Creative Mornings Derby Talk

Last September, I was asked by Creative Mornings in Derby to cover the global topic for the month: Simplicity.

I look at the parallels of simplicity in design and in our mindsets.

The video has recently gone up on the site. https://lnkd.in/d_A4TQcx

Please excuse my inability to use a laptop at the beginning. I was EXTREMELY nervous, and I'm quite introverted.

I hope you enjoy it. 😅

The Power of Font Consistency in Marketing: Why It Matters

Let's talk about fonts and why they're crucial for your marketing success.

Fonts aren't just pretty; they're the backbone of your brand identity. Consistent font usage across all platforms—from logos to social media posts—builds brand recognition and trust.

Why does font consistency matter?

Establishes Brand Identity: Your font choice underlines your brand's tone of voice. Consistency reinforces your identity and builds trust.

Enhances Recognition: Consistent fonts increase brand exposure, making it easier for customers to remember you.

Promotes Professionalism: Matching fonts show attention to detail and professionalism.

Facilitates Readability: Consistent fonts ensure clear and legible messaging across mediums.

Strengthens Brand Recall: Memorable fonts keep your brand top of mind long after customers interact with your materials.

Font consistency isn't just about design—it's a strategic choice that can elevate your marketing efforts.

Stay true to your fonts, and watch your brand recognition flourish! 

Exhibition Shell Schemes

Love or hate them, once booked, exhibition spaces need to be filled and graphics are wrapped to help attract the right people to your stand.

Over the last month, I have designed graphics to reskin custom (reusable stands), pop-ups and shell schemes.

I am always keen to ensure graphics can be reused where possible; you can reduce waste by planning, knowing where you are exhibiting, and fine-tuning your messaging.

It's not always cheaper to reskin a stand, but at least the old stand framework won't go to landfill.

With exhibition season upon us, if you need help reusing a stand you purchased a while ago, get in touch.

Stop wasting time

How many rounds of amends do you think are acceptable in a design project?

A few years ago, I talked to a potential new client about the amount of amends their design agency was doing on each job. In some cases, it was 40 rounds of amends! 4O!

I turned round to the person and said, "Well, there is a problem there; it's either you or them. I have a hunch which, but either way, something is going wrong in the communication process. We will soon find out when you start working with me." And we did. It was the agency. With me, they had 0-2 rounds of amends.

So, what was going wrong? We will probably never know for sure, but I have a hunch it was all about communication and complacency.

The agency was on a long-term retainer. The brand was huge and was 90% of their business. They had become comfortable and had stopped listening to the client. I see this all the time. With comfort comes a loss of vision, and staleness creeps in.

A lot of what graphic designers do, is applying style to marketing and sales collateral, which can be monotonous. However, it requires a sharp eye and keen attention to detail. Communication in the design process is key. In my opinion, you can't ask enough questions.

We have to be all eyes and all ears in our work, and it's not about the software tools of the trade; our tools are already built in.

Is this happening a lot with the designers you are using? If so, it may be time to find out why. If that doesn’t work, come and have a chat with me.

20 Years in Business

My little business was 20 years old this week.

I was made redundant in February 2003. Shell-shocked, I signed on; the experience was enough for me to get off my arse and get some freelance design work. Within three weeks, I was freelancing full-time in agencies.

I panicked and got a job a couple of months later. Then, in September, I decided to return to freelancing, whilst I had the contacts, and gave up my job. I've never looked back, and no longer freelance, I run a micro-business.

I love my business. I've worked for some of the largest companies in the world and some of the smallest. It has never bothered me about the size of a business; they all need the same thing: graphic design that brings an ROI to the business.

My clients bring me into their businesses, share their vision and goals, and bring me along for the ride. I am part of the team; I am their design department.

I get brought in at the beginning of merger talks, management buyouts, and when businesses are preparing to sell. At these times, design is fundamental to helping the company get the right price and setting the foundations to announce change in a business.

If you'd like to chat about how I can help your business with your marketing material design, give me a call.

In 1988 I won a design competition.

I had designed a logo, pictured, for an
inter-school writing challenge. I won!

My prize was this T-shirt (pictured) with the logo on it. From that moment onwards, I wanted to win every logo competition and design logos every day of my life. So sweet.

