What is a QR code?

QR code means “Quick Response Code“. The term refers to a simple matrix barcode which can be printed in two colours and looks like a lot of black squares within other large black squares. Not pretty but powerful. The code can be ‘read’ and interpreted by scanning software – the most popular scanner software can be downloaded free as smartphone apps which use the phones camera to scan the QR code.

So what is stored in a QR code then? Well any data or text can be stored – however the most beneficial of data from a marketing perspective is URLs (website addresses in English) which will immediately display on a users smartphone after scanning.

Is this QR Code thing just a geek gimmick?

In a word, Nope. These codes can be used to benefit users and businesses. They can be used to really harness your marketing and help to connect the offline and the online worlds. As time goes we are sure they will become more prominent and widely used so that they become a part of every day life.

Uses for QR Codes in Business Marketing

Here are a few practical examples of the use of QR codes:

1. QR Code Instructions

If you have a product which needs assembly or needs to be operated by a customer then you will often need to supply a detailed set of instructions. QR codes could be the end of expensive printed instructions because all you would need to do is print a QR code onto your product so that a user can scan it and immediatly be bounced to a URL which could contain all the instructions online – and if you really want to go to town, a video of how to operate your product or install it. This not only enhances the customers experience making life easier for them but also saves you money as you would not have to print and package instructions with your product.

2. QR Code Timetables

If you have information which is continually updating (like timetables) it can become very costly to keep reprinting the updated information. Instead, consider printing an overview with a QR Code to a website which has the details displayed on it. Websites are far easier and cheaper to update than printed matter and so again this use of QR Codes saves money and is better for a user as it puts the information immediately in their hands. Taking it a step further online software could be written to enable the user to search for the most relevant item on the timetable – this would never be possible with print.

3. QR Code Advertising

Instead of just having your website on your posters, printed matter and business cards why not print a QR Code. This will help views as they will not need to memorise or write down your web address as all they would need to do is scan it. Lets take this idea further. You could also add tracking codes to the QR code so that you could track what advert or printed matter the user had scanned to see the website. This would allow you to measure the success of your advertising or printed matter in a way that was never possible in the past.

4. QR Code Story Telling

Have a product with an amazing story behind it but no space on the packaging to tell the story? Why not keep the packaging uncluttered and simple and add a simple QR Code. Then on the URL which you sent the customer to record your story in all it’s detail online. You could include the making of the product, it’s ingredients and their origins and any other important information.

5. QR Code Data Capture

Do you want to grow your contact lists to enable you to contact your audience in the future and grow your brands reputation? With QR codes you can run campaigns which give users free online content, like apps, MP3 music downloads or PDFs – all through QR Codes. Users would need to give away their email addresses of course in order to get these free gifts. You can capture valuable user data with this technique.

6. QR Code Maps

Want to send someone somewhere? Use a QR code to pinpoint the location on an online  map and guide a user in through their mobile to your destination. This is a brilliant technique for restaurants or retail shops – especially when sales or special promotions are on. Another way this could be useful is if a manufacture wants to display all the stockists of the product they are advertising. The Map could then populate from their list of suppliers, show the user their nearest store and guide them to it.

7. QR Code Voice Messages

Do users purchase your products as gifts? You could allow customers to record a personalised message for their loved one which they record in your store at the point of purchase. This message would then be uploaded to a site and a QR code generated which would be printed off as a label and placed on the gift wrap of the product. When the loved one received the gift and scanned the QR code the voice message would play giving a unique expericene and adding real value to your gift wrapping services.

Get a QR Code today – FREE!

The most amazing thing about QR codes is that they are free! All you need is a website to point one too and a great idea as to how to use them (let us know if you need a hand with this!). To generate a QR code visit QRStuff.com and follow the instructions. Once you have one send it to your designers to incorporate into your marketing materials. Easy Peasy.

Conclusion

So we hope you have been inspired by this article and go on to start using QR codes in your business and marketing activities. If you feel like sharing your QR code experiences please feel free to leave a comment below. We’d love to hear about brilliant uses for the little bar code phenomena!

