Blink Design Studios is now on Pinterest!
Pinterest is a new exciting social networking paltform allowing users to share images on their own pinboards. Just like Twitter you can follow pinners, ‘like’ pins, comment on them and even re-pin them to your own boards.
You can see our pin boards at http://pinterest.com/weareblink/ We have boards on design inspiration, email newsletter designs, fun geek items we found on the internet and more.
Join us and start exploring the world of Pinterest.
Get your first graphic design job: Twitter tips for graduate designers
Twitter is a great social networking tool for social and work contacts. To help you out Blink has put together our top tips for using Twitter, from what to name your account, to understanding how business and person life overlap and how to use Twitter to help land your dream graphic design job. From why to use Twitter, what to call your account, what and how often to tweet and how to gain followers to help land your dream job. This is the guide for you: Read more
Websites go on strike over proposed SOPA and Protect IP Acts
Many websites, including some very influential brands, went on strike this week in protest against the proposed SOPA and Protect IP (PIPA) acts. These acts plan to give new and unrivaled powers to the American government to take down and block any website they feel violates intellectual property or copyright laws more than 10 times in 6 months and jail the site’s owners for up to 5 years. A further contraversial aspect is the idea that this would give the US government and rights holders would have the right to seek court orders against any site accused of “enabling or facilitating” piracy, i.e those sharing links to or seeming to promote sites which they deem infringes the acts. Search engines will also be legally forced to remove listings of any of the sites deemed in infringement of the act. Is this the start of the ‘Great FireWall of America’? Read more
Blink sponsors I CAN’s ‘Adopt A Word’ scheme to help children with communication difficulties
Here at Blink we have chosen to become a corporate sponsor for I CAN as our chosen charity for 2012. As of today we have adopted the word ‘Blink’ as part of I CAN’s Adopt A Word charity scheme. By adopting a word as a corporate sponsor we are able to help I CAN with their mission is to ensure no child who struggles to communicate is left out or left behind in school.
Why I CAN’s work is important:
The ability to communicate is a fundamental life skill for all children and young people. Without these skills, children will struggle to learn, achieve, make friends and interact with the world around them. Read more
Happy Halloween from Blink!
Happy Halloween from Blink Design Studios! To celebrate this excuse for carving excellently silly pumpkins and buying bags of sweets just in case the neighbours kids trick or treat (then eating them all in front of zombie flicks) we have gathered a collection of rather awesome pumpkin carvings to inspire your own creation…
Enjoy!
"I love it when a plan comes together…" Why a project without surprises is a good thing
In everyday life surprises can be a lovely thing, in business however they usually mean that you and your client have different ideas about key areas of your current project. This often leads to you needing to charge more than your quote to finish the work, or working at a loss to deliver the completed project in a way which satisfies the client. The good news is you can easily help ensure the only surprises are when the client sends a ‘thank you’ box of chocolates to reward a job well done.
So, how do you achieve this? Simple; clear communication and always putting everything in writing. Read more
Happy Birthday Blink Design Studios!
Blink Design Studios Ltd is now a whole year old. Yes, a year ago this month we rebranded, renamed and encoroprated into the shiny company you see today.
This is just a little post to say ‘thank you’ to all our clients. Also wanted to say thanks to all those who have supported the business since its tiny beginnings and have been there to watch it grow into something so much more.
Also, times like this remind us that this is still only the beginning and that Blink has a lot more potential and growing to do!
So, here’s to the last fabulous year and also looking straight ahead to all the great things in store in the future.
Thanks guys!
The biggest secret weapon to growing your business is customer service
With competition fierce between companies to win business, customer service is one of the most overlooked weapons in your arsenal. I read many articles about growing a business, many of which point out that referrals and word of mouth often generate the best leads, yet they still tend to stick to tactics designed to winning new clients.
Customer service is something which you should think about all the time.
If you get this right, you will always succeed in business and build an invaluable network of people who think you are great at what you do (which is worth its weight in gold). If your design work is top notch but your bedside manner has people running for the exit, a designer offering better customer service will find themselves with a new client sooner rather than later. This is true of projects where alternative designers cost the same as you, but also of companies that cost more. Example: If you had a choice of a coffee from a seller who was rude and made you dread entering the shop versus a cup costing 10p more from someone who smiled and chatted each time, where would you shop? And when it comes to more important and long term provider/client relationships this becomes true to a much larger scale. Companies have to feel comfortable working with a designer and good customer service is at the top of the list for ensuring you are that person.
Read more
Blink Design Studios are now on Facebook
We have finally gotten around to the beta launch of the Blink Facebook page. The page will offer regular updates and news links as well as fan exclusive discounts and offers. Facebook is also a great platform to use to talk to our customers and find new designers to add to our books. So, whether you are looking for someone to design your companies new logo or website or are a designer or coder looking for a new agency to work with, hit the ‘Like’ button today and show you care!
Need your own company Facebook page designed? Get in touch for a free quote here.
STRESS! And how to deal with it.
Deadlines, project management, chasing pay, being creative under pressure… it all adds up. From my personal experience and that of managing other designers, I can state one simple fact. Stress is almost always completely self-induced and easily avoided by following a few simple ideas.
A lot of people set out on their own and end up pulling out their own hair under stress within the first few months. This article is aimed primarily at designers and small design studios – however it can be easily adapted to apply to any business.
