This is why I like ‘A List Apart‘ so much. It takes a serious approach to serious writing on the subject of web design. Seriously. In 2010, a chap called Ethan Marcotte wrote an article called Responsive Web Design. Maybe the guy should be more famous than he is because the piece was a total game changer. I know, we’re sick of hearing the term ‘responsive’ already, but I think what are now called ‘responsive websites’ will one day be called ‘websites’ as the approach becomes an embedded part of our workflow. Then the next buzzword will come along and  how we design for the digital world will change again.

This got me thinking about the changes we’ve seen in web design over the years as browsers, the canvases we work on, improve and allow us more creative freedom.

There used to be these things called web safe colours. There weren’t very many of them and we were restricted to them in our designs. There were web safe fonts too and there weren’t very many of those either. Now we can buy license to almost any font and use them on our sites. As our internet connections get faster, we can do more before we have to worry about loading times. Then there was the fall of Flash, which was largely due to Apple’s stance on supporting it for the iPhone and iPad. The type of thing that used to be done in Flash has now mostly been replaced by the use of jQuery.

This is why digital design is such an interesting area to work in. The discipline is always evolving and improving. This is a lot like the designs we make for digital screens: they’re never really ‘finished’.

I’m not really sure what’s around the next corner of the web design journey. Perhaps an even larger range of devices and screens will be served by smaller amounts of code. Designs may become more dynamic and interactive as touch screens start to have a bigger impact. Whatever’s in store, I’m excited to see the next steps. I’m nervous about getting left behind too, but I know it will be a constant learning curve. Or something like that.

- Alex

For our Students’ Union clients you will be entering one of the busiest times of year and there is nothing like a Summer or Grad Ball to put extra pressure on you and your team to deliver the biggest social event of the year. It’s the event that marks the end of a year of hard work and a chance for students to say goodbye to their university and friends for the Summer, or if graduating it’s the time to close the University door once and for all.

It can be a daunting job organising a Summer Ball and often knowing where to start is the biggest job! Here at Magpie we’ve worked on our fair share of Summer Ball promotions and so hope to provide just a little inspiration to help along the way. Here’s our Top Ten Tips to get your started, stay organised, and deliver an event to remember:

1.  Planning your vision

Planning and communicating the theme and brief to all involved can be difficult if you are not naturally creative. We suggest creating a Pinterest board (as many people now do for wedding events). Pinning ideas and imagery that sum up the event is a great way of communicating your vision and a useful briefing tool for your graphic designers.

2. Pictures speak 1000 words

Getting one picture that sums up the event can be a difficult challenge however nowadays with user-friendly video editing software readily available you may want to consider editing lots of pictures together with a soundtrack that sums up your event. This will get students excited about what they can expect  and can be posted out via your social media streams.

3. Make a song and dance about it

If you haven’t had a ticket launch event yet you could consider planning one in the Union foyer or bar. This will provide a taster for what the event will feel like so consider decorating the space to give it a summer feel, consider live music, performances from societies and if you have a sponsor who is a fashion retailer perhaps you can put on a fashion show as part of your deal.

4. Plan for the year ahead

Take plenty of photos and footage of this year’s event to use in your advertising for next year. If your publicity is driven by photography remember to make good use of the sunshine when it arrives – chances are it will be autumn or winter when you have planned in the design work so put a summer a date in the diary for photography.

5.  Don’t let it be a wash out

You can’t guarantee the weather, as Cheryl Goddard from Birmingham Guild of Students says “Don’t rely on the British summer to bring sunshine! Ensure there is adequate shelter and seating in case it pours; and flooring laid out to prevent slippages and pretty heels sinking into muddy grass”. If you plan the event with a rainy day in mind you will cover all bases.

6. Incentives for ticket sales

If you are concerned about ticket sales then consider a prize draw offering a free VIP Summerball experience or you could make a milestone campaign whereby the more tickets you sell, the more attractions you add to the event. You may want to get students to vote on these attractions in order to create a dialogue early on.

7. Map it out

Release a map and attraction list of what and who will be there early on to draw in the crowd.

 8. Pre-sales

If you are coinciding ticket sales with student loan time consider offering pre-order drink vouchers too so students can invest a bit up front and not worry about finances on the day. You could strike up a deal with your suppliers on wine, prosecco or buckets of beer. You could also integrate this offering with a higher tier ticket price or you could consider pre-order attractions and/or photography sales.

9. Make it the social event of the year

Integrate as much of your campaign as possible with social media and allow sharing links on all online materials. Don’t only post out, think about keeping up a conversation with your students and create a social media strategy in advance so you know what you will be saying and when – this will keep you on top of content.

10. Give them what they want, when and how they want it

Yearly research is invaluable but if you don’t have the resource consider recruiting a student insight committee of around 8 – 10 students who, in exchange for free tickets, can inform the different phases of your campaign and represent the student voice. We have recently started a new article called 100 Students whereby every week we conduct a quick survey on 100 students (more information to follow). Please see below for an infographic displaying the results of our Summerball opinion poll.

Don’t forget you can also look at our Summerball portfolio for some extra inspiration.

This becomes an issue when some of those brands appear in the media for doing things that are uncaring, unethical and sometimes unlawful. It’s got to the point where we don’t even know if our beef burgers are beef burgers anymore. The consumer-brand relationship can only take so much negative press. So what happens when we say enough is enough and that we don’t want to feel pressured to buy their products anymore? Can’t they just strip away the brand, delete the past, and clear themselves of this negative public image? Enter the un-brand. Enter Starbucks.

With recent news stories such as the tax avoidance scandal, it almost seems sensible that they would trial an unbranded store. Their first ‘unbranded’ store was called 15th Ave Coffee and Tea, which Liz Muller, director of global concept design at Starbucks, says will make them more accessible. She explains: “Each approach will be different to reflect the neighborhood it is in.” Surely, if replacing the brand with another brand that people feel connected to makes them ‘more accessible’ doesn’t this mean they are tricking people who don’t like Starbucks into buying Starbucks?

Starbucks set out as an independent and niche coffee shop and grew, very, very fast. Soon it was no longer the trendy one-off it once was and the hipsters abandoned them for more local, independent coffee shops. In this case a global re-brand just won’t do, they would still be the same corporate giant they were before just with a makeover. However, they can re-brand individual stores completely unnoticed to the unknowing consumer.

If this concept works for Starbucks, could we be faced with sub-brands mimicking local stores which are branded specifically to the area‘s style? Could we be left no longer even knowing who owns the places we shop in and the products we buy?

We’ve asked 100 students if they’re for or against this official day of romance and got an interesting response: 66% of male students are Valentine’s fans compared to a more cynical 58% of girls.
Considering the quantity of student focused Valentine’s promotions and events, it would be safe perhaps to assume that students would embrace this day – for the novelty factor at least if not the heart-felt sentiment. For a generation who see ‘Facebook Official’ as the mark of a relationship, perhaps it isn’t surprising that students are more realistic about romance.

Loved up or alone, there’s no need for Valentine’s Day to be a depressing state of affairs. Whether you paint the town red (white, and rose) with your single friends or ignore the significance of the day completely, there’s really no need to wallow Bridget Jones stylee in a pit of isolation.

Roses are red, violets are blue, Valentine’s Day I have… mixed feelings about you.

Girls

Boys

Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away

Love is something if you give it away, you’ll end up having more

It’s just like a magic penny; hold it tight and you won’t have any

Lend it, spend it and you’ll have so many

They’ll roll all over the floor, for

Love is something if you give it away