Yes you can win CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X6 worth over £450, all you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is…

1) Like/Follow/Connect with us on Facebook / Twitter / Google+ / LinkedIn

2) Share this competition page on any of the social media sites below.

Do the above on all sites to double, treble or quadruple your chances of winning.

We will pick a winner at random on July 31st 2013, so get liking & sharing as you’ve got to be in it to win it!

GOOD LUCK!!

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They are a great place for you to obtain critique of recent projects and for you to offer your own advice and experience where you can. If you are not a designer but are looking for design-related services, such as: logo design, illustration, design for print or website design to name but a few then they are a great place to find professionals and obtain quotes.

Graphic Design Forums

Started in 2008, the GraphicDesignForums.co.uk has grown considerably over the last few years with over 6,800 members (as of 2013). The forum differs from most others as it only accepts members with a UK based IP address, ensuring all discussion/advice and assistance is UK related. The forum has many sub-forums on a variety of topics, from general graphic and website design, to SEO and business. You will find very friendly UK based members and as a result of their IP restriction, pretty much zero spam and in turn, quality posts.

Design Forums

Started in 2007, the DesignForums.co.uk is another forum that is mainly UK targeted, although it does have many other members from around the world. With over 6,500 members (as of 2013) this is another popular forum with a friendly atmosphere. Any spam is dealt with quickly by the resident moderators and there are already over 93k (and counting) informative posts to choose from.

Estetica Design Forum

Started in 2007, Estetica Design Forum is a large forum accepting members from all over the world (although a fair proportion tend to be UK based) and as a result, discussion is varied and may not always apply to you dependant on where you live. The forum is very popular and has a whole host of sub-forums covering many topics. Estetica is by far the largest forum with a whopping 67k members (as of 2013), although only a proportion of those will be active.

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Logo Definition: ‘a design or symbol used by a company to advertise its products’

A strong company Logo can really make a Business stand out from the crowd. The UK definition of ‘logo’ is a ‘design or symbol used by a company to advertise its products’ so it’s worth making sure that such an important element is designed well to represent your brand.

Think of a brand that is important to you, one that you trust or use time and time again, what do you remember most about it? The company mission statement? Probably not, the first thing you’re most likely to remember is the logo; something visual, an image. A classic example is McDonalds, love it or hate it everyone recognises the big ‘M’.

A poorly designed logo will be forgettable and may go unnoticed, it may even cause harm to your brand (see the doughboys logo above as an example), hardly the sort of impression you want to leave on potential new customers.

Not to mention that your logo will follow you everywhere, from your premises signage to business stationery (letterheads, business cards, leaflets, envelopes will all feature your logo), and important presentations to advertisements. A good logo will be simple and ‘easy on the eye’, appropriate to your business and the market, versatile enough to be replicated on a variety of materials and will stand the test of time; remaining effective in the years ahead.

If you are looking to have a logo designed from scratch or have an existing logo in low resolution that you would like converted to the industry standard vector format, then please take a look at our logo design page or get in touch.

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For example, did you know?…

 
Pepsi Logo
Created by Arnell Group in 2008 and not a million miles away from the original, this was reported to cost a cool $1 million!!

Coca Cola Logo
Created by John Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Mason Robinson in 1885, the Coca Cola logo is probably one of the worlds most recognised brands, apparently there was no charge for this logo (he must have kicked himself later).

BBC Logo
In the autumn of 1997 the BBC introduced a brand new logo to coincide with the launch of their new digital channels. The new logo was designed by Martin Lambie-Nairn and the cost of changing the logo was estimated at £1.7 million a year over a three year implementation period.

BP Logo
With petrol prices rocketing BP came under attack when they unveiled a new logo in 2001, created by Landor and costing £4.6 million with a reported £132 million being spent over the following 2 years on rebranding its stationery, van liveries and manufacturing plants.

London 2012 Olympics Logo
Created by Wolff Olins for a reported £400,000 and unveiled in 2007, the London 2012 Logo provoked a wave of immediate, negative and fierce criticism.

We don’t design logos for free, but then we don’t charge hundreds of thousands of pounds either, our logo design service costs just £200 +vat. If you are looking to have a logo designed from scratch or have an existing logo in low resolution that you would like converted to the industry standard vector format (£75 +vat), then please get in touch

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500 x 400gsm Matt Laminated Business Cards, Litho Printed (best quality print process), Full Colour Print 1 or 2 sides (no change in price), Free Plain Cover Delivery. Only £19 +vat

Click here to order

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All sample packs are completely unbranded with no mention of Stationery Direct and include a selection of our most popular products, allowing you to show customers the print and stock quality available.

To request a sample pack just get in touch, don’t forget to supply the name of your business and your full postal address. If you are not already a registered Print Reseller then sign up, it’s FREE!

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For a chance to win a Wacom Intuous 4XL Tablet (worth over £500) check out the easy to enter competition over on the Graphic Design Forums

GOOD LUCK

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We thought we’d share some more interesting reading from www.twosides.info

Two Sides is an ‘initiative by companies from the Graphic Communications Value Chain’ whose ‘common goal is to promote the responsible production and use of print and paper, and dispel common environmental misconception’.

So what does all this mean?
As you will read on the Two Sides website the print and paper industries are under threat by Non-Government Organisations (NGO’s) who have taken advantage of the general misconceptions surrounding the printing industry and use of paper. There is an overwhelming belief amongst consumers that ‘paper damages forests and is a wasteful product’, which of course is not true paper is derived from wood, a natural and renewable material.

‘The print and paper industries now find themselves in the unusual position of having to define and justify the benefits and strengths of print and paper media; something that has always been taken for granted in the absence of other competition’.
‘Those seeking to promote electronic media and associated services have taken advantage of consumer concerns and often promote electronic media as an environmentally friendly alternative to print and paper’.

As a result of a recent survey and other research (you can find out more about this on the Two Sides website), Two Sides has developed a new campaign entitled ‘No Wonder You Love Paper’. You will be likely to see many images like the one below in circulation promoting the campaign.

Adverts from the campaign have two clear messages which talk about forestry or recycling.

One of which is:

Did you know that forests in Europe, which provide wood for making into paper and many other widely used materials, are 30% larger than in 1950? In fact they’re increasing by 1.5 million football pitches every year.†

Magazines are printed on paper from natural and renewable wood which is all good to know if you love reading your favourite magazine.

† World Forest Resources, 1953 and UN FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2010

Want to know more?
Take a look at Two Sides ‘No Wonder You Love Paper’ Campaign

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Sometimes customers will see a good price and think that it is too good to be true, or that the quality will not be up to scratch, so we designed some business cards that would show the customer exactly what they would receive in terms of quality along with a competitive price for a set run.

The next part involved some leg work and posting them door to door on various business parks etc, you could hire a student or similar for this part, personally it was nice to get out of the office for a change. The response was extremely positive and generated lots of enquiries and orders.

If you want to run a marketing campaign similar to this then please get in touch, as we may be able to help out with the printing costs.

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