A design collation

I've always been a big fan of good, well executed design. I'm usually the one that gets branded a pedant because I like a design to be perfect. I like the sleek, clinical whites that Apple use for their branding, the colours and style of the Firefox logo. Working here, I'm fortunate enough to get the chance to see hundreds of unique and wonderful designs every week and I often scour the packing belts for cards that I like. It can be very inspiring to see the power of a good logo or design that stands above the rest.

We're all brought up on the basis that we're to share good things, so over the next few months, I'd like to share with you a few designs, ideas and items I've picked up in the factory over the past few weeks. After working here for a few years, still I'm impressed with new and exciting ways in which our customers design their business cards. It's important, no matter what sector of business you're in, that your cards make a decent first impression. The couple I've picked out to talk about certainly grabbed my eyes as good cards with excellent implementation of colour, design and layout.

Alison Faulkner's business card wasn't an upload design, it was in fact one of our most popular templates on our website. What made it stand out to me was the colours that she decided upon. It's common knowledge that the retro look is 'in' at the moment and that fact has certainly been reflected in recent business card orders. The combination of duck-egg blue and pale pink makes for a very effective and easy-on-the-eye look. You can see Alison's card below.

Leaving the retro look behind and moving swiftly to the equally popular modern look, the guys at Radflek had their cards designed by Paul Holt who created a very crisp and clean design. When I first saw the cards, my mind was instantly drawn back to Apple's iPod advertising campaign (both on the television and in posters) that featured crisp, blocky characters dancing to music on their iPods. Eye catching colours and a sleek image make this one stand out from the crowd. Nicely done Paul!


I'll pop another couple of designs on as soon as possible. I originally planned to do one long blog post but I though it'd be better if I split it into a few pieces and spaced them out over a few weeks. Easier on the eyes that way and it's less time consuming.

If you've designed business cards with us and you think your design is worthy of a blog mention, please do send me an email on nick@goodprint.co.uk and I'll see what I can do! Anything to inspire us and others is welcome!

Cheers!

Nick

Meet Alexa!

Good afternoon!

Friday has come around so quickly this week, so that means it's time for our second installment of 'Meet the team'. Hopefully you enjoyed last week's blog entry in which we introduced you to our management trainee Ben. Well today we'll be featuring Alexa, our pre-press and artwork specialist.

Name: Alexa Berg
Age: 28
Position: Pre-Press and artwork Specialist

Alexa, or 'The artwork elf' as she's otherwise known, started working for Goodprint in July of 2008. At 18, Alexa left college with qualifications in Art, Performing Arts and English Literature and went on to work for her Father's label printing business where she also completed an NVQ in Management. She came here with 10 years experience in a plethora of disciplines including managing accounts, running a printing press and making film. Alexa enjoys traveling across both this country and overseas countries and has not long returned from Turkey. She enjoys a spot of DIY too and is forever modifying and adding to the decor in her house. Even with these hobbies, most of Alexa's recent time has been taken up by planning her wedding which will be happening next March.



Alexa's role here at Goodprint is integral and involves both helping customers with general inquiries and more specifically, helping them with artwork issues. Alexa is in sole control of both our 'Tweak' system and free file checking service and is a dab hand on the Mac. She's an expert in customer services and due to her polite and helpful nature, Alexa receives no end of great feedback. Here are a couple of examples;

"Alexa in customer service was brilliant! She showed so much professionalism and her attention to detail is very commendable. She is definitely an asset to your team. Please extend my gratitude to her."

"Many thanks to Goodprint (with a massive nod to Alexa) for helping a computer numbskull overcome the minefield of image downloading. Well done!"

"I would just like to say a big thank you to all the team for the great work you have done for me, helping me with the artwork and tweaking of my new design Business cards. A big thank you to Alexa, the cards look fantastic."

That just about concludes this entry so I hope you've enjoyed learning about Alexa's role here at Goodprint HQ! Next week we'll be blogging about our Accounts Manager Louise so keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook and Twitter pages and we'll keep you updated!

Have a wonderful weekend and will catch you next week!

Many thanks,

Nick

Goodprint Uk Ltd

Meet Ben!

Good afternoon!

We thought it was about time that we gave our customers, friends and followers a look behind the scenes here at Goodprint HQ! Today's blog post will be the first of a series of 'Meet the team' style entries where we'll gradually introduce you to the people that work for Goodprint. Many of you may have spoken to various members of the team over the years, and for you to put a face to the name is important to us! Here's our debut 'Meet the team' post, keep your eyes peeled for future entries!

Name: Ben Goodwin
Age: 21
Position: Management Trainee

6 foot 4, dashing good looks, a rippling six pack and an IQ of 170 is how Ben wanted to describe himself, although the truth may differ slightly. Ben started in July as a Management Trainee after graduating from the University of York with a Bsc (hons) in Accounting, Business Finance and Management. He's no stranger to the company however, having worked in a variety of part-time and summer positions in customer service and production. He's a keen pool and snooker player, representing his University in both and his county (Suffolk) at pool. As exhibited by his lack of a rippling six pack, he's also enthusiastic about good food and enjoys cooking, eating out and growing his own Dorset Naga - the world's hottest chilli plant.


Ben’s job involves four three-month stints with our four senior managers, learning their roles and the roles of their staff. So he’ll be working in accounts, production, advertising and web-development all in his first year of employment. He’s also in charge of our Facebook fan page, which is about to get a completely new look, so keep your eyes peeled!

Next week, you'll be lucky enough to meet the artwork elf herself, Alexa. As our pre-press specialist, she deals with checking your artwork, looking after our tweaking system and answering customer queries, so stay tuned!

Cheers!

Nick