Bright ideas for marketing and advertising
Welcome to ad designs by The Artworks
Telephone: 01663 745070
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If you’re interested in finding out how The Artworks can help you get a better response in advertising and marketing your business, then please contact us now:
By email: mike.greensmith@btconnect.com
By phone: 01663 745070
By fax: 01663 745070
By post:
The Artworks, 149 Kinder Road, Hayfield
High Peak, Derbyshire, England
SK22 2LE
The Artworks,
149 Kinder Road, Hayfield,
High Peak SK22 2LE England.
Tel/Fax: 01663 745070
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Back in the last century, in the days before this technological revolution of computers and the internet, our design studio was infused with the essence of spraymount adhesive, cow gum and magic markers. I often strutted around the office like Robert Duval in the above scene from Apocalypse Now exclaiming
“I love the smell of magic markers in the morning!”
We spent an absolute fortune on building up a letraset font library which became virtually worthless overnight. We used wax to stick artwork together which then melted in the boot of the car on the way to the printers on hot summer days. Again, overnight wax became useless. At least we could use it for grip on our surfboards. Happy days.
We’ve tried to make this website more like a magazine. A simple to navigate
seven page site. Simply scroll up and down from page to page. It’s been five years
in the making ... mainly because we’ve been busy! You’d be hard pressed to find any other UK based website with as many original examples of ad designs that work as this site. This is fundamentally a test site which we’ll try to update regularly. Hope you like it.
Having qualified with an HND in Graphic Design and Marketing creative director Mike Greensmith established the Artworks in 1983. Mike set up the Artworks with his wife Lucy, fellow design graduates Malcolm Cherry and Alan James and personal assistant Pam Howard. Over the years we have commissioned and worked together with an extensive portfolio of freelance talent which have all contributed the success of our business.
When we started this company, we swore we'd only work with happy people. Some we hired because of their experience in this business. Some because of their obvious willingness to make the company a success. All of them were serious, conscientious and not afraid to roll up their sleeves. In the 1980‘s and 1990‘s we were a company that ran on chaos in the morning, fear of looming deadlines in the afternoon and Carlsberg Special Brews in the evening (well, early afternoon actually for some) ... but we never missed a deadline.
Today we consider ourselves marketing specialists in the production of leaflets, brochures, presentation folders, vehicle signs, posters, logos and adverts for all national and regional newspapers, magazines, websites and all UK telephone directories. We pride ourselves in being an approachable family business and consider our hands on approach to design to be our first priority. At the Artworks you speak to a dedicated design professional, not to a call centre!
Our 30 years experience has resulted in a considerable client base of companies from all sectors of UK businesses and we have recently gained a number of international clients specifically in the outdoor camping and RV markets.
We produce quality work for SME's to blue chip companies, offering a unique 30 day no obligation copyrighted free design service (when we are not busy). When we are busy we can still turn “genuine” enquiries around with 48 hours, but only if you’re serious. Simply call Mike on 01663 745070 for full details and availability of this unique service.
As well as a full Advertising and Marketing design service we offer an exhibition design and build service from concept to completion and are also able to offer a full web and SEO service through our associate company Thisworks. Call Chris on 01925 498858 or visit www.thisworks.co.uk
Also for some seriously unbeatable print prices call Steve at Print Approved on 01663 763733 or visit www.printapproved.co.uk
Whilst we feel that membership of a trade association would certainly benefit our business we are not aware of any Graphic Design Trade Associations... maybe we should start one!
If you don’t enjoy creating an ad, no one will enjoy reading it. Surround yourself with the right people, the right workmates and the right clients, those whose response to your work you respect and trust. Try to convey genuine enthusiasm about your work. If the reader senses you’re excited by the product, there’s a pretty good chance he’ll feel the same way. Me, I’m still excited by what I do. I hope it shows. I hope these tips will help you in your advertising. If so it will be part repayment to all those people who helped and influenced me hugely in mine, before I changed into the contented, cantankerous old curmudgeon that I am today. I’d like to thank people like, Charlie Laycock, Jack Garside, Gerry Oliver, Alistair Crompton, Pete Barry, Paul Arden, Mario Pricken, Patrick Quinn, David Hold, Douglas Bruce, Noel Moore, Peter Whitehead and of course the great David Ogilvy. These people both inspired and encouraged me. You will find reference to gems of advertising wisdom from these “Advertising Gods” throughout this site.
,
I love the smell of Magic Markers in the morning
Mike Greensmith - THE ARTWORKS
ADVERT DESIGNS FROM £95 LEAFLET DESIGNS FROM £95 LOGO DESIGNS FROM £95
SEND US YOUR BEST ADVERT, LEAFLET OR LOGO & WE’LL SEND YOU BACK A BETTER ONE!
And if you don’t like our ideas or designs, it’s our problem, not yours.
Call Mike on 01663 745070 for full details and availability of our introductory FREE copyrighted design service.
ALL DESIGNS ARE COPYRIGHTED
All ad designs are licensed to regional areas throughout the UK. To create a stunning advert or to adapt a design seen here for your company in your region please call 01663 745070.
