Creative masterclass at the University of Derby by RJDA!
RJDA’s creative team were invited to the University of Derby by ex-tutor Tracy Allanson-Smith last week to offer expertise and advice to final year graphic design students.
Web Development Manager Matt Underwood, and Creative Designers Ross Ballinger and Andy Gilmore, all graduates from the University themselves, helped the final year students put together their portfolios and offered tips and advice to showcase their work.
Ross commented, “It’s really exciting to see what the next generation of designers are up to, particularly how final year projects have evolved from ‘personal’ ideas a few years ago to projects which are commercially suitable and which will no doubt be snapped up by the corporate sector.
Here at RJDA we specialise in integrated, responsive design so it’s great to inspire, and be inspired by this new talent”.
Find out why RJDA’s creative minds were chosen as ambassadors for the creative industry…
Ta Dah!, Our new website is launched.
It’s finally here, our new RJDA website has been unveiled today!
Despite RJDA being a creative agency which prides itself on its forward-thinking and innovative approach, we made the bold decision to ditch the gimmicks in favour of a more simple, classic design which is enhanced by responsive technology, beautiful images and accents of a rich, indulgent colour palette. Proof that we don’t need to make a song and dance about the raw talent of our creative minds.
Whatever your gadget or gizmo, our site is the perfect fit so you won’t miss a thing.
We’d love to keep in touch, so sign up for our news feed, follow us on Twitter and ‘like’ us on Facebook for all the latest RJDA shenanigans and competitions.
RJDA go RAR!
After their success at entering the Design Week Top 100, RJDA are celebrating another accolade after becoming a RAR recommended agency.
This register is a collection of the UK’s top creative agencies, as voted by customers, so companies can feel confident in selecting and engaging the right marketing supplier for their campaign.
RJDA are an agency where creativity and customer service go hand in hand, and this recommended status is a testimony to our commitment to giving the best possible service to our clients, and being experts at what we do.
Come and find out why our customers rate us so highly, we’d love to see you!
Romance in the Stone
RJDA were delighted when, two and a half years ago, Stancliffe Stone asked us to create a whole new brand for their range of British stone products.
The latest addition to our portfolio is the Book of Stone 2nd edition. The stunning imagery, bold design and innovative print and finishing techniques showcase the simple, natural beauty of the stone.
So how do you bring a cold, hard stone to life?
Look closely. Perfect angles, a rainbow of colours, a network of textures, all beautifully captured and reproduced across 94 pages. With specially imported Italian paper and expertly textured spot UV varnishing, you have a book that proves these ancient natural products are far more than blocks of stone.
RJDA have worked with Stancliffe Stone since 2009, when we were asked to rebrand the business and produce the original Book of Stone. Since then our relationship has gone from strength to strength, and we have created a number of high profile projects including the Stancliffe Stone website, the ‘Box of Stone’, their Ecobuild presence and electronic marketing. What’s more our planet-friendly print methods go hand in hand with Stancliffe Stone’s commitment to protecting the natural environment.
Bev Hill, Marketing and Communications Manager at Stancliffe Stone, says;
“I have worked with a number of agencies up and down the country over the years, and can say that the guys at RJDA provide a level of service that goes above and beyond!
These guys care in what they are doing first and foremost and they take real pride in the creative solutions that they offer to Stancliffe Stone.
The Book of Stone edition 2 that has recently been completed is without doubt the best piece of corporate literature we have worked on to date, with the new finishing techniques that RJDA have sourced and applied to the outer cover, have made the Book of Stone a truly exceptional piece of creative design and print.”
Take a look through our gallery to see for yourself why RJDA are a RAR recommended agency and no 47 in the Design Week top 100…
Defuzzed for December
The Mo Bros here at RJ are breathing a sigh of relief today, their faces are less itchy, but more chilly, as Movember has drawn to an end and we bid farewell to their menacing moustaches and grisly goatees.
