Busy Doing Nothing

It's been a while crocodile... I know...

I've got no real excuse for the lack of posts on this blog other than time just seems to have got away from me and days have merged into weeks, weeks into months... etc etc

I'm not really sure why I've all of sudden decided to post today, other than the fact that I'm suffering from a dangerous lack of motivation and instead of cracking on with one of the half a dozen of projects I'm currently wrestling with I thought I'd write a new post on my blog about nothing in particular.

This blog in the past has been a bit of a mixed bag... I've used it to promote my business, I've talked about football, music and more importantly Scarlett... who is keeping me busy and probably the main reason why I've neglected this blog. 

This blog from now on will primarily be about family life, football and music... I've got a new blog for my business so I'm going to try and be a bit more professional and keep it separate... I'll probably just moan about work on this one!

Super Summer Flyers

Its not too late... Our Super Summer Flyer Deal is still on but be quick orders need to be placed before the end of July!

Banners For Liverpool Pharmacies

Magazine Advert for Quistel

Magazine advert designed for Quistel to be published in DogWorld (www.dogworld.co.uk)

1000 A5 Flyers Designed & Printed For Only £130

DEAL OF THE WEEK

1000 DOUBLE SIDED A5 FLYERS

DESIGNED & PRINTED

FOR ONLY........ 

£130

Kick the Credit Crunch where it hurts and 

give your business a boost with this amazing 

deal!  A well designed flyer, printed on 

quality stock is a great and cost effective

way to promote your business and to 

increase your sales.

This offer is on for One Week Only, 

so book your job in before or on 

the 7th May to avoid missing out!

Email me for more info

Thanks

Jamie

Scarlett's ONE

I'm a little bit late with this post, but I just wanted to mention that Scarlett our beautiful daughter turned one a couple of weeks ago.  It really is incredible that its already been a whole year since she arrived... the time has flown and all the sleepless nights have been well worth it. x

Online Advertising

 

We’ve been very busy this month working on a lot of exciting online projects... lots of adverts, banners and websites.  I presume most of you already advertise your business online and I’m sure that a lot of you realise that it can be very hit and miss.... and also that it can be very expensive.  But if your looking for cost effective and efficient ways to promote your business online then please get in touch, as we would love to show you how we can help.

One last thing, how many of you have heard of BannersBroker?  We’re getting a lot of work through at the minute from clients who have joined BannersBroker and need a set of online banners designing to help promote their websites.  BannersBroker seems to be a very effective and profitable way to advertise and is definitely worth checking out!  www.bannersbroker.com

I think I will definitely blog a bit more about BannersBroker in the next couple of weeks and is it quite an interesting advertising opportunity for businesses... and we have a few specially designed products that could definitely help your online marketing and advertising.

March's Newsletter

I know i'm a bit later with this one.... March was a bit of a manic month!  If your not on our Mailing list and would like to receive a copy then just send your email to jme_design@mac.com.

Thanks Jamie

Flyer Design For Sutton FC

Sutton FC Cup Final Flyers, Designed, Printed and Dropped off!  Cup Final is in a couple of weeks, Friday 27th April v R.V.P at Salford City's Ground.... Going to try and get down there myself and hopefully see a Sutton victory!

February's Newsletter

Want a copy of the latest newsletter, then just send an email to... jamie.jmedesign@ymail.com 

and I'll send you one over!

Salford University

I know I'm a bit late with this post, I'm not sure where the last three or four weeks have gone to be honest with you, but I tore this article out of the advertiser a few weeks ago and tucked it into my diary because I knew I would eventually get round to blogging about it.

Its a strange little article but it does throw up a few questions, I'm not really sure what the journalist is trying to achieve but I guess there will have been a few readers concerned and maybe upset about Salford Uni adding the word Manchester to their logo.  I'm also fairly sure that there will also have been the odd reader who shook their head and sighed at the cost of the new logo, £132,336.  Both of those details in their own way are kind shocking, why should Salford University feel the need to add 'Manchester' to it logo and would they pay a £132,336 for it?

Personally I'm not shocked or surprised by either, Salford Uni wants to promote itself to a massive market, both across the UK and abroad and they obviously feel that a new logo featuring 'Manchester' would help their cause.  The price, unfortunately is probably about right, big agencies charge big clients big amounts of money.

