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Derwent Dam

A couple of photographs of Derwent Dam overflowing.

Derwent Dam, Peak District National Park
Derwent Dam circa 2008
Derwent Dam, Peak District National Park
Derwent Dam November 2019

A Frosty Morning

Chesterfield, Derbyshire

A photograph taken on a very cold, frosty morning. The light was just spectacular!

The 3 Key Elements of Advertising

Make Advertising Work for You

If you’ve just started a new business, or have an offer to promote, you are going to have to get the word out there one way or another. There are ways to do this for free, of course, but you might be considering an advertising budget as well. Paying for advertising can be something of a gamble (how much of a gamble depends how much you are willing to spend – and on what type of product or service you are advertising), and it is not guaranteed to succeed, but there are certain steps that can be taken to increase the chances of it bringing returns. Advertising does work – if the message is good and well delivered, and if there is sufficient demand for the product offered. If advertising didn’t work at all, big companies wouldn’t pour vast resources into getting their message and name out there – and keeping it out there.

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Designing the Layout of a Web Page

Visitors to a website tend to like uncluttered simplicity in the layout, and from a designer’s point of view this helps walk the visitor through the information they need, leading to an action being taken such as making a booking or a purchase. Achieving this means utilising negative space around elements that make up a web page. If elements such as paragraphs and photographs only take up something in the region of about 50% of the screen on a desktop version of a website, it helps the visitor focus on the information presented to them without any distractions (the constraints of a mobile phone screen practically forces the designer to do this in a mobile version of a website).

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Visit to London

Visit to London

A selection of photographs from a recent trip to London.

The Secrets of Design – Colour

The colours you see in logos, branding and signage are not chosen at random or by chance. There is a very good reason why specific colours are used to emphasise brand identity or to make us react in a certain way. Colours can affect our mood and even the way food tastes. Here are a few examples of the effect colour can have on us, and what type of business, or industry, is likely to use some of these colours.

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