Related posts:

1. The power of Responsive Web Design
2. Will Software Ever Make Us Redundant?
3. Spot UV – Add class to your business cards

The Mobile Web will overtake desktop browsing by 2015

Back in April of 2010, Mary Meeker an internet analyst at Morgan Stanley released an amazing report that stated that the amount of users browsing the internet on mobile phones would overtake users who use desktop computers to browse the internet, before 2015. These predictions have now been agreed to by Tony Keusgen who is Google’s Head of Technology in Australia.

What does this mean?

Put simply this means that if your site is not optimised to display nicely on mobile phones you will be potentially missing out on a huge percentage of internet users. When we say “display nicely” what we mean is is that the content of the site fits nicely on a smartphone device so that the user does not have to pinch and zoom in
to read the content.

Any new build of a website should consider mobile browsers and, put simply, if you are talking to a web company who are not discussing this issue with you, you may want to reconsider them as a potential web partner. Mobile browsing is the future and needs to be at the fore front of website design strategy.

Responsive web design – the best way around the problem

The way we used to produce mobile sites was to write a piece of code that redirected the user to almost a completely different site depending on if they were viewing the site on a mobile or on a desktop. We would produce two versions of the website – one was a mobile version and one a desktop version. This meant twice the amount of work.

With the rise in responsive web solutions those days are long gone.

What is Responsive Web Design?

In English, “Responsive Web Design” (or ‘RWD’ for short if you want to be fancy nancy) basically means that when a website offers up content it responds to the users device. In other words if a user is viewing the site on a high resolution screen the site responds and displays content for that screen. If the user is on a mobile the user sees the same content but the design of the page responds and resizes in order to display the content for a smaller screen resolution.

As a result of this, users across a range of devices and browsers will have access to a single source of content. Content that is laid out so as to be easy to read, digest and navigate with a minimum of resizing, panning and scrolling.

Obviously this helps maximise the conversion rates of your website making it do more for you as a marketing tool.

Introducing the 1140 Grid System

Here at Attitude we are huge fans of responsive webdesign and a CSS grid system called 1140. Sites using the 1140 Grid resize to fit with the browser width – as the 1140 site explains:

“The 1140 grid fits perfectly into a 1280 monitor. On smaller monitors it becomes fluid and adapts to the width of the browser.

Beyond a certain point it uses media queries to serve up a mobile version, which essentially stacks all the columns on top of each other so the flow of information still makes sense.”

^Above – a couple of examples of sites we have designed and launched recently that use responsive web design in the form of the 1140 Grid System

Using Google Anylitics to assess your situation

“So how do I find out about how many users that come to my site are using mobile devices” we hear you ask. Well, we would recomend singing up and installing ‘Google Analytics‘ to your website. googley anylitics allows you to easily track your visitors, where they have come from, how long they spend on your site and, most importantly in relation to this article, what platform they are browsing your site on.

Recently Google has seen the need to easily show mobile phone browsing data and has create a speciel “mobile” area so that users of Google Analytics can quickly and easily see the mobile usage.

This will easily enable you to see how urgent mobile optimisation is for your website and also allow you to see the value of investment in this area of marketing.

Get a responsive web design with attitude

So – does the above make sence? Do you want to work with a company who are forward thinking and who work with you to maximise your websites business objectives? Give us a shout today!

Do you have any questions or comments about responsive web design? Add a response below…

Related posts:

1. Attitude Redesign the Hallam Internet website
2. 25 Sites We Can’t Live Without
3. 2008-7 Internet Marketing/Design Predictions

Wartime Propaganda

The ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ posters have been a sudden craze over the last year. These morale boosting posters originate from the 1940′s after World War 2. The symbolic crown was chosen to represent King George VI alongside a simple font on a bold coloured background. The poster was only to be displayed upon the invasion of Britain by Germany. As this never happened, it was never distributed or seen by the public.

The very first wartime posters appeared in Britain in 1914, created by the government to encourage men to recruit and join the army. Other posters followed, promoting wartime economy and urging the country to unite. The early posters tended to be enlarged versions of handbills with technical terms of enlistment. They contained no images but relied on slogans such as “Your Country Needs You!” They were aimed at the country as a whole, rather than certain constitutions.

These nostalgic posters represent Britain’s character and determination to survive the war. We love the bright colours, retro typography and inspiring slogans.

Disclaimer: We are not attempting to take any credit for the above work – we have had nothing to do with any of the designs shown. If you have any questions regarding this please contact us.

