PEST analysis

SWOT analysis

Marketing segmentation

Business Objectives - Wallpaper design

The first 12 months

· I will attend the craft fairs in Harrogate, along with 2 others in the local Yorkshire area, to begin spreading my business across the local community.

· I will visit local art establishments such as Leeds College of Art, Huddersfield Surface pattern department, Harrogate, Bradford and Dewsbury art colleges to raise my business profile and offer my skills for workshops with students.

After 2 years

· Expand my studio/workshop and bring in one other designer full time and someone part time to help with paperwork. This will help with expansion of the business.

· I intend to have expanded my business profile outside the local Yorkshire area, by visiting at least 2 craft/design fairs one in Scotland and one in London.

· I plan to visit a studio or professional workshop abroad to begin international status.

After 5 Years

· My goal would be to set up a studio in Leeds, so I have a professional base for clients to contact and visit me and view previous wall hangings I have designed.

· To be recognised by the local art and design student community.

· Bespoke design collection.

· Visit more craft/design fairs across the country to expand my name and sales.

· To advertise my business in new areas, such as specialist interior design houses, outside of the Yorkshire area.

· To invest in at least 2 of my own printers to raise my income higher.

Updates about me.

- as a designer i am adaptive to the clients needs, and will create a range of ideas and work to suit their needs.

- i most enjoy working in illustration and print, and would love the opportunity to work with pattern in the professional industry.

- i enjoy working with people and buzzing off ideas to one another. I would like the opportunity to work in a design house, i feel i work well around people.

words to describe me: adaptive, enthusiastic, home made, print, illustration, communicator, dedicated, people, approachable, team worker.

10 Statements

My ambition is to work for well established design company at present around the yorkshire area, working in illustration and print.

I would love the opportunity to design work for wallpaper, clothing and pattern prints. I like creating these for fun and for no specific purpose.

Currently i feel my skills lay along illustration and print, although i do enjoy working in other medias.

When producing work for a client, i would like to have input into the ideas and not just be a producer.

I would like to work around people, i feel i work best in this environment with ideas buzzing around off one another.

Researching dance websites and looking at the graphic side to the companies has made me realise i would quite like to work in this area and promote something that is close to me.

At some point in the near future, before i establish myself in a company i want the opportunity to work in at least one EU country to gain more experience and if i get the opportunity as a bonus it would be amazing to work in any country outside the EU.

I want to firstly start working with smaller businesses so i can continue to learn and understand the industry as it will be like stepping into a large pond, but it would be amazing to have a few of the larger clients.

I feel it would be best if my competitors were both national and international, thus giving me a larger competitive base to keep me on my toes and hopefully put my name out there.

Promoting my work through a website would probably be the most cost effective method this way i can show my work to the world through an online portfolio. 

Task 4 - who else is out there - how good are they?

I have chosen to evaluate 2 design agencies in my local area, as i don't really have any specific influences and think it would be beneficial to me to look at agencies around my area they are - Big Cheese Designs and Design Zest.

I will evaluate the agencies based on the information i find on the websites, i will base it on unique selling points, what the agencies offer, prices, content of the business, work they have done.

What they offer.

Big cheese- corporate image, advertising campaign, website, brochure, 

Design Zest- corporate identity, product visualisation, interactive and printed media, 

Unique selling point ?

Big Cheese- they offer 'an enthusiastic design solution with the imagination, know how and technology to get the job done.'

Design Zest - 'bringing together a number of design disciplines including graphic design, interaction design and product visualisation.'

Examples of work

Big Cheese - none

Design Zest - examples of different types of work clearly shown on first page of the website.

Big Cheese

Strengths-

10 years old.

Local company 

Specialise on corporate identity.

Offer more than one service.

Weaknesses -

No examples of work

Nothing interactive and no visuals at all.

No recent news of how the business is going.

No pricing examples.

Opportunities -

Include examples of recent work.

Show and widen the areas of design they offer.

Offer more information on the company.

Make the website more interactive.

Introduce a unique selling point for customers to remember you by.

Advertise the company through its specialist areas, such as corporate logos.

Design Zest.

Strengths -

Examples of recent projects.

Recent news.

Small profiles.

A range of services wider than above.

testimonials.

information and maps on how to locate the company.

Location - close to leeds and sheffield motorway exits.

Weaknesses -

No history on the company.

No price information.

Show information on time scales as some clients may have very short deadlines.

Opportunities -

More information on the agency and its history.

Show which companies they have worked for to gain status.

Develop working methods - offer more.

Show major contracts, so future contacts can have faith in the work.

Christmas- theme some work or the website around the season so potential clients feel you are upto date and in with the seasons.

Let us know who works on your team, do you contract people in?

Big cheese, for the website to be much more successful and attract more people i think just by introducing recent work onto the website would make such a large impact similar to Design Zest it adds something extra for you to see and gives you more faith in the company because they are showing off there work, with Big Cheese i wonder why they are hiding it? I think its beneficial for both website to include mor eon the history of the company and who they have worked for, introducing a better unique selling point, because people who don't know about these businesses like myself want to know more and buy into the company as well.