Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Global Fun for RSM




More than just a stylish logo - RSM are a global player.

We created these simple movies for RSM to use for their presentations. RSM wanted something eyecatching, short and sweet. The video we created suggested RSM's global reach as well as underpinning the Z services they offer.

To watch the video click here

If you need any videos or animated logo manipulation please give us a call on
01332 291141 and maybe we can move you too...

An Engishman's Home...

We have a few clients who builds houses. Most of the time there will be a decent photo of the property, but sometimes nothing exists. This is where our digital illustration skills come in useful. With the correct architects drawings we are able to create super realistic illustrations of your property from virtually any angle.

We are able to render any brick, tile, paintwork, etc and any door colours or styles etc. We can even put a car of your choice and colour on the drive!

In this example, the house illustration has been used on Rightmove and Zoopla to help sell the property. It has been said that a picture paints a thousand words but in this case a picture could lead to thousands of pounds..!

If you need any specialist illustrations please give us a call on 01332 291141.


The Best Website in the World

We love minimalism...and apparently so do the 36 million users of Reddit.

When asked to vote for the top website designs of all time, coming in at number 14 was this site:

motherfuckingwebsite.com

When I visited,  I could not help but laugh, literally out loud. Apart from the satirical perspective it actually does cover a wide range of issues that are slowly going to clog up the internet. Increased bandwidth does not mean that sites should become bigger. (I refer to code/image size here and not necessarily the number of pages your site has).

Its about efficient use of real estate and clever use of code. For as anyone who has a Wordpress site will know - a PHP database never gets any smaller and the site will become slower and slower. Fact. But Wordpress is not the only guilty party, many sites encourage users to 'add photos' regardless of image size. Its as if nobody cares about site agility, loading time or user experience.

So what can we do about it?

Well, until people realise that nobody actually cares about whistles and bells, meaningless roll overs, pointless videos and unwieldy content then there is no hope.  Ultimately, it all boils down to one thing: relevant content, displayed in an easy to access way across multiple devices.

If you cannot tell someone about what you do in sixty seconds then what you are doing is too complicated. On line you maybe get 7 seconds to make an impact. Not long. So if someone has to wait for the animation to start then you may have lost the prospect already...

For a good example of brevity, visit our brand new website here, (which was going to be temporary but now I am having second thoughts...) what do you think, please let me know on 01332 29114 or email us at: studio@parkhouse-evans.co.uk






 




Friday, July 03, 2015

Unsubscribe Madness - the digital grudge...

Recently I attempted to unsubscribe from a particularly well know golf resorts' mailing list.  In a nutshell, they were continually sending me emails. Now there is nothing wrong with this if there are one or two emails per season, but not one EVERY week....I presumably once subscribed (most likely by default or by accident when I stayed at the venue). So it is my own fault really.  But if this venue really wanted me to visit again a letter would have been far more civilised and I may even have read it.

So, today I decided it was about time I unsubscribed. Easy, just click on the unsubscribe link.  Oh yes...

Oh no....not so easy.

First, I had to wade through the 'we are sorry to see you go, please come back' desperation.

Then once this was "agreed" I had to fill in my PERSONAL details and explain why I wished to unsubscribe. These were mandatory fields so there was no choice but to do so.

Once I had done this I was then prompted to "rethink my decision". Seriously, what do these people think?!

Once I had agreed that I had indeed thought out my decision I was then taken to a page on their site requesting me to "Sign up to their email bulletins"!

By this time I was getting annoyed. Maybe its just me or maybe its a generational thing, but I come from a generation who, when they want to shut down their computer, actually want to shut it down and not be asked "are you sure you want to shut down your computer".

Anyhoo, the upshot is, I am now, for almost no rational reason at all in the great scheme of things, totally biased towards this venue and will forever hold a 'digital' grudge against them.

The moral is: KISS - keep it simple, stupid...! Let people go but do it in a nice way that may makes them possibly want to change their minds. After all, a database is only as good as the people who actually need your services. Why have anyone else on it?

If you want to know about database profiling talk to our friends at CPB who will help you to develop a real mailing list. After all, some people will always hold a digital grudge!

If you have you ever had any annoying experiences of this kind, resulting in an irrational anger then please do let us know!

Thursday, July 02, 2015

Born in the USA

US based PSS have a range of products which are designed to help call centers to maximise their efficiency and the extend the lifespan of their systems. When they asked us to help them to devise a graphic panel for an event in the US we were willing and able to help.

This eyecatching graphic showcases PSS's desktop solutions. The idea being that no matter what you need in your call center desktop, be that call information, social media data, external colleague information, or any other form of digital expertise, then the PSS desktop solution can deliver - all direct to your desktop and without changing your legacy system.

The stand was designed and artworked over just two days and the digital artwork was sent to the US for output. Not quite a record but superfast by any standard...

A follow up email was produced which was branded in the same style and sent to attendees, joining up the whole process.

If you have a proposition or would like to see how we can help you to develop your message, then give us a call on 01332 291141. Like PSS, we'd love to help...


Join the vote

If you have ever complained about something that you had a chance to change then you know that having a vote is critical.

In a democratic society, we need to ensure that all our individual votes count. But it isn't always crystal clear and in order to help its members understand how their vote can count, CWU asked us to develop a series of postcard signups and informative posters for their branch members to use as helpful sign up guidelines.

We created a range of postcards and posters aimed at specific regions across the UK. These were also backed up with a fact sheets and branded web graphics as well as a quirky tee shirt for the reps to wear.

If you have a campaign or if you need to influence your market, why not give us a call and find out how we can help you? 01332 291141

Wednesday, July 01, 2015

Mags Worldwide Goes Big...

This was a tall order but we delivered...

With a budget of only £800 Mags Worldwide wanted to make a big impact at a travel industry exhibition. She has a 3x3m shell scheme. So we designed and produced nine panels (each one is 1400 x 950mm) which fit directly onto the walls of her stand. These may be low cost but they are big impact...!

Mags promotes a number of superb venues across the globe.

The panels are also durable enough for her to re-use.

You can see how pleased Viv is with the design - and shown below at the actual event - you can see what a great impact the stand makes punching way above its weight...total bargain!

If you are attending an event and need to make a big impact, just give us a call on 01332 292214.