sharpcreative

2011-02-13T07:17:00.000-08:00

!£*?

OK so now I am just another bod harping on about Bank bonuses.

But what really concerns me is Banking practices and if anyone has done any in depth research into them.

Whatever the cause of our recent banking crisis, I think that most of us will agree, the “credit crunch” was the direct result of non-existent funds; or a hole in the balance sheets of several global money institutions.

Hopefully we all also agree with adage “turnover is vanity, profits are sanity”.

So at a time when interest rates are so low and I don’t not know of any money apparatus that is able to deliver significant returns on capital; is it just I who hears alarm bells ringing when I read of overall banking remuneration being 30-40% of revenue.

I feel that either the banks are serving their clients exceedingly poorly or else they are rapidly building the next banking crisis out of absent profits.

Perhaps someone might be able to investigate if this is a case of the emperors new clothes, where it is us, the general public that is being fleeced?

2011-01-19T02:30:00.000-08:00

Project Spotlight

Because Health is the Backbone of Your Business

Over the course of the year we have been honoured to help launch several businesses.
Giving a business an identity that is, simple, memorable and with which the owner is proud to be
promoted by, is a challenge that we particularly enjoy and are always keen to do.
One such business is Physio Kinetics, the brainchild of Sarah Mampuys. Sarah is a highly
experienced physiotherapist with a keen eye and attention to detail. Realising that many of her clients
injuries were caused by bad posture and habits that could have easily been avoided with simple
ergonomics within their workspace, Sarah saw the opportunity of offering assessment and advice for
office based businesses. To find out how Sarah could save your business lost time and money due to
staff sickness, please contact her at: sarah@physiokinetics.co.uk

We were able to work with Sarah, exploring several ideas, before creating an identity with which she
feels proud of, all within a very tight budget.

If you know anyone considering starting a new business, who would be pleased to do so on a solid

foundation, we offer a free initial consultation, and will always be pleased to hear from them;
tel, 01223 440153 email; studio@sharpcreative.co.uk

“I came to David for some logo's for my new company PhysioKinetics (East Anglia) ltd and
within 2 weeks David has come up with very unique ideas which resulted in 3 amazing
logo's that I am very proud to show off. He really took the time to brainstorm with me about
what I want to say with my logo's and paid attention to the little details and I felt I was
involved in the whole process from start to finish;which is not only great to see, but it also
forces you to really think about the message you want to send out and fine tune your
marketing ideas. If you are looking for a great graphic designer specialised in corporate
identities, then I can highly recommend Sharp Creative.”
Sarah Mampuys, Physiotherapy,

2010-11-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

Hidden Posters at Notting Hill

A team of workers renovating London's Notting Hill Gate subway (tube) station recently unearthed walls of colorful posters that have been there since the last round of major repairs—in the late 1950s. The postwar posters include highly stylized advertisements for films of the day (Around the World in 80 Days, Too Many Crooks), events including the Daily Mail's annual "Ideal Home" exhibition, and consumer products such as Pepsodent toothpaste ("You'll wonder where the yellow went"). Don't bother crossing the pond to examine the treasure trove of vintage graphic design, which remains inaccessible to the public. Just head to Flickr, where you can view the London Underground's photos of the inspiring posters.
Click here to see them.

Footy Fun

2010-06-20T01:51:00.000-07:00

A Germany-based animator, Fabian Moritz, is a man with a mission. Inspired by his love of football, he has spent thousands of hours recreating football matches using lego figures and stop-motion animation. And now inevitably, he has turned his attention to the World cup, working literally round the clock to bring you the latest action in plastic. Among the most popular so far: Team USA's opener against England, including our goalie, Robert Green's most embarrassing fumble. So even if you have only the vaguest interest, you can keep up with the action at his site: http://www.legofussball.eu/?Lego-Videos:WM_2010

The font of all founts

2009-11-20T05:32:00.000-08:00

The web has just got much more flamboyant; at last you can choose something a little more adventurous than Arial or times for your website thanks to a new service from typekit simply opens up a huge pandora's box of delicious fonts to use!

