Task 4

Who else is out there? How good are they?

I've been struggling a bit trying to find companies that work in areas I'm interested in.

www.gdusa.com/index.php

I did however, come across this website in browsing as the images caught my eye.

I've looked through the past

issues of the magazine and I've taken a great liking for the front covers in particular.

They're all so fresh and simple.

This is a news magazine for graphic designers and other creative professionals. It touches on many subjects such as the environment,sustainability, package design.. and many others.

Strengths -The magazines are extremely neat and tidy. They use different media to suit the contents for each book, which gives it a unique feel and keeps you wondering what's to be offered in the next issue. Even though every magazine is individualized, they all belong to a set; the 'GD USA' logo at the top left of every issue.

-The site includes links to various pages; current issues, past issues, contests, winners gallery, subscriptions, enewsletters, gdusa store, free stuff, advertising.

Weaknesses -Although clicking on a cover directs you to information from inside the magazine, the website doesn't allow you to see any examples from inside.

-As far as I can tell, the company are based in America. I'm still unsure where I'd prefer to work, so I thought it better to whack it in the weaknesses section.

-The site doesn't really explain what the magazines are about or what the company do exactly. It'd be handy to have an 'About us' section on the website.

Another company I have a keen interest in is Creative Review. They are another magazine full of visual communication.

Strengths -The website allows you to not only read briefly about past issues, it lets you see inside the magazine.

-It has an 'About' link, which explains about the company, what they do and have done.

Weaknesses -

A company I've been looking into is Blue Stone Design. They are a marketing and branding consultancy based in Leeds. It's quite self explanatory and obvious as to what they do. They create brand identities for other companies.

Seeing I have a keen interest in logo design and typography, I find knowing about this company is handy.

I love using calligraphic typefaces. This (below) is really nicely made, as each letter elegantly connects with each other.

Strength -The website allows you to read a brief

description about the company and what they do.

-The homepage looks quite serious, although the description about the company comes across informal yet sophisticated. They obviously want to seem approachable but there's a sense of seriousness about it.

-Links are there to enable the viewer to browse through the clients they have dealt with, and shows their portfolio so you can get an idea as to the style of their work.

-The company look to have worked with a few large companies i.e. Morrisons, Siemens.

Weaknesses -The links to the company's blog, clients, portfolio etc are at the bottom of the home page in a tiny sized font. If I hadn't of carefully searched the page, I probably wouldn't have spotted them.

-The portfolio contains only a few examples of their work. They're either very secretive about their work or they haven't dealt with many clients.

Task 3

How will I promote myself? What do they want to hear?

When it comes to promoting yourself, or your company, there are endless amounts of ways to do so. The main way to promote is generally by business cards, or word of mouth. These are also the cheapest and easiest ways, and in some cases, the most effective.

1. Personal Selling

A way in which I would use personal selling to promote myself is by busniess cards. These are a very effective way to build relationships with people and other companies. Business cards can be simple, as long as they have the right infortmation on them. My name, my email address, a potential website address and my phone number would be all it needs for someone to either find our more about me, or contact me personally. Unfortunately, these things come with cons. Designing, printing and distributing business cards can be time consuming.

Another way to personally sell myself is by having an exhixition stand. Friends, family, companies, people of the streets would be able to view my work, therefore be able to interract with eachother and form opinions and views. These could then be spread by word of mouth.

Personal selling enables relationships to form between myself and companies. This tends to have high success rates.

2. Public Relations

If I wanted to use public relations to promote myself, I might use write a short ''story'' which would be placed in a newspaper. This would mean anyone would be liable to read it as it reaches a wide audience. The only problem with this, is that although newspapers are fairly popular, not everyone reads them.

I could also join a charity event. This would help build relationships and help me gain the trust of the public as they would see me volunteering and helping others. As much as doing this would credit myself, it would be extremely time consuming and expensive in the way of travel expenses.

3. Advertising

This form of promotion is extremely long lasting therefore making it very effective.

A good way for me to advertise would be through websites. Every website has adverts, whether they're small or big, at the top or bottom of the page. Clicking on links allows you to explore what else is to offer.

TV advertisements are also a really powerful way to promote. If I worked with a company, this form of promotion would be very beneficial as it has an extremely wide audience, so would reach out to anyone watching. Television is a vastly used media and is one of the most popular ways to promote. One of the main things to take into consideration when wanting to use television advertisements, is cost. It's a very expensive way to advertise. So, when pricing a television commercial, you need to weigh the costs of two seperate things: 1. The cost of producing the commercial, and 2. The cost of airing it.

It is estimated that the average cost of producing a 30 second national television commercial is nearly $350,000, which is roughly £220,000.

4. Promotions

This is a very handy way to attract new custom. Sales and discounts are what people take great pleasure in, and they tend to go all out. I haven't a clue if typogaphers have sold their typefaces for two for one's! Haha!!

I think, if I were to go freelance and design typefaces and tried promoting my work, I could offer discounts for a certain period of time, just to see how well they go down, however, I don't think this would help me an awful lot.

