Design Musings

This is a one page website created for the Dining Room Restaurant in Rock. They wanted a website that centred around classic black and white and their elegant food. I used a fine pinstripe as a background, contrasting with strong black diving the space. This website is just to introduce visitors to their restaurant and style of food, with a downloadable PDF menu that is regularly updated. In the future we will extend the website to offer more pages and information, but for now this simple site stylishly and clearly presents all that is needed. Emma Julian

On Friday 1st October, Pickle Design's studio became an exhibition space for artist John O'Carroll. The evening was a collaboration between Pickle Design, John O'Carroll and Wadebridge Wines who gave a wine tasting on the night. The exhibition consisted of fourteen pieces of John's recent work from his 'Ambient Light' and 'Shadow' series'. Our studio, cleared of its clutter and furniture, created a great space for his huge wax pieces - particularly his large circle piece which was lit on the back wall. The evening consisted of an informal and fun presentation of four wines from Tamsin at Wadebridge Wines within the relaxed setting of John's work. Following this, John gave a presentation on his experiences that has inspired him to produce these fine pieces - The Egyptian and Cornish landscapes are a source of his inspiration along with a keen interest in iconography, time and space. The exhibition was attended by clients, friends and ass...

Wadebridge Bathroom Studio asked us recently to create two posters to promote a special offer they were running. We took their existing brand and applied it to the large format printing, ensuring that it both conveyed the message clearly, and maintained the high standard of their business. Marie was able to give the A1 posters a fresh look without losing the integrity of the WBS brand. The posters were printed digitally on 200gsm stock, full colour. The turnaround time was important in order to take advantage of the time scale of their, and so they were produced very quickly.

One of our clients is part of a competition with a great prize. A holiday in luxury cottages on the edge of the beautiful Bodmin Moor. Kelly's of Cornwall has linked up with Steppes Farm Holiday Cottages, based on the North Cornwall coast, to offer 2 people the chance to win a 3-night break in one of its beautiful self-catering luxury holiday cottages. The prize also includes full use of Steppes Farm spa facilities - so at the end of a hard day's exploring, you can kick back, relax in the outdoor hot tub and gaze longingly at the Cornish sky. Kelly's of Cornwall is based in Bodmin, just a stone's throw away from Steppes Farm. Made with lashings of clotted cream and whole milk, fresh from cows that graze on Cornwall's lush green grass, Kelly's of Cornwall ice cream has a distinctive flavour and velvety smoothness that you won't find anywhere else. Steppes Farm luxury holiday cottages in North Cornwall make the perfect prize for this competition, and th...

We have just finished a website for the removal firm, Smith of Bodmin. Previously, they had a basic one page site, but want a website that would communicate their brand more effectively. The client provided a mixture of photography and stock images, and we used their existing colours of blue and yellow. Smith of Bodmin provide reliable removals in Cornwall, and are a well respected company with many happy clients, so it was important to communicate this and I wanted to show them as a friendly and approachable team with great service. So in my design we have a post-it style text box and a teddy bear icon that has come to be associated with the brand. We also host the website of a company that Smith of Bodmin worked with, which was once based nearby and known as Right Move of Lostwithiel. The founder of this firm has since rebranded as SW Removals and Storage, who are now based in Par, near St Austell, and also specialise in removals to France as well as throughout the UK. Eac...

Joseph Bouzaglo has created the above image to be used as both a Twitter background and as a poster design. He created a minimal piece that is now available from the Pickle Design website as a free Twitter background, or to be bought as a high quality A3 poster. Prices include postage for delivery in either the UK or worldwide. There are also a number of other designs on the Pickle site by Emma Julian and Marie Lawley. The style of their work is quite different in it is interesting to see how it relates to their other design projects.

The Quarryman wanted us to design them a website to reflect their food, drink and accommodation. Set in between Padstow and Wadebridge, The Quarryman serves freshly prepared food which we were keen to portray - of course, we had to go there to sample it first..! We thoroughly enjoyed the desserts and feel our photographs give a good glimpse of the quality on offer. We wanted to represent this pub in a friendly manner reflecting all their features including the spectacular view of the Estuary from their apartment. To do this, and to maximise the use of the pictures from the photoshoot, we used buttons to illustrate each section in the toolbar which remains visible throughout the site. We have incorporated Facebook and Twitter feeds so that the website is always current and helps the viewer get a feel for the people and the place.

Twitter Background This week we have been pleased to have someone on work experience with us. It has been a good week and she has been a great presence in the studio. This is what she has had to say: Hello my name is Ruth, and I have just spent a week at Pickle Design on my work experience. At the beginning of the week, Emma showed me how to use Illustrator (part of the Adobe design package), I Googled frogs, found one that I liked and traced around it. It pretty much took me the whole day, but I was well chuffed with him when he was finished. This, I have to say, is the best programme in the world!!! I think I have used it everyday this week. Frog Design Anyways, I also learned how to use Photoshop (another Adobe programme), something that we have at home but I've never had the faintest idea how to use it. That's pretty cool too. I was looking through some of the Creative Reviews (the design industry magazine) and there was loads of cool typography, (my new word of the week) s...

