Admin
Summer holiday 2011
I’m out of the office between Friday July 15 and Tuesday August 2nd.
The second week I’ll have access to my email, but the first week I’ll check it only occasionally.
Incorporated and proud
I’ve incorporated. From now on, I’ll be trading as von Schmalensee Ltd instead of Caroline von Schmalensee Technical Author.
When it became apparent that I needed to become a company (it was a requirement from one of my clients) I spent some time thinking about company names and checking them against companies house. There were a couple of names that I really liked, but in the end, von Schmalensee Ltd. does the trick. It doens’t say what I do, that’s true, and it doesn’t allow me to spend time on a new logo, website, business cards, domain and so on. That’s the win. With my surname as my company name I can keep all my current collaterals without change.
If I want the joy of re-branding I can do that later. You can change the name of your company, after all.
von Schmalensee Ltd., registered in Scotland as SC395901.
F1F9 launches new website
F1F9 offers spreadsheet engineering services to the financial modelling community. Their enthusiastic staff in New Delhi work with clients from all over the world to create flexible, appropriate, structured and transparent models. To optimise the work, they use a split role approach to modelling: the staff at F1F9 are spreadsheet engineers who implement the client’s conceptual model.
Morten Sierstedt and his team needed to re-invigorate the text throughout but particularly on the careers pages. The text that was there was not getting them the right kind of applicants. The new text explains what they do and what an applicant can expect much better. I consulted with F1F9 last year (and know of them from my work with Financial Mechanics) and am excited to see that the new website is live.
Christmas break 2010
I’m on holiday between December 22, 2010 and January 5, 2011. Over this time I will be away from the office but I’ll be checking my mail regularly. Have a lovely holiday and see you next year.
The importance of a logo
A client asked me for feedback on a logo for a new venture. It was a really interesting challenge to look at the draft and criticise it in a useful way. On a personal level, I didn’t like what he showed me. My personal aestetic was not important, thought. What was importand was how well it worked for its audience and industry. I thought it would mislead his future customers. A logo should be a door, not a barrier.
Logos represent your company so it is important to get as many people’s feedback on it. It’s particularly important that the feedback is honest. There are differnt ways of ensuring that you get useful and honest feedback for a logo:
Don’t say “Isn’t this great?” or “I made this – do you like it?” but stay objective.
Ask things like: what do you think this company does, who is their target market, what do you think their product is. That gives you an idea of whether the logo looks the way you want your company to be perceived.
Creating logos is fun and it’s tempting to knock one up quickly. Don’t. Think about the target market, the feeling you want to convey and the industry you’re in first. Unless you’re an artist, you’re probably best getting someone else to create the logo for you. The more you’ve thought about what het logo represents and how it will be used, the easier it is for you to brief someone else.
Update 19 October
Before & After Magazine have several discussions on logos and this one started today. It’s about colours but stresses the need to think before you design and to keep it simple: