Self promotion

Here are some unusual business card designs I have been looking at recently as a self-promotion technique. I think the most effective ones incorporate the specific business/speciality into the design of the card:


Chest Physician


Marriage Counselling


Acupuncture


Second-hand shop


Yoga/fitness


Personal trainer


Proof reader


Stylist

Tetley's Good Earth

The identity, branding and packaging of a new range of Tetley products, 'Good Earth' is currently underway. The new product is organic and is based around 3 principles to display its properties:

- Good for the planet
- Good for others
- Good to you

The 'secret' halo above the 'e' in the logo reflects the product's 'goodness', as do the soft lowercase letters. Not obviously linked to Tetley's, and with a sense of honesty attached to it, I think this product will prove quite popular.

Essential Wear

These are just one of the Freebies given out at this year's Freshers - Miniature shopping bags containing free condoms. The bags have images of men and women on them, bearing bold statements such as 'I've got Chlamydia' and 'I've got Gonorrhoea'. The reverse side of the bags say 'He/She won't be wearing this, so make sure you use a condom'. I think these are really successful, as the message is clearly and bluntly delivered, free condoms are received, and the small bag is really unique and handy. Perfect for the intended target market of students!

Don't drink and drive

Really effective, simple advert to show what your car could end up like.

Logo illusion

I've always been perplexed by the simple FedEx logo's strong and hidden message - the arrow between the 'e' and the 'x'.
Recently, the cleverness of Amazon's logo was brought to my attention, where the 'a' and the 'z' are connected with an arrow, implying that they sell everything from A to Z.These really are the most effective, memorable logos. Just take a look at the logo for The Guild of Food Writers. Clever illusions within logos are definitely the way forward.

Superlambanana-rama

When I first saw the 17-foot original Superlambanana, I thought it was a total eyesore and couldn't think of any reasonable excuse for its hideous design. However, after my first - and possibly unfair - judgement it seems that the statue has actually proven quite successful in raising awareness within Liverpool. Although its usual colour is yellow, the Superlambanana has occasionally been repainted in order to sponsor certain causes - for example purple during the Smoke-free Liverpool campaign, and pink in support for a breast cancer awareness charity.

After my initial hatred for the Superlambanana, I couldn't help but join the thousands of people in 2008 scouring Liverpool for one of the 125 replicas created during the European Capital of Culture. I still can't say I like the design of the statue, but I'll tolerate it due to the impression it has had on Liverpool, and the causes that it has successfully sponsored.

The original Superlambanana remains in Liverpool, some of the replicas have been auctioned off, and others can be seen in Museums countrywide.

Stonemade gadgets

I'm thinking weight may be a slight limitation of these designs...

Health Promotion

Involving children is one of the many ways companies attempt to raise awareness of the importance of health. In this case, the Child Health Foundation have emphasised the child's innocence with the aim of persuading parents to stop smoking. However, it's difficult to say whether the type of parents who are likely to subject their children to smoke would take much notice of these advertisements.

2012 Sham?

It's a debate that's been going on since 2005 when Britain won the international competition to host the 2012 Olympic games. I for one agree with thousands that Britain simply can't afford to hold the games, and it is likely to look like an amateur school fete in comparison to Beijing's stunning - yet extortionate - display in 2008.

China spent a reported $44 billion hosting the games last year, whilst Britain's budget has already been pushed to an estimated $17.4 billion, $981.8 million of which has been spent on building the stadium alone.

I struggle to see the logic here, as surely a city with an existing stadium, the required free space and even half of the money needed to host the games would have been a much more practical winner.

Britain faces both future financial problems and the fear of another terrorist attack, not to mention the embarrassment of hosting a much less spectacular event than the previous years' - although let's face it, it was pretty much set to be a disaster when the 2012 logo was released.

Stop Crime Ballooning

The Knowledge Campaign works with other organisations within Leeds in order to help students get the best out of their time in Leeds, and to stay safe.

In May 2009, local police and Leeds' Student's Union combined forces to launch 'Operation Balloon' in an attempt to raise student's awareness of how often burglars are practically invited into their homes. The campaign consisted of police and students visiting student houses to speak to the residents about crime prevention. In certain cases where nobody answered the door, one of two things would happen: If all the doors and windows were secure and locked, a deflated balloon would be posted through the letter box - almost a 'well done' for being safety aware. If a door or window was found to be open or unlocked, an inflated balloon would be later found floating around the student's home.

This campaign was definitely a good idea - and a great success! It has made students more aware of the liklihood of burglaries in this area, and has made them think twice about leaving their doors and windows open - particularly over the summer when many houses are empty.

It can only be hoped that the burglars weren't following the campaigners around as they helped pick out their victims' houses...

Liverpool One

'The Paradise Project' aimed to redevelop a large section of underutilised land in Liverpool City Centre, beginning in 2008 during Liverpool's year of European Capital of Culture. A £500 million reconstruction meant that the 42 acres of land - previously consisting of a bus station, a car park and large areas of wasteland - has now become an economy-boosting retail led project, also including a huge leisure complex.


The design style of Liverpool One is much more modern than the rest of the city centre, with two floors of popular (mostly expensive) retail stores, and even outdoor escalators. It has recently been shortlisted for the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Stirling Prize 2009, the winner of which is to be announced in October 2009.

It's certainly an experience visiting Liverpool One, but I often wonder if it's really worth all the money that was spent on it. After all, the project has ensured duplication of many of the shops already existing in Liverpool City Centre, and has been criticised for alienating local business' (ie. Lewis' Department Store), and generally moving the location of Liverpool's central shopping district, creating empty units across the rest of Liverpool.

There's no question that the project has lifted Liverpool in the ranking of British retail destinations, however it's definitely caused a fall in the success of other businesses in the rest of the city centre. It's easy to see where the £500 million has been spent, but I'm not sure the simple - slightly tacky - Liverpool One logo reflects the project's high class and distinction.