Merry Christmas. Our 2014 at Blackpool Signs & Graphics

2014 AT BLACKPOOL SIGNS AND GRAPHICS
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL THE TEAM

Phew!!  Its been a very busy year overall.  As we rush around trying to finish off all the jobs before we start our Christmas and the New Year break, we will take a look back at what made our 2014 that little bit extra special.
We have once again seen an increase in turnover from the previous year. As our client base has grown so has the level of our repeat business and referral work. Whilst we know how hard we work to produce outstanding signage, it is always brilliant when our clients reward this by referring us to their friends and business contacts.

WORK

UK Sign Solutions:
At the beginning of the year we launched our new sister company UK Sign Solutions Ltd. Based on Back Burton Road South Shore, UK Sign solutions produce livery and wrap graphics for large commercial vehicles including double decker buses, coaches and large promotional vehicles.
Some of the clients we have worked for are
• 20th Century Fox
• Manchester Evening News
• NHS
• AQA
• University of the West of Scotland
• Rock FM
• Robinson Coaches
• YuGiHo Branding
• Celotex
• Guide Dogs for the blind
• Atlantic Travel
•East Yorkshire Council……………
The list goes on and on.
UK Sign Solutions has been going from strength to strength over the year and have a full diary of work well into February next year.  We will be working on lots of exciting new projects in 2015 and are looking forward to be working with a new list of clients.




Blackpool Signs & Graphics:
It has been a very busy year indeed for Blackpool Signs.  Sign writing vehicles is a core part of our business.  We tried working out how many vehicles we have produced this year…….It’s definitely in the 100s as we produce graphics for large fleets. From Motorbikes to Double-Decker Buses we have printed and fitted thousands and thousands of square metres of vinyl this year.
One related product that has seen a huge increase during 2014 is 'Window Tinting'. Our expert fitter Craig has been in charge of this and has installed specialist films to many private cars, fleet vans, hotels, restaurants, retail shopfronts and homes.
We have also been busy working in all different parts of the country as we are now a preferred fitter and installer of a large signage company based in the South East.
We always push the boundaries when it comes to the quality and service of our work.    We have a lot of exciting times ahead kicking off in the new year.  We are confident that 2015 we will be even better and we look forward to working on some more exciting projects . 

STAFF HIGHLIGHTS
On a personal note It’s been all go for the Blackpool Signs and Graphics team.  Here’s a few stories from this year.

• Paul’s car gets hit by some falling guttering, just after getting back after christmas in 2013

• In February the lads brought their camp beds in.  We were working late into the night for 3 weeks doing 18 hour days getting the Read & Errington Fleet completed whilst still producing our day to day work throughout the normal working day.

• Paul’s car goes into paint shop to be repaired

• Craig moved into his new house and is now the village Squire, donning his feathered hat every time he leaves the house

• Having a works night out in Manchester,  Craig gets rejected from every drinking establishment after 3 pints (We are never going to let him forget this one) haha

• Craig forgets to send a job out by courier and has to drive all the way to Essex to deliver (en-route to Manchester Via Leicester to do 2 other jobs)  All done in one 20 hour day!

• Paul walks into a door

• In the Summer we welcomed a new part-time member-of-staff - Casper the office 'guard-dog'.

• The team spend 2 weeks wrapping the Royal zoological Society of Scotland bus internally and externally

• Paul’s yellow carded! He Breaks an opponents leg at football

• Paul’s car has an argument with one of Stuarts double decker buses

• Paul’s car goes into paint shop to be repaired after bus incident (The sequel)

• Chris makes us all some personalised mugs with his new ‘Mug Maker’.  Chris then proceeds to make the team his first brew!

• The team get a free brand new coffee machine, courtesy of the Notebooms and Louise’s negotiating skills
• John forgets the milk for the 60th time this year (Making it a world record) So we’re back on the powered.

• Paul’s car goes into paint shop for a third time because of a bad repair due to the bus incident

• The early hours of December 15th saw the birth of our fitter Paul's first child. By the 18th he was surprisingly happy to be temporarily tempted back to work, helping out for a couple of hours on an install!! We're hoping that his new responsibilities (or his wife) will not keep him away from the famous Staff Day Out in Manchester on Saturday 20th though.

