Website redesign for the Kaizen Group has recently been completed by the team at Palmiero Design. Kaizen are an industrial building cleaning and maintenance company based in Bedfordshire.

This WordPress based website gives the client all the control they need to make frequent updates and uses clever plugins to help deliver intellegent animated sliders that can also contain and play video content. It’s also very easy now to add a client testimonial and include a logo with it.

The website was designed for lead generation in mind. A Free Advice lightbox form has been introduced to encourage visitors to share their building cleaning challenges. Kaizen offer a consultation service with answers to these problems.

WordPress CMS makes it very easy for Kaizen to add their news stories as often as they like, sharing images and videos of their building cleaning projects.

Click here to visit The Kaizen Group website.

Watch Toni, Sukhi and Chris celebrating Christmas – GANGNAM STYLE!!

You may or may not know that the music video by Park Jae-sang, better known as PSY, is the most watched EVER! It’s hit nearly one billion views on YouTube. Wow!!

So we thought why not join in with the frenzy and ‘get down with the groove’ to celebrate Christmas this year. Enjoy (…or apologies if you’re completely sick of it!)

Learn the moves

Why not join in the fun at your Christmas party and learn the Gangnam Style steps.

Click to enlarge image or control/right click to download/save link as.

Classic Bikes for Classic Men Calendar produced in the classic “Calender Girls” style. In aid of spinal cord injured people Palmiero Design has designed a fun calendar for Spinal Injuries Association (SIA) highlighting the link between spinal cord injury and motorcycle accidents.

The calendar is on sale now and can be purchased via the SIA website

A total of 15 Classic Men appear in the 2013 SIA calendar, sporting various positions around some stunning motorbikes. Great fun for a worthy cause!

Photography taken by a blushing Anna Bowkiss who also had the job of doing all the close-up image re-touching! With the design artwork taken care of by Sukhi Momi of Palmiero Design who said, “Working with large images of old bikers wearing not much more than their riding boots isn’t for the faint hearted! Especially as the finished size of each image is 30cm x 30cm. As it’s all in the name of charity then I suppose it’s OK. I’m really pleased with the end result and certain the SIA will raise a lot of money with this calendar.”

Elizabeth Wright, Individual and Community Fundraising Manager said “We are always looking for new and fun ways to raise money as SIA has to find 2 million pounds a year to fund our vital services. SIA receives no government funding so we rely on entirely voluntary donations” She goes on to say “I was first approached about the Calendar in December and thought – would it really work but all the feedback has been incredible and the East Northants Classic Motorcycle Club have been incredible in volunteering all their time and the location for the Calendar Shoot”

Click here to buy this calendar from the SIA website

Here are seven great tips to help save you time, any embarrassment and money on expensive artwork changes…

1. Prepare your brief thoroughly at the very start of a design project
Prepare the brief to your designer very carefully. If important details are left out at the beginning, this could jeopardise the outcome and result in expensive re-design costs. The bigger your project the more detail and information you will need to provide. It must give clear precise direction. A good designer will help you compile a brief by asking all the right questions to understand the aims and objectives for your project.

2. Get help with writing your text from a professional copy writer
If you’re struggling with the text, find a professional copy writer to write the words for you. A professional copy writer will ask questions about what you want to communicate to your audience. Ask your designer to give you a word count so that you know exactly how long the copy should run to fit your project. This saves you wasted time on editing later on.

3. If writing the words yourself, employ the services of a good proof reader to do the checking
If you feel confident in your ability to write all the words, it might be worth employing the services of a good proof reader who will check your document for bad spelling, grammar and punctuation. Something I was never good at so I now employ someone to do this for me!

4. Avoid drastic design modifications at the artwork stages
It’s not always the words that can change many times. Indecision can also arise after the initial design concepts have been agreed. Make sure you are happy with the colours, graphics, photo images as well as the overall design layouts before you move onto the next stages. Changing the design drastically once the final artwork is underway is much more troublesome and more likely end up with a poor looking piece of design.

5. Ask colleagues to check your resource material before handing it to your graphic designer
Ask your designer too, to check the quality of photo images, diagrams and logos you have provided, and feedback to you any potential problems which might incur extra charges. Again, this is where a very well written and planned out design brief can help everyone involved in the project, to understand your expectations.

