Do you trust reviews?
| 25 September 2019
Genuine reviews and recommendations are incredibly useful: when a roofer was recently recommended to me – his advice saved me hundreds of pounds, but are all reviews equal? Fake Reviews Some companies give away products in return for the promise of a glowing review. Sometimes the good review isn’t from a customer at all – [Read more…]
It’s good to ‘geek out’!
| 8 August 2019
It’s very easy to look at a technique, app or system and dismissively think “I don’t need that”, or “that’s not for me”. I certainly felt that way about ‘Gantt Charts’. I thought they were a bit dull and boring and that I didn’t need them – maybe you’re thinking the same as me? Back [Read more…]
Paying promptly
| 8 July 2019
For small businesses, where cash flow is critical, being paid on time is vital. But to me, there seems to be a rather perverse imbalance when it comes to getting paid: The biggest players insist on prompt payment without any credit… When you go to a supermarket you pay as you take the goods. When [Read more…]
What good is a guarantee?
| 10 June 2019
In my last blog, I disagreed with an article which suggested a guarantee was a crazy thing to offer. You can read the full blog here. But in this blog, I want to look more closely at how useful a guarantee, brand promise or strapline actually is. Lots of companies use grand-sounding phrases, but what do [Read more…]
You don’t have to be crazy…
| 7 May 2019
I recently read an interesting article about how to deal with your designer if you don’t like what they’ve done. But it was one sentence that captured my attention: “…if the designer is crazy enough to have a “satisfaction guaranteed” clause…”. Pixooma has a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee, so… Am I crazy? I don’t think so! I was [Read more…]
Wish you were here…?
| 17 April 2019
I recently came across this sign at a local cemetery and was utterly confused as to why it was there. Take a look at the image below and you’ll see what I mean… We’re telling you nothing. Nada. Zip! Graphic design – whether it’s a leaflet, website, or map – is about conveying information clearly [Read more…]
You don’t need to go to Mars
| 21 February 2019
Recently we learned that NASA’s Mars rover, ‘Opportunity’ had stopped working after a serious dust storm had hampered its solar panels, starving it of battery life. Now you might think, why on earth (or Mars) did they not give it better batteries or an alternative source of power? Well, the truth is that although NASA [Read more…]
On its own, your logo is NOT important
| 24 January 2019
Whaaat?! As someone whose living is based upon crafting carefully designed bespoke logos, surely this is a strange (if not daft) thing for me to say…? Not if you re-read that sentence again… The key is the part that says “on its own”. No matter how amazing, beautiful or clever your logo is, on its [Read more…]
More about the ‘How’ than the ‘What’
| 7 December 2018
One of Pixooma’s trusted web development partners, John Scotcher of Pearson Treehouse said something which resonated with me. In conversation with me and a client, he said: “…design is not about buying someone based on their portfolio – it’s about buying into someone who can produce a bespoke design via a process…” And I think [Read more…]
