http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/ Hello... this is the Rubber Cheese blog. This is where we like to post our rants, show you something amazing and tell you all the latest news from Rubber Cheese headquarters! en info@rubbercheese.com Copyright 2009 2009-12-16T15:17:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/creative-designer-wanted/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/creative-designer-wanted/#When:15:17:00Z Rubber Cheese are looking for a fresh thinking designer to join the team!Creative Designer (permanent contract) We are a creative graphic and web design agency based in a beautiful rural setting right on the edge of Epping Forest in Essex. We are looking for a fresh thinking designer to join the team. You will need a proven track record in delivering creative solutions for front-end web design, corporate identities and print based projects. You will also have relevant industry experience and possess an ability to laugh at yourself! An excellent knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite is essential and you must show a keen interest in the digital marketing arena. A full driving licence and your own transport will be essential due to the location of our offices. We regret that only successful candidates will be contacted. Salary: £18 - £20k+ (dependent on experience) Please email a copy of your CV and samples of your work to: We will not consider CVs that are not accompanied by relevant work examples. NO AGENCIES PLEASE Personal 2009-12-16T15:17:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/12-tips-for-networking/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/12-tips-for-networking/#When:17:33:00Z Andy Lopata, labeled ‘Mr Network’ by The Sun, gives us his 12 top tips for successful networkingAndy Lopata is one of the UK’s leading business networking strategists. Andy who is a good friend and client of Rubber Cheese, has very kindly written us a guest blog post: 12 Quick Tips to Help you with Networking 1. Approach If you see someone standing at a networking event on their own, they will probably be very grateful if you were to approach them and introduce yourself. After all, wouldn’t you? The chances are that they have not come to a networking event for solitude! 2. Help Others Always look first to see how you can help others rather than how they can help you. Becoming known as a centre of influence, someone who is worth knowing, can be an invaluable asset. 3. Build Relationships Pursue the relationship and not the sale. If you can find one or two people at each event you attend who will eventually become an integral part of your network and champion your business, it will have been well worth the time and effort. 4. Make Notes Don’t worry if you haven’t got your business cards ready; go to the event anyway. When you have a good, positive conversation and you want to follow up, make sure that you get the other person’s card. You are then in control of the conversation. Write notes on the back; where you met, what you said, how you agreed to move forward, so that you can refresh your mind when you are back in your office. 5. Bring People Together When listening for others, always have your network in the back of your mind and be proactively thinking about how you can bring people together 6. Be Interested Always remember, people are interested in people who are interested in them (Dale Carnegie) 7. Conversation “What do you do?” is the networking equivalent of “Do you come here often?”! Most people aren’t interested in the answer when they first meet you. Talk about something of interest to both of you and save the work conversation for when you are interested in the response, because you want to help that person. 8. Be Confident to Show Your Ability If you have tangible achievements to share, don’t be afraid to tell people. We sometimes feel nervous about appearing boastful but, if you can demonstrate you excellence in your field, you should be telling people. If we want people to help us get to where we want to be we need them to feel confident in our ability to deliver. 9. Look for Body Language You can look at the body language of people and groups when deciding who to join in conversation. Are they looking relaxed or intense? Do they look like they are discussing general topics or business? Is there room for you to join the conversation naturally, or is the group closed to you, denying you natural eye contact? 10. Research the Network Don’t join a business network without understanding what is required from you to ensure achieve your goals from membership, and knowing that you can, and will, meet those commitments. 