Working for a company, such as Creative Review etc.. special introductory offers could be included with each magazine. This could temporarily lift sales, and would again, hopefully attract new customers.

5. Direct Marketing

Sending iinvitations or mail shots to clients and the public allows you to put your own personal touch on what is being given. A free gift could be included, just so they know you're trying your hardest, and builds a trusting relationship. This method is highly effective, and is handy as the success rate can be measured, so you can figure out when thing's work and don't work, which leaves room for improvement.

6. The Internet

These days, the internet is the most commonly used media, and supposedly makes life easier with just a click of a button. It's that common, we'd rather sit in front of a laptop and type to friends rather than physically go out and see them to talk face to face.

Links are found everywhere on the internet, and can lead to whatever websites you want which can promote your work.

This is very similar to 'advertising'. If my work were to be on the internet, I'd probably put links to my webpages on the most commonly used sites, such as facebook, or myspace.

There are many ministock websites, which work can be uploaded onto and sold via the web. I'd probably use one of these to start myself off. It is also very easy to do.

This method of promotion is handy, as it is a 24 hour sales tool, and is available to absolutely anyone.

The only downfall is it needs to be updated constantly, which would take time. Any websites also need to be designed well, otherwise this would effect any potential sales.

Task 2

P.E.S.T analysis

(Political, Economical, Social, Technological)

First example:

The coffee shop in Headingly-

POLITICAL:

Fair trade has become increasingly big over time as it started off as just a small campaign. The idea behind fair trade, is to give the producer in the country of origin a fair price for their crop.

''To be certified for Fair Trade, the importer must follow the regulations. This means meeting a minimum price and ensuring conditions for the small time farmer to be able to operate fairly. Fair Trade involves growing organically, and some farmers may need help to switch to this system.''

Starbucks, as well as other companies, is one of the most popular cafes which support fair trade.

''The USA drinks a staggering one fifth of the world's coffee production, so it's heartening that more than a hundred companies have registered to be F.T. coffee suppliers.''

ECONOMICAL:

People are cutting back when it comes to eating out, unless they're reeeally full of monies. These days, it's a lot cheaper to eat at home and make food from scratch than it is to take regular visits to cafes.

''Eating out is a luxury many people are cutting back on, cafe owners say. (ABC News: Cate Grant)''

SOCIAL:

Cafe's are an extrememly social place. Whether you've been invited for a coffee to catch up with some old friends, or if you simply fancied getting out of the house, cafe's have endless uses, most of which include socialising at some point.

It's always interesting meeting new people, and becoming a regular customer in a particular cafe can also build relationships with the staff. Doing this can also have an effect on the prices. Regular custom could potentially make your coffee 20p cheaper. Bonus!!

TECHNOLOGICAL:

Free internet access is given in most larger cafes. These days, people go to cafes purely for this. Although free internet is a bonus, it's been highly taken advantage of, therefore decreasing social activity.

Second example:

Asda supermarkets-

POLITICAL:

Asda is in a very competitive industry, what with Sainsburys, Tesco, Morrisons etc.. constantly in battle with prices.

There are so many stories saying Asda are the cheapest supermarket out there. 'ASDA is still the UK's cheapest supermarket, a 'shopping basket' survey says today.' However, there are also stories demanding asda is no longer the cheapest.

ENVIRONMENTAL:

''Asda's newest trolley promises to be more environmentally friendly and much easier to steer.

Asda is rolling out a new trolley which it claims is more environmentally friendly and much easier to steer.

The trolleys, designed in partnership with its German supplier Wanzl, feature an independent suspension system and "softsteer" front castors giving a smooth, quiet ride and making the trolley much easier to steer even when fully loaded. The new design also reduces trolley vibration over rough or uneven surfaces so cutting noise levels by up to 75 per cent.

Howard Willis Asda's customer services innovation manager said at the launch: "Noise pollution is something we take very seriously at Asda and with hundreds of trolleys in use in our car parks, anything we can do to reduce local disturbance to the environment is welcomed - especially at night."

SOCIAL:

Although supermarkets, especially Asda, are extremely busy, they're also a very social place. There are constant discussions about products between colleagues and customers, debating whether or not to buy those crips, or get that butter. Endless amounts of branding help.

Although shopping can be tedious and boring for some people, it can also be a good way to bond with family members. Taking the kids out can be stressful, but it also gets them out the house, and can also be educational as they learn about prices and the importance of money.

TECHNOLOGICAL:

Supermarkets are growing, constantly when it comes to technology. Checkouts are becoming touch-sensitive, lottery machines are becoming easier to use and also touch-sensitive. Some shops have also introduced a price reader in the occasional isle.

Technology these days are trying to make things a lot easier for people these days.

I have become more aware of what P.E.ST actually means now I have analysed a particular profession. I think it's important to know about the political, economical, social and technologial side when it comes to jobs in the industry. They all differ in each job, which makes it interesting to explore.