A massive THANK YOU to everyone who donated to our Mo Bros’ campaign, you contributed £138 to help raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancers, and ultimately save lives.
Movember
Mo-ve over Magnum!
The air is filled with testosterone at RJDA, as this month we’re shunning our shavers, binning our beard trimmers and relegating our razors for MoVember!
The campaign has been helping to raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer since 2003, and Mo-Bros around the world have so far raised £106million.
Despite the precision air-brushing skills of our design studio, none of these ‘taches have been digitally enhanced… and I’m sure you’ll agree our Mo Bros can give the likes of Magnum PI, Hercules Poirot and Charles Bronson a run for their mo-ney, so please show your support and click to donate to this worthy cause.
http://uk.movember.com/donate/team-details/id/336894/searchTerm/RJ+Moustache+Associates
RJDA enter Design Week Top 100
The eagerly-awaited who’s who of the design industry has been revealed by Design Week, the magazine of choice for over 35,000 design professionals and marketers.
Derbyshire-based RJ Design Associates are celebrating 47 reasons to be cheerful after polling some impressive debut stats:
5th highest new entry, 8th place in the most bullish top 100 groups for predicted growth and 47th overall on the Top 100 design consultancy list.
RJDA installs Seal laminator
Derbyshire-based design and print company RJ Design Associates (RJDA) have installed a 2m Seal 80Pro laminator as part of its ongoing drive for wider and faster large format print and finishing solutions.
The laminator, supplied by CWE Solutions, will complement RJDA’s print hardware, including its HP Designjet LX65500 latex machine. The Seal 80Pro can manage a range of substrates and applications including floor graphics, rigid indoor and outdoor boards, vinyl, back-lit, pop-up and roll material as well as enhancing RJDA’s vehicle wrapping capabilities.
“There were a few reasons for buying the Seal 80Pro. Firstly, it is a lot faster, controllable and more efficient than our current, older one”
“As requirements have increased for 2 or 3m wide print on our latex and flat-bed machines, so has finishing and we needed to be able to mount, encapsulate and laminate up to at least 1,600mm. A wider laminating solution is crucial for the plethora of work RJDA produce.” commented Managing Director Rob Walker.
Delivering more than just Direct Mail
Bearings manufacturer INA FAG (a part of the Schaeffler Group) came to RJDA for some ideas for a direct mail campaign. The objective being to raise awareness to Maintenance Personnel and Financial Directors that preventative maintenance is worthy of investment to avoid catastrophic down time in the event of machinery breaking down.
The chosen concept was based around prevention is better than cure and took on a medical approach to the visual style. The direct mail was sent out in a prescription bag, which also contained a doctors surgery styled appointment card with a call to action to meet the Schaeffler Team on stand at the Maintec exhibition at the NEC.
Along with direct mail piece an e- shot was also designed and delivered, a dedicated micro-site created and hosted, trade advertising produced and animation developed which was used on both the micro-site and on the stand.
INA FAG got a very positive reaction from this marketing collateral, leaving them in rude health at the end of the exhibition.
Best in class for RJDA
RJDA have unveiled their latest large format print acquisition for 2011, the AGFA Jeti 1224 UV HDC FTR – the fastest photorealistic industrial grade flat-to-roll (FTR) display graphics printer in its class.
The Jeti 1224′s state of the art 2.4m engine will give RJDA the best of both worlds, High Definition Colour (HDC) from each of its 24 print heads, combined with a significant increase in production capacity.
Capable of printing 110m2 in express mode the Jeti 1224 features four colour plus white in a single pass and benefits from a motor driven vacuum bed for precise registration and highly accurate dot placement up to 1200 dpi.
Right on cue and maybe a sign of things to come the RJDA production schedule was ramped up over the Easter period to roll out corporate signage across 3 sites for Progress Rail Services following their recent acquisition of Balfour Beatty Rail’s UK trackwork manufacturing business.
The results are simply amazing but don’t just take our word for it, check out our new kit in action.
