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Makak Media | Bromley | London blogs

Going Underground - Things The Tube Can Teach You About Web DesignOctober 20

When it comes to your website take a leaf out of the London Underground's book of branding and design communication.

Your website design should send clear signals about what your brand stands for and in what direction you want people to take. Usability is a big issue for Transport for London as much as it is for your web design.

If you're searching for some clarity on the subject of web design/usability then I hope this post gives you some answers. Let people of the train first and then take a seat, mind that can of pop, put that free paper to one side and enjoy the ride.

Things The Tube Can Teach You About Web Design

Mind the gap - if you think there might be a hole in your site that users fall through then make people aware of what they should do next. Even better than that analyse your sites statistics, find where people are exiting your site and plug the gap.

China Design Ideas and InspirationJuly 15

The China Design Now exhibition at the V&A in London was about to close and I didn't want to miss it so last Saturday I went down there to take a look.

I wasn't disappointed as I walked around viewing some of the best work to come out of China in the last 20 years. Everything from photography, illustration, architecture, film, clothing and more were on view in a well laid out sequence of rooms. Some fantastic work was shown which will hopefully fire your mind!

For anyone that missed it or had no chance of visiting I have collected just a few snippets of inspiration to give you a flavour of what was on show, enjoy. If you'd like to share further design ideas and inspiration from China do leave a comment and link below.

MEWE Design Alliance

11 Pretty in Pink Web DesignsJuly 4

Pink is a colour that stands alone from most others, what hue you choose can change the look and feel of your web design.

Girls love pink and may even be biologically programmed to prefer it according to a Study: Why Girls Like Pink detailed in TIME magazine.

I've used pink in many web designs and love the contrast it gives against a cool grey, come on lads don't be afraid to say you like it too!

So below I've picked out 11 designs that use the colour pink in varying ways but all with a great end result, enjoy.

Charuca

Hotdog and Mustard

Social Media Marketing: Are You Wasting Your Time?April 18

If you own your own business then you're always thinking of ways to gain new clients or customers and how to spread the word. One of the best ways is via Social Media Marketing (SMM). You can get your business in front of those people you most want to target and converse with them in ways no other medium can.

But, it's also one of the biggest wastes of your valuable time. Due to its' natural tendency to make you play the game and chase the numbers SMM can distract you from what's important.

Technology provides us with more opportunity, more opportunity to waste time.

"Oh I got 100 maybe 1,000 or more visitors to my site yesterday from Digg, what a triumph, wait til I tell my colleagues."

Whoopie do well done you! All that time sending shouts really paid off. All those messages on other social sites got so much attention for your site.

I'm not a brand, am I?!April 10

Branding is a waste of money, who needs it. I certainly don't. I'll leave it to the big boys, the Starbucks, Apples and Coca Colas of this world.

These companies spend huge amounts of money on packaging and staff training, something I certainly can't afford to do.

All my spare cash goes on advertising and marketing my company.

If this is you Stop right there, you need to realise everything you or your company does is affecting your brand.

If you've been reading this article so far and agreeing with everything I've written then you're not fully grasping what constitutes a brand.

You may be a sole trader, a new startup business or even an established company but one thing you all have in common is that you all own a brand.

Branding is not just plastering your logo across every piece of marketing you produce. It's not just getting colour coordinated clothing for your staff.

A brand is all these things and more.