Related posts:

1. Time Machine / Film Posters from the 1930′s
2. Inspirational Policing Pledge Posters
3. Time Machine / Car Ads of the 1920s

Grids are a way of organising graphic design using:
proportions, ratios and aesthetics.

Grids are formed of columns, rows and margins that make up the structure of the page. This enables all the pages to have some level of consistency as well as being pleasing to the eye. Using grid layouts can make the design process a lot quicker as images; blocks of type and headings can be arranged very quickly. In terms of usability, information can be read more quickly and easily as well as being more easily understood and retained in the memory.

It is fairly common for layouts to contain 12 columns, as this can be split into sections spanning 2, 3, 4 and 6 columns whilst still maintaining some structure and continuity, without leaving any empty units. These are all fairly symmetrical and give a more formal look to the page.

More obscure layouts have grids with 3 columns or even 7. These layouts tend to be less symmetrical, as an image may span 2 columns and text over 1 column. They are leave room for white space, which can help the eye focus on certain parts of the page as well as welcoming ‘breathing space’ for the reader.

Josef Muller-Brockmann

Josef Muller-Brockmann is a Swiss designer famous for his poster adverts for theatre productions in Zurich. His work is said to create “mathematical harmony, which reflected the harmony of the music.” Josef did not restrict his designs to horizontal and vertical alignments, but began working on diagonal axis. This created a much more lively and controversial layout to normal grids.

“The grid system is an aid, not a guarantee. It permits a number of possible uses and each designer can look for a solution appropriate to his personal style. But one must learn how to use the grid; it is an art that requires practice.”
Josef Muller-Brockmann

Brand Consistency

Many companies will use a consistent grid layout to maintain their brand continuity and visual identity. However, they alter the way they use these grids to add some variety to the pages or designs. Rather than becoming a rigid plan, grids facilitate creativity and provide a framework. For example, Creative Review use this grid in their magazines. The page layout is split up into 12 columns, which allows for plenty of flexibility throughout the whole of the magazine, but with consistency to the design and proportions.

“The secret of a grid’s success is not so much its structure as the imagination with which it is used.”
-Allen Hurlburt

Grids in Web Design

Grids are not only used in print, but in web design too. There are many sizes of grids but we use either 960 or 1140 for different purposes.

A page width of 960 pixels consists of 12, 16 or 24 columns. The columns are set with a width of 60 pixels with a 20-pixel gutter, these measurements decrease as the number of columns increases. They are designed to look good on all monitors, and are defined by exact measurements so horizontal scrolling is not needed.

There is also the 1140 pixel grid, which fits perfectly into a 1280 monitor. On smaller monitors it becomes fluid and adapts to the width of the browser, even on Mobiles! This is because it is made up of percentages as well, and so the content compresses to fit on the smaller screen.

“A grid is not meant to lock you in a limiting mindset. Grids are guides to follow: they enhance user interactivity and page element placement.”

Related posts:

1. Time Machine / Medieval Manuscript Design
2. Attitude Redesign the Hallam Internet website
3. The Lost Levels – We love this video!

Social Media Icons

Here at Attitude, we recognise that the modern age has thrown us into social media mayhem and it’s really important for businesses to keep up to date with the latest interests of your audience. By including the ability to share content via social media on your website, you will allow your viewers to connect directly to your company and share your brand with all their friends on the social media platforms they can visit on a daily basis.

“By giving people the power to share, we’re making the world more transparent.”
Mark Zuckerberg

Because we love our readers so much, we have decided to help you with this by designing these sensational, cutting-edge social media icons which you can download for FREE! This will help your company stay connected to some of the most popular social sites out there. They will look great on your website and will help encourage your users to share your content – Enjoy!

Download Now

Related posts:

1. Social Media Strategy
2. Social Media Revolution
3. Free Powerpoint / Keynote Backgrounds – High Def

New in the Portfolio

Spring Greeting from the team here at Attitude! We thought we would let you know about the new work added in our portfolio in the recent busy months.

Hallam

Website Design

Once again Attitude Design have worked with Hallam Internet to update the design of the Hallam website. This fresh new look is professional, subtle and easy to navigate. Not only is the new design consistent with the Hallam brand, it has developed the brand and its flexibility with style!