Whatever your large format print requirements from signage, banners and portable displays, through to hoardings, billboards and point of sale you can be confident RJDA can be your perfect large format solution partner.
Got a large format print job? Contact us now for a quote….
Ecobuild success
Every year Ecobuild attracts more & more visitors and for Stancliffe Stone this years event at ExCel proved no exception.
The combination of careful planning, and the launch of a new range of tactile marketing collateral has given Stancliffe an edge within the stone industry, something which Marketing and Communications Manager, Beverley Hill reflects on with a great deal of positivity.
“Working closely with RJDA’s creative team our Box of Stone branding was born”
“Packaging and distributing natural stone samples can present its own unique challenges. RJDA’s creative team, through their expertise and sheer perseverance delivered a winning formula.
The box of stone brand is both practical and versatile and has proved an overwhelming success.”
Klasse rebrand
Understanding and communicating the essence of a fledgling business is the key to successful branding, none more so when the positioning required is one of a high-quality, sophisticated look and feel.
When a touch of class was required for Chesterfield based Klasse Vibe and Klasse Spa for their mind, body and well being business rebrand, RJDA distinguished themselves from the competition by delivering the complete marketing solution.
A new suite of logos and the launch of 2 newly created websites will herald a much improved web user experience, utilising social media feeds, data capture, and customised Google maps.
Both sites have been built with valid HTML/CSS techniques and significant improvements to the content have also been made through using the latest SEO-friendly design techniques.
The race is on
The race is on for this years RJDA annual staff charity event – The British 10k London run.
Up to 10 RJDA staff members, 25,000 runners and 40,000 spectators will be assembled along part of the route used for next years 2012 Olympic Marathon.
Join the RJDA team on the start line at Hyde Park corner on July 10th at 09:35 as the race winds its way past London Eye, Big Ben, Downing Street and other famous London landmarks.
Confirmed RJDA race goers as of going to press include Andy, Ross, Lee & Studio Manager Chris Reynolds aka Rocket Renner the road race veteran.
Will Chris’ knee hold, Billy’s stag weekend materialise or Lee’s ankle actually mend in time to even start training?
Please help us to help our chosen charities, as always your donations are always very gratefully received.
First Things First
Quirky, pocket sized, durable and versatile were just a few of the buzz words that went into the creative mix to make up RJDA’s latest brief.
Add to that a combination of digital and litho print technology, die cutting, print finishing and collation and RJDA’s most recent project for Balfour Beatty Plant & Fleet Services (BBPFS) was sure to present a few challenges.
First Things First outlines a drivers daily check routine to ensure BBPFS vehicles are kept safe and roadworthy each and every day of the year by detailing an 18 point maintenance regime.
Commenting on RJDA’s creative approach, Fleet Services Compliance Manager Gemma Heasman was full of praise “The swatches and handouts look absolutely fantastic and will go a long way to helping Balfour Beatty on its journey towards Zero Harm.”
Design Week Top 100
The countdown is on for this years Design Week Top 100, the magazine of choice for over 35,000 design professionals and marketers.
It’s that time of year to make ready your financial figures and prepare them for the annual Top 100 design consultancy’s. With business on the up and investment in new large format print technology planned for the second quarter of 2011, RJDA have their sights set on an impressive debut.
The deadline for applications is 2 March, and the Top 100 survey will be published w/c 26th May.
More to follow…
16 years combined web experience
The internet as we know it may have a myriad of uses but one fact remains certain, little over 20 years ago the World Wide Web exploded from an unknown entity to one which now pervades every aspect of our digital lives.
