Pulp Fiction

Paper comes in a wide variety of weights, finishes, coatings and textures. Making sure you select the most suitable type of paper and finish for a particular job (including audience, tone, and purpose) is essential – after all, if you tried to use standard photocopier paper for a corporate report or artistic brochure, the printer and design agency will want to beat you to a pulp!

The word ‘finish’ traditionally refers to the treatment of the surface of the paper, and put most simply, means it may have a particularly smooth or rough texture, Some papers absorb colours better than others and are more suitable for a type of printing or specific application than others, all of which mean the type of paper chosen can have a huge impact of how the printed, finished item looks.

Ask your printer or design agency to show you samples of the different paper and finishes, as touching them and seeing them first hand will give you a much better idea of what will work for your job.

Download our guide to paper and print finishes here

Another piece of PIE

Back at the start of the year we helped PIE, a team of specialist mapping, data and routing experts, to refresh its logo, clarify its brand identity and messaging as well as developing a clear structure for the company (see our first story on this here ).

Part of this was to refresh the look and feel of the PIE service websites, creating a series of top-level banners, including simple and easily recognisable road related graphics, colour and messaging to ensure brand consistency across the PIE group and assist with navigation across the various microsites.

Another key part of the overall project was to help facilitate the launch of PIE’s new Data Exchange online service, developing the brand and core messaging. A national database of essential road and street information, including navigation, parking bays, low bridges and road restrictions for larger vehicles, the Data Exchange is ideally suited for any vehicle type that uses the road network in the UK, providing them with the most up-to-date road information, when they need it.

PIE has been getting ahead of the London Olympics, having both updated its Data Exchange to include all the changes affecting the city’s road network and developed the data for the new TFL Freight Journey Planner for the Olympics. These will help both the public and specific audiences, such as freight operators, make better routing decisions to manage their deliveries during the Olympics – essential so that the pubs don’t run out of beer!

Therefore, time was of the essence for this project as the new site, incorporating the new messaging and PIE identity, had to be up and running in plenty of time before the Olympics. Having supplied the site’s overall design, structure, wireframes and banners, we're continuing to liaise with PIE and its web development agency Azure to provide ongoing consultancy to ensure the brand messaging is consistent across all of the PIE websites.

A PR network for the world

www.iprn.com

Formed in 1995 the Independent Public Relations Network (IPRN) is now the world’s largest independent agency network and offers opportunities for client referrals and for members to work together on global projects for clients.

IPRN's previous website design:

We were asked to design and build a new website for the IPRN as its existing website, whilst functional, was dated and didn’t accurately convey the forward thinking nature of the organisation.

There are two main purposes to the IPRN website: to attract potential clients, directing them to the relevant IPRN agencies and to encourage other independent PR agencies to join the IPRN.

As such, the original brief was to make the current site more user friendly and appealing, with improved navigation and ensuring the key areas are more visible for visitors to the site. We expanded on this brief, highlighting that the site should be more current, engaging, visually accessible and a ‘living’ entity – ie regularly updated with informative content – to help reinforce IPRN’s brand reputation and value proposition.

In addition, we were asked to come up with ideas for refreshing the existing IPRN brand, which included redesigning the logo to create a fresh, contemporary and bold identity that enhances the brand and reflects its members’ global expertise.

So, following a competitive pitch process, we got to work implementing the chosen logo – a series of orange off-centre, concentric circles that allude to the global nature and knowledge sharing of the IPRN, with contrasting black text – and building the new site.

Our new IPRN identity

We built the site using Wordpress as it needed to be simple to use for members and non-members, with clear navigation and easily uploadable content. We also created a specific Members only area using Buddypress, to make it easy for members to add their own content and news, thereby encouraging the sharing of information and expertise and also increasing the site’s SEO.

A test version of the site was unveiled to the IPRN members at the annual general meeting in Buenos Aires, to very positive feedback, with the site going live this month.

IPRN founder member Maggi Fox, who has been instrumental in launching the new site said:  

“We're delighted with the fresh, crisp appearance of the site. It wasn't an easy job for the designers to provide a site which had to satisfy so many members from so many countries and they met these challenges to the great satisfaction of us all."  

View the new site here: www.iprn.com

The world is our Oyster

Specifically designed to fit into a travel card style holder, the inserts provide a brief snapshot of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and highlight the advantages of its Training or Qualifications workshops to both new and experienced public relations practitioners.

The bright pink and purple colours of the inserts – to be handed out to CIPR members at its events – along with the bold headline copy and clear simple messaging reflect the new CIPR style that we have been developing and implementing across its marketing materials throughout 2012.