11. Stay in touch Unless you have agreed otherwise, in the first instance follow up by email. Drop a one or two line email confirming where you met and, if appropriate, the agreed follow up. Most people don’t want to receive unsolicited email attachments or be subscribed to e-zines without their permission, so keep it simple and don’t try to sell. You can always ask for subsequent permission to add people to your regular mailing list. 12. Set Targets Don’t expect immediate results. Set targets for success, continually monitor where new introductions and new business comes from and review the results on a regular basis. Andy Lopata Labeled ‘Mr Network’ by The Sun, Andy Lopata has been described by the Financial Times as one of Europe’s leading business networking strategists. The co-author of two books on networking, Andy is a featured columnist for the US magazine ‘The National Networker’ and writes for a number of UK publications, as well as being quoted in national press, including The Sunday Times and The Guardian. You can read more of Andy’s thoughts, and subscribe to his fortnightly networking tips e-zine, at www.lopata.co.uk Networking 2009-07-27T17:33:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/logo-lounge-master-series/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/logo-lounge-master-series/#When:15:58:00Z Four logos created by Rubber Cheese have been selected to be in the new LogoLounge Master Library Series bookRubber Cheese have received word this week that four of our logos will appear in a LogoLounge project, “Animals and Mythology”, the second book in the new Master Library series. What is the Master Library series? Like the existing (and continuing) LogoLounge book series, the new Master Library books will bring you exemplary logo design work from creatives from around the world. Each book in the Master Library series will focus on a very specific logo design category: Initials and Crests Animals and Mythology Typography People Shapes and Symbols Nature and Food Arts and Culture As with Rockport’s other books on logos, this series has the same inspirational draw, featuring over 3,000 logos. Constantly looking for fresh inspiration, designers can use this new series to take a more focused look at core logo applications. The Animals and Mythology book will be published in the next year. It will be an honor to be part of it! Logo Design, Personal 2009-07-14T15:58:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/a-z-of-web-design-jargon/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/a-z-of-web-design-jargon/#When:11:11:00Z Read the guide to web design industry jargon. A tool to help you understand what web designers are talking about!The peeps at Smashing Magazine have very kindly compiled a comprehensive list of web design jargon. The list is ideal for anyone starting out in web design, or for anyone who is looking to have a new website designed. Some of the technical terms and acronyms that web designers use can be very confusing for anyone, so the list is very handy indeed! In addition, Smashing Magazine have also provided resources for each term for more in-depth information. So if you don’t know your Front-End from your Plug-In, then this list is ideal. Here are some of the web design terms in more explaination: Breadcrumb Breadcrumbs are the bit of navigation elements that generally appear near the top of a give web page that show you the pages and subpages the appear before the page you’re on. For examples, on a blog, the breadcrumbs might look something like: Home > Category > Year > Month > Post (or they might be a lot simpler that that). The breadcrumbs term comes from the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel.” CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) Also referred to simply as CSS, Cascading Style Sheets are used to define the look and feel of a web site outside of the actual HTML file(s) of the site. In recent years, CSS has replaced tables and other HTML-based methods for formatting and laying out websites. The benefits to using CSS are many, but some of the most important are the simplification of a site’s HTML files (which can actually increase search engine rankings) and the ability to completely change the style of a site by changing just one file, without having to make changes to content. Favicon Favicons are tiny (generally 16×16 pixels, though some are 32×32 pixels), customizable icons displayed in the web address bar in most browsers next to the web address. They’re either 8-bit or 24-bit in color depth and are saved in either .ico, .gif or .png file formats. HTML Stands for Hypertext Markup Language. It’s the primary language used to write web pages. HTML is primarily intended as a way to provide content on websites (with CSS handling the layout and stylistic options), though it can also be used to determine how that content is displayed. Usability Usability refers to how easy it is for a visitor to your site to use your site in its intended manner. In other words, are navigation, content, images, and any interactive elements easy to use, functioning the way they were intended, and that your intended target visitor will not need any special training in order to use your site. To see the full list: A-Z list of Web Design Industry Jargon click here If you have any other web design terms that your not sure about, please let us know and we’ll try our best to give you a non technical explanation. Web Design, Web Development 2009-06-10T11:11:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/domain-names/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/domain-names/#When:11:01:00Z Choosing the right domain name for your companyI read this very interesting blog post on the startups website about choosing the right domain name for your company. They mention a very important acronym that’s worth remembering the next time you are deciding on what to call your website; RAIL R - Recall How easy is it to recall the name? A - Aesthetics How does the name look? How will it look on business cards and company literature? I - Impressions