Bambino Art is a company run by a photographer that specialises in artistic childhood photography, she approached us wanting her images to be shown clearly in a relevant setting. We worked with her to create a logo which described her subject matter using the "B" to symbolise the profile of a pregnant woman. We created a playful toolbar, complimented by the movement of dandelion seeds. This animation on the homepage consists of an illustrated dandelion whose seeds drift off across the page to take their final place on the logo. On the other pages the dandelion gently sways in the wind, and a few seeds float off the page. We designed a flash animated gallery with black and white thumbnail images to navigate though it, and added some extra touches by using hand-drawn frame corners and scroll bars. The gallery consisted of four categories which were displayed by a secondary toolbar. The client is able to upload her own images to the gallery and rearrange them as her new ph...

Churchtown Safety Services offer a health and safety service for businesses, and they came to us to design them a website to convey who they are and what they do. We continued on the brand colours that were set in the process of creating their logo to keep their presentation consistent, and kept the pages clean and precise to reflect their area of expertise. Stock imagery was selected to compliment the copy and portray the importance that Churchtown place on building relationships and working alongside their clients. There is a contact button on every page that leads to the contact page, intended to encourage visitors to call or email for more information. We have also encorporated a blog that keeps the site fresh and up-to-date. Marie Lawley

Recently we completed one of our most comprehensive e-commerce sites to date, DIY Wedding Stationery. The client came to us to transfer her successful business from Ebay to her own website. She sells all you would need to create your own wedding stationery, from card and envelopes to glamorous embellishments. We also designed the logo and created an appropriate and feminine brand, centred around swirling illustrations in cream, pink and brown. The shop comprises of an extensive database with a search facility and the ability for the client to add categories and sub categories. Clearly in the banner are displayed how many items are in the cart and the 'View Cart Button'. The products are arranged in an easy to understand tool bar on the left and subcategories are pictured on the main shop page. Once a product is selected the image appears bigger with description, a separate picture of the texture and the ability to enlarge both. You can select the quantity, add to cart as well a...

Joseph Bouzaglo is currently undertaking a professional placement with us at Pickle Design, so we gave him the opportunity to write this week's blog post. This is what he had to say: "I am currently undertaking a Professional Placement here at Pickle Deign. I am a post-graduate student on MA 20th Century Art & Design: Histories and Theories, at University College Falmouth. To support our learning on the course, we are encouraged to experience life in in real world creative businesses. Hopefully, we can also contribute something of our knowledge, so that there is an exchange. "Pickle have been established around four years. Working with them is both stimulating and humbling. Stimulating, because they are passionate, excited by ideas and interested in their clients - as you would expect of a young design firm. However, it is also humbling. As a history student, my focus is pretty theoretical; I may have an overview of design's key turning points, of the facto...

Recently we completed a website for the arts materials and picture framers, Stable Art. They are tucked away off Bodmin high street in a specially converted, two story stable behind the Shire Hall. We organised a photoshoot which captured the ambiance of the place - exposed wooden beams and natural light creates the perfect setting for this artistic shop. Our brief was simple, to show what this hidden gem had to offer, and the design focused mainly on making the most of the photography. The owner had an illustration he was proud of, so on the home we see it fading into a photograph to set the scene. The strong images make each page quite striking, although for the general colour scheme is comprised of muted shades of taupe and gray. Centre stage are the photographs, heavily cropped to reveal the pattern and symmetry in frames, rows of glossy paint and inks. Every page has a series of pictures subtly fading into the next, and other features include a downloadable price list. The...

We recently designed a logo for Bangors Organic, an organic guest house and restaurant in North Cornwall. They asked us to put together some adverts for a few magazines they advertise in including 'Living Earth' magazine. The advert is based on the design we created for their business cards featuring their bold logo. The tree that makes up a part of this logo provides a pretty and relevant background image. These are very small adverts so the task was to keep the text at a readable size whilst giving the information 'space to breathe'. Marie Lawley

This week we did an informal photoshoot at the Quarryman Inn, just outside Wadebridge. The accommodation that they offer is very spacious, modern and nicely furnished, we wanted to capture this by focusing on the finishing touches that make this flat so comfortable. The food was lovely and colourful which made it an easy subject. The natural light, and the textured background of the wooden table truthfully represented the good food and friendly atmosphere. The highlight of the afternoon though was photographing the beautiful desserts - which tasted as good as they looked! Marie Lawley

We are doing some more work for David at Buttermilk Shop at the moment, and were very pleased to hear that they have had their best Easter so far - and he attributed some of that success to the new packaging we gave them! You can see a selection of the packaging in the photo above, available from their shops in Padstow and other outlets, such as Kingsley Village. We are also really looking forward to working with them on an exciting design for their new e-commerce website. Marie Lawley

