to our offer page or for ideas have a look at our brochure portfolio.

How Do I Brand My Business: Effective Logo Design

We all know the importance of having a strong brand identity. A great logo is memorable, it can convey your product and service values and can help you to stand out from your competition. However, having a cool logo designed simply isn’t enough. How do you know that it will communicate the right messages to the right people? How can you ensure that your logo positions you within your industry and doesn’t cause more confusion than clarity?

Effective branding and of course, logo design, has to be approached a little more scientifically than simply blasting out some contemporary logo designs. Effective branding and logo design starts with a better understanding of your target audience.

Research For Branding

In order to communicate well with your customers and clients, you will no doubt have segmented your market i.e. categorised your potential customers, placing them into groups with shared problems, demands, requirements and so forth. Add to this some psychographic information including attitudes, interests, opinions and lifestyles and you’ll end up with a far greater understanding of the imagery, colours, design styles and messaging that will be more likely to connect well with them.

Next up, add a little benchmarking to the equation. By identifying market leading brands that already communicate well to similar segments, you’ll be able to compare your ideas with those already proven to be successful.

From Research to Ideas to Design

After investing this time to delve a little deeper into your target audience and what appeals to them, a talented designer can then work his or her magic. Here at The New Fat, our accomplished designers provide a shortlist of initial ideas for your consideration. Afterwards, once we understand your preferred ideas, we can then produce a logo that will really help you to stand out from the crowd, communicating your values to the people you really want to do business with.

Moving on from your logo
Of course, logo design is just the tip of the iceberg. Pretty much anything that communicates any aspect of your business is effectively branding. Therefore, The New Fat can help you to develop brand guidelines and a brand bible i.e. how to use your logo, colours, fonts, words and so forth.

To save £150 off a new logo design have a look at our offer page, or to see a selection of logo previously designed by The New Fat have a look at our logo portfolio.

My Useful Guide: Professional Advertising

Advertising is everywhere. Whether it’s social media, glossy mags, billboards or bus shelters we are bombarded everyday with punchy imagery and catchy straplines, so not surprising many go unnoticed.

Adverts come in all shapes, sizes and forms. Covered by two categories, print and digital. Some go for shock tactics, others go for humour, some just state the facts and get straight to the point. 

But what makes a great advert great? 




Connect with your audience
Firstly your advert needs to connect with the right audience. It has to spark and intrigue and give them reason to stop and look. With just seconds to make an impression, a strong and engaging concept is a must.

Coherent text and bold headlines
The wording is important if you are going to successfully get your point across but a catchy headline is what’s going to draw in the audience and keep them interested. In a glance the audience needs to know what the advert is about and why they should be interested. Keep it short and sweet and stick to the important details. 

Memorable and recognisable
Gone but not forgotten is the aim. Not everybody will be in a position to act upon the advert immediately, so having a memorable advert which mirrors your brand style is important if it’s going to turn into sales. Some people may not even think twice at the time of seeing the advert, but make it memorable enough and they could be coming back to you when the time is right. 

Creative campaigns
An advert should be creative, appealing and original to hold the attention of the audience. Boost your brand awareness by designing a full campaign with a series of adverts that coincide and compliment each other. Make the most of printed and online adverts, depending on your audience.

A call to action
Give your audience something to act on. Provide a source of further information such as a web address, social media or phone number. This means that you can keep your content to a minimum on the ad but still offer the information they need online or by phone. Including your logo helps with association and acts as a visual aid.

Less is always more
Don’t clutter the ad, keep it clean and simple. Focused on the task in-hand. Think of it like the tea tray game we all played as a kid at parties. The more objects on the tray the harder it was to remember the trinket once it had gone. Adverts are similar, the fewer elements on the ad the easier it will be to remember the important details.

With a print ad you can afford finer details but with a digital ad it’s more important then ever to keep it minimal.  

Digital adverts are sneaking their way into our social media feeds and appearing at the side of websites, more and more. Printed adverts are as popular as always with magazines full of them. So what are the advantages of advertising?

It strengthens your brand
Establishing a recognisable and trustworthy brand can be achieved through advertising - using the same adverts can amplify this effect. How often do you see the same advert from the same brand but in a different location. Repeating an ad can reiterate its value and show that you have real faith in the product or service.

It spreads the word
Adding reputability and creating recognition. Whilst establishing awareness for a particular product or service you are also achieving awareness for everything else you do. Spreading the word far and wide - creating the potential for attracting new customers.

Target customers directly
By investing in advertising space in a magazine, catalogue or brochure within your industry means you can target you clients directly. Also using specific content within your ad can attract your target audience and help to establish a connection. Targeted ads are becoming more apparent online. Ever noticed how adverts appear related to your latest Google search? 

Advertising is a great tool for any business and can prove effective in more ways then one.

