Blog

As a small business owner you’re constantly looking for new ways to get your company’s brand out there, we completely understand this and recognise the pressures small businesses face to remain noticed within their industry.

You can forget scary clowns, zombies and haunted houses; bad branding itself can be enough on its own to scare away your customers.

In this modern age, how important is it to have a solid, well working website? And how can you optimise your website for the best results and SEO?

What is creativity? Creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity is characterised by the ability to perceive the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated phenomena, and to generate solutions. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. If you are lucky enough […]

The world of marketing is rapidly changing and sometimes this can be daunting for businesses to try to keep up with. With pictures of cats taking selfies and pointless memes going viral, some businesses may feel way out of their depth when it comes to their ‘digital’ knowledge.  Combine this with the rumour that ‘print […]

There are many various mediums and platforms your business can use to advertise and succesfully market. These platforms can be categorised under two main forms of marketing- Traditional Marketing or Digital Marketing. Once you have a clear understanding between traditional and digital channels and the purpose they each serve, you’ll be able to use each […]

You may have heard the famous saying “less is more” used frequently in day to day situations and being used in conversation across industries such as interior design, fashion, beauty and art. When it comes to graphic design, many successful designers have adopted the “less is more” concept throughout their work, also known as minimalism. […]

Britain’s shopping basket is going free-from, with Brits dodging dairy and going off gluten and grains at a growing rate. We have forked out an extra £230m on free-from food and drink in the past year. That’s a rise of more than 40%! This 40% growth has not only been driven by consumers who have […]

From visibility to credibility, exhibiting at a trade show can have hundreds of advantages and benefits for your business. Making the most of your space and establishing a presence gives you a powerful platform for meeting new customers and reaching out to existing clientele. Understandably, a lot of businesses are put off exhibiting at a [...]

“‘Spark joy’ What on earth does that mean?” If you have absolutely no idea why we ask this question, then sit back and let us introduce you to Marie Kondo and her famous tidying up technique. Marie Kondo, a Japanese organising consultant and bestselling author, has written several books on organisation. Her books have sold [...]

Let’s start by explaining what school marketing actually is. School marketing is defined as ‘the means by which the school actively communicates and promotes its purpose, values and products to the pupils, parents, staff and the wider community’. Where a large amount of businesses do realise the importance of marketing, it is also this area [...]

We understand - particularly when it comes to small businesses with limited resources - that when times get tough and businesses are forced to make cuts, it’s often the creative budget that faces these cuts first. Unfortunately, companies often fail to see how investing in their creative budget can, in fact, help achieve the goals [...]

5 top tips to make sure your business starts on the right foot this year. 1.Refocus your brand January is a popular time for companies to reflect on their current position, review their performance and take a look at their company image; however, we can get carried away in January and want to take on [...]

As 2019 is quickly creeping up on us all, it won’t be long until we are in the month of January and 2018 feels like a distant memory. Therefore, we wanted to acknowledge and somewhat celebrate everything we have achieved as individuals, as a team and as Media Village this year. Whilst reminiscing on the [...]

You may have heard of brand archetypes before, but have you ever stopped to consider how they apply to the success of your brand? Or even how they could influence your strategy and communication? When used correctly, brand archetypes actually have the power to help identify your brand’s best features. However, it is understandable if [...]

As soon as it hits mid-November all the big names start releasing their long-awaited Christmas adverts, the prime players have been preparing for this moment all year and the engagement they receive never seems to disappoint.

10 branding elements and what they mean. If you’ve never thought about branding before, you may not be aware that there are ten different brand elements to think about. So, let’s start with the basics and define what a brand actually is and why they are so important to any business. Let’s throw in a [...]

International Print Day 2018- Collaboration. Why we promote collaboration in the workplace… Today is International Print Day and the theme is collaboration which highlights that when we work together, share ideas and create projects together the results are hugely rewarding. Effective collaboration can depend on many factors, for example, the environment you are working in. [...]

  Storytelling through branding is more important today than ever before; with the average person viewing 100,000 digital words every single day, a refreshing narrative behind a brand can really stand out. Famous brands like Coca Cola and Marks & Spencer have been using the art and science of storytelling to their advantage for years [...]

The nothing that points to something You may have heard of the term ‘negative space’ when talking about design. Essentially, this refers to the empty or open space around an object that defines it; in plain English, it is ‘the nothing that points to something’. Where the majority of people turn away from crowded designs [...]

Do you believe you have to be born with creative bones in order to brainstorm amazing ideas? Or that everybody has an inner creative genius and it’s just finding the tactics that work for you to discover yours? The Ancient Greeks actually believed that the inspiration for originality came from the gods and that is [...]

The engineer walked into a creative agency… sounds like the start of a bad joke, right? Although this scenario is normally quite uncommon, the traits an engineer and, for example, a graphic designer share could be the start of an impressive partnership for future business growth. The desire to figure things out and be creative [...]

What is vehicle livery? First of all let’s start with explaining what vehicle livery actually is and how it could help. Vehicle livery is the process of transforming the appearance of your vehicle, through the application of vinyl graphics, to advertise your business whilst on the road. Vehicle livery is often used to revamp your [...]

