OK, it’s just a holding page for the time being, until I build the site (and that probably won’t happen for at least a month or so — March is already filled up with holidaying and moving house), but it’s good to finally have something more substantial than just an idea in my head.

To reflect that I’m trying to involve myself in less web development, and more work involving graphic design and illustration, NHC will be geared towards generating clients requiring need print design, and digital design that doesn’t involve much in the way of back-end coding. I’ll still be working on web development for a number of existing clients, but I’m not going to be actively pushing this service.

This site, Rob Barrett Design, will remain in order to showcase my personal projects and to host my blog (I’m still undecided as to whether I should blog under RBD or NHC, so I’ll keep it here for the time being), and it will likely shift towards a role that supports my search for a full-time design job in London.

I’ve got a nice UPrinting giveaway planned to mark the unveiling of the finished NHC site, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

© Rob Barrett Design.

So, what’s new?

1. The Blog has been separated from the main part of the site. This is because I initially want my site to be working to get me job offers and project enquiries, and I felt that the previous homepage wasn’t focusing on that target anywhere near enough.
2. Updated homepage with Rob Barrett mascot. I want to get involved with more illustration work in the future, as opposed to the web design which is currently taking up a lot of my time, and it just made sense to have something illustrated to greet visitors to my site.
3. My portfolio layout has been updated. Rather than have a long list of images and descriptions and testimonials, it’s now a collection of images depicting various works within a project, and if the reader wants more information then they can progress to an individual post to read more. I think this allows a reader to much more quickly assess the type of work that I do. I’ve also added in a small gallery of my personal works on Flickr.
4. The two sidebars have been pared down to one compact sidebar. A lot of the previous sidebar content was superfluous — I didn’t need a long list of post categories, or links to social bookmarking sites (those have now been moved to the information panels inside individual posts), and there certainly wasn’t any need for it to be spread across multiple columns as it was before.
5. I’m now making far more use of the footer. It now contains a list of my five most recent posts, along with links to my RSS feed and my other appearances throughout the internet, as well as a secondary list of navigation links.
6. Lastly, I’ve added my Twitterlove Bird to the edge of the page. Well, it seemed a shame to let him go to waste!

I’ve already had a couple of comments from my friends on Twitter about how they think I could make further improvements, which I will get around to in time, but for now I’m happy with the changes. They’re not huge, revolutionary changes, but I think they’re significant enough that it should make a positive difference to the way my site get used. What do you think?

You can see my previous page layouts here: Archived website screenshots on Flickr

© Rob Barrett Design.

I’m off to a networking meeting in central London on Thursday evening, so I’m hoping to drum up some interest from potential future clients. Unfortunately, I don’t yet have any business cards, so earlier this week I was putting one together to get printed off to take with me.

It turns out, though, that I don’t have the cash flow right now to get them printed in time — it’s a choice of fast or cheap, not both. As that does mean that I have a little longer to mull over the design of my new business cards, I thought I’d give a sneak peak, and ask for any suggestions anyone may have.

In the meantime, I’m going to be listening out for the postman to bring me a new printer cartridge, so that I can run a few dozen of these babies off to take with me later in the week.

Update (11/02/2009): I just received my order of business cards in the post yesterday! I’m pretty happy with how they came out — if you want to take a look, you can see them on my Flickr account: New Business Cards for Rob Barrett Design

© Rob Barrett Design.

Successful logos and branding can put the customer in a specific mindset about your company, helping you to steer them towards your goal. Having a unified branding package also helps consistency of your company image, which in turn builds recognition and trust with your audience.

It’s true, there are places that you may come across which offer logo design for £50, or where you can name your price and have designers bid for the job, but with something as important as branding, this isn’t a wise route to take.

In this area of your business, you get what you pay for. If your branding looks cheap and unoriginal, then by association, so will your company. As Wikipedia quotes,

The best value you can get is to work with a designer who understands the individual needs of your company and customers; someone who can hone the design to your liking and requirements, rather than offer you some out-of-the-box, generic solution. After all, if your branding is catering precisely to your audience’s demands, then you’re opening yourself up to be a market leader, instead of ‘just another name’.

Branding solutions can be enormous, depending on your company’s size and activities. However, an example of a minimal, basic branding pack would include the following:

• Logo Design
• Business Cards
• Letterheads
• Compliment Slips

If you would like to discuss your company’s logo and branding requirements, please get in touch through my contact page.

© Rob Barrett Design.