Needs some inspiration? If you are interested in advertising have a look at our advertising page or campaign portfolio, alternatively get in touch for more information.
If you need anything else please have a look at our current offers

My Useful Guide: Professional Stationery

As simple as it is, business stationery is an effective marketing tool with great efficiency when implemented properly. 

Reinforcing branding and business mentality, the modest business card and letterhead has the potential to open doors.

The basic stationery essentials are covered by three main elements, the business card, the letterhead and the compliment slip. This stationery trio are a triple threat in your marketing arsenal. Providing an upfront view of your professionalism and defining a business ethos of quality and integrity.



Things to consider
Distributing smart business cards when networking, corresponding on letterheaded paper and adding notes to compliment slips all provide a lasting impression. Keep your stationery clean, concise and on brand. Stick to the important details; phone numbers, office, email and web addresses. Social media platforms and USPs could also prove valuable. Add your name and job title to your business card. Make sure your logo is in pride of place and that all components are consistent across all elements of stationery. 

Quality shouts professionalism
Choosing the right paper stock is crucial. Too thin and flimsy and your business potentially comes across as lacking in professionalism. A good paper stock for a business card would be a laminated 400gsm or 350gsm for a more natural stock. For a letterhead and compliment slip 115gsm. We love to be tactile, and being able to feel the quality of the stock will make all the difference and add that sense of confidence and credibility.

There is also the option to add effects such as coloured foils, embossing or die cuts to enhance your business cards - these come at a price but really stand out from the crowd. When it comes to a pile of business cards, eyes are attracted to the unusual, the bright, the bold…even the SHINEY! Just like magpies. Investing that little bit extra proves that you have confidence in the business and it might just give you the edge over the competition.

Your business stationery, especially your business card, is often the first insight into your brand a client will experience, so getting it right is important.

If you fancy a new set of business stationery update your business card, letterhead and compliment slip and make a lasting impression, please contact us for a quote. For inspiration visit our portfolio or read our latest case study on Chrysalis and their stationery rebrand.

My Useful Guide: Understanding Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn. Love it or hate it, social media is becoming increasingly commonplace for businesses globally.

With Facebook achieving 1 billion users online in a single day just last year and approximately half of the worlds internet users utilising a whole host of social media platforms, how important could social media be to you and your brand?

What are the benefits?

Social media platforms are a great way to increase traffic to your website. Without it you are relying on people who know your brand or those who stumble upon your website after searching keywords. A social media presence with consistent branding and interesting content can very quickly get you known and recognised with retweets, shares and likes alone. Not only that but social media can help to increase search engine rankings as you become recognised as a source of relevant information and accomplished in your field.

In a way social media acts as the biggest and best endorsement to your brand and its ethos. The more followers, likes and shares you have the more confident people will feel about your brand. The beauty of social media for marketing is that word spreads far, wide and fast. With every person that follows you, there is opportunity for more followers and more brand awareness.

Instead of you finding the clients, how about letting the clients come to you?

Social media is a great way to interact with an audience and offers the opportunity for followers to approach you. Talking to existing or potential clients on a friendly, helpful level removes a sense of mass marketing that can quite often be the feeling when using traditional adverts and flyers. Social media adds a human element to business, adding to that feeling of loyalty and trust amongst your audience. Support you show to customers can also be seen by a much wider audience, acting as a testament to your customer service and reliability.

With around 30 million UK users and new accounts becoming active each day, take full advantage of the free marketing available at your finger tips. All it requires is a bit of time and careful consideration but the results could be tenfold.

  

Here are a few cheeky pointers for improving a profile:

Logo

It is important to make sure that your logo not only represents you (have a read of our February blog post about logos) but is identifiable and is suited to sitting in a square. Don’t try and fit too much into a small profile picture, you need to be recognised at a distance in a long list of tweets, posts and shares. Use a symbol or an element of your logo to represent your brand and expand on this with the rest of your profile page.

Colour

This is a great way to make you stand out but it is also important that your customer base recognises you. There is no point in having an orange Facebook or Twitter profile if the rest of your branding is blue.

Layout

It’s easy to let Facebook or Twitter adjust your profile images and banners but you should take control of how your profile looks! Make sure that your images sit in your profile banner correctly and are clear and concise. Upload an image that fits the dimensions of the space and ensure that anything vital isn’t stuck behind the profile picture or profile name. Now that more and more of us use our mobiles to access social media it is vital that you profile banner works on both a computer screen and the mobile version. Remember that Facebook crops into you profile banner on the mobile site.

Which social media platform is for you?

There are a number of social media platforms available online and through mobile apps. Have a look at our useful download to see which social media could be best suited to you and pick up some more top tips.

Let us help you to create brand consistency across your social media platforms by contacting us for a quote or for inspiration have a look at our social media portfolio.