Visit Hallam Here »

Fat Free Media

Website Design

Fat Free Media is a creative video design agency based in Nottingham. The new design is crafted to reflect upon the movement and creativity of their high quality productions. The concept builds upon the Fat Free Media brand, and gives an electronic atmosphere, yet beautifully simple and appealing as a agency portfolio. Large video/animations throughout the site illustrate services and showcase work.

Visit the site here »

Top Dog Days

Website Design

Top Dog Days is an online resource for days out on a budget, flagging deals and discounts for the top visitor attractions in the UK. Top Dog Days came to the Attitude team looking to progress from their blog into an accessible website. Attitude designed this website to compliment the existing Top Dog Days brand. By keeping the site visually familiar, existing users can continue using the site without confusion and find information faster. Large tickers, useful navigation, calls to actions and advertising space have been arranged for optimal function.

View the website here »

NCCL

Website Design

NCCL (National Centre for Citizenship and the Law) required an update for their dated website. Attitude created this clean and crisp design to bring law and order to the information and resourced available. The site now allows users to efficiently find information and learn about the services provided. Using tidy layout, 3 core colour themes and plenty of photos, the website has become engaging and informing.

Visit the website here »

C&B Catering

Print Design

C&B Catering provide themed barrows to add a unique experience to the quality continental food they serve. Attitude worked with C&B Catering to design and illustrate this glossy information book containing the menus. The calendar fold book opens to present double page spreads for each of the four themed barrows, each illustrated yet consistent. The design is simple, edgy and the illustrations bold and atmospheric.

Usman Khan Immigration Solicitors

Branding & Print Design

Attitude worked with Usman Khan Immigration Solicitors to develop their new brand. The logo makes subtle reference to the British flag with the horizontal form of the “K” and the use of white, deep red and blue. The design is clear and professional and focussed to the audience. After developing the identity, Attitude continued to produce these flyers and stationary to set off their new look. The design is clean, professional and clear.

View their website here »

Sigmund Freud

Branding

The Sigmund Freud Tour Vienna provides quality tours of the places Sigmund Freud lived in Vienna. Attitude worked with the Sigmund Freud Tour Vienna to develop this stylish, bold brand.

Sigmagenix

Branding

SigmaGenix approached the Attitude team for a fresh brand for their financial software service. We developed this sleek, professional mark inspired by a marine theme. The distinctive mark forms a nautilus shell and makes reference to the Greek letter “sigma”.

View the website here »

UK Girl Thing

Brand & Website Design

UK Girl Thing provide the best hen party planning service in the UK. Attitude worked with UK Girl Thing to redesign their brand and website. The elegant, classy logo is recognisable and fun and distinguishes it from its sister company Gents Events. The website was redesigned to bring the broad range of products together so that viewers can navigate effectively. It is important for the products to be presented strategically and with style! The new design is focused to a broad female audience, styled in sleek deep purple, bold pink and smart gold and grey. Combined with their smashing new brand, this design has updated the original site to a professional, glamourous and user friendly website.

Visit the site here »

Gents Events

Brand & Website Design

Gents Events are the UK’s No 1 stag party planning service. Attitude developed this professional redesign of their brand and website. The mark is masculine, youthful and smart – a very tangible brand. The website is crafted to be easier to navigate and to present their service is a stylish way. Attitude created the layout to continue the same smart format at UK Girl Thing website to bring the two sister companies under one umbrella. The use of colour reflects the professional quality of the service and the varied, exciting products available for men.

Visit the site here »

Related posts:

1. Attitude Redesign the Hallam Internet website
2. Portfolio
3. How to create a graphic design portfolio

Information graphics or Infographics are graphic visual communication of information, data or knowledge. Strong Infographics should illuminate information, that usually would be too complex or dull, in text form such as stats or processes. In recent years, infographics have become popular with designers and are broadly used to communicate information in a creative, compact way.

The Attitude team have put together examples that we have found impacting, informative, inspiring or humorous. Enjoy.

1. Carbs are killing you

‘Carbs are Killing You’ was created in collaboration with Massive Health, showing how carbohydrates make you put on weight rather than fatty foods. Our design team loves this humorous approach to healthy eating, so that rather than being a chore, it looks fun, innovative and is easy to read.

