Through the wonder that is Twitter I have just seen this image and felt it was worth sharing. I for one – love how the coke bottle has remained so consistent  over such a long period of time and would appear to not have changed a bit since 1986!  The one thing that is worth nothing however is that you seemed to get more liquid per bottle in 1899 than you do now!

I also find it interesting that the shaped changed right in the middle of the first World War in 1916 – i wonder if anyone can shed any light on why that was?  I find that very interesting though – what a time to be thinking about packaging!!

]]> http://www.yumicreative.com/1346/the-evolution-of-the-coke-bottle/feed/ 6 http://www.yumicreative.com/1303/saw-these-and-had-to-share/ http://www.yumicreative.com/1303/saw-these-and-had-to-share/#comments Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:25:29 +0000 Helen http://www.yumicreative.com/?p=1303

How about these for the CUTEST mug design ever!?

The Cupple Mug.

Just Fab.

That is all that needs to be said!

I just had to share this design beauty with you  - as it’s top on the Yumi Creative “LOVE” list!

You may have noticed several very exciting new Billboards showing off the new creations from Karl Lagerfield.  He has returned to design his second set of designs which are now available to purchase Exclusively  from  Harvey Nichols and aren’t they just fantastic!?

Quoted from Packaging design Blog The Dieline: “Using the light and playful elements of his identifiable trademark style, such as graphic cuts, a contrasting black and white palette and clean lines broken with colour or detailing – Karl Lagerfeld has created a bold, contemporary yet instantly recognisable collection.”

Lagerfield has designed this range to encapsulate the Diet Coke ‘lighter approach to fashion’ along with his iconic style and they are sure to be a hit with designers and collectors alike…. I have already ordered mine! Well they are in Yumi Creative colours after all! Through the use of vibrant pink and strong graphic shapes he has captured essence of the personalities of each of the Diet Coke girls, Bernadette, Eleanor and Irene.  These are the three fashion conscious puppets that appear in the brand’s latest TV campaigns.

They follow the fashion designer’s previous striking effort which made much more of his iconic ponytailed silhouette but retained the clean crisp design elements that we can always associate with his style.

I’ll be sure to upload a photo of the Yumi Creative Office with my set of bottles in pride of place – feel free to send me photos of you with your bottles as well and I’ll add them to this post with a link to your site.

I just created this video to showcase some of the 4N Forum signatures I have created!

Enjoy!

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

…and other surprising propositions at networking events!

On Wednesday I attended the Guilford Means Business event at the Spectrum Leisure Centre, Guildford. It was a last minute decision but I am really glad I went along. As I walked in with the lovely Philip Waite from zuuMedia I was hit with the familiar feeling of trepidation.  Oh bugger I actually have to go and “Talk to People!”  Argh!  Quickly though, I remembered that this is not really a problem I have, so marched over to the 4N Stand to have a quick chat with the lovely John Edward.

With 4N duly supported I thought I’d have a bit of a wander and was greeted with the usual trade show activities – the obligatory pens notepads and carrier bags were thrust into my hands as I passed various stands. I later discovered that one bag, randomly contained a banana which formed the basis of this mornings breakfast!

The day’s activities got better when I discovered that I could vastly improve on my current phone contract and could even get a new handset… something that if you know me personally will get you running to the bookies to place bets on how long I can keep a new iPhone intact!

I was clearly on a roll as I felt confident enough to make use of  the lovely guys at Wizard….Whoa… steady there…  I mean make use of their services as super videographers! phew – I think I got away with that.

Hopefully you’ll be seeing the final production on my homepage soon!

The event was topped off with a lovely chat with Chris Moxey from Round & Red Creative who seduced me with some beautiful print….come on… doesn’t lovely stock and beautiful foiling do it for everyone?  No.. just me then! After taking up more of his time than was probably reasonable finding out more about what they do at R&R  I left him feeling that I’d got a really exciting insight into their company.  Go on – check out their site they do some lovely stuff.

So what’s the relevance of the title of this post?  Well… I have never been stopped and well – congratulated on my footwear in such a way before and frankly it was nice.  It broke the ice – made me smile and Ben – Even though you didn’t give me a card – I am certainly going to remember you!

As I walked back to my car, (holding said shoes as they made me park on a field, and beautiful shoes and fields just don’t mix) I thought this would be a good analogy  for good networking.  Look for the beautiful shoes/print/bananas in everything… you may only find them once every now and then but when you do there will probably be a reason why they caught your eye.

Happy networking!

* thanks to Marketing Week for this list FULL STORY HERE

1. iPhone
2. Rolls-Royce
3. iPod
4. Cadbury
5. Ray-Ban
6. Emirates
7. Sony
8. Red Cross
9. Fairtrade
10. Aston Martin
11. Nintendo
12. Prada
13. iTunes
14. Disney
15. Google
16. Playstation
17. Rolex
18. Apple
19. Bang & Olufson
20. Tag Heuer

What are your thoughts on this?  Do you agree with this list?  Interesting to note that Apple is at number 18 but Apple products feature at  number 1. 3. and 13.  Hummmm….

Over the last week or so I have been toying with the idea of a new car.  The reasons for this decision are based largely on the slow demise of my current vehicle but I have found that this thought process has raised an interesting point.

