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A design relaunch is always something quite delicate: If it’s for a product established for many years, a magazine, a logo or a complete corporate design that people know – and love (?) – since they were children. The thing is: People as such are lazy. Saying good-bye to an established design means that you have to get used to something new which is causing effort. Us humans are trapped in our habits and we do not like to lose things that we are used to. You probably know this from yourself: If you see the relaunched logo of a company, your first reaction might be "Why did they do this? Looks stupid, completely useless.". Do you recognise yourself here? Once you got over the first confrontation with the (still) unfamiliar, it’s only half as "bad" and as time goes on, you are getting used to it. After a few weeks, you will very likely say something like "That really looks much better, it fits in today’s world. I’m happy they did that.". Taking a look at the old look/logo would probably make you shake your head. The design relaunch for a magazine is such a challenge too – especially when it’s been on the market for over three decades and is established as the magazine with the highest circulation in its niche. However, market leaders in particular must defend their strong position on the market again and again; firstly of course with their product – but also a good design relaunch can contribute to that. I’m responsible for the relaunch of such a market leading magazine and have already been working on it for a few weeks: new paper, new colours, new font scheme, new grid, new topics etc. A very important point was the font for the main copy not taking up too much space. (You can read more on fonts for this project in a separate blog post in a couple of weeks, by the way.) The new design will be launched in autumn 2017. Here you see first insights into the development of the new design: #magazine #fonts #font #editorialdesign #relaunch

In the first week of May, I went to Cyprus to relax, enjoy myself and just fuel myself up with energy again. Here are some photos for day-dreaming: Copyright: Helene Clara Gamper #cyprus #holiday

(This blog article was updated on 2 January 2018.) „For publishers, the tablet magazine opportunity is game-changing, but the last thing they should do is simply shovel their printed titles on to tablets. Consumers demand more, and the rich new interaction paradigm means amazing engagement and storytelling opportunities for editors and marketers alike.“ The Guardian The past years in the digital publishing business have taught me a lot and I could make some valuable experiences for my clients and myself. In this blog article I will write about some core facts about app magazines that are offered in addition to print magazines. And about five mistakes publishers stumble upon too often. It doesn’t have to be like that. Background: In August 2011, the e-magazine for my client "Blickpunkt LKW & BUS" went online – first only for iPhone and iPad, a few years later also for smart phones and tablets with Android. The topic of the magazine (commercial vehicles in Austria) targets quite a narrow niche. By December 2016 the app counted over 10,000 unique (!) downloads. A big success that is linked to avoiding these five mistakes: MISTAKE # 1: Print content = app content Imagine this scenario: A magazine lies in front of you, you like reading it. You know that this magazine is also available digitally as an app for the iPad – with the exact same content. Would you download the app and maybe even pay extra for it? Most probably not. Hence: Offering the exact same content in the e-magazine like in print, does not offer any (obvious) additional value to the reader. A smart content concept is needed here: Which topics are better suited for digital publishing, which ones are better suited for the print magazine? Which topics offer additional content that can be offered in the app and doesn’t have enough space in the print magazine? Is it maybe worth having specific magazine categories for the app version only? And so on. The editorial team is in demand here. – And if that seems difficult at first glance: Just think – how many times does the editor say "we have so much great material, especially photos, that will never fit on a double page". You see where I’m getting to? ;-) Apart from content, there can also be a totally different additional value: Time. The e-magazine can be published a day before the print magazine, for example. Weekly newspapers would definitely benefit from that. Bottom line: The reader needs a clearly visible additional value why he/she needs to download the app. MISTAKE # 2: Not promoting the app Just because you’re offering an app, doesn’t mean that it will be downloaded a lot. The times of apps being something completely innovative that you simply have to try out, are definitely over. So, you need to promote your app. The easiest and free method to do this, is in the equivalent print magazine. You get to the right people at no extra cost, which is perfect. Another tip here: Don’t only have one advertisement in the print magazine, but place several eye-catchers across the entire print magazine and promote the additional value of the app ("see the full photo coverage for this story in our app", "watch the full fashion show video in the app", "a fully interactive, exclusive interview with the CEO in our app" etc.). Several eye-catchers in the print magazine remind your readers about the additional value of your app again and again. More contact points + clearly visible additional value = rising download numbers. MISTAKE # 3: Take over print advertisements It is recommended to take out the print advertisements altogether in the e-magazine, unless your advertising clients are willing to pay extra for that. Otherwise, advertising clients don’t have a feeling for the value of your app. And if you place advertisements in your digital publication, please make them interactive. Actively approach your advertising clients with different options and pricing models. In this video you see a few great examples for interactive advertisements in tablet magazines: MISTAKE # 4: PDF files in the app The worst publishers can do is to simply shift the print PDF file into the app. Usability and additional value: zero. I as a reader would feel fooled. MISTAKE # 5: Bad usability The reading flow on an iPhone differs a lot from the reading flow on a tablet which again differs a lot from the reading flow in a print magazine. The usability has a big impact on the success of your e-publishing efforts. Font size, navigation, size of interactive buttons etc. contribute to a great user experience. This example shows what I mean: --- Another tip for you: If you want to offer your magazine as an app, I recommend to download this free whitepaper in which you find out what you simply have to know before going on the app stores. #app #magazine #digitalpublishing

