more john bethel tips

For those long time readers, you’ll recall that I’ve done John Bethel Tips posts before – here… I don’t really give John an option, I just copy his tweets as he posts them and then publish it as one larger post! So thanks John for these great times and giving me an easy post… If you [...]

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SOFII Star of the month is me (and YOU)

I’m really quite honored that I have been selected by the SOFII team to be the first ever “SOFII Star of the month”. I joked with Kimberley Mackenzie that with my luck, the month (and my Star) will be gone before we even launch. So close, yet so far once more. Our first SOFII Star of [...]

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This is boring

Ive heard it more than I would like to admit but I’ve had clients tell me my design is boring. “We are paying for 4 colours why aren’t we using them?” “Why can’t you cram more photographs in?” “Can you add more fonts?” “This looks pretty plain…” I’ve wrote before about being appropriate. Did you know that the more design [...]

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Interval House Gratitude Report

“Your mission, Agents of Good, is to create a thoughtful and inspiring donor-centred report.” – Interval House, September 2009 Agent Jen, Mark and John reporting for duty. Debrief and disclosure on a successful mission. About You Interval House’s 2009 Report is so donor-centred that it isn’t even an Annual Report: it’s a Gratitude Report. Our vision was donors [...]

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Does Design Matter: the debate rages on….

I’ve been reading with great interest for the past few days about all the brouhaha surrounding IKEA. In case you missed it, you can read it all here. But allow me to nutshell. IKEA, famed makers of cheap Swedish furniture change font on their catalogue from Futura to Verdana. Thousands of designers moan everywhere. IKEA basically [...]

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5 Direct Mail Tips

#1: I’m not actually sure that this is the first time I’ve published a tip about direct mail – but it IS the first time I used a video to do it… This is a quick video showing how you need to think about what you are mailing your donors from the very get go. #2: [...]

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Death by PMS 576

I know my lot in life. I am a designer. I am a graphics communicator. But, I have a beef. A branding beef to be clear. At the risk of offending, well, pretty much every charity I work with, please stop killing me with your “brand”. Too many charities have been told by too many brand experts that [...]

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Does design matter?

What is “Good Design”? To this designer, good design is well-researched, appropriate, methodical, concise and thought provoking. The first thing I do with new clients – is research. Who are they? Who is their audience? What sorts of challenges do they have? Who are their competitors? How are their competitors better than them – or vicea versa. [...]

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