On the 9th of August, the Top Left Design team (and guests, but sadly minus Amy) were privileged enough to attend the red carpet Premiere of the new Blockbuster film “The Expendables“, starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the voice of Justin Bieber. Ok well maybe not that last one, but pretty much every big action movie star of the last 20 years!

How you might ask? Well Keren’s (@topleftdesign’s) father just happens to be Avi Lerner, Producer of the movie. He has also produced such Hollywood hits as Rambo IV (Stallone), Righteous Kill (Pacino / De Niro), and The Black Dahlia (Hartnett / Johansson).

Team TLD walked the red carpet into the Odeon, Leicester Square, getting “papped” along the way (didn’t stop to do autographs) – and were seated amongst the rich and famous in the prestigious cinema.

The film itself does exactly what it says on the tin – it truly is The Most Awesome Action Cast Ever Assembled… and it has more guns, fights, gunfights, explosions and general mayhem than any other film I’ve seen. Don’t expect any twist-endings or crazy sub-plots from this flick – there’s no time to fit any of that inbetween the 100 mins of start-to-finish action. I even saw Jason Statham clean kick some poor bloke’s head off in this film.

Luckily he was much more well-mannered at the after-party, held in the Planet Hollywood in Haymarket. Much to my disbelief, we were ushered into the VIP section, which was packed to the brim with familiar faces. Some were hard to put a name to (the open bar may have had a part to play), and at one point I had to ask who tough-man actor Craig Fairbrass was… To his face.. Maybe one of the most uncomfortable and scary moments of my life!

Though my celebrity approaching adventures weren’t completely un-fruitful, I managed to get a picture with Dolph Lundgren (Ivan Drago from Rocky IV), Avram Grant (ex-Chelsea FC Manager), and that weird guy from Bo Selecta’. I even got a picture of Tina and Tamlyn with Jason Statham!

Stallone hung out in the corner eating a pizza with Alice Cooper, which was rather surreal. Boxers Amir Khan and David Haye are much more imposing in real life, especially when you have to tap them on the shoulder to get past. Also, Jordan wears too much perfume for my liking (and apparently the liking of the VIP bouncers also).

Tamlyn didn’t waste any time in networking, and managed to wrangle us an invite to the after-after party in Cirque du Soir members club, with Statham and Amir Khan. Which was where I met the manager of the band Kasabian. I think. Open bar, like I said.

Needless to say, it was an amazing night, and judging by my headache the next day, I have no idea how the cast and crew managed to fly to Las Vegas for the following premiere.

They truly are The Most Awesome Action Cast Ever Assembled…

It’s always a good idea to mention it to the world if you get a mention in the press – could be online, could be offline.

Offline – The Guardian Digital Business Supplement

Recently I was interviewed by Digital Business supplement of the Guardian for an article by Peter Bartram (from New Venture Publishing) about building personalised features into websites.

Here is an excerpt of the interview!

Online – One Xtra Pixel

I was also recently interviewed by Krishna Solanki (a website designer in Cambridge) for the On Xtra Pixel blog about Women in Website Design

Have a read of this interview here

All comments are of course very welcome!

Thinking of starting starting a blog? Maybe you already have a blog but aren’t 100% sure of those little dos and don’ts that somehow you’re just EXPECTED to know! Well, help is on the way! We like to think we’ve had a bit of experience with blogging, so we have come up with 3 Golden Rules to think about when taking a step into the wonderful world of blogging!

Images, images, images!

Always use images in your post – people are attracted to images and are far more likely to read a post that has bright, eye-catching images in it than one that is just a ream of mind-numbing text. While we’re on the topic of pictures, make sure your images are always the same width as your text – big bold images will draw people in!

