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The Union Room & Projector Photography Competition – February 2010

March 15th, 2010 at 5:43 pm | Posted by Jordan

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The Union Room & Projector team have been out and about again, trying to improve their photography skills. This time with the theme of ‘Depth of Field’.

The Union Room & Projector team have been out and about again, trying to improve their photography skills. This time with the theme of ‘Depth of Field’.

It was only last month that Union Room & Projector braved the Arctic (OK, not that cold but pretty chilly) conditions to grab some great shots of the cold weather, with Projectors very own James Machin claiming the first prize for his shot.

James set the theme for Februarys shot and went for depth of field, which according to Wikipedia, is “the portion of a scene that appears acceptably sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on each side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.

Here are a few examples of how it should be done:

So…..with that in mind, here are our attempts this month.

James

Steven Gibbons

Jordan

The eventual winner was Steven Gibbons with his lovely shot of the water just about to fall from the branch. There are quite a few of the team involved in next months competition so keep an eye out for more of our shots in April.

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10 Amazing & Fresh Brand Identities

March 9th, 2010 at 12:06 pm | Posted by Jordan

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We have the pleasure of working with an amazing brand communications company every now and again and some of our favourite websites we’ve produced are based on the branding that Projector create.

We thought it was about time we dedicated a blog post to the creative efforts of the guys over at Projector and highlight ten of their best identities they’ve produced.

We have the pleasure of working with an amazing brand communications company every now and again and some of our favourite websites we’ve produced are based on the branding that Projector create.

We thought it was about time we dedicated a blog post to the creative efforts of the guys over at Projector and highlight ten of their best identities they’ve produced.

1. National Apprenticeship Business

The arrow marque symbolises a fresh, more radiant change in direction, moving onwards and upwards from an older path. We’re excited by the flexibility that this graphic gives us and look forward to producing some strong graphical work for NAB in the very near future!

2. Business Impact

The new identity clearly defines what they are about and gives them a positive, approachable and professional look. By combining business like purple and grey colours with a vibrant pink we ensured the brand will appeal to everyone from Managing Directors to the ground floor staff. The three lines represent the three groups involved in the business 1: Business Impact 2: The Client and 3: The Trainees.

3. Skyrocket

A simple, unique logotype was developed to represent the unique nature of dealing with human resource issues and staff related training. The elongated descenders were created to symbolise the value of the business - demonstrating the effect Skyrocket has on their client’s bottom line.

4. Otter Recruitment

We created a logo marque that subtly reflects the ‘O’ of the company title and has a dynamic, corporate feel to it that looks fresh and positive. These elements are also reflected in the modern typeface which is classy yet friendly and has good legibility. A warm black used alongside secondary gold colouring completed it’s prestigious feel. We then went on to roll the brand out across the online and printed elements which included a full stationery set and Direct Mail campaign to help raise awareness.

5. Zenith People

Changing from Zenith Recruitment to Zenith People our first task was to re-energise the brand personality by adding more emotion and charm – without diluting the serious capabilities of Zenith. Building on this we created an integrated look and feel to bring the companies communications under one umbrella – using the 6-point star as the focal point for all client and candidate dealings, we created a set of 6-point processes for the business.

6. Access

Access are one of North East England’s most successful training providers and have been around for over 20 years. They have supported employers to develop their workforce and have helped over 4,000 young people into employment on their chosen career ladder through apprenticeships. We wanted the new logo to be representative of the support Access provides to all it’s stakeholders and created an abstract marque to demonstrate this.

7. havetolove

havetolove was an adaptation of an existing logotype already in existence for havetohold. We developed the logotype for the new business to include the heart and symbolise the values of the new boutique in a graphical treatment. It was a gift, sometimes these things are.

8. Mobilx

We created the Mobilx logo to symbolise their core area’s of trading: importing and exporting. Working with a business like colour palette we wanted to show the grown-up, confident side to this new business to help establish it within the US marketplace – and the silver was used to represent the technology sector they focused on.

9. Managed Lets

The Logo is based upon the passing of knowledge throughout the franchise of the Managed Lets brand. For example, the Managed Lets system is passed on to the property owner, who then passes on their knowledge of the area to the person renting the property. This is represented as a benevolent relationship between two people. The typeface chosen suits the logo and gives an overall feeling of friendliness.

10. Cathedral Lettings

We introduced a graphic finger print design within the shape of a house. This reflects the personal service that Cathedral has become known for and also clearly defines their offering as a business. A traditional, dark green colour used alongside a vibrant green kept the brand professional but with a modern freshness and a clean legible typeface completed the brand.

Head over to the Projector Website and take a look around.