Since I purchased my last car a lot has changed in my life – married, homeowner, husband with a good salary and all the rest of it, and this puts me in the possible realms of a finance option for a NEW car!  So – what to do. When choosing a new car you think about the next 3 years… well you have to as it’s a 3 year payment plan, so one’s mind has to race ahead to what might occur during that time.  At the weekend I announced to my mother that we were thinking about another 4×4 (the reasons why will be discussed in a moment)  and her response almost immediately was “Are you trying to keep up with the Jones’, why not spend less on a functional older car?”   Now, whereas what she said was very valid,  I felt it created an interesting discussion point - Why pay more for ‘bigger’, more expensive things when in most cases one could argue that the basics will suffice.

Well I think the answer is relatively simple and to be honest everyone is guilty of it in one way or another,  be it through clothes, gadgets, cars, houses or even office space. If you look the part you feel you can deliver. On the one side, having the desire to look good can be construed as vanity, on the other it can be seen as taking pride or as a mark of success.  I am not suggesting that people live above their means, but certainly I am of the opinion that the image someone or something portrays will say a lot about the service that can be expected and the quality of the work.

This theory works equally well when thinking about your brand and your company’s look / feel.  You may have the best product or service imaginable but unless people can see it and understand the value in what they are seeing they will never buy.  If the website, for example, is difficult to navigate and visually crude it will switch people off immediately.

Going back to the car analogy, the reasons for the choice of car (4×4 in this case) are the functional factors.  My leading factors are,  the ability to go out in any weather and not be house bound in the ice/snow,  Have space for 2 large dogs, reliability and functionality.  These functional factors lead you to the type of vehicle and then inevitably styling and looks will ultimately make the sale.

Apply that thinking to your branding/website and you will end up with a very function driven design that also looks the business!  Yes it might cost you more, but you will be more proud of it,  people are going to be more likely to stay on it longer and inevitably you will make more sales from it.  Unlike a car, if you spend more on your branding and website design the return will be clear to see – you will very possibly make all your money back.

Now…. decisions.  The Freelander or the Honda CRV?

On the 10th of January, Yumi Creative celebrated it’s first year in business! This was obviously a very momentous time and it made me reflect on the highs and lows of the last 12 months.

I have met a very wide variety of wonderful people all of whom have helped me in all sorts of ways. Some people have left me testimonials, some have referred work to me with glowing reviews and some have just been there to give advice and talk things through.

I have had a very positive experience with one such person and I will be going into more details on here in the coming weeks but I initially wanted to say a few words of thanks, for all the words of wisdom that this person has given me.  The person in question is Peter Miller-Smith and his company is MSM Coaching. I have been very fortunate to have this person on side as what he has the ability to do, over and above anything else, is inspire and motivate you to make the most of your situation.  He has been very helpful and getting me to focus on what Yumi is about and where it will be going in the coming months/year.   I  always come away from a meeting feeling so much more confident in my ability and I would recommend him to anyone who is going through a tough time, lacking motivation, feeling undervalued or simply looking for guidance.  Don’t just take my word for it there are many others who have had similar experiences and you can read what they think here.

I am very excited about the future of Yumi Creative this year thanks to anyone and everyone who has had even the smallest part to play in getting me through my first year!

Most people now understand the benefits of being on a forum of some sort to promote their business and raise their personal profile.  If treated in the right way, having a strong presence on a forum, for example the 4 – Networking Forum , can strengthen the way people view you as an expert in your field.   As I said, most people understand that by regularly posting and being seen as a source of valuable information it will only do good things for your business.  On the other hand of course, do it badly and you will potentially damage the integrity of your business, so it really is imperative to get it right.

By “Getting It Right” it is not simply what you say that you need to consider, but also, how it looks.  The signature you have is something to exploit to your advantage.  Think about where it is and how often people will see it.  It will automatically be there under everything you say, backing up your brand message and subconsciously reminding everyone who reads your post of what your business is about.  Therefore, it makes sense to use it to describe an aspect of your business.  for example, if you are an artist, use it to share some of your work;  a beautician, show some of your products or a fitness coach, some tips or exercises.  It can be used to display your tag line or your brand message, or simply just be an extension of the look and feel of your website.  The technical possibilities are endless, but one thing is for certain you are missing a trick if you don’t utilise the space allocated to you.

Still not convinced?  I will leave you with this…  ”Before I had a signature on  my profile, I was virtually invisible and people were not clear on what I do. By having a bright and clear signature designed, potential clients can see immediately what my business is about and more importantly, can be linked to my web, facebook and email for more info and direct contact” Sam Millard – Greengages.

I have just come across this quote :  “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation” and it has made me think about how important it is to be true to what you believe.  When it comes to your business, although you may develop your services and offerings it is always important to remember what beliefs you initially founded your company on.  Yumi Creative was founded with the focus being on customer relationships and bringing affordable branding solutions to SME’s. In order to develop the services Yumi Creative can offer, during the last 6 months I have been working on associating myself with other original individuals in similar industries, to broaden the options I can offer my clients. I  don’t pretend to do everything myself, far from it in fact.  I am much more keen to promote the skill that I personally have, alongside the skills of the other individuals that I am proud to work alongside.  Two such individuals whom I am currently working with are Matthew Paul Davies of Langarth, and Keith Place of Oxford Sales Consultants.  The reason that Yumi Creative is proud to promote the services of Langarth and OSC is because the values we all believe in are the same.  The collaboration of any mix of the three of us is therefore always an original service offering and any client can be sure that they are getting the  strongest individuals on each aspect of the project.

Remembering your originality is something to consider at all times when it comes to your brand.  Remember why you set it up, remember who your clients are and always be true to these values.  This applies to you business as well as your personal brand.  Don’t pretend to be something you’re not, it may work initially, but people will see through it eventually.  It is far better to push the values you truly believe in, as your success will be all the sweeter.