Make your own fonts

2009-11-20T03:17:00.000-08:00

" A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men."
Roald Dahl

Have fun, be frivolous on a Friday, make your own script for free with font capture:
fontcapture.com

Progress is regression

2009-11-19T01:12:00.001-08:00

Oh what a silly silly boy. I was duped by the idea that apples new operating system, snow leopard would make me a faster, more productive person and on a whim I bought it. First off all seemed fine, then I had a few problems with a font that had previously worked fine, all very boring. Till I discover snow leopard no longer supports type 1 fonts (is this the beginning of the end for the marriage of Apple & Adobe). No worries I bought the font family again as opentype (put it down to experience) and got the job done and thanked my lucky stars that only one font family were affected.
The problems have started with automatic updates. First Word has been playing up but the disaster was yesterday, when an upgrade from Adobe actually knocked Photoshop out. Now the programme crashes on start-up!
A search of the message boards revealed that this is a known problem, which Adobe purports to have fixed.
Adobe support will only help me if I take out a support contract, but then they will only support the latest instalment anyway (I'm using the previous version). It appears however that even the latest version still has serious issues and a fully supported version will not be launched until April next year. When faced with spending a lot of money to upgrade to something that is probably unstable, or undo what I have done and rebuild the computer with the old system the solution is as far as I can see a "no brainer". So after a long deliberation I have chosen to upgrade!!!

2009-11-16T07:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks Greg Smith, for, huhcorp.com blindingly witty because it is so true, a salutary reminder to all agencies, of how easy it is to disappear up our own backsides.

Graphic Design

2009-11-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

Graphic design is a discipline of dubious definition. The birth of graphic design being attributed to the advent of commercial printing at the turn of the century, it is commonly believed that the term was first invented by Professor Richard Guyatt, whilst employed as part of a team to reform the at the Royal College of Art, just after the second World War.
"No one was quite sure what it meant," he said, "but it had a purposeful ring"
Dictionary.com defines graphic design as “the art or profession of visual communication that combines images, words, and ideas to convey information to an audience.”
But the power and importance of enhancing simple text for dramatic effect has been around since the dawn of the written word (and arguably precedes it). One only has to look at the earliest Chinese texts and Egyptian hieroglyphics to see that man has struggled to make his words a thing of beauty to attract the readers eye.
From the monks calligraphic bibles through to modern typography, man has struggled to make the written word as easily digestible as possible.
Moreover other forms of graphic design have long been in formation, through the design of shop fronts and hoardings and with the advent of printing, through posters and leaflets.
But arguably, like many inventions, it was wars that developed the disciplines. Much as we may wish to distance ourselves, the power of Kitchener’s “Your Country Needs You Poster” really defined the power of graphic design and the art of visual communication. Just as the first World War’s “What did you do in the War Dad” poster is attributed to girding the resolve for plenty of cannon fodder.
Propaganda may be an uncomfortable word, but it is never-the-less the birth place of PR. Which brings us round to the grey area of graphics. The world of work is a fast changing beast, when Prof Guyatt, coined the term, graphic designers were a specialist form of artist/artisan, surrounded by a a raft of creatives; typographers, type setters, photographers, illustrators, sign writers, copy writers, advertising executives, etchers & plate makers. Commercial communication was a vast industry on factory proportions before the advent of the humble mac and the birth of desktop publishing.
Since then the industry has been under a form of constant erosion, the development of instant printers and a raft of ready made templates in a variety of computer programmes, have removed the mystique and technical requirements that had been the pillars of this industry. Much of this has been for the good, often highlighting the difference between good and mediocre design.
It is not just that designers have had to adapt but so to have the design companies. Whilst there are s few who can still make a living from publishing books and magazines, most have had to augment their tools to include marketing skills and encroach into what was the preserve of advertising and film companies, as well as embrace the new media opportunities, looking good is no longer good enough we designers need to have brains as well!

Last post - first post

2009-11-13T08:11:00.000-08:00

This all started when a client asked for a cheap easy to update website, and I of course replied 'bu**er off". Seriously I realised that if I was to continue to advise clients on all the marketing tools that their disposal, it was time I learnt how to blog, and so this was born.

So what do I rant about now.. well did anyone notice that "call of duty" was launched the day before remembrance? I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence or meant as a subliminal link, or does that just prove how cynical I am of marketing strategies and my fellow creatives.