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Archive for November, 2009

Our postcards – illustrated by Tina!

Monday, November 30th, 2009

4 postcards by Tina Webster from Top Left Design

We wanted to show you a set of 4 postcards designed and illustrated by Tina Webster. Tina works for Top Left Design (as you may have noticed on our Team page) and is also a freelance illustrator. She graduated from Kingston University in 2008 and her work has been featured in the Guardian, Supersweet Magazine and on the London Architecture Diary website. She has also taken part in a number of exhibitions in central London including a submission for Shelter House of Cards exhibition for Amelia’s Magazine, and the Coningsby Gallery and 93 Feet East

Her illustration style is mainly collage and paper cuts. She works by painting paper and then creating textures with objects such as folks, tissue paper and sponges. This gives her illustration work as 3D feel. Her work is suited to book illustration, editorial and advertising. The designs above form part of a series of 4 postcards for Top Left Design. They feature animals which we also use on our Twitter page background.  The postcards will be sent to our clients and friends and the cards can be collected and then placed together to created one big image.

4 in a row postcards by Tina Webster

If you would like to find out what Tina is up to, you can Find Tina on Twitter!.

4 postcards for Top Left Design

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Top Left Design postcards by Tamlyn Hall

Here are the first 4 postcards we made for Top Left Design. See above!

Hook Line & Sinker – Secrets to a Great Memory Hook

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

At structured networking events such as BNI, NRG or Athena, we regularly do “60 Second” speeches about our business. Ideally this includes who we are, what we do, how we add value, and of course, what time of business we are looking for. Many people/businesses also have a “hookline” – a sort of tagline which is said at the end of the little speech. Ours is “Top Left Design – Improve your presence online” – which rhymes and says what we do!

The great thing about memory hooks is that they help you be remembered – just what we need in today’s competitive world!

Make your memory hook memorable

Keren had an educational slot to do about this topic – and of course did proper research! Much of this was found through the founder of BNI – Dr. Ivan Misner and a BNI website www.memoryhook.com.

What makes a good memory hook?

  1. it has to be easy to remember.
  2. It should be short and snappy
  3. Don’t include anything you don’t need.

Really Bad Memory Hooks

Here are some examples of REALLY bad memory hooks – they just don’t work!

(more…)

Michael joins TLD and grows a moustache soon after

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

The open day we held was very successful, thanks to our ad on Sugar Jobs Job Board, and our chosen candidate Michael Hobson happening to apply at midnight, and the fact that Keren saw his response and was awake to write back to him inviting him in for the next day’s open day. Two weeks later, after the open day, a trial day, a Thomas International PPA test, and an intense grilling interview, Michael joined the TLD Team.

He has been doing brilliantly so far, and has participated actively with us on Twitter (follow him on www.twitter.com/tremulantdesign.
Oh, and you may as well follow us too!

One thing he can do which none of us girls at TLD could is participate in “Movember“.

Luckily our friend Alan Ogden from 3DPixel.net (who run our hosting servers) decided to use his own photo retouching skills on our faces, with impressive results.

See below – but really we still want your help donating so click on the image to sponsor Michael and Top Left Design for Movember!

sponsor Michael and Top Left Design for Movember! - it's a good cause! He is growing a  Tom Selleck style mustache and following all the rules!

What were you for Halloween?

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

In our recent Halloween Newsletter, we ran a survey to gather some feedback on the service we are providing to our clients, and to find out what people would like us to concentrate our efforts on in the future.

The information we received was very informative – we greatly appreciate and would like to thank everyone who took the time to fill out the survey!
We pride ourselves on being a company that listens to it’s clients needs, and asking you questions about our services is the best way to find that out.

But it’s not all serious business here at Top Left Design – we also asked the question: What were you for Halloween?

Here is what you guys said:

1.  Dancing badly

2.  In kerwin rae’s course

3.  The sweets holder!

4.  In a bar.

5.  The same wonderful me since I don’t “do” Halloween

6.  In Lymington at a party

7.  Inside and not answering the door!

8.  Just me I am scary enough!

9.  I will be going to see Steve Reich at the royal festival hall. I have a spare ticket too if you know anyone who’s interested!

10.  A devil

11.  Giving out sweets…

12.  Tired!

13.  Very much out of place if I dress up, as our part of London doesn’t do Hallowe’en at all. But, being a bit of a goth, I’d probably be a witch of some sort.

14.  Pirate of the Low Seas

15.  The wicked witch of the west

16.  At a party

17.  A surprise

18.  Too tired to be anything… if I had the energy – rather than a 17 day old son to feed every two hours – I’d love to be a princess. There – I have it. Sleeping Beauty!

19.  Dinner at a friend’s

20.  Black cat

21.  I’m going to go as the apostrophe in Hallowe’en, just as soon as I work out what a suitably anally-retentive costume would be. And, yes, I realise that I’m a grammar and type fascist.

22.  Pooped – all my spare time is going to redecorate my new house before my father moves in with us next weekend. If I did have time for such shennanigans I’d probably dust off my old glam rock costume, even though I made the shoulder pads/breast plate so big I can’t eat or drink in it because my hands can’t reach my mouth!

23.  Ali-hipo-rhino-croca-dilli-gator

24.  At the theatre

25.  A designer :-)

26.  Not sure yet!!

27.  Moving my M-in-L to her new house!!

28.  A pumpkin.

29.  Sleeping!

31.  N/A

32.  With my nose? A witch obviously!

33.  A witch…

34.  Myself