I have just come across the re-design of the BBC Sports site, and in honesty I am a little shocked at the state of it; the choice of colour (yellow) that seems to litter the page, maybe a secondary colour would have been a good option to work with the yellow!

The BBC’s Ben Gallop explains that “This is in line with the rest of BBC Online – and indeed with virtually all other major sports websites.”

Why would you want your website to be in-line with all other major sports websites, surely you would want to stand out create something special, ensuring you capture more visitors to your homepage than other sports pages.

The website is unrefined and a lacks care and attention. The more I look at this site the more I want to get my hands on it. Things don’t line up on the left, the word ‘Sport’ is not even in line with the BBC logo. The boxes over the images with copy in are uncomfortable they could be made softer with a tint of colour rather than a solid colour. This site lacks consistency, when you click on a video they seem to vary in size, this then creates dead space on the page.

This site could be very engaging if it had the attention it requires; the use of video and live data is a great idea.

This is the first iteration so lets see if it does develop into a far more refined site.

The Design Museum has some exciting times ahead…

The current location of the Design Museum is South of the river Thames. However, the time has come to praise the Design Industry and give the museum the space it deserves; to shout about all the great talent we have in this country. Sir Terance Conran who has donated 17.5 million and is a founder and trustee of the Design Museum.

The new location is a former Commonwealth Institute building in Kensington (West of the city). John Paulson is working on the project to bring new life to the building in a subtle way.

The benefits of the move include ensuring that the Design Museum will become a major exhibition within Europe. Allowing more people to get
involved with design also enabling them to show all of their permanent collection.

The move for the Design Museum, is making a large statement that ‘Design Matters’. People need to realise the impact design has to our every day life and so many people don’t realise the importance of design. I hope from the move it will get people to engage and understand the world around us in a far more detail.

We have so much to celebrate as a country and have seen some brilliant design over the past years: Anglepoise lamp, London Underground map, Conorde, our road signs are a design classic, spitfire, Mini & the Aston Martin DB5, just to name a few.

We have some major artists / designers in this country; Dyson and Aardman Animations (Wallace & Gromit) who are having to consider moving out of Britain as they don’t have the support behind them and costs are getting higher. As a country we should be proud of the talent that we have and put time into praising this.

Moving the Design Museum and giving it the space it deserves is a real break through.

Looking forward to visiting the new Design Museum in 2014.

With markets even tougher, it is ever more important that your brand is working for you and stands out from your competitor’s. Does your logo say the right things about your company? Is your website up to date and easy to navigate? Are you making the most of the array of the other digital avenues that are available to you?…

The digital market doesn’t just consist of websites, there are far more avenues to explore to get brand awareness and (hopefully) more clients on-board. Other areas to consider, once you have a solid website that sells your brand, are: Apps, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, You Tube, email campaigns & videos. Not all these areas will work for every company but its good to get a mix that will help promote your business.

A great starting point is still a self-explanatory website that is engaging and allows people to quickly understand the nature of your business; don’t forget get you have 3seconds to grab someone’s attention!

The design of your website is extremely important. This allows people to engage with it and want to become part of your brand. Copy (text) is an extremely important aspect to a website, how you label your navigation and drop down menus.  You need to ensure that the language used on your website, doesn’t make people have to think too hard about where to go (second guessing). If they are looking for something specific it should be obvious and clear. Make the main body copy short and snappy, to the point, with out all the ‘fluff’.

The hierarchy of the copy makes things visually appealing, making a bold statement at the top of your site with a comfortable amount of space. Ensure the page is broken down into similar areas, allowing it easy to navigate.

Your web pages within your site need to work at a glance to be the most effective!

Considering other digital avenues can be a little daunting to start with. Remember not all social media will suit every company. For example, Facebook advertising works for the retail markets as they can offer discounts and reach a wider audience. We used Facebook for one of our clients Tuttoluxo (beauty brand) and through a £25 advert we had 800 clicks.

in one day. An example of Facebook advertising not working would be for a Technical B2B Company; quite specialised and perhaps not appealing to the average facebook user.

When considering social media, think about your target audience, each works for different areas. Even if as a company you use one avenue it’s a great start to get your company name out there.

The fun, soft and friendly bird with the speech bubble has now been replaced with a more sophisticated typographic logo (with less personality).
I’m not 100% convinced about the style of this rebrand. I am a little confused at the line down the centre. Spin, who created the rebrand, says the line “symobolises the first mark made in the creation of any design and shows how design is at the core of everything the museum touches”.

The use of the word ‘core’ doesn’t really lend itself to the line. To me, the line gives a more dividing feel. I don’t think the line adds much value to the new style. This logo maybe stripped back to a typographic approach but it has been left with no personality. The original style oozed personality, making Graphics and the Arts approachable to anyone.

Each element of the old collateral had a brilliant fun element. I would definitely have held onto the bags and re-used them. This new logo and the collateral that goes with does have the same feel.

Maybe when I visit the shop in the next few months and see it in-situ my opinion may change…

With consumers on the hunt for more for their money when on the local high streets, retailers face a constant battle to try and offer that extra something special. This makes even more of a struggle for individual boutiques. They need our support too, both on and off-line.

I want to sing Donna Wilson’s praises, what a refreshing change! I stumbled across her website and was instantly excited by the beautiful handcrafted work, the quirky website that worked with the unusual designs she has created.

After looking around the website, I found a few things to order! I was very excited about receiving my parcel. When it arrived the consistency of her brand was evident from the parcel itself; It was pale pink plastic with a label stuck on and illustrations of the characters Donna has created printed on the pink package. It doesn’t stop there, each item was
individual wrapped in green tissue paper with cloud shaped stickers and ‘Donna Wilson’ printed in silver on the clouds. Within the parcel was a thank you card, professionally designed with a hand written message. Keeping things on-brand, there was also a lovely brochure as well.

I was so impressed with the personal touch Donna Wilson has added to her company, the brand consistency is amazing. It’s great to see a small company doing so well. Donna has certainly gone the extra mile, offering us more than just our items.

Check the website www.donnawilson.com

If you are wanting to head to a festival in 2012, what better way to make sure you can see your tent in the crowd. These tents are fun, quirky and will definitely put a smile on your face.

Check the link out: http://bit.ly/9mdfU0

We are proud to announce that the Founder of Beyond Creative Thinking Emma Carter is now a Patron for Peace One Day (non-profit organisation) where other patrons include high profile people like Simon Woodroffe (Founder Yo! Sushi and Yotel) and Anil Agarwal (114 richest billionaire in the world). The work of Peace One Day is responsible for saving millions of lives around the world every year.

Visit this link to view the latest POD Talks http://peaceoneday.org/en/Events/pod-talks/next-event

The virtual mirror is a new devise that will allow consumers to see what they look like in clothes without physically trying them on. This new shopping device will add an exciting fun element to a day out. It may even avoid queuing for fitting rooms. Although many people still claim that to get a real feel for an item, you need to try it on. You will be able to share pictures taken of you in the clothes so you can add them to your social media pages, send a text or email. This allows friends to give their opinion, which could potentially drive more sales!

In the right stores I think the virtual mirror has the potential to do well… So lets watch this space to see where it appears.

Computerised mirrors, tablet PCs, QR codes and virtual shops are some of the innovations now being introduced to the high street. Will the virtual mirror push retail sales? Or will it be a quick dying fad?…