Fresh Fruit is a new brand of laptop and messenger bags.  These concepts were designed, in part, for use in a presentation of the brand to Apple, Inc in an effort to carry the product assortment in their retail stores.

All great logos should work in black only, without the need for colour. This is a point that’s missed on so many logos I see nowadays.

Check it: Freelancing is For Suckers

I wondered whether the software could be used and adapted for a simple corporate Intranet. As long as we could have pages outside of the chronology of dated weblog posts, it seemed like a viable option. Dated entries on the home page could be used for announcements, new hires and other event based information, while pages listing forms for downloading and benefits information could always be available as page links for the user. Both the dated posts and undated pages could be easily edited from the WordPress administration dashboard.

Since multiple users are allowed in the WordPress system, an Intranet administrator as well as the design staff, sales and even the CEO could conceivably update the site with timely information – all right from the browser based administration tool.

Adding The Content
To turn the weblog into our Intranet site I needed to modify the default links and add categories and pages for our non-dated information. After deleting the installed default “blog roll” links and default “first post”, I created a Quick Links in the WordPress administration tool.

Quick Links is to be used for the non-dated page links. These pages will have information like benefit provider contact information, employee handbook information, HR downloadable forms, or lists of downloadable sales and marketing materials.

To create this link, I went to: Manage > Pages > Create New Page. Enter the title of each page you would like and save it. The list of pages should appear in your sidebar as a list of links. I decided to change the default title of the section from “Pages” to “Quick Links” in the sidebar.php (Manage > Files > Sidebar Template). I filled in the page content by taking our old existing Intranet site pages and extracting the text and copied it to the new corresponding WordPress page (Manage > Pages).

Next I created a “first post” entitled “Welcome” with a short introduction to the Intranet site and its new features. I created a logo to use as a post image header. Since we will want to post photos and images with our dated “blog” entries, I went to: Options > Miscellaneous, and checked the “Allow File Uploads” checkbox. I entered the path information to a directory I created under my web server root to hold the images we might upload for events and dated posts in the future. An “Upload” option is now available in the WordPress administration navigation area. From here you browse to the image on your local computer and upload to the web server. The upload page even gives you the image tag code to include in your post.

This is a great feature as the designs will be posting their ideas, photos and sketches to share with others.

Conclusion
The flexibility to upload fresh information easily and post date sensitive topics right on the home page is a feature I was looking for but unavailable previously to the company.  

Some personal examples are:

• This blog
• Flickr
• Facebook
• Google Reader
• Things
• YouTube
• Evernote
• Amazon wishlist
• Pandora

Is there such a line as the personal/work divide anymore?
Is pooling everything all together into one place the solution?
Is using all these examples separately the solution?
Do other people really need (or want) to know my Amazon wishlist (etc) or do I just want quick access to it?

I’ve set up accounts on so many sites and then come back to tools which promise the best of everything all in one place – such as Google Reader – but I find myself using them for a while and then moving back to the individual sites.

A good example of this is news sites. It’s too much information overload to subscribe via Google Reader so I just load up their homepages and take a quick glance to see what’s their big and latest headlines every so often. Is there a quick tool which shows “what’s on the homepage” of a site right now?  Another example is twitter and Facebook status. Having twhirl or some other twitter client open all the time, there would be a constant flood of messages. My eyes glaze over at the mere thought. Information overload.

Someone pass me a fresh moleskine.

A&H Design Group is an international design firm with offices in New York City and Hong Kong, and it was my role to create their identity package, including a logo, business card and letterhead design. At the time of writing, their website is undergoing a re-design, following the identity launch.

Brief company background

A&H specialise in strategic brand development and design, packaging, and cost effective printing and fulfillment.

The logo must portray the following business attributes:

• Professional
• Modern
• Trustworthy
• Efficient
• Solid

A number of initial design options were presented.

My client favoured the second option (above), which shows the letters A&H next to a stylized target or focus symbol.  A number of layouts and colours were experimented with before the design was finalized.

 
Also supplied was artwork for the business card (front and back).

Working through a number of business card layouts, the following design was selected as the most appropriate. Adam Greenfield, the global director, and the others at Hilcon preferred a simple card, with a hit of UV coating on the darker side, as opposed to flat colour.

The design brief

This is of great importance. A solid logo design brief ensures that no time is wasted, and that you receive targeted logo options as soon as possible. The logo brief also helps me focus my attention on the areas that best serve your business, making you much happier with the final result.

Research and brainstorming

I take the information you’ve given me, and begin the second stage. What do I take into consideration? Your competition, trends in the market, what sets you apart, your history, your future, your current brand, and the one you aspire to.

Sketching

Many people don’t realise the importance of sketching when you want to achieve a great logo design. I talk quite frequently about the importance of sketching where logo design is concerned. This method is also used throughout many other design projects, including web design.

Prototype design

I normally create two logo design variations, based upon the researched ideas. Many design companies offer four, five or more different options, but this is something I would only consider in very special circumstances. Such circumstances might include where the final idea for the logo has already been focused upon in your design brief, and you want to see a number of slight variations / tweaks.

Send and review

You’ll receive a PDF file, normally showing two fairly polished logo options (depending on your requirements). Each will include a short reasoning behind why I know they’ll work for your business.

Finishing touches / revisions

Following your review, I’ll then either finalise the logo design that’s on the table or make any revisions you’ve outlined. My main aim is to create a corporate identity that works for you, works for your business, and works for many years to come.

File creation and supply

Once the logo has been finalised, I create your artwork and send via email.

Primarily, I provide vector artwork. Vector files (mainly used for printed projects) can be scaled to any size without losing quality, unlike a raster file (mainly used online), which becomes pixelated when enlarged.

I will supply you with a selection of file types, for use in both print work, and online. If you have any specific file sizes needed e.g. 200 pixels in width for use on your website, that’s no problem at all. I can also provide a reversed option, for use on black / dark backgrounds. File types I’m happy to provide include:

• .eps
• .ai
• .jpg
• .gif
• .png
• .psd
• .tif

If you have any special requirements, just let me know and I’ll do all I can to accommodate you.

I wanted a modern looking business card, something that would immediately stand-out in a Rolodex and immediately drive home the musical slant of the clothing line.

As with all logo design projects, I can’t underestimate the fundamental necessity of the sketchpad process. Sketching is an excellent way to free ideas that simply can’t flow when you’re sitting at a computer, and I’ve shown a small sample above.  It doesn’t matter how professional, or artistic the sketches appear. What’s important is how the sketching process allows for ideas to flow faster than they do on computer.

A nice touch is that the die-cut allows for the cards to be carried or displayed in an old cassette tape case.

Here’s a nice business card Flickr set of cool business card designs that I like to reference.

I’ll admit that the idea that these thoughts are being published to a weblog, with the potential of public exposure, may affect my writing.  How it will affect it, I have no idea.  I’ve never attempted a diary before.  I will not try and separate personal from business.  I’m putting it all down here.  (More on this in a future post.)