First impressions are crucial, so choose your name carefully L - Length Web addresses are limited to the 26 letters of the English alphabet, ten numerals and a hyphen - 37 characters in all. When picking a name, less is more. A short name is preferable to a long one. Click Here to read the full article Web Design, Web Development 2009-06-08T11:01:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/students-design-cheese-packs-of-the-future/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/students-design-cheese-packs-of-the-future/#When:14:49:00Z Combinging our 3 favourite things. Design, Packaging & Cheese!The British Cheese Board has challenged Central Saint Martins students to design the cheese packaging of the future. The winning pack holds a portion of cheese in a ‘rucksack’ on a piece of fruit. Designed by 22-year-old Pauline Jaramillo from France, it is called The Hug. “The purpose of the ‘Cheese Futures’ project was to challenge the next generation of designers to think about cheese packaging in a new way, and the concepts delivered did not disappoint,” said British Cheese Board secretary Nigel White. He added that the commercial viability of the winning and runner-up designs was now being considered by a number of packaging firms and cheese producers. The competition was judged by PFM Packaging, Pemberton & Whitefoord Design, North Downs Dairy and the British Cheese Board. We think this design is just cheese-tastic! You can read the full story on Packaging News. Packaging, We Love 2009-05-29T14:49:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/webby-award-winners-announced/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/webby-award-winners-announced/#When:14:27:00Z The 13 Annual Webby Awards has finally announced the winners and losers for 2009With over 70 categories, the Webby Awards Winners, Nominees and Honorees include beautiful websites, interactive websites, and sites that excel in usability and functionality. The very very best websites however, have all these characteristics. The Webby Awards The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996 during the Web’s infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities. Web Design 2009-05-05T14:27:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/the-wrongstar-society-play-on-the-bbc/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/the-wrongstar-society-play-on-the-bbc/#When:07:45:00Z The Wrongstars are performing a guest mix on the BBC Asian NetworkClient and friend of Rubber Cheese; the Wrongstar Society, will be performing a guest mix on Bobby Friction’s radio show on Thursday night. You can listen to the show from 10pm - 1am on the BBC Asian Network. Click here to view the shows website To hear more of the Wrongstars visit their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/the_wrongstars Personal 2009-05-01T07:45:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/tips-to-help-your-website-convert/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/tips-to-help-your-website-convert/#When:08:19:00Z Design to Sell: Here are 15 Useful Tips to Help Your Website Increase Sales!I read 2 very interesting articles in smashing magazine this week, about converting your website into a selling tool. A good looking website may help with making your brand stronger, but good looks alone aren’t enough to sell the products or services that you offer. For that, you need to introduce the element of marketing. The 15 points covered include: 1. Subliminal Suggestion 2. Prevent Choice Paralysis 3. Show The Product 4. Let People Try It 5. AIDA 6. Guide attention 7. Always Provide Next Actions 8. The Gutenberg rule 9. A/B Testing 10. Footnotes: The Good and the Bad Ones 11. Testimonials 12. Scannable Feature Lists 13. Streamline The Sign-Up Process 14. White Space Is Not Lost Space 15. Set your type properly To read these very helpful articles in full detail: Click here for the first article Click here for second article I hope you enjoy! Marketing, Web Design, Web Development 2009-04-24T08:19:00+00:00 http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/new-client-the-meadows-shopping-centre/ http://www.rubbercheese.com/blog/comments/new-client-the-meadows-shopping-centre/#When:09:19:00Z Rubber Cheese have been appointed as the new creative team for The Meadows Shopping Centre in ChelmsfordProperty group Lend Lease Retail has brought in Rubber Cheese to deliver ad campaigns for the next 12 months. Lend Lease Retail operates a number of prime shopping centres throughout the UK including The Meadows in Chelmsford Essex and Bluewater. Rubber Cheese won the business following a five-way pitch. Sarah Blowers, Marketing and Commercialisation Manager at Meadows said: “The Meadows was looking for someone to work as part of the team who would share and develop the vision for the future of The Meadows.  As soon as we met Kelly and Paul we knew we had found what we were looking for.  Their insight and ability is astounding and we are really excited about continuing to work together.” Rubber Cheese will work alongside the in-house Marketing team on its yearly marketing program. Kelly Molson, managing director at Rubber Cheese commented; “We’re seeing some tough times ahead in the Retail sector. It’s now that good creative campaigns can really help drive sales and strengthen brands.” Personal 2009-04-21T09:19:00+00:00