“The internet is as vital as water and gas”, wrote Gordon Brown today in an article for The Times. In the article, which preceded today’s Digital Britain report, the Prime Minister outlined the government’s plans for investment into the internet.

The Prime Minister stated, “Just as the bridges, roads and railways built in the 19th century were the foundations of the Industrial Revolution that helped Britain to become the workshop of the world, so investment now in the information and communications industries can underpin our emergence from recession to recovery and cement the UK's position as a global economic powerhouse.”

So, are you making the most of the web now? Talk to us about the ways your business can use the web to bring in business, lower costs and raise your profile.

To read the article by Gordon Brown, go to:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6506136.ece

To read the Digital Britain report, go to:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/broadcasting/5631.aspx

A new website for the office interior specialists One Workplayce has recently gone live giving them a strong and stylish presence on the web. One Workplayce (work-PLAY-ce) specialise in creating well designed and functional office spaces, with the motto “Where an office is more than just four walls”.

Beaver Design created the website based on strong and clear brand guidelines. The new site provides One Workplayce a distinct web presence and company portfolio for customers to find out about them and what they do. Clean and stylish imagery, with well designed and subtle hightlights make this site functional and memorable.

For more information about One Workplayce and to view the website, please go to:
www.oneworkplayce.com

This month, we looked at how important it is to recognise and use your brand when creating a web presence.

Download your copy of our article from Axis Magazine (1MB) >

A website should be an extension of your brand, not a separate part of it. It should fit with your other company material and create a complete picture for your customers and prospects.

A logo and a slogan are usually a good way to encapsulate a company and what they stand for. From there you should think about the design of the brand; what are you trying to say? Your company isn’t just a purveyor of goods and services. You are different from the competition and you should make that distinction clear.

Where is the brand?

The brand is an intangible thing and exists in the minds of your customers. How it gets into their mind is through your marketing material and website. This means your brand can be seen in your business cards, brochures, letterhead paper, website, posters and so on. Your marketing material and website isn’t just trying to sell, it’s got to build the brand.

South Eastern Electrical saw the need to have a solid brand identity and called on us to design logos, brochures and a website for them. Take a look at our short case-study on South Eastern Electrical >

What can a brand do?

A strong brand adds value to what you sell. It’s doubtful that Nike trainers really cost £100 to make. Nike can charge that price in part because of the brand they have. People are willing to pay more for a brand.

Successful and established brands also have the flexibility to engage with their audience in different ways. Masterfoods renamed their Mars bars to “Believe” for a few months during the 2006 World Cup. They could do this because the Mars brand is so established, that even with a new name the product was easily recognised.

With a solid and well designed brand, you can give all your marketing a unified, complimentary and memorable identity.

View more of our articles for Axis Magazine >

Every week, new movies are released and shown throughout the country’s cinemas. This means that each week, new posters are needed to promote the current and upcoming movie releases. For Showcase Cinemas, this means digital posters – since throughout their Bristol, Leicester, Derby and Nottingham venues, they are using a complete digital signage system provided by Beaver Group.

The Beaver Group provide weekly designs and content for Showcase’s upcoming movies. The artwork comes direct from the movie distributors to Beaver Group, where we edit, animate and create the digital signage posters for the cinema.

Because the physical space a digital signage screen takes up can be reused again and again, more than just one poster can be shown on the same screen. This means that Beaver create the posters for smaller movies, as well as the big films from Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Disney and others.

For more information about the award-winning work for Showcase Cinemas, take a look at the case-study page >

If you work in the Hertfordshire area, then there's one event you don't want to miss. It's the Hertfordshire Business Independent, Business Expo. Here you'll be able to meet local businesses, see new products and innovations, as well as talk to people about your own needs.

Beaver Design will be there again this year giving visitors an opportunity to see our work and talk to us about what we can do for you.

It's being held at the Galleria, Hatfield on the 24th June 2009 and doors open at 10:00am. It's really not an event you want to miss, so come on down and we'll see you there!