A niche market is a specific portion of the market that you can focus your marketing efforts on. Often by targeting a niche like this the business that does so is addressing a need that hasn’t been fully serviced by existing providers.

A niche can be indentified by seeking out a smaller customer base that are not currently having their needs fully met, or by discovering a new type of customer and a new type of need that has yet to be catered to. New needs can arise by changes to technology or society for example.
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Illustration is absolutely everywhere, on packaging, in company branding, on books, literally everywhere.

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You know you’ve become a professional designer who loves their work when;

1. You have developed a shiny patch on your mouse hand where you hand rubs over the desk about a zillion times a day.

2. The corresponding patch below your mouse is worn away on the desk.
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Are you ready to put your logo design and website url everywhere? Do you put it everywhere?
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Eighty One Graphic Design recently blogged about being inspired by a foray into the retail world (shopping), and I commented that indeed I too am extremely inspired by what I see when out and about and often take photos with my new super fab mobile phone camera.

So talking of retail inspiration, I was wowed when in Boots on Saturday and saw this beautiful bit of product packaging by No.17 cosmetics brand. Called ‘The Vintage Collection’, apparently for the 40th anniversary of the 17 brand.

Now what is really interesting though is how this design relates to a beauty brand design I created in July last year…..
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As the credit crunch forces businesses to tighten their belts across the country, ask yourself before you tighten your own belt if what your business needs right now is less marketing and less promotion?

During a downturn it’s common for marketing budgets to be cut, however there are other ways of reducing your spending during a difficult time than cutting your spending where you actually need it the most.

It’s also not uncommon for businesses to fold during a downturn - don’t become one of those businesses, you can tough it out and when the other firms are folding around you, watch your own brand become stronger as you gain an even greater share of the market!

Here are some tips to keep your head above the water…
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The OGC (Office of Government Commerce) rebranded and launched their new £14,000 identity to staff by plastering it all over office mousemats, pens and more, only to face ridicule when within seconds staff spotted a rather innuendos ’slant’ to the design when viewed on it’s side.
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I opened my fridge the other day searching for things I shouldn’t be eating, and saw these beauties above inside - I actually gasped in joy at their design when I set eyes on them.

These cans where purchased by my husband and when quizzed on his purchase motives he replied;
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Which comes first? The logo or the brand?

Best practice tells us that the brand should come first. A new company from the outset must first decide on it’s ethos, it’s intended behaviour, it’s target market, how it’s going to reach that market and with what marketing messages (ie it’s brand) before even thinking about designing an image to match said brand.

However it doesn’t always happen that way in practice, even with the ‘big boys’…

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A few basics to avoid when designing a company logo include;

1. Gradients within in the logo design typeface.

2. Excessive use of drop-shadows within the logo design. Care must taken especially when used in combination with gradients.

3. Rainbow gradients within the font or graphics of the logo design.

4. Marrying together bold primary colours such as bright red and primary blue.
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