In every Tirol Box and Tirol Box basic, customers find a beautiful little booklet in zigzag-fold, which describes the products further. Printed in 1 colour on the paper Woodstock betulla 285 g, this booklet transports a feel of nature and quality. The illustrated St. John’s wort buds to the left and right of headers are part of the corporate design of Tirol Box . The products of Tirol Box were illustrated with a coal feather stroke. Here you see a few snapshots. #tirolbox #tirol #tirolbox #booklet

Being self-employed requires you to be very well organised. When Ashley Wiggins and I decided to set up Tirol Box in the beginning of 2016, we knew that a very big challenge was waiting for us. Setting up a completely new business "on the side" looked almost impossible. And even though it was a huge amount of effort and blood, sweat and tears, we made it. Perfect time management was crucial especially for me. From February to December 2016 (almost the whole year), I worked about 16 to 18 hours per day on average – yes, pure (!) working time. In these eleven months I had no more than ten days off. I had to run HCG corporate designs as normal and "on the side" Tirol Box had to be set up. You maybe can imagine how hard this time was for me... This is why time management is so important. Here I give you my personal 5 tips for great time management: 1. Prioritise correctly Make a list of jobs. This already gives you a good overview. Such an overview is really important. Time-sensitive things should always be completed first, in the order of their deadline – in consideration of how long these To Do’s take. Pieces of work that are required from you by your colleagues for them to continue working on it, and give it back to you for continuing working on it, should rank quite high on your priority list, too. Consider that your colleagues are not always available when you think they should be. You can reduce the time pressure of regular jobs by pre-working on them. An example is this blog: I post a blog article every two weeks. But as I don’t have time to write a new blog article every two weeks, I pre-write them several weeks in advance, sometimes even two to three months in advance. This reduces time pressure and blog writing can climb down the priority list a bit. I book in three days to pre-write blog articles in a week where my calender is not full. This is how I make use of work-downtime. 2. Plan in buffer times Even if you think, project X will take up only two hours out of your busy schedule today. Trust me, it will more probably be like three hours. This is why I find it extremely important to plan in approx. 30 to 50 % buffer time. Buffer times I do not use for work, I can use for breaks or administrative work. 3. Analyse and reflect yourself Ask yourself at what time of the day you are most productive. Most people are mentally fit in the morning. Other people are fitter in the evening. Some people even at night. Analyse yourself and find out when you are most productive and plan your workdays accordingly. Difficult jobs should always be done when you are most productive. 4. Multi-tasking Some people are better, some people are worse at multi-tasking. But if you have a lot on, you sometimes have no choice rather than doing several things at once. For example, I often read e-books or newsletters all at once while working out on the crosstrainer. 5. Eliminate time killers A clear mind, full concentration and focus are essential requirements in order to do your work well, without mistakes and in time. Especially in times like these, smart phones, Facebook & Co. are omnipresent time killers that destroy our concentration and make it much more difficult to work well. The best thing to do is to have two separate smart phones, one for private which is in another room, and one for business which is on your desk. Also WhatsApp is a huge time killer. I excluded myself from a WhatsApp group for example because it cost me 45 minutes per day. You have to make a decision: Either use WhatsApp and surf on Facebook now or work, thus finish work sooner and enjoy more nice free time in the evening. How does that sound to you? ;-) I hope my 5 tips for great time management were helpful for you and you can take some of that advice into practise. #freelance #freelancer #selfemployment #organisation #timemanagement

In the course of the digital editorial design for the tablet magazine "connecting comPETence" , issue ONE:17, I implemented in-app purchases for new issues in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store in order to generate further monetization possibilities for the publisher PETnology/tecPET GmbH. #app #apple #digitalpublishing

In the course of designing the print and app magazine for "Blickpunkt LKW+BUS" , I also created an interesting 3D effect with text and photo for the Truck Race Trophy 2017 that can be seen in the tablet app. You can pull the text up behind the woods. Many anchor points perfectly adjust the text frame to the tree tops. #tablet #app #3d #editorialdesign