Heading, meet Sub-headings

People often make this mistake – they write a lovely blog, and forget to add sub-headings. Sub-headings break the text up into sizeable, easily digestible chunks, and also give people an indication of what is to come. Many people don’t realise just how much clearer a blog is with sub-headings

Variety is the spice of life

When writing blogs don’t always follow the same format. Many people tend to think that blogging is purely about writing an article or story, whereas in reality there are many different types of blogs than one can write. A few examples of these are:

• Best-of lists
• List of tips (this post is an example of this!)
• Things you have found
• Interviews
• Inspirational Stories
• Reviews
• How-tos

These are just a few ideas to get you thinking! There are many other ideas out there to write about.

Hopefully this has inspired you to look at blogging in a new light and to see the endless possibilities  of things you can do! Most importantly you should have fun and enjoy what you are writing about. Who knows, you may unearth a hidden passion for writing you never knew about!

Many people believe that dogs are man’s best friend, here at Top Left Design we like to believe that we are man’s best friend.

A good design agency can be the first and best friend you should have when starting a new business or venture.

What is a business without a corporate identity? You wouldn’t dream of starting a business without a name, and the same should be for your corporate identity. Sometimes a logo can be even more memorable than a name.

That’s why Ella from Molly & Max Veterinary Clinic got in touch with us. She understood how important her corporate identity was and she made sure she got the best. We started by creating the Molly & Max logo, once she was happy with that we moved on to business cards, compliment slips and a letterhead. She was now set for marketing her company, but an online presence is just as, if not more important than printed media, and so came about the Molly & Max website!

The website features images of the practice and team and has loads of information about Molly & Max. We also included a blog which Ella has been very good at keeping up to date. A blog is a great way to keep your clients informed about what is happening with the company and how things are progressing. It’s also a very useful platform from which to show off the good work being done. Why not read about the First Surgical Patients to visit Molly & Max.

Not only did we help Ella with her stationary and website but we continue to help her create printed media to promote the company further. We created postcards for Ella to deliver around the neighbourhood to announce the arrival of Molly & Max.

We also created the sign board to hang outside of the practice, and a board to point people in the street towards Molly & Max. Our most recent project was to create two table banners for Molly & Max to use at a local fair in Parsons Green.

With a great corporate identity there is no limit to the marketing materials you can create. And we hope to be able to work on much much more with Ella and Molly & Max.

Public Speaking.
A term that can strike fear into the hearts of most people, myself included. One person who does not seem to share this view is Keren. She believes that Public Speaking is an essential skill and excels at it. Unlike the rest of us. Ask us to meet with a client, chat to each other, argue over who gets the coldest coke or biggest ice cream, no problem, but place us in front of a room full of people and we turn to gibbering wrecks (some of us more than others.. *note to self!)

So, every Friday, almost without fail, Keren drags us, kicking and screaming, from the office, using the term ‘screen break’ as an excuse for us to brush up on our public speaking skills. This is affectionately (and I use that term VERY loosely) known as PSP, and, unfortunately, does not involve any hand held game consoles.

In the beginning was a word

The first time I ever had to do this in front of the TLD team it felt as if my heart was clawing it’s way out of my neck, I had a severe case of clammy hands, shaky knees, and I’m pretty sure I went from white to red within 0.2 seconds of standing up. It’s ridiculous really when you think about it. We socialise with each other on a daily basis, talking, laughing, joking, but yet having to standing up and give my 2 pence about a predetermined topic to these same people causes me to age about 10 years from the stress of it all!

Public Speaking has a few issues in my eyes. Not only do you have to speak in coherent sentences, you have to do it in a way that will keep your audience captivated, hanging on your every word. And this has to be done whilst speaking slowly and clearly.

Trials…

So you master speaking at 2 miles an hour, thinking that if you can do this you’ll be fine. But no. No sooner than you’ve accomplished this you’re then told to throw in some hand gestures, speak with feeling! And to use the space around you! Try that when if feels like you have ten arms that all seem to have doubled in length, your finger tips dragging along the floor like some deranged ape.