• Stuart forgets to ask John to attend his own Christmas party.  John rings Stuart.
John- “How was the party”
Stuart -“you missed a great night you should have come”
John- “I didn’t know anything about it”
Stuart- “Aww I thought I told you, anyway you missed a great night”…………………….

As you can tell it’s been a funny old year and we’ve had some right giggles, laughing till our bellies hurt.  I’ve always said that a happy workplace is a productive workplace and at the same time we’ve produced some brilliant work.



THANK YOU
So as we shut for our last day of 2014 Craig is nursing a hangover, Paul’s getting no sleep on Paternity leave, John’s writing this post, Chris is working his magic, Stuart’s forgetting to tell John about something and Casper looks like he might need the toilet.  As this is our last day and 2014 draws to a close we would just like to take this time to thank all of our customers old and new for your continued support.  We look forward to working with you all again in 2015.
Have a wonderful Christmas & New Year.
Be good, be merry, stay safe & have a fantastic time

Thanks again
John

Good Design Sells. The do's and don'ts of design

Going back to 1996 when I was studying graphic design at college we were taught key principles which we applied to every design.   I still use these principles on a daily basis which help me create high impact and effective logos and brands which we apply to vans, signs, banners and pretty much anything that we produce for our customers.

A good logo design will never fail to get you noticed.  Not only does the logo have to be well designed but the rest of the artwork needs to be well laid out.  Time and time again I see sign companies (the ones who have little or no design background) make terrible mistakes when creating artworks and producing badly laid out graphics which produce little or no impact. 

Top this off with a poor fitting service and bad manufacturing decisions and you have a finished product which is going to harm your credibility  - not promote it like it should.  I have even had some of my own designs ripped off by local companies undercutting our prices, and every time the design has been ruined because the key elements have been watered down or destroyed in the copying process. 

The moral of the story is, ‘You get what you pay for’ so bear in mind that its always worth the extra money to get your design right first time.  Every artwork that we produce gets my seal of approval. Each design we produce is created by our imagination, creativity, & attention to detail, which has been developed through years of college tuition and hands on experience in the industry.  Myself and colleague Craig have a combined experience of over 36 years, so its safe to say we know how to design, produce and install your graphics and signs. 

As well as a design background, over the years I have developed my own marketing strategy.  I always put myself in the customers' shoes when designing their artwork.  I calculate what will work best for them and get their company noticed.  In this article I explain the various elements which make up a good design.

At Blackpool Signs & Graphics we always give you the best value for money.  We will create the best looking design and graphics for your money.  Please have a look at our gallery which shows a vast amount of our design skills going back through the years.

So going back to the design…….
The four key principles of any design are:
Contrast, Repetition, Alignment & Proximity (CRAP for short)

CONTRAST
Contrast in simple terms means the ‘Difference’.  This could mean the difference between colours, text thickness, space.

In a design you need to use contrasting colours, making them stand out from each other.  Contrasting text, this means using different type i.e. sans serif or serif, bold and light versions of a type family.  Weak use of contrast can make a design look boring and make it difficult to read.  A good use of contrast will get your message across efficiently and effectively.

REPETITION
Put simply, repetition means re-using elements through your design and keeping it fluent throughout.  For contrast we use elements that are different - with repetition it's all about using subtle similarities throughout the design.  You need to carry repetition throughout a design for it to become as one.

ALIGNMENT
Alignment is where we align certain text and design elements so they run through and all look ‘together’.  Alignment is about creating unity throughout the design.  A good way to describe alignment would be to create an invisible grid with elements aligning along a horizontal and vertical axis.  Good alignment will give your design a clean and crisp look.

PROXIMITY
The use of proximity is imperative in producing a well organised, good looking layout.  We use space to move elements together or apart to achieve a clean , sharp look.  Proximity relates to producing elements of a design which are grouped together to create one object.

SUMMARY
Remember, Good design sells.  Design is not about being decorative and splashing information wherever.  A Design is about making communication easy, and as understandable as possible.  Always create a strong visual, don’t rely too much on text.  Don’t over clutter and create empty space.  We need empty space just as much as populated space.  Create high impact by using contrast effectively.  Use alignment to connect elements of the design.

Thanks for reading
John