Not on the High Street
I’m very pleased to announce that Wink Design has partnered with Not On The High Street and the brand sparkly new Wink Design Storefront launched at the beginning of June!
The Wink Design notonthehighstreet.com shop is currently stocking a range of beautiful prints, many of which can be personalised. There are also products exclusive to www.notonthehighstreet.com - so you won’t find them anywhere else! Visit the Wink Design Storefront here: www.notonthehighstreet.com/winkdesign
Notonthehighstreet.com is an online marketplace representing over 2000 small, independent businesses and designers in the UK - and Wink is very proud to be a part of it!
Sub-standard stationery? It could cost you £1000 or more!
Having a smart letterhead is an important part of how you market your business, giving your company a professional image. But just having a fancy logo and good-looking stationery isn’t enough. It’s recently been reported that Companies House is now taking a harder line with companies that don’t meet the legal requirements with respect to their business stationery. So much so that some companies may even face a fine or prosecution.
To give you a concise run-down of what is required, I’ve pulled together the information that every business owner needs to know.
Letters
The regulation set down by Companies House say that there are four main things your company’s letters must show:
1. The company’s registered name. This isn’t the trading name of the company but the name as it appears on the certificate of incorporation, including the word ‘Limited’ or ‘Ltd’ as it appears on the certificate. However, if you have a trading name then it’s absolutely fine for it to be shown prominently, with your registered name in small print (but it must be legible)!
2. The registered office address. This MUST be shown and must say that it is your registered address. If you trade from one address and your company is registered at another, for example, your accountant’s office, you should show both addresses.
3. The company registration number.
4. Whether your company is registered in England, England & Wales, or Scotland. If you’re not sure, this information will be shown on your certificate of incorporation. Welsh companies may use ‘Cynfngedig’ instead of ‘Limited’ but must still state in English that they are a registered company.
Emails
These regulations also apply to any communications your company sends in email form, so it’s a good idea to set up a standard template containing the required information so that everyone who sends company emails may use it.
Company documents
Other documents such as invoices, order forms and compliment slips don’t need to show all the information required on emails and letters, just the company’s registered name is enough, but be warned – if you use a compliment slip as a substitute letterhead, or include any brief communications on it, this will count as a letter and therefore the rules mentioned above will apply!
It’s a criminal offence to ignore these business stationery rules, and directors and their companies can be prosecuted if they don’t comply. If the company is prosecuted, fines of up to £1000 can be levied - and if the letterheads aren’t amended to show the right details, a further fine of £100 can be imposed for every day that passes before the stationery is corrected.
The good news is that Companies House will offer advice and a warning to any companies falling short of the regulations before considering a prosecution – so you should have time to get your house in order! But why risk it? Make sure your letterheads, company stationery and email templates are showing the correct details now.
Wink Design offers a letterhead and company stationery design service as well as a re-design service for existing stationery, so if you’re looking to update your business documents why not contact me to discuss.
Prices start at just £40 for Business Card design. Visit the One Stop Design Shop now!
Christmas Competition Winners
Jane Fielding and Charlotte Greenwood!
Congratulations to Jane, who wins a fabulous A3 ‘NOEL’ Print, and a £10 voucher to spend in our Etsy shop, and to Charlotte, who wins a £5 voucher to spend in our Etsy shop!
Winners will be notified by email shortly.
Thank you to everyone who entered. Keep your eyes peeled for our next competition - coming soon!
Free Printable Xmas Thank You Letter
Please feel free to share the link
To download the printable file,
right click (or ctrl click) on the link below
named: ‘xmasthankyou’,
then choose ‘save linked file as’
xmasthankyou
If you like this, please visit our Etsy shop see our range of beautiful and unique Art Prints and cards
‘Like’ Wink Design on Facebook to keep up to date with us and hear more about forthcoming free printables!
Free Printable 'Dear Santa' Letter Colouring Sheet!
