Our thoughts

Week in review - Webdesign

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:54:00 GMT

This is just a short note to see on what we worked this week:

The new People Living with Cancer website
Voltano new CI and website
Umvuzo Magazine layout
Umvuzo Poster illustration and layout
Southern Cape Vineyards website
Umvuzo Sales leaflets
Business cards for RX Health, HPM, Umvuzo, CalliQ
Book updates for Bianca Buitendag
ODJ Events website updates and social media marketing
L'Ancienne Residence Logo updates
Umvuzo Signage branding
Mobi site for Francois Ferreira
Esthetics new brand
IXU Cricket bat designs
IXU Cricket ball designs

and many more....

Week in review - Thinking Swiss

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:03:00 GMT

This week started of by being totally disorganized and grappling to get grips with the influx of work, but by Wednesday we were cruisin'.

Benita is toying with the idea of painting the studio walls and getting some artwork installed. Thoughts on color schemes were discussed and decided on, but an action plan needs to be put in place.

Client side:

Welcome to Jabitt Active AG, our first International from Switzerland. Very exciting product that we're developing a brand for, but alas, we cannot say as we are bound to confidentiality. MJ had the challenge of spear heading the design for this product with Benita as support.

Chris mainly worked on advancing the Brandy and Wine producers' website, but managed to juggle some other projects in between. He successfully completed L'ancienne's Residence (probably in a record time!)

Rochelle had her hands full with updating the brand manuals for various new logos we completed and is laying out her first major application form. Sounds simple, but doing it properly so human beings can actually fill them in is more of an art.

Pieter were involved mostly with the finalizing content updates for a safety gear site and kept busy with other sweep work on websites completed.

Andre made huge headway in designing several design projects, from an infographic, corporate power presentation, corporate brochure to a brand manual update for the Department of Science and Technology.

We touched on several projects in the past 2 weeks and just to understand the variety of industries we worked with, here is a list:

Some of the country's top Brandy and Wine producers
PR and events
Medical and Nutritional
Health and Fitness
Pension Fund Schemes
Capital Investors
A celebrity Chef
A celebrity Comedian
Personel Agency
Golf Resort
Power Products
Organic and local food market
Property Estates
Charitable organizations
Women's Beauty
Medical Aid
Medical Aid Administrators
Sport and Cricket brands
Power and Water Management

in the shade:

Apple finally replaced MJ's iPod Nano!
Casper and MJ watched Stormers beat Reds 23-13 in their "lunch time".
Watched a Book Design talk by Chip Kidd on TED.

Things should go smooth next week, but you never know!

Cheers till then.

Powerful Graphic Designing

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:03:00 GMT

Do your marketing materials fail to clearly present the quality, experience and customer service your company provides?

Have you tried to get by with inexperienced graphic designers, only to be left dissatisfied by poor quality marketing materials? When you try to cut corners, you end up spending more in the long run and missing out on valuable business opportunities.

Powerful graphic design creates a lasting first impression of your company, and that’s why it’s so important to get it right the first time. If you could present the type of image that would turn your prospects into customers, what would that mean for your company’s profit margins?

Hundreds of clients have chosen us to design their marketing materials because our powerful graphic design, creativity and attention to detail create the kind of impression your company deserves while engaging prospects both emotionally and logically.

Could your company benefit from the kind of image that turns prospects into customers? Contact Boonbase on +27 (0) 044 802 0404 today for an initial consultation, and we’ll talk more about your unique situation and needs to determine if there is a good opportunity to work together.

The best response from a client, yet!

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:56:00 GMT

We received this email from Deon Mocke after getting involved with the marketing and branding their Outeniqua Farmers' Market in George. This is probably the best and dearest letter we've ever received:

"Hi Casper en Benita,
Julle is die wonderlikste twee mense wat ek ooit in een jaar ontmoet het. Beide ek en Kobie geniet julle baie.
Julle werk het my verstom. Aanvanklik het ek gedink dit is normaal – onthou ek kom uit die Karoo en ek het nie veel van `n verwysingsveld nie.

Ons verwysingsveld was dit wat in die natuur gebeur het.
As die liewe Vader besluit het dit was tyd om ons `n bietjie reen te stuur was SY advertensie-veldtog baie subtiel. Jy, as boorling van die Karoo, moes die tekens reg kon lees.
Reentekens was as volg ge-adverteer:
(i) Die son moes die Cirrus wolke kleur (spektrum) .
(ii) `n Kring om die maan.
(iii) Die geitjies moes in die aand klik-klik.
(iv) Die Dikkop- voel moes in die nag skree.
(v) Die rysmiere moes hul gaatjies toepleister, maar daar moes `n stokkie-“ periskoop” wees, anders is dit wind.
(vi) Die swart reengoggatjie moes uitbundig vladder.

Die tekens (advertensieveldtog) moes elke dag voor gesoek word. Dit reen immers net een keer elke sewe jaar in die Karoo goed!!

So, dankie vir julle uitmuntende reklame-werk! Ek besef nou dat julle werk van wereldgehalte is. Soos ek gehoor het van kommentaar oor julle werk het ek doelbewus begin oplet in Kaapstad, tydskrifte, televisie en waar reklamewerk ter sprake is. Die Scolly`s is `n “potent” pakkie!!

Groete en `n suksesvolle 2012 word u toegewens.

DEON en KOBIE"

Just what do you pay a web development company for?

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:53:00 GMT

If you’re just starting your business, or already running a small business, hiring a professional web design company may seem unnecessary, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve highlighted a few of the more common arguments below.