2. Take the fast lane

This hip infographic arranges survey results around a race track to display the benefits of CODA electric vehicles. The circular track and composition leads the eye on a journey from one key point to the next. Information is separated into 4 muted colours with modern illustrations to make the overall graphic visually interesting but not overpowering.

View full version here. Graphic By Gavin Potenza.

3. Small Cover

This poster depicts survey results based on the importance of health insurance. The simple monochrome colour scheme is very bold and accentuates the intricacy of the serif typeface, especially the numbers furled around the tree branches.

View full version here. Graphic By Raj Kamal.

4. Waiting Time is wasting time

The Attitude team love this simple graphic, especially the bright colour contrast on the black background and the unique circle comparisons of each time value!

View full version here. Graphic by Ruth Tsang.

5. Manual Photography

A definite favourite of the team, this handy infographic is plain cool. The retro design and beautiful typography is clear

View full version here. Graphic by livinginthestills.

6. Beards

A useful guide when making the decision wether or not to trust a hairy stranger. This graphic is funny, relatable and plays on iconic beard/moustache styles.

View full version here. Graphic by Matt Mcinerney.

7. 3D Pattern Matters

Woah! This handmade infographic looks amazing, especially with its 3-dimensional quality. Each block is individually hand-crafted from paper, and glued together to create these miniature graphics. How original!

View full version here. Graphic by Lim Siang Ching.

8. Nonsensical

Although the ‘info’ in ‘inforgraphic has been removed in this example, the beautifully broken down compositions mimic and twist the standard forms found in information graphs. This inspiring break down looks outside the box and is a thought cloud of visual ideas!

View full version here. Graphic by Chad Hagen.

9. Are you happy?

Big statement, very few words. We love how this powerful yet simple concept is reflected perfectly as the designer treats it with the process of elimination. The process of elimination is usually used to filter through a complexity of options, but this graphic plays on this process to exaggerate how simple the conclusion really is. 1 + 2 = 3.

View full version here. Graphic by Alex Koplin.

10. Piggy Trouble

This swine flu infographic is full of quirky patterns and illustrations. The Attitude Team love the use of characters to add humour making the topic seem a lot less dull!

View full version here. Graphic by Raj Kamalaich.

So there you have it, hope you are feeling inspired (and informed on various topics!)

Disclaimer: We are not attempting to take any credit for the above work – we have had nothing to do with any of them. If you have any questions regarding this please contact us.

Related posts:

1. Spiffingly Good Re-design of the Attitude Site
2. Attitiude Music Track – Free Download
3. Process

Brand Guideline Documents

After carefully creating the perfect brand identity for your company, Attitude wants to ensure you reap the full benefits of your new brand.

The Brand Guideline Document is a full package containing all you need to effectively use your brand visually across all media to achieve a consistent voice for your business. This will aid you in applying your brand across different areas and locations and other design teams.

A typical document will provide the user with guidelines for how to effectively use the logo, identity, brand colours, typography, stationary, and images. Guidelines are also given for promotional material and email templates and signatures. All information is packaged in a easy to use document, also consistent with your brand.

The package is then completed with a Media Pack which will include all logo files, graphic elements, colours and fonts.

Here are some examples pages of a Brand Guideline:

Related posts:

1. Brand Guidelines
2. Branding
3. The No. 1 Rule / Brand Consistency

Once again Attitude Design have worked with Hallam Internet to redesign the Hallam website, www.hallaminternet.com. Hallam are a fantastic team of search engine optimisation experts offering an unparalleled SEO service under the leadership of the renowned internet marketing speaker Susan Hallam. Through the websites various stages, the Attitude team have consistently developed the design and structure to keep it fresh and professional, making it easier to navigate and more powerful to the user. This marks a new development of the Hallam brand identity by presenting the quality services of Hallam Internet in a powerful and modern website.

Old Design

Compare with the old design below, the new design flows smoothly and notice how the subtle use of shadows and forms set the framework, bringing a clean cut finish without losing structure or looking too rigid. The Hallam purple is set off by the use of the pale grey that breaks up the page. The navigation is simplified and careful typography maximises the contrast and clarity of the key messages. Adopting more modern elements make the pages easier on the eye and result in a lighter, more spacious and well structured website.

Call To Action

Throughout the pages are Call To Action sections, which are fully customizable, allowing the attention of site visitors to be guided towards new or important content whilst also aiding the continuity of the design.