In retail, we are used to raffles, special sales and discounts. Many of us cannot imagine retail without special deals any more. In this blog article I want to tell you about my own experiences with raffles – from a business point of view. Example no. 1 - B2B In summer 2015, I celebrated five years of HCG corporate designs. For this nice occasion, I organised a raffle with great prizes (see more about it here ). You didn’t even have to answer a difficult question, you only had to share a link on Twitter (the raffle took place on Twitter only). The five prizes had a total value of 925 euro. However, at the end only prizes worth 125 euro were redeemed by the winners. The winner of the first prize worth 500 euro did not get back to me ever since. Prizes worth 925 euro minus 125 euro redemption equals 800 euro of prizes that were neither picked up nor redeemed. Example no. 2 - B2C It gets even more odd. The organic muesli manufacturer Verival did a raffle with Tirol Boxes. The raffle took place on Facebook and was among the top 3 of their most successful raffles ever, according to Verival’s PR department. This might also have to do with the fact that most other Verival raffles have about only 20 % of the value of the Tirol Box raffle, when you compare the value of the prizes you can win. Having more than 40,000 Facebook fans, Verival counted 900 raffle participants within only one week. There was also a huge hype among the participants. Ashley Wiggins, myself and Verival were overwhelmed by the numerous encomiums for Tirol Box. It was then very surprising that the winner almost had to be forced to answer Verival’s winner note. About a week and more than one email and Facebook notification later, the winner still had not given her address. Then, Verival said the winner had to email them her address by that night, otherwise another winner would be picked. Within minutes there was an answer. - Also a worldwide renowned glass/jewellery producer that I worked with in the course of Tirol Box, showed their doubts about the success of raffles in general. Incredible, no? As these examples show, raffles seem to attract people that just want to have anything, as long as it’s for free. An incentive to actually buy into a certain product or company? Probably not. But according to my experience there is something that comes into this even more: the thrill of if you win or not. 800 euro prize value (example 1) were not picked up and a free Tirol Box (example 2) needed several approaches to actually get to the winner. I don’t think that most people actually want to have the prize. I believe most people do it for the kick. In my opinion, people like the thrill, the tension, if they win or not. You can compare it to roulette when the ball rolls around. As soon as the ball stops, the game is less interesting. As soon as the thrill is over and the winner is announced, the prize is uninteresting for many people. Does this explain why lotteries cash so much money in? Even though people instinctively know that they will probably not win? The thrill and the hope remain and keep the interest in gambling high. That’s it. A thrill that doesn’t cost much. And: What you get for free, you don’t treasure because you didn’t have to work for it. Maybe this is also why prizes of raffles are often considered of "less value". #verival #muesli #tirolbox #tirolbox #raffle #marketing #retail

We all love chocolate, don’t we? Tirol Box chocolates are made by hand and only milk and cream from the Tyrol grey cattle is used for it. This is why it is a very special treat. What makes it even more special, is the packaging design series that I made for all the different flavours. #tirolbox #tirol #tirolbox #schokolade

Video strips on websites are a growing trend that is implemented by more and more companies. I’m sure we will see such video strips also beyond 2017 and many static picture strips will be replaced by them. At the start of 2015, I implemented a video strip on the starting page of my own website. The great thing about such video strips: They bring static pictures to life and catch the website visitor’s attention in an instant. This reduces the bounce rate and increases the time people stay on a website, what can have a positive influence on sales (i.e. in an online shop). Besides that, video strips can transport emotions better than static pictures. But of course not only I implemented it. Some other websites that want to impress their visitors successfully follow this trend too: New York Times: Top 52 Places to go in 2016 Berghof Hotel Lech (please click on the links below): http://www.derberghof.at/zimmer-suiten/ http://www.derberghof.at/genuss/ http://www.derberghof.at/berghof-vorzuege/ http://www.derberghof.at/erlebnisse/ http://www.derberghof.at/kontakt/ How do you do that? Required software: I A website that allows embedding video strips I A video cutter program that you can edit and cut your video with Required hardware: I A camera I A tripod (depending on what you want to film) It is important that the start and the end of the video snippet look exactly the same (really, 100%!). This is the only way a smooth loop is guaranteed. You can for example choose a static shot and suddenly walk into the picture, like in the Berghof Hotel example. But don’t forget to walk out of the picture again, remember: start and end of the video snippet must match! In addition to that, the video should not be too long, 5 to 10 seconds max. Too long videos take long to load which could cause people to leave the website and is definitely punished by Google (keyword: SEO!). Why not try it for yourself?! Such video strips really impress people a lot and they are quite easy to produce. I wish you a lot of fun and success with it! #webdesign #video #trend

After an intense development, start-up and launch phase, I pull out of the operational business and the management of Tirol Box per 1 March 2017. I fully focus on my core business HCG corporate designs again, however will still be available for Tirol Box in terms of design and consulting support. #tirolbox #tirolbox

The riding stable Maxnhager in idyllic Weerberg, Tyrol, provides high-quality horse stables. A generous outdoor area including savvy park, many possibilities to ride out in nature as well as several courses make horse owners’ hearts leap for joy. The facility has been owned by family Sponring for generations and they attach great importance to treat horses professionally and with a lot of love. I designed and implemented the new website (incl. mobile phone version) based on the provided logo, copy and photos. More details can be found in my portfolio. #mobilewebsite #webdesign