Robert Duvall - Apocalypse Now
Magic Marker Visual for St John’s Hotel, Solihull
Magic Marker - Pink ones!
Mike’s Early School Report - Loved History & Art and got an “A” grade in both. Came in handy in the early days of my career as you can see in the adverts below. I became a little over obsessed with visualising adverts containing historical military themes ... but the clients loved them and they worked!
Me - Now!
Me - Then!
ADVERT VISUALS FROM THE EARLY 1980’S
Finished Artwork for St John’s Hotel, Solihull
Magic Marker Visual for St John’s Hotel, Solihull
Magic Marker Visual for St John’s Hotel, Solihull
Magic Marker Visual for Tankfix, Huddersfield
In the early years of our business we mainly designed in black and white because the majority of our clients didn’t have the budget for full colour and we didn’t have the luxury of computers to help us draw a visual. To have a combined talent of “magic marker” visualising, copywriting, typography, art directing “and” producing neat and precise finished artwork was a rare skill which resulted in much work from Manchester advertising agencies. We learn’t a lot from the many maverick agencies who sent us work which were dotted all over Manchester. We worked with and alongside many inspirational characters.
To all students of the craft, one of the most valuable pieces of advice I ever received about advertising was from Harry Mills from Mills Wallace & Allen and I pass it on to you here: “BEWARE THE CLIENT’S WIFE”. What annoyed him most in our trade was when a client says “I’ll just show it to the wife.” “Well if a client needs to show it the wife, then the brief should have come from the wife in the first place”. Sexist, yes but unfortunately still true today. But talking of sexism, advertising back in the early 1980’s really was like “Life on Mars”. Virtually every ad agency would have some talentless blonde bimbo with small boobs and big shoulder pads on reception. The business was all front. I know as I’ve worked as a freelancer for quite a few of them ... the best again was Mills Wallace & Allen in Manchester. Everyone in Manchester thought they were a really huge agency. They achieved this reputation with just a couple of small offices in Piccadilly Plaza. Because of the early 80’s recession this office complex was deserted and all the vacant offices on one floor all had the same colour orange blinds, to which Harry Mills made great use of. He simply rented an office at one end with a sign written Mills Wallace & Allen window and the same at the other end. From the outside it looked like they took up the whole floor. The best bit of advertising ... ever! Apart of course from their only other bit of advertising on Piccadilly station approach which was a billboard that simply said “The pro’s are back in Piccadilly.” Very sexist yet again but pure brilliance. At the time they were the only advertising agency that had the guts to seriously advertise themselves. I’ll sign off now and save the rest for my book!
Kinder Scout, High Peak. Photo: Bret Gaunt
OUR STORY
MIKE’S MISSION STATEMENT
WELCOME
TO AN ADVERTISING DESIGN COMPANY FROM THE GOOD OLD DAYS
... the last century in fact!
A FEW MORE WORDS OF ADVERTISING WISDOM
Classic “Mad” local newspaper advert campaign for EPCO Office Supplies (1983)
Best ever coupon advert for Art Fibre Play Products (1984)
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Over 30 years we have established a significant client base throughout the UK, Manchester, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, The North West, The North East, The South West, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Staffordshire, The Midlands, London & The Home Counties, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, USA and of course our home region of the High Peak in North Derbyshire, England, pictured below. Pop up and see us, the coffee’s always on. The Artworks, 149 Kinder Road, Hayfield, High Peak, SK22 2LE England.
The Artworks is the ideal marketing and advertising design company to contact for small established businesses. Indeed, for those considering starting a business we are established “start-up” business design specialists. Please ask about our business start-up packages. Our key services include: advert design, leaflet and mail shot design & printing, logo design, brochures and folders, vehicle and van livery design, Yellow Pages, Thomson Local and BT Phonebook advert design & all aspects of graphic design for printed national and regional newspapers and magazines, websites & SEO. Over 30 years we have established a significant client base throughout the UK, Manchester, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, The North West, The North East, The South West, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Staffordshire, The Midlands, London & The Home Counties, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, USA and of course our home region of the High Peak in North Derbyshire, England.
Give of your own time in love and service to others. Learn compassion and empathy but beware of the ego sickness that devastates so many in our trade. Be nice. (Not Google “pretend nice”). Most of us have to adapt our style to our clients, our audiences, our countries and our mortgage payments!
Make sure you spend most of the day laughing. Advertising is a fun business, not some kind of grim science. Simply do great ads, have a laugh and try to produce adverts that are as simple as a stop sign!
All these tips will help to create great ads. But at the end of the day you could ignore every one of them and still do a great ad. More great ads are done by breaking rules than by following them. Think laterally. (Crazy Horse). Think different. (Apple). And just do it! (Nike).
And finally if there are any old colleagues or clients reading this I’d love to hear from you.
As the Paul Simon song goes, you’ll discover that I’m “Still crazy after all these years.”
Oh and make sure you give to charity or start one! You’ll discover my little bit as my alter ego Chief Crazy Horse at: www.help2000.co.uk and don’t fall into the trap of saying you do charity work because you want to put something back into society ... because you should never have taken something out from it in the first place!