Task 4

Looking at Elmwood design agencies website they are very functional. The website is very clear and its easy to navigate around. (elmwood.com). They show who their clients are but one thing they're missing is the opinions of their clients. I think this would improve their reputation by having their clients say how good their service is, which is something i would definetly have on my website.

The factory design agency offer 500 free letterheads and 250 free business cards with a logo design package. This kind of offer seems a little extreme to me, then again it must be working for them or they would have closed down. Having such a tempting offer must make them popular, everyone wants free things and this must be a strength in their agency, the offer was show on their homepage, to try and bring customers in straight away. When we see something is free it entices us in, i wont be able to match an offer like this but i will clearly show some kind of offer on my homepage to try bring customers in.

Looking on bluestonedesign.com they heavily boast about themselves, 'So if your looking for a fresh approach,where honesty, integrity and most importantly, talented people work and

think differently on your behalf, then look no further. After all, your success is ours...' In a way it seems cocky but its an easy way to promote themselves and look good, by saying your success is ours shows that they must do a good job because they dont want their reputation to slip by doing a poor job. They also have a link to their portfolio on their homepage which i think is very important when trying to promote yourself. You need to be able to show what your service is, what your work is like and it shows how good you are as a designer.

An element which bluestone design have which i really like is simply a blog. They have a link to their blog which shows their current work, who they are working for and how they work. This is much more personal and you get to know the designers more this way, its a nice personal touch.

Unlike Elmwood they are missing photos of the designers which i thought was a really nice personal touch. These websites are both good but they are both missing one thing or another that the other website has. When i create mine i hope to put the best elements of each into my website.

Task 3

When thinking about how to promote myself and my work i think its important for me to look at how other designers and agencies, that are successful, do this.

The image above is from Elmwood design agencies homepage. The website is very functional and easy to navigate around with a list of options on the bottom which tell customers everything they need to know. It's interesting that one of their options is to see their clients. By allowing the customer be able to see who they work for shows they can be trusted, and that they must have a good reputation.

To advertise myself i would make my own website and as i work for more people i would show who my clients are to promote myself, i may also ask past customers to comment on my service to show customers that im reliable.

Here's the homepage to another agency, it didnt communicate well, it wasnt clear i dont think the type was considered very well or the layout. Unlike Elmwood there was no clarity. This isn't how i would want my website to turn out.

Elmwood has a link which shows who they are, it shows a series of photos of the designers, this makes it much more personal. We get to know who we would be dealing with and its almost like we've been introduced to them. Again something that i would bring into my website.

For direct marketing i would firstly have my own business card that would have a clear, sharp design thats easy to understand. Since my customers could be small businesses that are new and need promoting i will design a mail shot and mail it to new businesses, clearly introducing myself, what i do, and how i could help promote their new shop. This would seem personal to them, and show my effect and consideration because its directly to them. This would also be less time consuming then standing about handing out business cards but would seem just as personal.

To help promote myself further i would offer a free initial meeting, talking over ideas before i actually start working on this. This way the customer hasnt lost on money if he/she decides they don't want to employ me. However it would be time demanding on me and id have nothing to show for it until they employ me. I feel that if they're wanting to meet me to talk over what they want then they're most likely going to want me to design for them, so i dont think id be losing out on much.

Its going to be important for me to be living close to the centre of Leeds so i wont be spending too much on travel. The majority of my clients will be located in central leeds or another city centre. At least if im leaving close to leeds city centre im also close to the train station so i can get to other clients easily.

Task 2
Im rather broad as a designer, one thing i need to get into is web design, its going to be vital as a designer so its essential i learn how to produce website. Clients i would be interested in working for are-food brands
-Layouts in catalogues such as argos
-flyers for club promotions or small business promotions
-Record labels, CD covers
-Postcard designs, i enjoy photography that scenic.
Such companies as carlsbad graphics uses clean cut photography and brings in graphics where needed.
Argos layouts are actually designed locally at morley by an agency called 490. Other local businesses are clubs such as oceana which are constantly giving out flyers and promotional things on nights out if working for them it would be important to make sure my work is direct and clear since most people reading my design would probably be drunk, this is considering the social part of pest. On a political level i would need to be careful, considering laws on drinking, making sure im not advertising past drinking hours and that the promotions on drinks and such arent in anyway illegal. The problem with passing out flyers and leaflets and promotional cards is its not economically friendly. Its using a whole lot of paper so id be best looking into using recycable substrates to be more eco friendly.

Task 2

My clients could be small businesses that need a logo design to someone that needs a flyer designing. My clients are most likely to be up and coming businesses that need their businesses designed in a way that promotes and stands out, considering social side of 'pest'.

Being a leeds student its important to know about the area, "Leeds remains one of the country’s principal centres for manufacturing, with particular strengths in engineering, printing, chemicals and food production. Major companies include DePuy International, Cameron, Agfa Gaevert, Communisis Chorley's Ltd, Lever Faberge, Arla Foods and Carlsberg UK. Leeds also has a well-established reputation as a centre for the media and communications industries. The sector includes major regional companies

and organisations such as Yorkshire Post Newspapers, Yorkshire Television, Orange Multimedia Operations and BBC North. Several large agencies, including Advertising Principles, Brahm, Poulter Partners and Ptarmigan are based in the city."

The image above is from principles advertising agency which is located in leeds. On their hompage they're instantly promoting themselves by comparing their prices to other agencies and showing they have loyal customers to show that they are reliable as an agency.

'Honest pricing and total transparency' Being local to leeds means that agencies like Principles are competition, we're both offering designs for clients which will promote them or meet their requirements. So i need to make me more appealing to the client then the competition. An easy way to go around this is to sell my work cheaper then other designers however this wont make me a living, when considering the economic aspect of 'pest'. Instead i need to do this subtly, for instance a free meeting to discuss ideas and what the client wants. If the client is willing to meet in the first place means he/she is interested in my working for them. Therefore calling the first meeting free sounds appealing to the client and the likelihood is that they'll employ me to work for them so essentially i will end up being paid correctly anyway. However the only problem is, is that meeting up is time consuming when i could be working on something else and it will be money consuming if no work comes out of the meeting and ive had to pay for travelling. This kind of offer is a gamble but as i said before its most likely that the client will employ me so is probably worthit.

Unlike shampoo, food, toothpaste, clothes, my product isnt essential and isnt something everybody wants, only a small minority in comparison. Therefore advertising on television or on billboards isnt worthit, it isnt cost effective at all and probable wouldnt get many responses anyway. It'd be best to advertise my work online on a website that was linked easily to many other websites, so my clients could find me easily. In a way as much as im trying to get clients, the people wanting my work are going to be trying to get me therefore i need to ensure that i can be found. Putting adverts into business magazines such as mybusiness and entrepreneur would be beneficial. The types of people that would be reading these are people that are starting businesses and probably need flyers designing, logos designing etc therefore putting an add in these magazines would help me get clients. Also magazines like these last over a week therefore my advert would be out there over a week unlike putting an ad in the paper which only lasts the day.

As a designer i have no experience in creating websites however i know our next module will introduce us into this which is going to be essential. Most businesses small or big have a website to promote their business, show their product and grab the attention of their target audience. I need to make sure that web design is a product im selling, its extremely essential in todays culture which fits in well with the social and technology aspect of 'pest'.