I have a web site, and I made it myself in about 10 minutes.

Most web sites that are generated by do-it-yourself software use templates, which are stored in a database for any and everyone to use. If you want an online identity of your own, do-it-yourself software can’t provide it. A professional web design company knows how to translate your overall business objective into a visual, functional solution, using current web design trends; whereas, a template can be used by anyone, at any time.

I Don’t Have the Budget to Hire a Designer.

False – You may not want to admit it, but you just don’t want to have a budget to hire a designer. One appealing thing about web sites is that you can build onto them as needed. Most reputable web design companies understand this. As long as you have a well-designed web site with valuable content about your company, it doesn’t matter if your web site has ten pages or a thousand. This means that you can start with a reasonable budget if necessary. The most important fact to consider is that, in today’s technology driven world, you need to have an online image to stand out. There’s only one way to be available 24/7, and that’s via your web site.

They Know What They’re Doing.

Not to mention, a professional web design company has more resources. When you hire a professional web design company, you have a team of professionals that make web sites day in and day out, working to create the best possible web site for your business. Design, programming/development, and optimizing your site to rank higher in search engines, are generally each handled by separate employees. Would you rather have a web site created in this manner, or by yourself-learning as you go, and hoping that you’re doing things the right way?

Do what you do best.

Just as you know your business better than anyone else, a professional web design company knows what type of web site your business needs. Essentially, a web designer applies all the principles of graphic design to the web- only they know how these principles need to be re-thought so they do apply to the web. Trying to learn web design on your own will be way too time consuming, and will test the limits of your patience to the fullest possible extent. Running your business is busy enough. As they say, “Keep your eye on the prize.”

10 Principles to keep in mind when designing a website.

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:01:00 GMT

A useful list of 10 points to bear in mind throughout the web design process.

Keep it simple. All the best website designers understand that great work stems from clear ideas. Creating a strong, practical visual is more important than wasting your time pondering ways to stuff all the latest tricks into your template.
Decide which tools will work best with the project. Consider past experiences and utilise your knowledge. If you’re just starting out, conduct some extensive research into popular design techniques, swat up on the latest tutorials and get to grips with the very basics of HTML coding. Understand the function of each design tool that’s available to you before you begin implementing the technology creatively.
Set yourself a deadline – and stick to it! Establishing a timeframe will reassure your client as well as improve your own personal time management skills. As a website designer you’ll want to explore all creative possibilities, but instilling some discipline into your routine will achieve faster results and increase your productivity.
Draw up a strategy. This will particularly help you out if you have to work to strict design guidelines from your client. You can refer back to the strategy document at any time to explain your work and justify your design decisions.
Care about the consistency of your design. Create a template that can be used for most, if not all of the pages on your site, as this will save you time. There are many elements of your website that can be included on each and every page, such as the headers, footers, menus and sidebars. Consistency doesn’t have to equal dreariness, though – think of fresh ways to style or set out your page to avoid the traditional (and stale) designs.
Bear in mind that users become confused and agitated if pages seem difficult to navigate. User experience should be at the heart of every design decision you make, so take time out to thoroughly plan your layout. Your role as a website designer is to catch the eye of the consumer and make it easy for them to find the information they’re looking for. With this point in mind, consider incorporating clear calls to action into your design and always work as if you mean to subliminally guide the user through the site.
As an extension to the previous point, don’t clutter up your page with snazzy Flash images and busy graphics. Images must be used to convey the brand and must have a purpose for inclusion. Overuse of striking photos will confuse and annoy the user.
Speed is key. Ensure that your template loads quickly and soaks up as little bandwidth as possible by keeping the design free from irritating add-ons such as background music, automated pop-ups and over-the-top banner advertising. Web users are impatient - if your page hasn’t loaded in a few seconds, the consumer will simply go somewhere else.
Create your template with modern browsers in mind and test it accordingly on different systems. Your site will always face compatibility issues even if you stick to the standard 1280×768 resolution.
Testing, testing, testing! As a web design company, our timeframes can be demanding, which is why testing throughout the entire design process will save you time (and often money) at a later stage. Organise breaks in your design schedule to test your work regularly. Catching the bugs and website errors early will eliminate panic further down the line. This is a good habit for a beginner website designer to get into and a process that veteran web designers often overlook.

Developing the right ideas - the reality

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 11:26:00 GMT

The truth about creativity, as now stipulated in our introduction to new clients. Adapted from Creative Business.

Creativity is often thought to come in a flash of inspiration from out of the blue. This is a misconception. Good creative work arises from processing adequate information and developing it through a series of trial and error. We need to take time to consider several approaches (concepts), develop them, test them and then revise them.

Click here to read more about how we work with new clients and standards of practice we subscribe to.

Free additional mailbox storage

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:56:00 GMT

As part of our ongoing efforts to provide our clients with the best email platform possible, we have upgraded the standard mailbox size to 5GB of storage, up from 2GB.

There's no additional cost to you, and there's nothing you need to do to implement these changes. The upgrade has been already completed, allowing both new and existing sites to take advantage of the additional storage.

Please note, this is only valid for our clients that have their website build onto BoonBizz™.

Blogidy Blog Blog!

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:57:00 GMT

Yes, time has come for us to start blogging! Feel free to grab a cup of tea and a cookie, put your feet up and take a look around.

You'll find heaps of great content and information about our studio, and there's plenty of completed work to look at.

I hope you enjoy and feel free to let us know what you think!