.. and Tribulations

And then, just as you think things can’t get any worse, you’re expected to walk. Walk and talk. And make it look natural. As if talking by itself isn’t difficult enough! Someone once told me to imagine every body in the room naked. I don’t know who came up with that idea, but when I do Public Speaking I can assure you naked people are the last thing on my mind!

Now, don’t let me be the one to put you off Public Speaking! It’s not all bad! Once yours is over with you get to sit and listen to others who are undoubtedly going through the same process that you’ve just gone through. And I have to admit it the more we practice, the easier it gets, which means that there might be some truth in the phrase “practice makes perfect… one day!”

So, you have a website, but you feel it needs a bit of freshening up? A bit of an update? But you don’t want to spend shed loads of money giving it a complete overhaul right now?

We here at Top left Design have complied a short list of a few tips and pointers that might help you put that little “pop” back into your website! It might be that you just need something really simple,  like updating a few images, changing a link or a new logo! It’s all in the details!

A few simple things worth considering :

• Update your copyright date – this immediately makes the site look relevant and up-to-date
• Keep your blog update regularly – this is one of the easiest ways to make your website look fresh.
• If you don’t have a blog, consider adding one – a seamless integration which fits into your navigation works best – ask us if you need advice!
• Try not to use cheesy images, people will judge you on the cheese scale, 1 being non existent, 10 being downright cheesy! This is a bit of a hairy topic, as some people like cheese. So use your initiative! If in any doubt ask us – we’re pretty good at the cheesy vs non-cheesy game!
• Make sure your logo is professional. A bad logo can bring down the whole look of your website, so if you feel your logo is looking a little out dated it might be time for a freshen up!
• Consider maybe updating your copy to make you seem more approachable. People are far more likely going to want to read well written, interesting client focused copy aimed at THEM, than copy that is tedious and hard to read.
• Lastly, keep an eye out for the little details – people do pick up on small things out of place, and keeping an eye out for these things can make a world of difference!

In light of the World Cup, we thought this video (courtesy of Amy!) just about sums up the shameless performances of some of these “world class” footballers. Bear in mind when watching this the huge amounts of money these guys make..

Now you know, whenever in doubt, stop, drop and roll! If you get funny looks from people you can tell them it’s a technique that’s made loads of young guys VERY wealthy!

We have an internal policy here in the office. A very good internal policy. One that involves food, and people making it for you!

Every couple of weeks (or sooner, depending on our organisational skills) one member of the team sweats over a hot stove (or shopping basket), slaving away to produce a meal for the rest of the team that won’t cause others to recoil back with the horrors. So far so good!

The first MML experience for me was a terrifying ordeal. I stressed for about a week, being the newbie, not wanting to disappoint (Cue Keren in true Alan Sugar style: “WHAT! You made THAT.. You’re FIRED!) Of course, that never happened, Keren’s far too wonderful! And the meal wasn’t a total flop. And having been here for a while now the experience of cooking for others is nowhere near as bad as what I first made it out to be in my head.

Recipe for success

A quick breakdown of the latest meals (bear in mind this has been going on for a while, but as I have the glorious task of writing this, we’ll start from when I arrived! Writer’s prerogative!):

First up was me, with cheesy stuffed baked potatoes and a warm rocket salad, followed by custom-made TLD cupcakes (for those that don’t know, cupcakes are a sure-fire winner in the office here – sneaky tactics if the meal flopped!)

Then came Michael, with a summery Mediterranean spread perfect for a warm day. Pita bread, hoummus, fresh salad, rocket, olives, cheese.. yum! Can’t go wrong there! Followed by Banoffee Pie (my first ever – sad, I know, but am now a convert!).

Next up was Keren, who, after telling us that she doesn’t cook, produced a delicious stack of quesadillas AND home made guacamole. She has officially ruined guacamole for me – have not been able to find a decent shop bought replacement since. It was that good. This was accompanied by a tomato and garlic salad (loads of garlic, apparently it’s good for you!) – felt rather sorry for any clients we had to meet that day! This was all followed by a Swedish dessert. The name evades me but I know it was REALLY good!

