Blogging

It’s such a joy designing for businesses who already have an eye for great design and Little Big Bell is no exception. Geraldine approached us because she wanted a blog that showcased her passion for interior, fashion and lifestyle design in a way that shows she means business.

What was lacking from the existing design was a creativity that matched her passion, so we’ve waved our magic Flourish wand over the whole brand to create a design that blows her viewers away but doesn’t detract from the impact of her gorgeous blog post content. It simply complements it.

The Old Blog Design

Geraldine’s Mood Board

Every now and then our clients have spent their own time creating their own mood board and it’s no surprise that Geraldine wanted to do this given her creative flair and eye for detail. The mood board helped pave the way towards a cracking colour palette and a dramatic, Winter, geometric style that resonates throughout the new design.

Lovely new Colour Palette

Muted tones with punches of vibrancy through the yellow, green and range of pinks. Dotting these around in moderation breaks up the black and creates a contemporary feel.

The Final Design

Apart from the odd nip and tuck here and there, we’re almost done.

We’d love to hear what you think.

Tagged as in Blogging, Case Studies, From The Studio, Web Design, Websites

Blogging is one of the most powerful marketing tools you have at your disposal. Get it right and you’ll attract, engage and compel people to do business with you. You’ll demonstrate value in your business and find it much easier to find the sorts of raving fans who want to work with you because you’re good at what you do – not because you’re the cheapest in the market.

I’m running a workshop on the 22nd of this month (my last in-person workshop until the Autumn) and I’d like to invite you to join us. It will be a practical and creative blogging workshop where you’ll discover how to:

• Get the balance right between sharing information and generating leads for your business without it feeling like selling
• Maintain the momentum when you have a million other things on your to-do list
• Attract visitors, build relationships and importantly generate leads
• Create a blog that builds your brand, demonstrates your expertise and adds real value to your business

This is a small and intimate workshop held in our studio with a maximum of eight delegates so there is plenty of time to ask questions and gain individual feedback in a safe and nurturing environment. We currently have just two spaces remaining so if you’d like to join us – please do book quickly!

Our workshops are renowned for our delicious refreshments, sparkling content and easy to implement, practical advice that you can put into action as soon as you get back to your desk.

Think homemade cakes, fresh fruit, oddles of tea and coffee including plenty of herbal and decaff varieties and a hot two course lunch to keep your energy levels up in what promises to be a packed day!

You’ll leave with…

• The confidence that you know what it takes to create a blog that’s going to engage your readers, build your brand and win you business
• A plan of what you’re going to write about over the next few weeks – so no excuses not to start blogging!
• Inspiration to create a blog that really plays to your strengths and feels much more like play than a chore
• New contacts. Many of our past guests have gone on to do business with eachother, collaborate on joint ventures and form great friendships
• A gorgeous Flourish notebook ramajammed with notes, to-do lists and action points ready to lift your blog to new heights
• A Flourish goody bag packed with lovely things

What our students say…

“If you are thinking about attending one of Fiona’s workshops and are not sure, just give it a go, it is really good value for money, and worthwhile giving up a day now in order to save yourself weeks if not months of lost time (and money) next year, she really will help to put your business on the right track..”

Ruth Morton, Girls Love Pearls.

“Rejuvenating, Inspiring, Highly Recommended.”

James McBrearty, Tax Help.

“Excellent. Practical advice and generous sharing of marketing ideas”

Suzanne Dibble, Stellar Business Law.

Like to join us?

To book your place visit our website and book your place quickly and securely. Investment is £165+VAT when you book before 8th November, £195 + VAT after that. This is one of our most popular workshops (and it’s also our last in person workshop until next Autumn) so book early to bag your place.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Tagged as in Blogging, Inspirations, Workshops

How delicious is this blog design? Sara could be heard on all floors of the Flourish studio shrieking with delight when we presented her with the concept! She was absolutely thrilled at how we’d managed to both make something so non-visual as compelling as this and also how we’d managed to capture the essence of her. That’s one of the things that we take the most delight in – beyond the creativity of the design it’s the art of creating something that really encapsulates the person or the business behind the brand.

In Sara’s case getting this right was a careful balance of asking the right questions, listening intently to what she said and using our knowledge of colour psychology to help guide us. And it’s not always easy – in Sara’s case I felt that she might have a Spring with a hint of Summer personality in her, but as we got to know her and her business aims more it became clear that she was firmly in the Autumn camp with a very, very large dose of Spring (hence the shrieking!). And the result? Colours with substance, clarity and plenty of white space to communicate the bright energy and fonts with enough gusto to show that Sara means business.

Where it all began

Remember the mood board?

The brand elements

The logo

Illustrations, devices and patterns.

Typography.

The typewriter ( you  have no idea how many times James refined this to get the right balance of femininity, strength and simplicity!).

James is just working on a few tweaks along with some typographic banners for the other pages and then we’ll be good to go. Exciting times!

Oh, and we can’t wait for this business card to be letterpressed. It’s going to look gorgeous. Utterly gorgeous.

Tagged as in Blogging, Branding, Case Studies, From The Studio, Graphic Design, Logo Design, Web Design

You know how sometimes it’s not until you sit down and really think about something that you realise how lucky you are? I was asked to give a talk a few weeks back to a group of business owners about the joys of blogging. And it really got me thinking about the opportunities that blogging [...]

Tagged as in Blogging

Kate Adams is an ex publisher of diet books turned bestselling author now runs the Flat Tummy Club – a club, based on her book of the same title, which has become the bible for those of us who want to lead a healthy lifestyle without the faddy diet rules and deprivation that so many [...]

Tagged as in Blogging, Graphic Design, Web Design, Websites

Have you met Julie Hall of Women Unlimited? If you have she’s one of those highly inspirational, energetic and fun women you’re not likely to forget in a hurry. I first met her at the fabulous Women Unlimited conference in March and was quite blown away by the day she’d pulled together. I’m sure you’ll [...]

Tagged as , julie hall, women unlimited in Blogging, Branding, Case Studies, From The Studio, Graphic Design, Logo Design, Mood Boards

I am so thrilled to be able to share this beautiful new blog design for Lisa Cox. Lisa is a fabulous Garden Designer based in Leatherhead, Surrey, but whose flair for creating gardens that suit their owners has meant that she works both throughout the UK and internationally. Lisa has been blogging now for several [...]

Tagged as , garden designer, garden designer blog, lisa cox, the room outside in Blogging, Case Studies, From The Studio

Have you discovered Blogstomp yet? If you’re a blogger and you blog photographs then you need this, like, yesterday. It’s AMAZING. Before we go any further, I’m not an affiliate, I’m not trying to make any money out of you. I have been using the app for a couple of weeks now and it has [...]

Tagged as , Blogstomp Review in Blogging

Earlier this week Fiona wrote a post about who you are writing for and I thought I would follow up with a post about what you’re writing. The point she was making was whether you should be writing blog posts for search engines or to engage with your active readers. And there’s a relatively straight forward [...]

Tagged as in Blogging, Search Engine Optimisation, Uncategorized, Websites

There are generally two approaches to blogging. The voice of search engine optimists: use your blog to drive traffic to your website and haul your business higher up the search engines. And then there is the voice of reason: build your blog organically to create meaningful relationships with your visitors, position yourself as an expert [...]

Tagged as in Blogging