Home Page Ticker

The home page now features a fully customisable ticker, which displays key messages to help direct visitors to useful pages. Using large crisp images and snappy messages, attention is kept and important shortcuts transfer visitors to the pages they need most.

Authors

Each Hallam Internet author has a profile page complete with a customisable contact form that can be modified to fit each team member. The website is also integrated with Google+, allowing articles to be matched to their authors on a Google search. The website is also fully linked to social media and it is easy to follow individual team members, keep up to date and share pages. This allows clients to view the latest activity of Hallam on the social sites they visit daily.

Optimised for iphone/ipad using the 1140 grid system

The website is built using the 1140px grid system, making it work fluidly accross different screens, adapting itself for ipad and iphone so that all content can be viewed wherever you are, quickly and clearly! We feel it is important to make the website fully accessible as the number of ipad/iphone visitors rise.

Videos

An informative video interview with Director Susan Hallam adds personality to the message, whilst testimonials from clients also bring a personal touch to the website, in addition to confirming that the company is trustworthy. Videos are engaging and are great for efficiently communicating more information in less time it takes to read. Everyone loves videos! View them here »

WordPress

Finally, the Hallam website content is managed using WordPress. WordPress is easy to use and the entire website is customisable, allowing Hallam to update the site regularly and efficiently to focus on relevant news and services, so that the website works like a flexible tool, growing and changing to match the company and its communication needs.

Work with Attitude

If you need your website redesigning and want some Attitude – why not contact us. As we hope  you’ll agree, the project above shows we offer the perfect union between form and function so be sure to drop us a line if you need a website design (rhyme not intended but it does have a nice ring to it!)…

Related posts:

1. Attitude design the new Hallam Website
2. Hallam Communications
3. Work Completed / 500 Website

Recommended Free Fonts

Once again here at Attitude we would like to share with you 1o of our favourite fonts that we have used recently, and they are all free to download and use! Follow the links to give the brilliant creators exposure they deserve! Get creative and download them all!

Museo

Download Here

Created by: exljbris

Weston

Download Here

Created by: Pavel Pavlov

ChunkFive Roman

Download Here

Created by: The League of Moveable Type

Quicksand

Download Here 

Created by: Andrew Paglinawan

BorisBlackBloxx

Download Here 

Created by: Manfred Klein

Code

Download Here 

Created by: Font Fabric

Sansation

Download Here 

Created by: Bernd Montag

Miama

Download Here 

Created by: Fuex

London Between

Download Here 

Created by: Francois Bruel

Lane

Download Here

Created by: GemFonts Graham Meade

So there you have it! 10 amazing fonts for you to enjoy, thanks to the hard work of the credited typographers! Have fun!

Related posts:

1. 10 Free Fonts We Use & Love
2. 12 Free Victorian Vectors
3. Free Vector Manicules

Happy New Year!

2012 has arrived and Attitude are here for you as always, providing fresh new design for all your needs. Do you see a new you in the new year? Here at Attitude we thrive on creating imaginative design solutions tailored to fit the needs of your business. Have a look at our portfolio or download our ‘Real Results’ showcase to find out what we can do for you.

App Design

As Smart Phones take the world by storm, apps are being downloaded like “hot-cakes”. An informative, easy to use app is a powerful tool to generate exposure and income for your business. Whatever you want your app to do, we can design and create it for you. It will be app-solutley amazing (sorry couldn’t help ourselves there!).

Print Design

The printed word is not dead! The tactile and enduring qualities of a printed product surpasses digital visuals and is a more personal media to communicate. Come to Attitude for your print design - whatever your needs, we will produce graphic design that will inspire and help you attract more business. Well designed printed matter can inform your customers about you, and position your business in a positive light to help you increase sales.

Web Design

Never underestimate the importance of the perfectly designed website. With visitors usually making a judgment within the first few seconds of seeing your site, it is imperative that it has high visual impact and strategic layout to create an effective online presence for your business. Maybe your website is growing tired and holding you back or perhaps you are a new company looking to create impact. Whatever you need, Attitude will work with you to create fresh, strategic design to suit you.

