How to avoid your customer visiting the website of a competitor?

How to avoid your customer visiting the website of a competitor?

61% of people who used their mobile devise to visit a website that was not optimized for mobile, visited the website of a competitor.

Studies have shown that the number of mobile users now exceeds the number of desktop users and on average people are spending two hours per day on their mobile device.

To accommodate for this shift in user behavior, Google have announced they will be changing their mobile search algorithm on 21st April 2015. This change will see only mobile optimised websites appear in the top results for searches made on mobile devices.

Click here to read more about Google’s mobile search changes.

 

That does it mean for your website?

If your website is not responsive for mobile devices it will no longer be prioritised in Google search results when using a mobile device. This will mean a decrease in the opportunities you have to get visitors to your website.

There’s so much to be said for making it easy for consumers to do business with you; make sure you’re doing all you can, to entice them to make contact with you before your competitor. If you would like to find out more, call Jo or Hannah on 03 308 6272, they’ll talk through what a responsive website might mean for your business.

 

A difficult effect to achieve, but if done right, it pays off…

A difficult effect to achieve, but if done right, it pays off…

This months trend we would like to share with you is how objects intersect with type.

This is a difficult effect to achieve, but if done right, it pays off. The most popular objects to layer with lettering are flowers, landscapes and people. It’s not a particularly readable style, so stick to simple words and phrases, and use a plain font color so your message doesn’t get lost in the crowd.

 

Typeface inspired on old cars and planes…

Typeface inspired on old cars and planes…

Styling

Styling is a simple, light, sans-serif typeface inspired on old cars and planes with an aerodynamic shape. The font comes in 5 weights plus italics. Styling and Styling Alt families offer professionals a wide range of creative options. 

Styling was created in 2014, while its designer was 30,000 feet in the air and the plane was flying over some Latin America cities. A flight full of flavours and shapes. This typeface is the result of anxiety and speed. Keep on rollin’ and fly high with Styling!

 

Strong, masculine and solid…

Strong, masculine and solid…

Pantone 17-4014 Titanium 

Strong, masculine and solid, Pantone 17-4014 Titanium is a gray shade that speaks to timelessness. Classic and tasteful, there is an implied quality attached to anything so long lasting. Durable and practical, this basic gray shade has classic appeal.
– Leatrice Eiseman (Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute®)

Pairs Well With:
Pantone 18-0538 Woodbine & Pantone 16-4120 Dusk Blue

 

One tricky thing about vehicle graphics…

One tricky thing about vehicle graphics…

One tricky thing about vehicle graphics is that the message is often moving towards or away from the viewer, always at perfectly road legal speeds, officer. So the message needs to attract attention from a distance and leave the viewer with a positive impression once the vehicle has moved along.

Another tricky thing about vehicle graphics is making sure a design which looks perfect on a one dimensional computer screen, will still look great when wrapped around the contours of real world vehicle panels. Part of solving that problem is designing graphics which work in harmony with the angles of the vehicle shape. But ultimately, achieving a beautifully finished vehicle graphic comes down to working with an excellent sign writer who can take the designers artwork and literally make it measure up against the full scale challenges of panel curves, door gaps, handles and badges.

A picture paints a thousand words, and we designers love the opportunity to use great photos as the central focus of a communication piece. Lucky for us, the team at Jackson Holmes has taken some wonderful images, which really help to explain the reality of their business. By selecting a few key images and carefully blending them together, we were able to create a lively visual story about the Jackson Holmes supplementary feed service, and, on a moving billboard, this was much more engaging than a full written explanation would ever be.

JFM is delighted with the final result – and we couldn’t have achieved it without a brilliant sign writing effort from Nathan at Plus Signs and fantastic images from our friends at Jackson Holmes. 

Click here to view the Jackson Holmes website www.jacksonholmes.co.nz or like them on Facebook www.facebook.com/JacksonHolmesContracting

 

South Island Field Days are a real highlight for JFM

South Island Field Days are a real highlight for JFM

Seeing our clients put their best foot forward and present themselves to market is great to see. Due to the scale of the field days your site can become lost if there is no focal point for conversation. This is where a pop up counter comes in great.

A pop up counter creates an easy lean-to for farmers to gravitate towards or a clear space to display technology units, brochures, business cards and such like. They are versatile plus – in a marquee or back in your offices.

All pop up counters can have the front wrap around panel designed to match your brand identity and a painted timber top. The display counters are a simple display solution to put up and take down; with magnets connecting the wrap to the concertina display stand. The pop up counters comes with sturdy carry bags for transport.

A wild hand lettered typeface…

jfm-advertising-and-design-2015-march-font-of-the-month

A wild hand lettered typeface…

Font of the month – Gloss Drop. 

Gloss Drop is a wild hand lettered typeface, that passed the process of digitization without losing the spontaneous vibrancy of brush lettering. With the power of OpenType it gets real close to what you normally do with ink, brush and paper. If you noticed the absence of 300 swashes and flourished caps, you’re right – this is not a Barbie Script dolled up for the next beauty contest. It is imperfection and naivety dripping from every letter that make this font stand out. An enviable choice for magazine headers, book covers or record covers. Works also well as a companion to hand-drawn or painted illustrations. Gloss Drop can even rock your Wedding designs if they are seeking for something that makes a difference.

Like in real handwriting, some, but not all, letters connect within a word. Automatic Positional OpenType features handle the choice of inital and final forms neighbouring a gap and choose the adequate medial or isolated forms. All you have to care for is to have the “Contextual Alternates” feature on in InDesign’s Character palette. If you then still find single repeating glyphs catching your eye, you can iron that out by toggling between Stylistic Alternates.

Handwriting is a lost art…

jfm-advertising-and-design-2015-march-trend-of-the-month

Handwriting is a lost art…

Trend of the month – Thick Brush Lettering

Handwriting is a lost art. As typography becomes more sophisticated, there’s a push back from clean lines toward flawed, varied hand type. Splotches and imperfections make hand written letters stand out, and give a projects a friendlier vibe. 

Calligraphy had a big moment in 2014. Modern-style calligraphy, featuring very thin and very thick lines and large spacing between letters, has been popping up all over wedding invitations and motivational posters. But for a less feminine, more solid look, 2015 is all about thick brush stroke type.

Digital typefaces that imitate brush strokes are available to download — but nothing quite beats doing it by hand.

An exciting brand building project…

An exciting brand building project…

We have recently just finished an exciting brand building project with Argyle Welsh Finnigan.

AWF wanted a creative way to keep their team engaged with the transition period involved in moving premises. We suggested a visually striking timeline with unique “repositionable” sticker elements which allowed for information to be adjusted across the timeline. For a staff only message, the information on some of the stickers included key milestones in the building project while other stickers carried specific meaning for team members. By using the milestone stickers only, the timeline graphic also became a fantastic way to keep AWF clients informed of progress on the move.  

The flexible messaging and visual potential of this signage method can be used in many different ways. Directional instructions, engaging and ever-evolving communications with the team or just a fun visual you can play with. In working with AWF on this project, we found this re-positional signage to be a highly interactive way to show your team where you are and where you need to be.