Its come to the time of year when we are working with clients to revise their publicity material for the summer season. Last week we welcomed back the printing of the 2010 Jaws Pizza menu. The design of this menu has been very popular, with its fun citrus design with a sun, sea and surf theme, which we adapted to incorporate the new dishes and special offers. The menu is printed on a good quality stock giving it a pleasing silk finish, not often associated with a take-away menu. Marie Lawley Share

We recently completed a logo design for the Bangors Organic Restaurant and Accommodation. The business is located past Camelford in North Cornwall, and has many outlets for their organic ethos. They offer bed and breakfast, a restaurant, homegrown produce and homemade products. The house itself is a beautiful example of the Arts and Crafts movement and we wanted to let this show through in our designs. We were asked to design a logo and a business card, and I was inspired by their apple tree which they felt characterized them. It is full of personality - not perfectly strait but natural and quirky - so I drew a stylised version of the tree and chose a striking green, black and cream colour scheme to make the logo stand out. The name 'Bangors Organic' was chosen without a tag line to give them freedom with which avenues they choose. The type selected simply links the two words by their letters to become part of the tree illustration. I also provided a logo which was more leg...

Forest Cycle Hire wanted a website to portray the active mountain bike trails for keen enthusiasts as well as being inviting to family visitors. I set about doing this by highlighting 'adventure', 'group rides' and 'family days out' on the homepage by using big images with links through to the relevant pages of the website. The website is very clear and easy to use because it has a very definite structure, used throughout. The wood background was requested by the client, and helps set the scene as it acts as a perfect frame for the site. The site features an online shop that allows new bikes to be bought through their shopping cart. There is also a selection of used bikes available. But the emphasis is always on cycle hire in Devon, so that, while prominent, the bike sales never dominate the site. Marie Lawley

Recently we completed a website for Tiffins Bistro in Fowey. This website was a pleasure to work on as the client supplied as with great photographs of their establishment that communicated the ambiance perfectly. With these as a starting point, I created a page layout showcasing these images and therefore setting the scene. I chose a silvered blue as the banner allowing their logo to take prominence and used a transparent white section on the page to hold the information. The tool bar was kept simple, with the type changing from white to red when selected with an arrow also acting as a pointer. On each page their is an inset picture presenting a detail of the bistro or a plate of appetising food, and on the sample menu page you will find downloadable pdf menus that help to keep the website current. I also used the logo to create a subtle background to the site, reinforcing the bistro's brand. It was an enjoyable project to work with one of the restaurants in Fowey, and a c...

Recently we have been exploring the possibilities of 404 pages for some of our websites. These are the pages that hopefully you would never see! When the computer can't find a page these direct you back to the home. So as a designer you can have a little fun with the lost page concept, obviously these pages need to be consistent with the brand and website, but they allow more freedom with the structure. Marie and I have created 404 pages for The Tourist Handbook, Buttermilk (a work in progress) and of course Pickle Design. You may never see these pages but perhaps they will bring a smile if you do. Emma Julian

When Wadebridge Bathroom Studio was sold to new owners, they approached us to update and modify their website to fulfill their new requirements and approach. The new owners changed the direction of the business somewhat, but wanted to make it clear through their site that the same high level of quality would be maintained. It was important for the new owners to let visitors to the website see that there was a lot of activity at their studio, so we added a news blog to enable easy updates, and also added subcategory pages. Each page shows a neat example of one of the brands of bathroom appliances they stock. The design was already very clean, and we stayed true to that aesthetic, using lots of white space with thin crisp borders reflecting a professional business. The information is shown clearly so that it is easy to read and navigate around.

The challenge with this project was to take a successful printed guide and turn it into a user friendly online resource. The Tourist Handbook is a publication which sits in Hotels, B&Bs and pubs, providing useful area guides and local advertisers. The client wanted to take this resource and make into a website which would both showcase advertisers and inform tourists. We worked with the existing design, carrying across the colours and style but striving to adjust the look to comfortably fit its new media. The website needed to display events in the various areas, along with accommodation and area guides. The site focuses mainly on attractions in Devon and Cornwall and is proving a success. We designed the website so it could evolve with the client's vision, and contain large amounts of information within the database. With the design I chose a classic font and a traditional palette of British racing green, cream and black. The adverts and illustrations conform to this ti...

This years calendar was an opportunity for us to pour our ideas into a project for ourselves and our clients. The design needed to appeal to our varied audience so we decided on the image of a tree, in keeping with some of our existing branding. The intention was to show the seasons of the year moving around one tree. The imagery ended up being fairly abstract, but there was enough detail to illustrate the idea. We used tidy typography alongside handwritten words to reflect our friendly, yet restrained style. The palette selected is a neutral one, but we picked out those all important Saturday and Sunday dates in a pillar box red. We then paired the calendar with a matching red envelope and sent them out into the wintry weather to our clients and interested businesses for the next year. Marie Lawley