I was 14 and knew, with absolute clarity, that I wanted to be a graphic designer.

I hand-drew the logo, and it would have been recreated by a graphic designer. Remember, this was pre-computers. So, this would have been set, using Letraset and hand drawn by the designer. It would have then been photographed on a PMT camera and the artwork would have been cleaned up with a scalpel and possibly re-photographed before it was made into film to print from.

Not a quick process.

Here is the letter confirming my win…

nn…nn…nineteen

In the 1980s, when I was 12, the number 19 meant only one thing: Paul Hardcastle's, nn…nn…nineteen.

It was quite the tune at the time. At school, lads started tying bits of fabric around their heads and smearing mud on their cheeks; the synth-pop classic was a game changer.

This week, 19 means only one thing, how long I have been running Seventy Three Design. NINETEEN YEARS, nn…nn…nineteen (next year is the big one).

Has it been easy? Of course not.

Has it always been enjoyable? Mostly.

It has been a challenge.

More importantly, it has been a way for me to be creatively challenged and earn a living: on my terms.

It allowed me to move to a different part of the country 17 years ago and enjoy a new way of working; my clients at the time were all remote and liked having a remote design team.

I never expected to have a family, so working for myself has allowed me to have kids without compromising my values. I honestly don't think I would have had them if I had stayed in agencies.

And recently, it allowed me time to retrain in a different field whilst still earning a living.

Do you yearn for more time, more creativity, something challenging, and the opportunity to earn more money?

I am coaching people in your situation right now. They are not all in creative roles yet, but they know their positions are not delivering and meeting their values. They are stepping up and moving into something new.

If this sounds like you, then we should have a chat. I have availability for free, confidential coaching sessions in September; drop me a message to find out how.

Time to rebrand?

There comes a time in every business when it is time to rebrand. 

A rebrand can be for many reasons:

• You designed your first logo, and it doesn't cut it anymore.

• The business has changed, and the logo no longer reflects the brand.

• There have been management changes, so the company vision has changed.

• It's time to get the business ready for sale, it is profitable, but the current brand identity will not attract the right buyers.

So many reasons and there are just a few!

None of them were: we need to look funkier, or a bit prettier, or we fancy a change - those are not the reasons for a logo change.

A rebrand isn't expensive; it is an investment and delivers the message to your customers, competitors and staff: we are doing well and investing in our business. 

I don't recommend anyone rebrand before the third year of trading or more often than every seven years; it has to be an exceptional reason to do it sooner, and that reason will be a great source of PR. 

Want to know if you REALLY do need that rebrand? I don't design for the sake of it or for the upsell; I'll be honest, so book a design chat. 

Changes in your business

Bowie sang, "Turn and face the strange, ch ch changes".

Do you remember a year or so ago when everyone was talking about pivoting? Pivot, Pivot!!

The word pivot drove me mad, but everyone had to adapt their businesses to survive; it was common sense.

Did you pivot? How did you tell people about the change in your business? Did you remember to realign your brand identity with your new direction?

In my design business, I usually get asked to redesign or refresh a brand identity when the company is about to go through some significant change, which is often around the three or seven-year mark in a business. A significant change can be: a change of direction (products/services), a change of management (MBO/Merger/Succession), or a change of location – I have worked with clients through all of these.

They are all really exciting places for a company to be. Realigning the brand identity and messaging to this new direction is the fastest way to tell your stakeholders that positive change is afoot.

A new or refreshed brand identity is reassuring to clients and staff and tells them that you are investing in the business and moving forward.

If you make significant changes in the business and the brand identity doesn't follow suit, it can open you up to the risk that your messaging is now confusing. Unclear marketing messaging is an unconscious red flag to most people; you may lose new business opportunities.

What significant changes have you made in your business? And have you reflected on that in the visual part of your brand?

Book a design chat so we can discuss how your business can move forward.

Tuesday Talk Show Podcast

Tuesday Talk Show by Essential Print Services

Continuing my quest to push myself out of my comfort zone, I appeared on a Facebook-live-podcast-thingy this week.

This month was all about coaching and I was there to talk about creative confidence, introvert creatives and why we all need a coach.

Look out for the waves of sheer panic that wash over me, quite entertaining!