6. Get a fixed price for your artwork that includes a certain number of changes
If you know you are likely to change your mind often, ask your designer to give you a fixed price to generate the artwork that includes a certain number of proof stages. Tell the designer to let you know in advance if author’s corrections will be charged before doing the work. This way, you won’t get any nasty surprises for correction costs at the end.

7. Be quick if you need to make changes once the artwork is at the printers
Worst of all, never, never change your mind once you’ve given your final approval – unless you’ve spotted an error which is completely disastrous! If you catch it at the printer’s proof stage you might be lucky. I probably shouldn’t admit this but unless the plates have been made there’s still a chance you can make a last minute change and get away with it! But if you get on the phone when your job is rolling on the press then it’s really too late! Chances are you’ll be billed twice for the job!

Save £££’s – you’re now more decisive and your mind is made up!

The Royal Latin School approached Palmiero Design to create a new prospectus. A fresh, clean and modern design was created, supported by imagery of the pupils and facilities to get across the core values of the school.

Click here to find out more about our brochure design services

Five proven facts about designing headlines that will work to get the best response possible.

Here are five proven facts about designing headlines, both online and printed, that will work to get the best response possible. Pass these onto your designer next time you’re doing any direct-response marketing.

FACT: Avoid using punctuation in your headlines (question marks on the other hand are OK).
REASON: A full stop or exclamation mark signals the end of a sentence or to “stop reading any further”. This is the last thing you want to happen. Have a look at headlines in newspapers. None have full stops because they’re designed (as well as written) to get your attention and make you want to read more.

FACT: Never use fancy, elaborate script fonts.
REASON: Your headline might look elegant but it just won’t get read so choose your font carefully. Leave elaborate typography styles to fancy wedding invitations and elaborate champagne bottle labels. Your choice of font might be determined by the overall style you’re looking to portray but don’t let it be to the detriment of legibility that will stop readers reading more and taking action.

FACT: Headlines work better in darker colours rather than brighter colours.
REASON: You need to strike a balance between impact and legibility. If your headline is too bright it can be overwhelming and distract the reader from reading any further. The colour blue is known to convey trust and reliability. Green is believed to be calming and increase concentration. For maximum legibility your safest bet is to choose a colour with the highest contrast possible to the background it is appearing on. That said, simply using black on white might be too severe and may influence your font choice and its weight.

FACT: Never use ALL-CAPITAL-LETTERS for your headline.
REASON: ALL-CAPS are difficult to read and tiring on the eyes so your reader will simply give up. Upper and lower case is much more legible. Words with ALL-CAPITAL-LETTERS have no shape. When we read text, especially when we read quickly, we do not read each individual letter. Instead we read whole words and phrases by recognising their familiar shapes. Words are more recognisable using letters with “ascenders” (like the letter b) and “descenders” (like the letter p).

FACT: Your headline has the most important job of getting attention and so must be interesting as well as legible.
REASON: If it doesn’t get attention then the rest of your advert or direct mail is a complete waste of effort.

This is a question often asked of graphic designers when producing corporate sales and marketing material.

I’m sure you’ve had to make a choice of colour yourself many times in your life. What colour is your car? What colour have you painted your living room? What colour is your front door? What are your favoured colours for clothes? What colour do you paint your nails?

These all come down to personal choices and preferences. But how much are we influenced by society in general? Do we choose a colour simply because we like it? Or because we want to be perceived in a certain way and therefore become associated with a colour because of what it symbolises?

When developing your brand identity throughout brochure and leaflet design, advertising media and web design it is important to understand the psychology of colours, their meaning in different contexts and how they influence our psyche.

When it comes to sales and marketing choosing colours is seen to be more of a science particularly when you consider the behaviour of consumers and their decision making processes. In this case your choice of colours used throughout your corporate communications material should be considered much more carefully.

The psychology of colours and what they represent can greatly influence how and where they are implemented. The representations listed below are associated to perceptions in the western world, however, what these colours symbolise can vary greatly in different parts of the world.

Black
This is a colour of authority and power. It’s also a sombre colour, looked upon as being bad, evil or sinister. It can also portray authority, elegance, seduction and mystery. It’s high contrast against white or light backgrounds is ideal for text legibility. Suitable as a background colour if you want to exude drama, luxury and high class, especially when used in combination with a very high gloss finish.