Fourth on the list was me again, with a Thai Malay curry type thingy (don’t ask) and basmati rice, topped with fresh coriander, and accompanied by a rocket salad. Curry wasn’t too shabby, can’t say much for the rice though! Dessert was a quick dash to Lola’s in Selfridges for some Red Velvet cupcakes (they come highly recommended!).

Tina was next in the kitchen, making us bowlfuls of really yummy nachos, proper finger food. Was all hands in, no FHB in this office (For those of you not in the know, FHB means ‘Family Hold Back’ – when everyone is being too polite to get properly stuck in). Although we did observe some form of civility and use a spoon to dish up! We were then treated to strawberry and marshmallow kebabs that had been smothered in chocolate. If you have never tried this do yourself a favour and do so! So simple yet sooo good (drool).

Michael then stepped up to the plate (haha…) with a Veggie Pasta Bake (packed with all the good stuff, and positively oozing melted cheese!) This was served with a side of fresh crusty bread and butter. Real proper comfort food! We could smell fresh basil wafting through from the kitchen whilst it was cooking – pure torture when your stomach is grumbling for food!

That, folks, is a full run down of our meals up until now (the last meal was on Monday June 14th). Sadly, we have yet to diarise more dates for MML, but I am working on it as we speak! Keren.. Oh KE-E-ERENNNNN…?

Of the many exciting projects we’ve got on at the moment, one in particular has tickled my fancy. One that involves canoes, kids, rubber chickens and parachuting eggs. Confused? Let me help you out.

This project is for a new website, called Our Say Our Way, and is to be an online link to the world within the Youth for Youth project.

A bit of insight into Youth for Youth:

Youth for Youth was started about a year ago with the aim of empowering young people. It’s a one of kind approach to bringing together young people from all over the UK with similar interests and ideas, as well as forming a support base for those that need one. It is an inspired project that can only provide growth and positivity for all those involved and affected by it.

In what can only be described as an adventure into the world of different approaches to web design, Keren and I joined the Youth for Youth team a couple of weeks ago, for a fun-filled weekend away in Thurrock. The idea was to interact with the kids, be a kid, find out what makes them tick. And then take all that away with us and translate it into a website that reflects what everyone wants and needs from this. ‘Everyone’ being a lot of very unique personalities with many different ideas.

Challenging? I’d say so.
Exciting? Infinitely! *squeak*!

Wetsuits, not Websites.. say WHAT?

As well as discussions and presentations about the website, the weekend also involved participating in various activities, ranging from a basic ‘getting to know you through a rubber chicken’ game (don’t ask) to a more physical ‘let me lead you through this uh, INTERESTING obstacle course blind folded. TRUST me!’

Whilst not ALL weekend activities were up our street (cue canoeing in the cold in wetsuits, me thinks NOT. Canoeing, yes. Cold and wetsuits? Nooo) the weekend on the whole was a resounding success, leaving me sad to be going home after only two days, a reaction I was not fully expecting. It just goes to show how different people can touch your life in ways least expected.

There were personal challenges that were overcome (try leaping off a 25 foot high telegraph pole – the platform on top only big enough to house your shoes – onto a trapeze swing that looks MILES away. At night. And toss in a slight case of vertigo to round it off nicely); fears faced (public speaking say? Keren seems fearless in this regard! But then again, she’s just ‘wheeeird’!); and friends made (wonderful, lovely lovely people. Ones that make you jump off 25 foot telegraph poles.. I kid, I kid! ). All in all I think we took more away from this experience than we ever expected, met people I’m sure we’ll stay in contact with; and are super excited for the next step in this project!

People have different opinions of the types of posts which are most useful, interesting or tweetable. I personally really like “list posts” (eg top tens, best of, collections), as they are easy to process and pass on. They do seem to also get more traffic. Some of our clients ask for our advice with coming up with ideas for what to blog about, which prompted me to put together a list of the types of posts which I believe will make coming up with blogging ideas easier. I have also included examples for each type!