Watch the podcast here

Designer Talks Podcast

Designer Talks Podcast by the Chartered Society of Designers

So, a few weeks ago, I was asked by the Chartered Society of Designers if I wanted to tell my design story on their podcast.

I was flattered, the first female interviewee in this new series.

I then found out that not many female designers work in senior design positions. This news didn't shock me tbh, life gets in the way, and who tends to pick up life? Women.

But before you listen to this podcast, and I hope you do, I'd like to say one thing: the kindest thing you can do for yourself as a female creator is start your own business; this doesn't have to be big; it can be small (like my business), but what it does is give you the creative freedom to produce some quality work, AND support your dependents.

Only last week my Dad died, I was able to park the work and deal with life without permission from anyone else, and total support from the people I am working with.

So if you are a female creative and life is getting in the way, start your own creative business. It is very fulfilling.

I hope you enjoy the podcast; I enjoyed recording it. It was great to tell my design story as a graphic designer who works directly with the client and not in an agency, and I know I am fortunate to do this.

Podcast here

Omnicrom, not Omicron!

There was a moment last week when a particular group of people smiled and gazed nostalgically into the middle distance when they heard the word, Omicron.

I was one of them.

We are not sick; we are graphic designers who used the Omnicrom machine in the 1980s (notice the slight spelling difference).

When I was still at school, I spent my summers working in design and advertising studios. As someone gaining experience, my main job was tea, PMT camera operation, and the Omnicrom machine.

Back then, text for visuals was painstakingly set with Letraset transfers, then shot by a PMT camera, making the artwork a crisp, black and white bromide. I then had to clean up the bromide artwork with a scalpel and lighter fluid, and then if we were feeling fancy (sending a visual to a client - by courier or POST!), we used the Omnicrom machine.

The Omnicrom was essentially a hot foil machine; the foil was rubberised, flimsy, awful stuff that tried to stick to everything as you applied it to the right area of the artwork. So if you wanted to show the headline was red, you would roughly cut the foil to fit and then feed it through the machine, so it sticks to the text.

I would have to put an overlay sheet on the artwork, so the awful stuff didn't rub off onto anything!

Oh, how times have changed! What do you do now that took a week to do before computers became your primary tool?

My first design book review, on video!

Crest redraw

I was asked to redraw the crest for Oadby & Wigston Borough Council. They only had a low-resolution version, which was probably created from a photo of the original artwork. They needed a vector version that they could use across all media and especially large format.

How can creative people help your business to grow?

What is the point of working with a professional creative, when you can probably cobble a lot of stuff together yourself? Good question. The difference is huge. Creatives across all creative disciplines are experienced, they know what works and it can be the difference between attracting or repelling future clients.

Worth the risk? Only you can decide that. I would say not. I love taking photos, but I’m not a photographer, so even though I am creative I know my discipline and I will use photographers for my own business. It just makes sense.

So how can creatives help you?

• They can make sure you are seen (photography)

• They ensure you are heard (podcast producers)

• They make you the one to watch (videographers)

• They raise your company head and shoulders above your competition (graphic design)

• They find words when you can not (copywriters)

• They help you tell your story (animators)

Creativity is not an unnecessary expense, it is an investment.

Still struggling to see how you can use the creative industries in your business? Then we should chat.

17 years – but do we count this year?

It was while walking my kids to school this morning; I realised my business is 17 years old today! I had forgotten.

Last year I wrote a positive “bring on 2020” type post about my business getting to 16 years.

Well! What happened there?!

So, it is on a beautiful sunny day I sit at my desk and reflect on the last 12 months.

I haven’t pivoted (does anyone else hate that phrase?), I’m not looking for a ‘new normal’ (hate that one too), I am keeping on with my goals set from last year, just moving the timeline a bit. And I’m trying to get over my bitterness about the grants system (I’ll stop there).

What this year has been good for is reflecting. Last year, and early 2020, I spent a lot of time laying the foundations for the type of business I am passionate about running. I spent a lot of time with my coach; reviewing my values; challenging my past, and moving towards my future.

I still value above all things: integrity, honesty, transparency. These are the stones on which I stand. Look at my business, and you will see to the heart of me, and I am very proud of that.

Design and creative disciplines are living through difficult times, professionally at the moment. Too many people are doing DIY creative. That’ll all need to be re-made/re-designed/re-filmed/re-written next year.