Retainers

Our retainer packages are an ideal way for us to offer continual support. We passionately believe in building long term relationships with our clients, offering them good quality design on an ongoing basis. If you are regularly in need of quality design, why not stay with us for continual support from a company you can rely on. It is easier, cheaper and Attitude can grow to really understand your needs and development to provide a consistent high quality service.

Related posts:

1. Happy New Year
2. Happy New Year 2010!
3. Happy New Year 2K11!

Wow – another year has gone by! We couldn’t let it go without saying a huge thank you to all our clients for their business this year – it’s been great to work (and be working) with you.

Closing times

We’re shutting up shop on – Friday 23rd of December. Don’t worry though, we’ll be back open for business bright eyed and bushy tailed on Tuesday 3rd January 2012 to help with all your design requirements.

A quick look back at 2011

2011 has been another invigorating year for us! We’ve increased our office space and taken on three new members of the Attitude team. We redesigned our website and updated our brand identity. We’ve been involved in some really exciting projects both across print and web. Our clients can now be found globally all over the world. We worked on e-commerce and CMS website projects that were larger than ever before, we launched a couple of iPhone apps, as well as working on integrated marketing strategies across social media, email marketing, photography, video, mobile, web and print. Some of these projects were featured in online magazines such as PixelArts and published by publishers like Liaoning Publishing and Bright Books. A few of our blog posts were also published by respected design blogs like Smashing Magazine and Tripwire Magazine – so a busy year indeed! We’re exhausted!

Roll on 2012

A new year a new you! If you do have any projects that you’d like to book in for the new year, please feel free to contact us for a chat – although hurry up as we are already looking extremely busy in January!

Related posts:

1. Happy Holidays From Attitude Design!
2. Happy Holiday!
3. Happy Holidays!

Welcome to this free Blend Tool tutorial for Adobe Illustrator.

The blend tool is a fantastic tool which is incredibly simple to use but with endless creative possibilities! In a nutshell, the blend tool allows you to blend any shape into another, creating 3D effects and patterns. This tutorial will show you the basic functions of the Blend Tool (W) for you to take away and get creative!

Step One

We have started with a new document and made a locked (cmd + 2) grey background box. Using the Pen Tool (P) we draw two wavy, overlapping lines and give each a different colour. If you like, you can give them different stroke weights and styles and bring your preferred line to the front (shift + cmd + ]).

Step Two

Making sure the two lines are unselected, select the Blend Tool (W) from the tools panel. Then click on the first line and then the second. They will then blend and look something like this:

Step Three

Now you can change the blend by going to Object » Blend » Blend Options…

Here you can select either Specified Steps which allows you to enter the number of times the shape is repeated in the blend of Specified Distance which allows you to enter the desired space between each repetition. In this example we have specified 20 repetitions to create this pattern. Notice how the two colours have blended smoothly. You can now use your Selection Tool (A) to select anchor points and edit the form of the two primary lines.

Other Techniques

Ribbon Effect

The above blend is between two different shapes, but you can blend two of the same shapes to create a ribbon-like effect. Below we used the Pen Tool (P) to create a line, and then duplicated it (shift + alt + drag) then repeated (cmd + D). This allows us to select three colours to blend together. We then can use the Selection Tool (A) to select grouped anchor points to change the ribbon shaped blend.

Curved Blend

Using the Selection Tool (A) and the Pen Tool (P) (Add/Delete/Convert Anchor Tool), you can bend the form of the blend direction. Below we made a blend of a square and a star. We then could use the above tools to ‘bend the blend’:

Align to Path or Page

Finally, when blending shapes, you can choose whether to align to path or align to page. This can be selected in Blend Options:

So there you have it, the basics of the Blend Tool covered! Play around and see what 3D effects you can make. How about blending outlined text to create jazzy, retro typography or adding an outer glow effect to create dazzling neon light designs.

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Lights, Camera, Action!

We’re pleased to announce that we have recently filmed, edited and produced 6 videos for the Actons Solicitors Personally Injury Department. The videos fit in with a larger pay per click and brand strategy and users will be encouraged to view the videos after coming to the Actons site via a Google adword advert campaign.

The power of video

Videos like these are a perfect example of how powerful video on the web is. The videos are directly targeted at the audience and are personal. Real solicitors are featured in them speaking clearly and enthusiastically about a specific service which will help the user with their problem. This is far better than a user facing a wall of text.

