Welcome to our third newsletter. As the summer comes to a close (and that would be summer in the loosest sense), we wanted to offer you a quick taste of Decoder life and share some of our work, news and views. We hope you find it interesting and if you’d like to know more about any of the articles or simply want to get in touch email us or call 0207 697 4440.

Badges everywhere

You may recall that we mentioned the ‘badge’ campaign for VNU (now VNU Incisive Media) in our last newsletter. As a reminder, to relaunch the Computing Careers jobsite we used the badges to show different specialisms within IT and give it an in-joke feel – ‘Next Level’ for those working in gaming and ‘VoIP me’ for networking, for instance. Our client loved the campaign so much that we were asked to rework it for the sister job site, Accountancy Age Jobs. Here, we used a bull to indicate corporate markets, fingerprints for fraud and… well, I think you get the picture.

And now… you can’t move for badges. The Times featured badges on their Book supplement, Radio 2 is using badges for their Music Club graphics. They’re everywhere. Remember where you saw them first.

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We get even greener

Ailbhe writes:

I was really excited recently to come across www.reusablebags.com. We like to think of ourselves as ‘green’ - and that’s just not because of the Irish members of the team - and this site seems to provide the answer to the perennial 'plastic bag' dilemma. You know how it is: you care about the environment and are obsessive about recycling. But do you really want to be seen out shopping with a fading recycled plastic carrier bag? Just how many outings can you get from your lovely eau-de-nil Fortnum & Mason bag? Well, quite a lot actually (they’re good quality bags) but once it's gone, your Morrisons carrier just isn’t the same. Yes, I know that is sooo 'designer-thinking' but hey, we care about how everything looks and works. After all, that's our bag, if you pardon the pun…

This site sells the most wonderful recyclable bags and I’ve already ordered and received some ACME Workhorse Style 1500 bags, which roll up to a teeny weeny size and are as light as a feather. My favourite is the Burnt Orange but for the purists among you the Black looks pretty good too. What's more, the handle is very comfortable to use and it’s designed to fit over supermarket checkout frames. Anyway, who wouldn’t want a bag with a label which has ‘ACME’ written on it? (Images of Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote pop into my head). Brilliant.

Check it out for yourself.

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Views of Wexford

Mark writes:

During this summer's Wexford Festival Opera held at Johnstown Castle, I was invited to show some of my photography alongside four other Wexford artists. Having spent my youth in Ireland's most south-easterly county, I always find it fascinating to revisit favourite locations with my trusty Canon DSLR. Growing up in the countryside had its ups and downs, but the one aspect I really miss is being so close to the coastline and it's there I head back to time and time again.

The opening night was interesting, as I hovered close by to catch people critiquing the shots. Believe me, it was even more nerve-wracking than a design presentation! However, by the end of the exhibition I had sold five photographs, so I would definitely consider doing it again.

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Amazing acrobatics

We’re great believers here in using technology smartly and to make our working lives more productive. So with a few key clients, we’ve recently started to use the facility within Adobe’s Acrobat that allows contacts to mark up comments and amend live proofs. From minor text changes to comments on style and use of images, all can be clearly marked up and saved.

It’s simple to use and can involve as many client contacts as you wish. You can track the changes made by each of them, has the advantage of being completely paperless and avoids any of the misunderstandings that sometimes come out of hurried phone conversations. Sounds good, doesn’t it? To use this, you just need Acrobat Reader 7 or 8, available free from Adobe's site.

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