The language of Graphic Designers You may now be fluent in the language of print from our previous blog, so let’s add another language and allow you to become multilingual by learning the language of a designer. With the language of print and design under your belt, who needs French and Spanish? Firstly, design is [...]

The power of proofreading The content you write, whether it is for social media, email campaigns or brochures, can be extremely powerful. But no matter how fascinating your designs are and how engaging your content is, common writing errors leave a bad impression, permanently affecting your brand image. Spelling and grammar is a crucial part [...]

Printing jargon for beginners Understanding how printing works (and how to speak the language of printers) is important for any business. Apart from their purpose in making printing conversations easier with their abbreviations, these terms are useful clues that can help you choose the right printed material for your next campaign. Although advertising online and [...]

Stop drop the phone, move away from your desk and take a break. Does your lunch break consist of downing a coffee on the go and shovelling in as much food as you can whilst at your desk still working? Is your email inbox never-ending and you feel like you can never catch up? We [...]

You may have heard the word “networking” being thrown around and not really known what the sales reps and other employees are up to when they go “networking”. But actually, statistics show that 85% of jobs are actually filled through networking and that 41% of professionals have expressed they want to network more frequently, but [...]

An impressive overhead photo no doubt grabs some attention, however aerial photography and video has greatly advanced from photography masts to the introduction of drones. Drones are everywhere; delivering parcels, filming movies, being used in medicine and even helping to sell properties Whatever industry you are in, drone footage can help you in some way. [...]

Brand Guidelines-what are they and why do I need them? From the clothes we wear, to the food we eat and even the cars we drive home in, everything is a brand! It is almost impossible to go even just a few hours without coming across a brand of some sort. The truth is we [...]

6 easy ways to increase engagement by using print and design. With disengaged employees being four times more likely to leave their companies than an engaged employee, every company or educational facility wants their staff or pupils to be motivated and engaged in the workplace. Engagement can be the key to reducing staff turnover, boosting [...]

It's our 21st Birthday! You may have heard or seen on our social media accounts that we are celebrating our 21st birthday this year.   That’s twenty-one years of being in the print and creative design industry! As our 21st birthday is a milestone for our business, we thought we would talk about how Media [...]

Your school, your brand let's make it known Across the country, schools,colleges and other educational institutions are working harder than ever to ensure their quota for new student enrolment is achieved. With a business focus, the difference in revenue for being at full quota or not is massive Whilst we are aware that there are [...]

With millions of images being posted on the web daily, your companies’ images need to be the ones to stand out against the rest. It is well known that photography and eye-catching visual content generate more engagement and attention online; as we are a very visual society it is the perfect way to communicate. The [...]

Document scanning There is nothing worse than misplacing that important piece of paper you needed so desperately, or spending practically an hour searching through the filing drawers to find it. Document scanning not only saves you time, but also protects your information and stores them securely, thousands of files can be stored on a single [...]

I am sure you will all have heard the myth “print is dead” but many have the opinion that it is more alive than ever before! By bridging the gap between the digital world and the print world, the possibilities for design and marketing are endless when the two forces come together. This blog will [...]

Is it time for a logo refresh? Companies, products and services change fast, meaning their brands need to change with them.Not many brands have managed to get this right first time with a logo heavily carrying the burden of a brands impact. It is important to remain on trend but also always consider your brand [...]

For many business owners the beginning of December marks the start of the Xmas period and it is without doubt one of the best times to market your business. So how do you decide what this year’s festivities will look like, how to split your marketing budget and what will have the most effect in [...]

What’s the importance of pen and paper? For a designer, it’s said that there is nothing more initiative than pen and paper. This ‘traditional’ style can help to form successful initial ideas and is always encouraged at the beginning of a creative brief, but why? Below are 4 reasons we think pen and paper are [...]

Brand guidelines are the core to your company. From the style to the way your business communicates to all existing and future clients. The guidelines focus on a range of aspects, such as the ethos, business values, the logo, colour scheme, imagery and photography, advertising strategies, wording and stationery and anything else unique to your […]

Over the last 2 years the internet has been awash with Gifs, MEMEs and fantastic photography. Not since the cavemen used wall paintings have we seen images as the forefront of communication. We, as a society, are using images to communicate more than ever as a picture paints a thousand words. Instagram lets us share […]

Okay, so it’s true we live in a technical age where everything is at our fingertips, we have ‘disposable’ information ‘on tap’ through search engines and we read on average 285 pieces of information daily. We get saturated in the stuff, which means only the best and most relevant information manages to make it to […]

The chances are that social media is proving to be a successful tool for your competitors. In just a few years, social media has shaped potential outcomes for businesses and the opportunities are becoming more advanced and developed. Over 30% of the world’s population are found on social media accounts and within this day and [...]

Previously when I thought of wall paper, I thought of my nan’s house, where every room except the kitchen and bathroom, had the walls adorned with fancy wallpaper.   My nan was particularly proud of her house although I confess some of mismatched patterns were tell-tale signs that she had hung the wallpaper herself. As [...]

We have currently seen the rebrand for the Premier League and more recently Channel 5. http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2016/february/designstudio-rebrands-premier-league/ http://www.creativebloq.com/branding/designers-react-channel-5-rebrand-21619231 This may be an influence on many companies to question whether they should rebrand and update their look. But, when is the best time to do so? There isn’t one set answer when it comes to asking yourself [...]