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We’ve Launched The Proform Website

March 8th, 2010 at 1:31 pm | Posted by Jordan

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Hot on the heels of our Cathedral Estates website launch, we’re pleased to announce we’ve put the Proform website live.

Hot on the heels of our Cathedral Estates website launch, we’re pleased to announce we’ve put the Proform website live.

Back in January we began work on the designs of the website, once again working in conjunction with Projector who created the branding and some fantastic offline work.

David was a pleasure to work with throughout the project and his constant input into the website content ensured that the final product is something he’s very happy with. We’d also like to thank David for the copious amounts of chocolate he brought into the studio last week as a thank you for our work, half of which has already ‘disappeared‘.

Check out the site.

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We’ve Launched The Cathedral Estates Website

March 4th, 2010 at 11:06 am | Posted by Jordan

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We’re pleased to announce the latest addition to our portfolio, Cathedral Estates.

We’re pleased to announce the latest addition to our portfolio, Cathedral Estates.

After working with Cathedral in 2009 on their Lettings website, they returned to work with us earlier this year to add a new element to their business.

The Lettings website was such a success and a hit with their customers that Cathedral decided we’d hit the nail on the head first time around, opting for an Estates-branded version of the Lettings website.

We worked closely with Projector on the project and the brand they produced for Cathedral Estates is as usual, fantastic.

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19 Delicious Food Websites To Sink Your Teeth Into

February 24th, 2010 at 4:10 pm | Posted by Jordan

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There aren’t many websites that have the kind of impact visually like one that’s trying to sell food. Whether it’s five-feet high burgers or 10,000 calorie bowls of ice cream, the imagery and approach is vital.

There aren’t many websites that have the kind of impact visually like one that’s trying to sell food. Whether it’s five-feet high burgers or 10,000 calorie bowls of ice cream, the imagery and approach is vital.

Lets take a look at some mouth-watering examples of food websites.

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Skyrocket Website Launches!

February 17th, 2010 at 12:11 pm | Posted by Jordan

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We’re pleased to reveal our latest project going live for the lovely people over at Skyrocket. We’ve worked closely with the Skyrocket team throughout the project to create something bespoke to their needs.

We’re pleased to reveal our latest project going live for the lovely people over at Skyrocket. We’ve worked closely with the Skyrocket team throughout the project to create something bespoke to their needs.

The website is just the first of many projects we’re hoping to work on with Skyrocket so keep an eye out for related projects further in the not so distant future.

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Pick of the Links #5

February 5th, 2010 at 11:13 am | Posted by Jordan

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A nice mix of links this week covering tutorials, fireworks and UX links.

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The Union Room & Projector Photography Competition – January 2010

February 4th, 2010 at 4:37 pm | Posted by Jordan

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All good designers at some point in their careers get bitten by the photography bug and it’s well and truly working it’s way through the Union Room and Projector studio at the moment!

All good designers at some point in their careers get bitten by the photography bug and it’s well and truly working it’s way through the Union Room and Projector studio at the moment!

At the start of this month we decided that we needed a bit of motivation to use our cameras so we devised a monthly competition to help us improve our photography skills. January’s theme was ‘Winter’ (not the most original theme we’d admit but we thought it’d be a waste to ignore the amount of snow that had been falling around the time).

Only the four of us managed to brave the conditions to take some shots but the standard was still high.

1. Steven

2. Jordan

3. James

4. Paul

We had our own vote and the office selection this month was James’ photo, a pretty picture indeed!

We’d love to hear your feedback on which is good, bad or ugly.

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6 Photography Photoshop Tutorials

February 1st, 2010 at 12:37 pm | Posted by Jordan

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Photoshop can be used for a range of activities but it’s real strength lies in some absolutely stunning photography effects.

Photoshop can be used for a range of activities but it’s real strength lies in some absolutely stunning photography effects.

Lets take a look at the best available…

Comic Book effect

Age Progression

Changing Hair Colour

Tilt-shift Fakery

HDR Style Fakery

Apple Style Portrait

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Pick of the Links #4

January 29th, 2010 at 2:54 pm | Posted by Jordan

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Some really good articles coming out of the blogosphere this week including an interesting take on the new Apple iPad.

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Pick of the Links #3

January 22nd, 2010 at 10:22 am | Posted by Jordan

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Time for this weeks best design links, fasten your seat belts!

Time for this weeks best design links, fasten your seat belts!

We’ve got a good mix of design, free stuff and photography this week so have a gander below…

Web Design – Pricing Tables

25 New High Quality Free Fonts

33 Absolutely Free E-Commerce Icon Sets

40 Inspiring Single Page Websites

25 of the Best Photography Portfolio Sites – Part III

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/18/25-new-high-quality-free-fonts/

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