My issue with the story is actually the fact that Salford University chose to go to a London design agency, personally I think thats far more shocking.  Why didn't they use one of the many design agencies based in Salford, why didn't they commission one of the many Graphic Designers that learned their trade in Salford... or why not let every designer currently studying at the University have a go at designing the logo?  Can you imagine what an opportunity that would have been for a young designer?

I don't know how long was spent on the new logo or how many people worked on it but I'm really not that impressed with it.  I know that most projects are client driven, we have to design something that they want, so we base the design on the information that they give us.  So maybe I'm being a little harsh on the Agency in question, somebody at Salford University has picked that logo out, it was probably the same numpty who decided to use London Agency.

I've got a bit of a love hate relationship with Salford University, I actually went, I did a Foundation course in 1998/99 and then went onto to my HND in Graphic Design in 1999/2001.  My time there was a bit up and down.  I really enjoyed the Foundation course but my time on the HND course was incredibly frustrating. I was actually accredited to go on the Graphic Design Degree course, I was given a place on it without having to apply as my work (and that of a couple of other students) on the Foundation Course was considered to good enough to secure a place.  But shortly before the application deadline we were told that we would have to interview and they turned all of us down.  We subsequently found out that an accredited Foundation course student from the previous year had performed badly on the course and dropped out, so they basically tarred us all with the same brush, which was ridiculous.  They turned down some very talented designers, some of which went onto the degree course at Manchester University.  I actually remember a senior guy from the Art & Design department at Salford, walking round our end of year show, complimenting us on our work... and he couldn't believe that not one of us had been accepted onto the Salford Degree course, it really did stink!  I ended up applying for the HND course at Salford, which I got on too but it didn't turn out to be a good decision.  The first year wasn't great, I didn't really like the course but I stuck with it, but in the second year they changed the course leader, he only last about a month and then for about three or four months they never replaced him - it was unbelievable!  They eventually brought in a part-time tutor to run the course but it was too little too late, the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth and I ended up leaving after my HND when really I probably should have stayed on for two years to do the Degree course as well but I just had to get out of there!

I came away from there wondering what I'd got from the whole experience and to be honest it wasn't much, I learnt more in one week working alongside a freelance designer on a work placement than I ever did on the course.  The University felt like one big money making machine, everything cost money, it was expensive to park, expensive to eat, you had to pay for paper, for photocopying... you name it.  I don't know what my tuition fee went towards because we didn't have a tutor!

Brilliant Business Cards

Look and Feel The Business with our Beautifully Designed, 

Cost Effective Brilliant Business Cards

Do you need new business cards designing, 

does your existing card need to be updated (and redesigned) 

or are you running low on stock and need more cards printing.  

If any of these apply to you then give us shout as we can help!

We have some great print deals on at the minute, 

so please get in touch for more information.

Thanks - Jamie

January's Newsletter!!!

Want a copy, want to be on our mailing list?  

Then just send your email address to jme_design@mac.com

and mail you a copy over

Cheers

LOVELY LEAFLETS

Promote your business with one our Lovely Leaflets!

For only £160 we'll Design & Print you a 1000 Custom Designed, 

Original and Distinctive A5 Double-Sided Leaflets.

They really are a great way to effectively promote and advertise your business, 

your products and your services.

So please get in touch for more details, offer is on until the end of February 2012

Cheers

Jamie

jme_design@mac.com

07736 874 675

All The Best For 2012 From Jme Graphic Design

I hope you had a great time over Christmas and the New Year, and now feel suitably rested and ready for what will hopefully be a busy and successful year ahead for all of us!

2011 was a good year for us, of course it had its up and downs but in general it was pretty decent… we gained quite a few new clients and produced some really exciting work.  And to be honest I actually feel quite proud (and relieved) that we have managed to survive another turbulent year because it is a very tough out there and bigger businesses than ourselves have failed.

2012 is already looking like it might be our busiest so far, we’ve already got quite a bit of work on for January and some really interesting projects lined up for the next few months.  But here at Jme Graphic Design we’re hungry for more, we want more new clients and much more work, so we’re plotting our very own promotional campaigns and starting next week we will be advertising our products and services.  So keep an eye out for our Emails, Blogs and Newletters for some Great Deals and Special Offers!

If you are planning any marketing or promotional campaigns that require any Graphic Design, Web Design or Printing this year for your business and would like to discuss them with me then please do get in touch, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for your time.