We recommend people blog regularly and consistantly, but vary your posts. Choose from the below – and feel free to add your comments/suggestions!

Best-of lists

This is where you have taken the time and collected together a good selection of examples within a certain topic – which you believe are interesting/useful/cool enough to be labelled “top” or “best”!

Examples of “best of” posts

• Top 10 Best Facebook Games
• 52 Great Examples Of Urban Photography
• 20 creative print advertisements for your inspiration
• Top 10 Amazing Safari Trips
• 35 Astounding Examples of Waterscapes

Roundup/Resource Collection

Another collection, but rather than being the top or the best – its simply a useful collection for inspiration, freebies or information.

Examples of collections of resources posts

• Twitter vector icons massive icon set
• 50 Beautiful Examples of Aquatic Creatures Photography
• 100 Sounds+Ringtones for iPhone Video Review

Lists of tips

These are great because they are simple to come up with. You just decide on a headline – e.g 10 ways to make your improve your memory – and research/write until you come up with 10. If you can come up with only 7, change the headline to say 7 instead!

Examples of tips blog posts

• Top 10 productivity tips for freelancers
• 9 Proven Ways To Charge Up Your Motivation

How-tos

These would be useful step by steps/how to’s for your audience – such as how to fix a bike puncture, or how to sign up for a Facebook fan page, or how to design a cool button in Photoshop.

Examples of “how-to” blog posts

• Create a Gnarly Snowboarding Themed Web Design
• How To: Solve A Rubik’s Cube In Under A Minute

Reviews

If you have seen a show, movie or a tv show, or if you have attended an event, of it you tried out a new game or weekend experience, you can write a review about this.

Examples of review blog posts

• Book Review: Lovely Things To Make for Girls of Slender Means
• 5 Minute Book Review: Outliers by Malcom Gladwell (VIDEO)
• Iron Man 2 Review

Things you have found

Let’s say you have found a cool video on You Tube and want to tell everyone about it. You can embed this in your blog and write a little intro. These are really quick and easy to do and are still useful to your readers. How else would they have found it?

Examples of blog posts with things people have found

• Babel Fish – Free Online Text and Web Page Language Translation
• Stylish Character Illustrations by Tuomas Ikonen
• How to get a job at a top creative agency
• USB Post-Its: They Are As Cool As They Sound!
• Embarrass Your Friends | There’s an App for That

Interviews

Of course an interview with a celebrities or a high profile person will get lots of hits, but many people have roles or jobs or lives that are interesting to others. Just think of a person you find interesting, and who you would think the audience would like to know more about. Write a list of questions for them and email them the list, or setup a meeting with them to go through the list and write notes. Then put it together into a Q+A type article.

Examples of interview blog posts

• The Future is Now – Interview With a 12 Year Old iPhone Dev
• An interview with Emete and Amy from Make Lemonade

Great headline news story/report

Sometimes you know there is a piece of news which you want to tell everyone about – the key to making people read further is to have a great headline. This is important for all the above types of posts, and also for a general news report.

Examples of great headline blog posts

• 71% of small businesses are not planning for post-recession recovery
• Hercules – World’s Largest Big Cat

Inspirational Stories

These are feel good/happy ending/unusual stories, which of course people like to read about. It’s important with this to include a nice image, either of the subject of the story or something relevant.

Examples of Inspirational story blog posts

• Man Tattoos 220 Flags on His Body
• Four-year-old girl lives in cage with crocodiles from birth
• Eton scholarship for determined east London teenager
• Alex Tew: Founder of The Million Dollar Homepage

Further reading/sources for this:

The Different Types of Blog Posts
25 Types of Blog Posts
7 Types of Blog Posts Which Always Seem to Get Links and Traffic
20 Types of Blog Posts – Battling Bloggers Block