Graphic Clinic

Category: News

  • UnMute Me

    UnMute Me

    This is an image of an application for iOS that we are developing called UnMute Me.

    We have developed a small app to support people with Situational Mutism, whether caused by Autism or other medical means. The application utilises Apples Personal Voice feature, and other in-built iOS voices, to let users quickly and easily communicate with those around them when their ASD stops them from using their own voice.

    Support

    If you need support for the app, please try these frequently asked questions first. If they don’t help, please email me.

    Frequently asked questions

    How do I create a message?
    Tap on Compose in the navigation. Above that icon is a text box and a circular icon with a speaker in it. Tap that box and it will open the keyboard for the device. You can now type in your message. When finished tap the circular icon with the speaker. You can clear the whole message with the X icon.

    How do I save a Favourite?
    Tap on History in the navigation, find the message you want to ‘store’ as a Favourite, then tap on the star icon to the right of your message.

    How do I change the voice that is used?
    There are two ways to do this, both are done on the Settings screen. Tap the Settings icon in the navigation. You can either use your own Personal Voice, by first granting access to the application to use your Personal Voice, then setting the toggle control to ON. You will now be able to select from the voices created on your device.

    Or, you choose from the Voice section, where the app will show you voices already downloaded on your device — all iPhones come with a few voices preinstalled. You can download more in Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content > Voices > (pick your language) > Voices (yes, again!) > List of voices and tap on the iCloud download icon next to the voice you would like to use. I would recommend choosing and “Enhanced” voice. They’re bigger files but much better quality spoken ability.

    How do I change the colour of the app?
    In Settings, tap on the circle to the right of the option for “App colour”. It will open a colour picking interface from which you can select a colour.

    Be aware, though, that that app responds to light and dark modes, so try to pick a colour that will work for both – something not too light or not too dark is our suggestion.

    Can I make the readable text on the Compose screen bigger, so it’s easier for other users to see what I want to say?
    Yes! On Settings you can increase the size of the preview message by sliding the value up to the right.

  • Original Designers Workbook app: update

    Original Designers Workbook app: update

    As of the time of writing, our attempt to digitise the Workbook into an iOS was suppose to launch before Xmas 2021. However, bugs and time constraints meant it was not to be. We are hopeful we can launch early in 2022.

    Watch this space!

  • Closed by Covid-19

    Closed by Covid-19

    It is with huge sadness that we learned that our client Rough Runner were forced to close their doors because of the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020.

    Prior to the start of their 2020 season all mass sporting events were stopped by the UK Government, which led to a raft of cancellations for some participants, and deferring everyone else into 2021. The team—that we worked with so closely to create the proposition and brand—were furloughed to try and save the business, but the second wave of infections and continuing lockdowns meant that there was too much uncertainty. And we are gutted that they’ve had to close their doors for good.

    The team at Rough Runner were great people, they had families and homes, and we hope that they can all find something very soon. If you know anyone in events or construction that need some truly creative people, not afraid to work through the night to deliver, reach out to them through LinkedIn (just search for Rough Runner as a company).

    Rough Runner
  • A five year update

    A five year update

    For the past five years, Graphic Clinic has been resting. Still talking to our great clients from our first decade in existence, but instead we (and by ‘we’, I mean Brian) have been focussed on working in-house on some great digital products.

    Fully embracing User Centred Design was always a hard sell for us at Graphic Clinic. Our size meant we could give great service to our clients, but it also meant that the time to fully explore what our clients needed by talking to their customers was normally beyond their budget. We would do all we could within the limitations of their purses, but we felt we could do more.

    The chance to work with Kallidus in Cirencester came up, a full-time opportunity to redesign an online learning platform, so the difficult decision was made to halt all other client work. Throwing all the time available into the one project, for the next two years, led to great results and even an Award for Best Learning Product from the UXUK Awards. The work we did helped secure the businesses long-term future and regain their place in the competitive landscape, helping secure client contracts with Morrisons, Weetabix, Sainsburys and more.

    A three month research project with Pixie App — a digital rewards platform for Independent Retailers — led to another two year project with Living Map, a Bath based digital mapping provider. Working on a map and interface redesign of the core product, and an integration of their technology for STAR Alliance Airline Group that will assist long-haul passengers with flight connections across the world.

    We have come to rest, at the time of writing, at Colateral. Working on another redesign of an incumbent (first generation) software platform, helping to shape the future of their digital platform through solid User Research and good User Centred Design practices.

    If you have a digital product that needs to be brought up to date, to meet the competitive landscape of your industry, please get in touch. We have become quite adept at understanding the users real problems and redesigning digital products to meet the new problems uncovered. Call Brian for a chat.