Christmas time will soon be here, and of course, Santa needs to know what to pack into his sleigh!
Here’s a letter to Santa for your child to colour and fill in all the very important details about what
they would like Santa to bring them.
To download the printable file,
right click (or ctrl click) on the link below
named: ‘dearsantaletter’,
then choose ‘save linked file as’
NEW SHOP NOW OPEN!
Oooo! Just look at the Christmassy loveliness!
We spent a delightful morning at the Tina Bolton Photography studio this week, photographing our prints for display in the ‘designed by wink’ Etsy shop and we’re over the moon with the results of the photoshoot.
A4 Camper Van Print - £15
A4 ‘Put your feet up’ Tea Print - £10
A4 Personalised Owl Print - £15
A3 Graphic ‘NOEL’ Christmas Print - £20
These are just a few of the lovely prints we have for sale, there are lots more in the shop - why not go and have a look?
Setting up the shots was a lot of fun, and we must say a big thank you to Tina for providing all the props. We think they really help to enhance the prints. Here are some images we took when we were setting up the shots:
Visit the shop now! More unique, beautifully designed items are being added regularly. And remember that we also take commissions to design personalised prints. They make fantastic gifts and what’s more, you won’t see them on the High Street!
A Birthday To Do List
I think it’s a lot of fun (especially the bit about waving your hands in the air like you just don’t care...)!
If you have a forthcoming special event, why not commission Wink to make a card or print - and put a smile on your favourite person’s face
Wink Summer Special
Do you need a logo?
Does your current logo need a refresh?
Fancy some shiny new Business Cards?
How about some Letterheads?
To launch our new One Stop Design Shop, we’re currently running a brilliant SUMMER SPECIAL offer - with a whopping 25% off our design packages!
Our custom logo design package now starts at only £112.50, so there’s never been a better time to commission a new logo, business card or letterhead. We can even arrange print and delivery of your new business cards and letterheads... so what are you waiting for? Why not start the ball rolling and visit our Design Shop now!
>> Click here to read more about our packages, what you get, and how our design process works...
Pink Elephants
Pink Elephants? Not these sort!
Dumbo (c) Disney, 1941
We thought that an inspirational quote would add a lovely touch to the gift, and we found one that fitted the bill perfectly. Our client was over the moon with their print which will soon be gracing the wall of a special little girl’s nursery. What a lovely unique gift to celebrate a special occasion!
Special occasion coming up? Are you stuck for a gift? Why not commission Wink to design something unique for you? A personal gift always brings a smile to the recipient’s face and is sure to bring back happy memories whenever they look at it. Contact us and find out what we can do for you!
An Apple for the Teacher
Lino cutting tool and blades
Linocut printmaking dates back to the turn of the century when was originally used to print wallpapers. In later years artists such as Matisse, Picasso and Escher all used linocuts, which helped to establish it as a professional print medium. Using a sheet of linoleum, sharp knives and special v-shaped chisels are used to gouge the surface, leaving raised areas onto which ink is placed and a print can be made by pressing the linocut onto a sheet of paper.
As the end of the school term approaches I decided to cut a print that could be used as a design for a Teacher’s Thank You card. In the picture below you can see the linocuts I made and their mirror-image prints on the paper. Visit the shop so see the finished card, made using the original paper print combined with contemporary digital methods.
A new look website for Wink Design!
Welcome to Wink’s new look website!
* Trumpet Fanfare *
We’ve just celebrated our first birthday (woohooo!) and what better way to mark the occasion than with a fabulous new website?! We think the new look is great, and more in keeping with our friendly approach.
One of the most exciting features is our NEW SHOP where you can purchase all manner of lovely stuff, from personalised posters and cards, to bespoke artwork. Why not go and have a browse..?
A Happy Customer
Last week I was contacted by a client who was struggling to find a special birthday present for her very discerning best friend. She thought a print would be a good idea but wanted something personal to them both, which reflected their strong friendship even though they live some distance away from each other. There was a very tight deadline of less than a week to design, print and post the item, so I set to work immediately.