Whilst my creative coaching is gaining momentum, the industry is finally starting to realise that the mental health of creative individuals is fundamental. Took too long but we are getting there.

Large agencies are having their bullying ways exposed in the creative press; I do not miss that culture.

I am passionate about supporting fellow creatives. I want to see them all achieve the maximum capability in their roles. I’ve been chatting with some truly talented individuals.

So how do I feel about the next 12 months? I’m feeling surprisingly positive, buoyant almost.

The last recession saw me with a newborn baby, post-natal depression, no family support and barely any maternity leave. 2021 should be a breeze surely, or have I drunk too much craft gin over lockdown?

Seriously, I am a good listener, and I enjoy coffee, so reach out if you need to chat, as a creative or as a business owner looking for help with creativity.

Happy client — direct mail

I had a fantastic video testimonial from a client recently, he posted it on LinkedIn. Take a look…!

Sweet 16

I can’t believe it has been a year since I wrote this: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/15-years-vicki-lovegrove/

Last year was very exciting. Some fantastic new clients all with incredible businesses. Really interesting stuff.

So, how about this year. Well, it has been more of the same really, now we are in September, with the added bonus that both of my kids are now in school. YAY!

Some of the new clients are working on some extraordinary projects. It’s a real privilege to be involved.

This year I did something different in January. I attended one of those goal-setting workshops. I never do anything like that. I have goals but I tend to keep them to myself. This meeting for me was life-changing and has led to me starting a side-project all of my own.

I’m really looking forward to meeting up with my contacts over the next few months and sharing information about my new venture, the VISION Programme: www.vickilovegrove.co.uk

2020 is the year of 2020 VISION for me. I’m looking to work with more incredible, innovative businesses and business owners. Please get in touch if you fancy some cake and coffee and a chat about how we can work together.

Work with Vicki as a designer

Work with Vicki as a Vision Strategist at: www.vickilovegrove.co.uk

SHY, but confident

This is SHY UK.

Two years ago, I took their brand identity and transformed it.

Business took off under the new brand vision:

• They have since exhibited for the first time;

• Moved to new larger premises;

• And next week have a customer experience 2-day event there.

The new logo has given them the confidence to move forward.

They have grown with this newfound confidence.

And are now seen as the go-to people in their field for innovative window shading.

Design is so powerful: when done well. It will help a business grow. So approach design with caution if you can’t handle the new business. 

Rare as unicorn s*it

Today I found out I am a unicorn.

No, I’m not prancing around in rainbows and glitter. I am a Graphic Designer, and it seems, not many people understand what we do, and the ones who do are as rare as the proverbial.

I have had an online business directory try and sign me up for a week or so. I was interested in hearing how I could gain business from the business directory. The conversation about the best category for my company to feature in came up quite quickly. The directory rep knew precisely where to put me, under web design. I don’t design websites.

I explained that I’m a Graphic Designer. I design logos, brochures, exhibition graphics, reports, in fact, anything that is visually engaging and falls within a companies marketing.

After a bit of digging, and establishing I don’t make large relief signs that go on the outside of buildings, or laser cut out logos to go on display or do PR, or print brochures, it was clear there was nowhere on this directory for me.

Of course, this isn’t the first time, and I am sure won’t be the last time, someone doesn’t understand what Graphic Designers do. Want a brochure: go to a printer; want some leaflets doing speak to a photographer (yes this has happened); need a logo, ask your friend’s mum who did a good drawing of your neighbours cat (yes, and this one!).

So, what do Graphic Designers do?

In short, we take information and through magic (and graphic design skills), present the information, in an attractive, easier to digest, memorable way. We present companies and brands visually, so their customers can understand their offerings. We make sure important information is easily digestible, so the public is informed and not confused, whether that be a public health leaflet, or signage (in a legible font) to get you somewhere.

In short, if you need anything for your business that falls under marketing, speak to a Graphic Designer first. Once they have designed what you need, they WILL know the Printer; the Web Developer; the Signage company; the Photographer; the Videographer; the Exhibition Builder; the Marketer to write your marketing strategy in the first place; and the PR person to shout about how the campaign rolled out.

You will save yourself lots of time, and hey, you might spot a unicorn!