Less is more

“The design of these videos is all about simplicity”, Attitude
Design’s Creative Directer Matt Davies says. “There is no clutter, no distraction – just the simplicity of a solicitor explaining a quality service as if you were meeting them face to face. They feel spacious and professional and have been designed to not only educate but give authority to our client. The great thing about the web now is that we can now stream these videos to our audiences. Whereas historically they would have to read about these services online they can now have a real person explain them to them – this is the future of the web…”

Get your video today!

Let us know if you need any videos producing to fit in with any campaigns you might be planning. The Attitude Team would love to help…

Childrens Claims Actons Solicitors

Beauty Salon and Spa Injuries Actons Solicitors

Supermarket Shop Accidents Actons Solicitors

Slips Trips and Falls in a Public Place Actons Solicitors

No Win No Fee Actons Solicitors

Hair Disasters Actons Solicitors

Dog Bites and Attacks Actons Solicitors

Related posts:

1. Attitude Design produce Actons Solicitors website
2. 5 Videos To Help You Market Your Business
3. Attitude design the new Hallam Website

Appearing high in search engines like Google is becoming increasingly important for businesses as the online market grows. However, getting thousands of unique visitors a month is just half the story. Once the visitors are on your site, you need to ‘convert’ them – whether this means purchasing a product, contacting you for a quote, or signing up to receive your newsletter.

It’s important to have a clear goal of what you would like a visitor to do once they reach your site. It’s no good getting thousands of visitors if none of them stay on your site very long. Here we look at 4 simple ways that will help achieve your aims.

1. Calls to action

It’s amazing how many sites lack such a simple thing as this. A call to action is basically any text/information which explains to the visitor what we want them to do. They’ve read about your company – now what? “Call us now”, “click here for a free quote” or “buy our special offer” are all examples of calls to action. The more you have on your site and the more prominently they are positined, the more chance you have of a converstion.

See an example below of a website we have designed – note how clear and obvious the calls to actions are within the design.

2. Trust points

Selling from a website has a disadvantage from, say, a high street shop, in that your potential customer’s can’t see any ‘real’ people, they can’t touch the product they want to purchase and it may therefore be harder for them to make a judgment as to whether your company is trustworthy. Your website therefore has to have an abundance of ‘trust points’. These are visual factors that help to reinforce your business as honest, successful and professional.

Trust points can be a variety of things – we will look at 2 examples here:

Testimonials

Ask previous customers/clients to provide a comment that you can place onto your website. This provides feedback from ‘real people’ and, providing it is positive (!), helps to establish your company as one with high standards.

Accreditation Logos

Has your company been awarded with an industry relevant award or do you comply with certain industry standards? If so, why not place proof of this onto your website. Again, it will help to reinforce the message to users that your company can be trusted.

An example of trust points on a website:

3. Hard facts

Most people can see through fancy sales jargon – but what a lot of customers look for is some cold, hard facts. Why not carry out a bit of research – find out if your services increased a client’s sales by xx percent, or whether your product has been sold in xx countries. Facts like these can really help make more sales as people can place a real value on your services/products. These facts need to be displayed in a prominent place on your website. See below for an example of where we have done this for one of our clients.

4. Messaging

One of the most frustrating things to a site visitor is that after trawling through reams of text on your website, they’re still not really sure what your company does. Messaging is key – you only have a few seconds to comunicate with the visitor what your company does.

You should have a clear idea of who your target audiences are and the priority you would like to give to each target audience. The design of the site and the messaging should then be implemented accordingly.

See an example of one of our sites below – it is immediately clear what this company does.

5. Video 

Videos can bring a personal touch to your website and can communicate more information clearly in less time than it takes to read. Users are easily be put off by a lot of cold text, most people prefer to hear and see information in an expressive way than to read information on a page. A video brings the message to them in an exciting and more memorable way.

See an example of one of our sites below – a selection of video interviews attracts attention and bridges the gap between the you and the user, making the user feel welcome and the website more trustworthy.

In conclusion, it’s not sufficient to have a great design – the design has to have purpose and thought behind it. We hope this article has been useful. Do you think your website needs some marketing TLC? Contact us here for a free quote.

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2. Simplifying The Site Map
3. Attitude design the new Hallam Website