After working through a few different ideas, using the quote ‘The Road to a Friend’s House is Never Long’ I devised a design using the actual route between their houses in Manchester and York. I’m happy to say the client was over the moon with the final result!
The client had the print framed; here’s her photograph of the finished piece:
And here are her thoughts on the whole experience:
“I recently ordered a Bespoke A4 print from Wink Design as a birthday gift for one of those “hard to buy for” friends! The process was extremely simple – I supplied Wink Design with a rough outline as to what my basic requirements were for the print, they then emailed me back the same day with a proof giving clear indications as to prices for the print, postage & packing. The whole process took two days from initiation to receiving my print and I was elated with the results.
I have been thrilled with the prompt, efficient service I have received. I felt the print was excellent value for money for a bespoke item and would not hesitate in using Wink Design for any future graphic design requirements I may have.”
All in all a very happy customer! We like those very much
Looking for an unusual personal gift? Would you like to commission a bespoke print? Contact us now
The Art of Design: Update
‘Inspired by the colours, passion, vitality and creativity of Latin American culture and contemporary artists, Tempo Gallery works to discover and promote artists from across Latin American and the Caribbean.’
Here’s the logo we designed for them. We wanted to bring the passion and colour of Latin America into the design and we think we’ve hit the nail on the head with this hand-drawn dynamic logo. And we’re happy to say that Tempo were very pleased with the results!
Exhibition Graphics
Working in such a large scale was quite challenging, however the results were stunning (thanks to the great images provided by Tina Bolton of course). The stand was one of the biggest at the exhibition and the magnificent graphics helped it to stand head and shoulders above the rest! Tina and her team were inundated with mums, dads and parents-to-be throughout the day, resulting in an exhausting but very enjoyable and successful exhibition.
Shell Scheme panel artwork layout:
The following photographs taken whilst setting up the stand at the beginning of the day. As you can see there was a lot of unpacking and organising to do!
Flash Bang, What A Picture!
The Art of Design
Absolute Design
Expertly run by Paula Battle and Katie England, Absolute you provide a range of business support solutions to small businesses needing extra resource or expertise. Wink were asked to work on a logo for the new company, as well as to create business cards and a company letterhead. Their brief was to design a look for the company branding which was fresh, clean and contemporary, whilst also reflecting on the professional and supportive nature of their business. It also had to be adaptable as an avatar for use with social media. Adapting the letters A and Y, Wink created a logo which gives a sense of individual contact and support.
Merry Winkmas!
Ten of the Best!
Wink has recently created a logo for the fabulous new website The Ten Best. As The Ten Best is ‘The Essential Guide to the Best of Everything’ it seemed obvious that Wink was chosen to design their identity!
Our brief was to create a very stylish, high-end looking logo to fit in with the identity of The Ten Best. It also had to be adaptable for use as a Twitter avatar and branding for print & web. The client liked the way that glossy fashion magazines such as Vogue and Glamour simply use a font to create their brand, with no added graphics, so Wink created a typographic logo with a distinctive twist based on the fact that each of the articles on the Ten Best website would include ten items.
Rock and Roll
Over the past few weeks we’ve been working with an exciting new specialist Social Media Marketing Agency, Rock & Roll Babyworld, run by PR whizz Louise Harris.
Our brief was to create a logo for the new company which would reflect both Louise’s music industry background (her past campaigns have included work for major labels such as Sony, Universal and Warner) while also appealing to the ‘Mummy Blogging’ community; an ever-expanding social media group who she will also be working alongside.
We worked with Louise to produce the final logo and also created business cards and other company stationery for her. We were also pleased to liaise with the lovely blog design expert Liz Grayson at Violet Posy who was working on Rock & Roll Babyworld’s site.
We’re looking forward to watching Rock & Roll Babyworld rock the PR world!
Making a Big Statement