“What should they call this new browser. The Mine of Information? The Information Mesh? When a name was settled on in May 1990, it was to be called the WorldWideWeb…and so the worlds first web page was sprung”
Matt Underwood, Web Development Manager at RJDA and Web Designer Kat Wesley, who together boast an impressive 16 years combined web experience between them, are well placed to reflect on just how far the web has moved on from its humble inception in 1989. Fast forward over 2 decades and who could have predicted there would be…
240 million – registered domain names
2 billion – hits a day for the webs most popular site www.google.com
$16.5 million – the value of the worlds most expensive domain www.insure.com
166 – different web browsers
Accurate as of May 2010 netcraft.com
“As web designers we keep up to date with the latest trends and technologies so we can build flexible and future proof websites. We constantly strive to push the boundaries of creative design whilst complying to web standards and accessibility guidelines”
“We’ll take time to examine visitor trends and map out a typical journey through each website we create to maximise usability and enhance visitor interaction.”
RJDA are at the forefront of the very latest web trends offering fully integrated web solutions such as web video, search engine optimisation, digital marketing as well as e-commerce systems, content management solutions and secure off-site hosting.
RJDA’s multimedia team have recently completed the following web sites and are ready and awaiting their next challenge!
Profile, personalise and profit
Personalised content can significantly boost customer loyalty, sales conversions and return on investment. Your customers like it, your competitors are probably already doing it and your kids are definitely buying into it… in short, personalisation works.
Personal by definition describes how relevant, connected, or applicable something is to a given matter and RJDA are perfectly geared up to respond to these same exacting requirements.
If you are looking to drive business and profit through the following channels, Web to print, DM, Personalised URLs, E shots or Digital print make sure you speak to an RJDA Account Manager today – 01159 445 428.
3 months FREE trial offer
Ask about our 3 months trial offer for Marketing IP, the next-generation web to print portal that everyone is talking about.
Mapping the way ahead
When RJDA were briefed on their latest web based assignment it certainly whet the appetite of RJDA’s multimedia team, Matt Underwood & Kat Wesley. The task ahead was to create a content managed, database driven, interactive map for Balfour Beatty Rail to infinitely link locations across a range of group companies.
Six months on and after hours of development work the Property Locator is live and more than surpassing its original brief.
Speaking on the functionality the new site delivers, Corporate Services Property Manager Rob Harrison enthused: “The Balfour Beatty Rail locator map is a digital asset to centralise our estates portfolio across a range of group companies. It provides key information at the click of a button and can be frequently updated with the functionality to password protect sensitive data as and when required.”
Adding Value
“What has impressed me particularly working with RJDA’s multimedia team is their ability to add value and deliver over and above our original expectations. The locator map is hugely versatile and I am confident we now have a powerful resource in place to drive the different areas of the business forwards in the coming years.”
On your bike
Fortunately for RJDA their latest creative brief for Derbyshire County Council, entitled “Smart Rider”, did not end with the infamous Norman Tebbit colloquialism “On your bike!”.
Instead DCC’s Road Safety Team were a lot more glowing in their assessment of RJDA’s creative delivery, which featured a brand identity and hand drawn illustrations with a digital twist.
Improving road safety is a top priority for DCC and RJDA have certainly played an important role by project managing the design and digital print of a new suite of training literature to help shape the future of cycle proficiency in Derbyshire.
If you would like RJDA to review your company branding, illustration requirements, or simply explore print management opportunities why not get in touch with our creatives. Email studio@rj-da.co.uk
If you would like to find out more about Smart Rider email roadsafety@derbyshire.gov.uk or click on www.derbyshire.gov.uk
The Hairdressers and Beauty Salon re-brand
Luxury salon The Hairdressers proprietor Billie Ragosta approached RJDA to look for ideas of how to launch her new Beauty Salon.
When the builders started work on the premises on Castle Boulevard two boxes of letters were found under the floor boards. The correspondence dated back to the 1870′s and many were in Russian, and seemed to indicate a love affair that crossed between Nottingham, France and Russia. The letters and envelopes had an lovely aged patina to them and the handwriting was immaculate.
RJDA used visual elements from letters and rippled this across the new corporate branding to give a sophisticated and bespoke feel to all the marketing elements.
RJDA designed and printed a beautiful brochure with some special finishing techniques employed to give it very high quality feel, along with a new website, photography, copywriting and eshot campaigns.