Trivia Thursday - The evolution of Apple's advertising

Rumours have it that the new iPhone 5 will be unveiled on an event at Apple's headquarters this October. So what better reason is there to have a look at Apple's advertising of the last decades. Here's just a small selection.

1970's

1980's

1990's

 










2000 - present

 

[via Webdesignerdepot]

Let Mako put some real bite into your marketing!

Times are tough so you need to get smart!
You only get a few seconds to grab your customer’s attention, and in that time you need to communicate how your business stands out from the crowd. We have a huge range of design and marketing experience to help you convey your message in the right way.
So to help you make sure you are communicating in the right way, here are some of the most common marketing mistakes people make when putting their marketing materials together:

Common Marketing Mistakes

1. I want to save money so I will design my logo myself.
Do I really need to go into detail here? Enough said.

2. I have my own digital camera.
The kiss of death for any marketing material, fine for the kids on the beach or Spot the dog, but not for your product shots. Make sure all your images are taken by a professional photographer. This will reflect on your business big time.

3. What is it you’re selling again?
So make sure you explain clearly what you do, why you do it and why this is helpful to your customers. You’ll be surprised how often people leave this out!

4. Walk the talk.
If you sell eco friendly products, make sure that all your literature, packaging and delivery methods reflect the business and your culture, don’t use tons of bubble wrap just because it’s cheap!

5. Timeless doesn’t date.
Few things date faster than clothes, hairstyles and particularly mobiles,so make sure any imagery you use is up to date.

6. It’s a what?
You might be delirious that your trans re-enactor encribulator device, which uses twelve hydrophonic zorf valves and a reticular sub atomic particle decombobuliser to prevent unwanted polydermatcicosis, but really… do your customers care, or even understand what the heck you are going on about?

7. Where are you?
Sounds simple doesn’t it, but you would be surprised how many companies leave off their email and telephone numbers. Put them on everything you send out.

8. Yawn...It’s boring...
Cut out all the unnecessary flowery language, and make it interesting and more importantly make it relevant. This is where you need to employ a good copywriter.

9. I will use clip art, it will cost me less.
Argggh! So many people know what this is, and using it will really lessen the impact and cheapen your material. Step away from the clip art. Get a professional to create something.

10. First impressions count.
Make sure you get your material professionally printed. If you are selling luxury products, you can’t expect a leaflet printed at home to work for you.
Similarly if you are selling into a price sensitive market, over the top super glossy brochures aren’t going to work either.


When you are looking for a brand design, flyer, brochure, sign, web site, or any other type of marketing material, there is a mode of thinking that will place you far ahead of your competition because most people focus on the wrong priorities. The mode of thinking is simple, yet profound.

Simply ask yourself this question,
"Will this cause people to buy from me?"

Remember it costs just as much (and in some cases a whole lot more) to get good design as it does to get bad design.

So speak to the experts, to make sure you don’t just have the visual appeal, but also the marketing principles behind it to get the results you need.

Chiropractors by any other name

We created a new logo for our clients The Chiropractic Clinic in Garden Village Wrexham they are now called Back to Health.

They also have a open day coming up, they are the only Chiropractors to diagnose and treat correctly my bad back.

Fun Friday - Part 6: Signs that make you smile

I recently came across these images of signs and they really made me smile.

Who ever said signs have to be boring???

'Risqué' Eurobike

Attended the Eurobike Show with our clients Fibrax in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The client was very pleased with the new exhibition stand designed by Mako and the new look was welcomed by their European customers. It was great working with John O'Brien and Sarah Baines again. Also got to mention the lads from Weldtite who were great fun.

Fibrax stand at the Eurobike 2011

It was quite a change from the normal exhibitions I attended in the UK as my original intention was to keep 'abreast' of the latest innovations in the cycle industry. How apt this turned out to be...

I was a little bit embarrassed as a grown man taking this picture but....

Hardcore mountain bike downhillers

It didn't seem to matter which exhibition hall I was going to, my route always seemed to go by the Playboy stand. Don't know why!!!!

Only joking, went there twice.

PS: Stayed at the same lovely hotel as last year, the Helvetia, a swiss hotel situated right on the front of the harbour in Lindau.

View from a restaurant near by

Cool design above 30,000 ft

With the summer holidays nearly over a lot of us will have spent a significant amount of time in airplanes. And I have to admit I do like a nice, clean and comfy interior but am usually not too bothered about the outside of the plane. However, while in Germany for a weekend recently, I remembered some aircraft liveries that really stood out from the crowd. So here are some examples.

Let's start with a German design and what better way than the co-operation between German airline TUIfly and Haribo, as Haribo was founded in my hometown Bonn. What’s sweeter than this?

Another airline that really stands out with its funny liveries is South African low-fare airline Kulula. One of their airplanes, called "Flying 101", was entirely covered with details and funny remarks about the plane. The captain’s window is marked with the big cheese (”captain, my captain!”), the co-pilot’s window with co-captain (the other pilot on the PA system) and the jump seat is for wannabe pilots.

Photos - by Malcolm Nason

  In addition, the following descriptions of plane parts can be found:
    •    galley (cuppa anyone?)
    •    avionics (fancy navigation stuff)
    •    windows (best view in the world)
    •    wing #1 and #2
    •    engine #1 and #2 (26 000 pounds of thrust)
    •    emergency exit = throne zone (more leg room baby!)
    •    seats (better than taxi seats)
    •    some windows = kulula fans (the coolest peeps in the world)
    •    black box (which is actually orange)
    •    landing gear (comes standard with supa-fly mags)
    •    back door (no bribery/corruption here)
    •    tail (featuring an awesome logo)
    •    loo (or mile-high club initiation chamber)
    •    rudder (the steering thingy)
    •    stabiliser (the other steering thingy)
    •    a.p.u. (extra power when you need it most)
    •    galley (food, food, food, food…)
    •    boot space
    •    ZS-ZWP (OK-PIK) = secret agent code (aka plane’s registration)
    •    overhead cabins (VIP seating for your hand luggage)
    •    fuel tanks (the go-go juice)
    •    cargo door
    •    aircon ducts (not that kulula needs it… they’re already cool)
    •    front door (our door is always open…unless we’re at 41 000 feet)
    •    cockpit window = sun roof
    •    nose cone (radar, antenna, and a really big dish inside)


And here are three more examples of liveries Kulula has done in the past.

Obviously there are lots more of impressive aircraft liveries out there so maybe I'll spot some on the way to my holidays.