Jamie

Y A W N

Sorry.... i'm feeling a bit tired at the minute... I should really be asleep now but I've just got too much running round my head. So here I am, half awake, half asleep.... Yawn

I know I haven't blogged for ages, I just haven't really has the time... I know that's a pretty poor excuse but I have just found it incredibly hard recently juggling work (and all the associated crap you get with working for yourself) with everything else... such as a 9 month old baby, an over excited boxerdog and getting organised for Christmas. I think I've failed miserably by the way - I'm definitely not organised for Christmas!

Work has been good recently, I've been very busy and i've got a couple of good new clients. I think at the minute I've got a catalogue job on, a website, a flyer and some business stationery work... so it's looking like I might be busy right up to Christmas and possibly over it!

I really want to push on in the New Year and really establish the business... I thing its progressed quite steadily over the last year or so and hopefully fingers crossed it can carry on in the right direction. I want more clients and more work next year, so I will be doing much more marketing.

I very nearly wrote a post a few weeks back that would have been a bit of a moan and a grumble from myself about some of the negative sides of working for yourself. But thankfully I didn't... the thing is, you see I've finally learnt that you can't dwell on things, you have to develop a thick skin and sometimes bite your tongue, smile and move on... for every pain in the arse, bad client there a couple of really great clients who your happy to go the extra mile for, who appreciate your work and are happy to pay for it.

Anyway grumble over, I'm not going to go into detail and tell you about what very nearly triggered my rant... I'll save it for another day!

Night all

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Midfield General

So on the day Sir Alex is given the honor of having the North Stand named after him in  recognition of his 25 years service at Old Trafford, I couldn't help thinking that a better gift might have been a couple of new central midfielders. 


The performance against Sunderland was a slight improvement but I still came away feeling pretty disappointed at what I'd seen.  United are playing with a real lack of confidence, there's no creativity, we just don't make as many chances as we used to...  its not enjoyable to watch.


Personally I think the problem is in midfield, that's certainly the long term problem anyway - I know that United will start playing better over the next few weeks, they will start winning games more convincingly and that certain player will get there confidence back but we definitely need to invest in our midfield.


To be honest we probably need a couple of midfielders - I think we need a specialist defensive midfielder and a creative playmaker, a real 'Midfield General' that can dictate play. I remember when we bought Roy Keane, we already had Paul Ince, Nicky Butt and Bryan Robson at the club - thats four world class defensive/all round midfield players, not to mention the creative midfield players that we also had at the club.


The current squad doesn't have that strength in midfield, there are only really two that i'm happy with... I like Darren Fletcher, I think hes good player, he covers a lot of ground, works hard, can tackle and pass.  Tom Cleverley looks the part when he is fit, I think he could become a special player for us but he's still quite young.  I've given up on Anderson - he's just so inconsistent, there might be a great player hiding in there somewhere but how long do we have to wait.  He's been here a long time now and he should be playing at consistent level but I think he's been shocking recently.  The other so called 'Midfielder' is Carrick - I don't know what's gone wrong with him, but I think he's awful - there's no passion, no running, he can't tackle, he gives the ball away all the time, he isn't a goal threat - I don't rate him!


Hopefully, fingers crossed we'll do a bit of shopping in January and bring in a couple of players.

Stop Limping!

Quick update on 'Weak Knees Ryan' - he's still limping.  I think he's doing it out of habit, he's just very reluctant to use his bad leg, so when I take him out he limps all the way down the road!

I can get him to stop limping by threatening to take him home, I turn around and start walking back towards the house and then he pulls the lead and put his bad leg down so that its harder for me to drag him home.  We can then start walking normally for a bit but the limp always come back.  I hope its just a habit and I hope that eventually he will start to walk normally.  We have another appointment in a couple of weeks, so fingers crossed he's still on course!

It's Time To Leave The Party

So late last night, shortly before I collapsed into my bed I noticed a few people on Twitter and Facebook mention that REM had decided to split.  Its one of those things that kind of makes you feel both sad and happy, it makes you feel sad if like me your a fan of the band but also it kind of instantly takes you back to the reason you why you really like a band, you start to remember certain records and concerts.  So it was quite nice to go to bed dreaming of watching REM at Glastonbury, many years ago.


When I heard last night that they had split up I guessed that they must have been going for at least 30 years and today after reading an article or two I see that I was right... 31 years to be precise.  They've been going almost as long as me.  I know a lot of people probably only know them from the mid nineties where they had some massive records but I actually really like their early stuff - definitely worth a listen.