Here’s a scary thought: it’s been 10 years since we celebrated the Millennium. I know, I know, it scared us too when we thought about that. It makes you wonder just what we have all done in that time, doesn’t it?

Well, we have to say that Design Inc has had a memorable ten years. Ten years ago, the company comprised of:

• one member of staff
• five small clients
• a cheap computer
• a fax machine
• a pantone book
• a strong self-belief

Today, the self-belief is still very much present but the company is so different with a number of design awards in our trophy cabinet, some very talented designers, marketers & programmers, a digital design studio, a web division, many fantastic clients and a clear idea of the direction in which we are heading for the next ten years.

Inevitably, things will continue to change within our industry during the next decade;

New communication tools will come, some will go (our fax machine has not delivered a message in the last 4 years!). We expect to see websites become easier for the individual to build themselves, but new search engines will make SEO techniques invaluable.

Online printing tools like blurb, and digital print machines will sadly reduce the number of traditional litho printers.

Advertising media will continue to diversify as more and more programmes & films are watched over the internet and mobile phones.

Design Inc are ready for all these changes and more. Of course, we don’t know all the changes that will happen in the next ten years, but we relish the opportunity to embrace them, whatever they may be.

So, as we say goodbye to the noughties and slip quietly into 2010, perhaps we should spend the next few moments reminiscing about the past ten years. This is what we have all been talking about during those years:

Afghanistan, Al Quaeda, Basra, Beyonce, Big Brother, Blogging, BNP, bonuses, Broadband, carbon-offsetting, Da Vinci, dead soldiers, Digital, Dubai, Dubya, Ebay, Eminem, Enron, Euro, expenses, Facebook, global warming, Hadron Collider, Hannah Montana, Harry Potter, High Definition, High School Musical, Hurricane Katrina, ice caps, iPhone, iPod, Iraq, Jacko, Leona, Lewis, Lord of the Rings, Maddy McCann, Mars Exploration, megapixels, New Orleans, 9/11, Obama, reality tv, Recession, renewable energy, oligarches, open source, Rooney, scandals, smoking ban, space tourism, Take That, Terrorism, Tiger Woods, tsunami, Twitter, World of Warcraft, World Trade Centre, YouTube

If you think I have left anything out (and I am sure I have), please add yours into the comments area below.

Are you competing in 2012?

The London Olympics and Paralympics are an outstanding opportunity for UK based entrepreneurs to outperform their own personal best and go for their own business ‘gold’.

And Design Inc are playing our part too. We have helped a number of our customers pitch for and win government and public sector contracts through the creation of impressive bid proposals and associated promotional literature. Other companies are already working with us in the planning of new company initiatives & product launches.

Creating compelling tender documents and product launch material has always been one of Design Inc’s main strengths. So if your company is planning to launch a product or service let the creative team at Design Inc help you make it an outstanding success.

• Proposals, branded tender documents, prospectuses & business plans
• Product and service launches – Marketing guidance, PR, photoshoots & advertising
• Product illustration, visualisation & packaging
• Advertising campaigns
• Signage & Poster Design and Print
• Tender stationery (business cards & digital brochures)
• Promotional Brochures, Flyers & Leaflets
• Commercial and eCommerce Website launch & e-marketing campaigns
• Even smaller details such as ceremonial scissors

Team GB athletes are already in training & planning for their future. Shouldn’t you be too?

Combining image, sound and movement is proven to emotionally engage an audience – if you can also provide clarity of information for your users to act upon – then you have both hearts and minds covered.

It’s probably the ambition of every company to have dynamic movement on their website. Whilst a static picture does paint a thousand words – vastly more users can be entertained by moving images and will sit through an informative presentation rather than reading paragraphs of text to get the same message.

A live company introduction on your home page, an interview with a key team member, or viral video will all add to the ‘depth’ of your service and product message.

Movement or animation doesn’t have to have prohibitive associated costs. If a conceptually strong message is developed – then the related animation, flash and production fees can be quite low.

An actual video presentation involving scripting, actors, filming, and editing is of course a higher cost, but used in the right way and place, the returns can be higher. Video created for your website can easily be used virally and linked to YouTube and other social media networks, for further promotional, accessibility and search engine optimisation benefits.

The technology is there to be used, so what are you waiting for?

Please view one of our video presentation examples.