  • A decade in design

    Last week, because we were so busy, our 10th anniversary in business passed by with little outward recognition or song and dance. Mostly because that’s not our style here at Graphic Clinic. As usual the day was marked by producing effective design work for our many clients – almost all of whom have joined us along the way and continue to work with us year-after-year. So a huge thank you to all of you who have commissioned us to work on your brand, marketing, digital product, exhibition, video or whatever over the past ten years. Our hangover has just about abated, and we’ll be cracking on with our mission to give our clients a great experience as well as a well designed and effective design solution to their required needs.

    Happy birthday to us!

  • Summer Photobox campaign

    Summer Photobox campaign

    We recently completed a successful TFL campaign for the lovely Photobox, getting their summer message – to treasure the photo’s you take on holiday – out across the London Underground. The simple creative execution puts their core product (prints) at the heart of the ad.

    photobox-summer-2015

  • Judging a book by its cover

    Note: This blog article was written for our client Nucleus Financials “Illuminate” campaign. It is due to be published in the autumn of 2015.

    Picture the scene: you’ve got a day jammed full of meetings with new and existing clients alike. Your paraplanner and administrator have already left your a stack of post-it notes on your desk asking you for various decisions, and your 10 o’clock (a possible new client) is late. That’s okay because you can deal with those questions and contact your Platforms CRM to release a new fund for another client. But they’re still late.

    30 minutes after their appointment time a mid-20s, unshaven man, with several piercings and a tattoo poking out of the top of his v-neck t-shirt arrives at the office to meet you. Already disappointed at their lack of punctuality you begin your usual preamble about your adviser firm when his phone goes off. Quite unexpectedly he takes the call, meanwhile you seethe. You’re already thinking this person is going to be a very bad client; lots of work and probably a small income to invest. You’ll no doubt hand him off to a junior member of staff to handle once you get through this meeting.

    We all love to think that we’re intelligent enough not to take people at face value. Not to make assumptions before they’ve opened their mouth, nor to assume the way they dress, or that week-old five o’clock shadow, defines who they are. But subconsciously we do, and then spend the rest of the time fighting those opinions.

    It could turn out our gentleman above is a professional footballer with a £200,000 a week salary or heir to a family fortune.

    But when it comes to the image of a business you really cannot get away with such a lack of care and attention. For as we judge individuals by their ‘cover’, so too do we judge companies. And when we judge them we are much less forgiving. How many times have you searched online for a product or service, selected the first link and arrived on a website that looked like it was created in Word? Or one with a confusing page layout and unclear descriptions? Your reaction? Close the page and try the second link in your search.

    Cover: judged.

    The value of spending due care and attention on your businesses look is, alas, an unquantifiable one. For no two logos should be alike. What works for one business will not work for another, and so on. But the UK Design Council estimates through its research that businesses who invest in design get a 15% return on their investment and that 50% of businesses make their investment back within a year.

    When every customer is judging your book by it’s cover, can you afford to cut corners? It could very well be the difference between growth and stagnation.

  • Seasonal mailings for PhotoBox

    We’re delighted to announce that we will be designing and producing some seasonal direct mail pieces for the excellent London-based PhotoBox to celebrate their amazing products that bring your photos to life; from their most basic digital prints to some brilliant canvas art prints and iPhone, iPad and Galaxy covers.

    They’re timed to go out in the post to coincide with PhotoBox’s first ever TV advert in mid-November (in the UK) and we’ll be following that up with a Radio Times promotion too (that we’re also designing).

    We can’t wait to let you see the work and will pop it on the site ASAP.

  • My Life through Colin and other stories

    My Life through Colin and other stories

    02-Colin-and-other-stories-WEBWe’re delighted to reveal our second book jacket design for Kenneth Paul Stephen’s second book, My Life through Colin, part of his Forgotten Scotland Mini-reads.

    This book is part of, what we understand to be, a trilogy of books that explores the unseen Scotland of real people.

    You can buy a copy from Amazon here for 80p.

  • Book covers

    Book covers

    Sheep-and-other-stories-WEBDoing a book cover design must be easy. Dead easy-peasy lemon squeazy. After all, if it was hard only professional designers would do it. As such isn’t it great that designing your own book cover is a task open to all.

    Or is it?

    We were recently asked to produce an eye catching book cover for Kenneth P Stephens collection of short stories set in the undiscovered parts of Scotland. So what else could we do than start researching book cover design in the post-print world.

    We were amazed, astounded and apoplexy that so many authors are choosing to cut corners on their cover designs. All that hard work, slogging away at their laptops producing wonderfully crafted word smithery and then they wrap it up in something that they bash out in MS Paint in the final evening before the deadline.

    We couldn’t let Kenny suffer that fate so we snuggled down with a decent malt, fired up the iPad, devoured his prose and set to work the following day. The result is above.

    We’re looking forward to the arrival of his second collection of short stories and will serve up the creative solution here when it’s published.