White
Generally associated with purity, neutrality, cleanliness and also youthfulness. You see white emphasised on healthy food products, additive free foods and skin care products. It’s the best background colour for website pages as it will aid legibility and give the highest contrast possible for the darker spectrum of colours added on top of it.

Red
Red represents energy, strength, excitement and passion. It’s the colour for danger and living life on the edge. It’s often associated with movement and speed. Be careful how much of it you use in your marketing material as it can be overbearing or aggressive. However, if used in moderation it will have the most impact and be more striking. It is best used as an accent colour, when combined with neutral colours.

Orange
A very strong colour associated with flamboyancy, feeling energetic, happy and having fun. It’s the complete opposite to calm and serenity. Used a great deal in connection to organic products, energy drinks, adventure holidays, theme parks as well as a number of fast food chains to tell customers they are getting value for money.

Brown
Can signify being reliable, trustworthy, logical, efficient and characterise stability. It often has positive connotations with earthy, natural or organic products and portray a conscientious, hard working ethic. Works well together with yellow and orange tones.

Yellow
A very bright colour which represents alertness, cheerfulness and warmth. Yellow enhances concentration and appeals to intellectuals. It’s a great colour to use for promoting social activities and events due to its feel-good characteristics. Yellow is also associated to optimism as you do on a sunny day! Just like red it can be overpowering if overused.

Green
The colour green has many positive associations. Nature and fertility. Freedom, freshness and tranquility. Good luck, generosity and peace. Healing and well-being. However, green can also have negative connotations such as envy, escalation and excessive wealth. Use lighter tones when you want to achieve a calming effect and darker shades of green when you want to express a bolder character.

Blue
A cool, calming colour which aids clear thinking, confidence and high productivity. Darker blues represent sensitivity of feeling and can convey harmony, peace and tranquility. Blue also symbolises trust, reliability and dependability.

Purple
The colour most identified with royalty and so it is associated with wealth, prosperity and sophistication. Purple can be used to give a feeling of mystery, wisdom and respect. Works really well with silver and gold.

Pink
A comforting, soft colour suggesting femininity, gentleness and well-being which can suggest the feeling of calmness and relaxation. It also symbolises love and romance. Associated with many cosmetic beauty products.

Does the graphic design of your printed brochures, catalogues, newsletters and direct mail pieces work hard enough to grow your profits as well as looking spectacular?

Every piece of printed corporate marketing literature you use in your business plays a vital role in the sales process for what you sell. From a lead generating mail-shot and sales leaflet to regular informative newsletters, company brochures and product catalogues – all must be presented to show off your business and the products and services you sell at their best so your customers will want to buy from you.

For all your print design — brochure design, catalogue design, newsletter design, leaflet design, direct mail design; whatever sales and marketing material you need, our graphic design team will always focus on understanding your key objectives so the best solution can be realised. If it’s creative graphic design solutions you’re after we can draw on our extensive design experience to propose imaginative concepts that can easily be brought to reality.

Specifying your print design job for production

Print production techniques are getting more and more advanced and whenever you need advice on which method best meets your budget we will recommend the right solution to suit you. If you want the stress taken away for specifying your print job correctly (or you might find dealing with a printer gives you nightmares!) our graphic designers will also manage the print production process for you at no extra cost, when you buy through us. If you are eager to check the quality as your project is being printed, we can even arrange a press–pass.

We’ve developed alliances with trusted suppliers, from those with short run digital presses to larger lithographic printers that have multi-colour, sheet fed print machines with specialist finishing. Also, whenever you need someone to get your print job delivered direct to your customers we can arrange for all the mailing to be taken care of so you’re not stuck stuffing envelopes and sticking on stamps.

Choosing which material to print on

The choice of materials for your print job are a fundamental part of the graphic design process; whether you’re after a high quality feel, something with recycled content or a stock that’s just great value for money – you will always get a choice of what will work best.

For a FREE design consultation please call us today on 01908 662226

My name is Toni Palmiero and I run a small graphic design company called Palmiero Design. We offer, pretty much, all the creative services you’d expect from a full service design company.

It’s very difficult to meet with new marketing professionals and business owners. Particularly those who need the support of highly skilled graphic designers that understand the basic principles of marketing. You’re not looking to use a graphic designer for just a one-off project, but on a regular, ongoing basis.