Cosmic Creations Freelance Graphic Design

2012-01-14T10:35:00.008+02:00

Thanks for visiting. Even though website is about me and what Cosmic Creations can do for your small business, it’s more about supplying you with creative information and inspiration to get you excited about promoting your company using simple and effective tried-and-tested methods.

We specialise in marketing for small-businesses only, because it’s the small businesses that need a foot-up on the advertising ladder. We’re not interested in working for corporate companies because they can afford to hire big expensive agencies. But we promise you the same quality work as those big expensive agencies. The only difference is that we are a lot more affordable and often a lot quicker.

Why the name ‘Cosmic Creations’? Well, as far as we know, space is never-ending, infinite creation - it goes on forever. It’s our dream that Cosmic Creations also continues to supply endless inspiration and creative ideas for getting your small-business out there so that what you do can continue to benefit your clients for as long as possible.

The rectangular tabs in the left sidebar, are mostly about me and Cosmic Creations. And the round buttons in the right sidebar are about you and how you can take advantage of what we can do for you.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:34:00.014+02:00

About Me
As fascinating as I may be, let’s keep the me-stuff to a minimum. Basically, I started Cosmic Creations in 1997, by myself, as a freelance designer working from home. Back then freelance designers were as rare as hairy palms. They either worked for printing companies (the not-so-hot designers) or advertising agencies (the qualified designers). I was neither of these so after resigning from the printing company I worked for, I made up my mind to do something different and go it alone.

There was no wireless internet in those days, and no other freelance designers around to learn the ropes from - so it was tough. But it was so much fun working for myself doing creative stuff all day that I just pushed on and today I have a beautiful dedicated studio, which is still located at my home - so I have the best of both worlds.

Other incidental bits of useless information about me ...
I don’t have a car - my contribution to saving the planet (I do have a license and can drive, in case you wondered).
I prefer to do most of my client-correspondence via email wherever possible. It saves time, paper and petrol.
My husband is a partner in a printing company up the road (which helps with really good printing prices and prompt delivery).
And I have a teenage daughter who wants to be a chemical engineer (definitely not my genes).
We share our home with six adopted cats who rule our lives so drive carefully when you visit!

Remember to subscribe to my weekly blog, Inspiration Unlimited, if you want to keep up with my unlimited inspirational antics. And ‘Like’ me on Facebook for regular updates on new projects and creative stuff.

Lastly, please read my entertaining but informative Ts and Cs to make sure that you understand how I operate.

Yours in Dynamite Design,

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:34:00.013+02:00

Cosmic Creations Terms and Conditions

Nobody likes wading through these, but I’ve tried to make mine a bit more interesting to read and understand so please take the time to read through them to make sure that you really want to do business with me. I’m quite fussy about getting things done properly, making sure you are happy, and securing payment for work done. If there is anything that doesn’t make sense or you need clarification on, please email or phone me.
These Terms and Conditions are between Jo Petzer, Trading as Cosmic Creations and any client who orders work from Cosmic Creations.
1. Working Hours Let’s start right at the beginning. My working hours are 9am to 6pm, Monday to Thursday and 9am to 4pm on Fridays. Sometimes I work on a Saturday morning. So if you phone me out of those hours I won’t answer the phone, unless you’re lucky and catch me off guard. I might chat but I certainly won’t be starting up my system to make your changes, unless they’re urgent and/or I’ve told you that I’ll have them ready. My me-time and family-time is what keeps me sane and the creative juices flowing. If I have temporary or permanent staff helping out, then you’ll be able to get hold of someone in my office from 8am. Unfortunately I have had to put an end to my daily excursions of calling on clients at their premises as it just takes up too much precious working time and my daily hours end up becoming insanely long. From past experience, just about all work can be done via telephonic or electronic communication, except in cases where a client needs to supply a physical product, colour swatch, to collect work or hand over cash payment for a job. If you’re on the other side of the country and will require printed work to be posted or couriered to you, please remember to let me know so that I can add packing and postage to your invoice.
If you really have to make an appointment to see me in person, please phone to set one up. Every hour of my working day is booked for a different client. Wouldn’t you be irritated if I spent half of your daily designated hour chatting to a client who pitched without making an appointment? Because of this, if I’m not expecting you, I won’t let you in. This is why my physical address is not advertised. So please be considerate of my time schedules and the booked work-schedules of other clients.
To save time, I prefer to communicate with clients via email. It is so much easier and that way everything is recorded in writing for everyone’s convenience. Even if you do make an appointment to see me,I’m still going to ask you to confirm everything in writing via email. So, unless you have to drop off printed samples or products to photograph, or are collecting printing from me and bringing me cash, let’s try to keep our communication strictly electronic.
2. Commission of Work When you email me to commission a job, no matter how big or small, please make sure that you supply as much information as you can so that I can quote you as promptly and accurately as possible. I honestly won’t be taking responsibility for having to re-create your work because you don’t like the designs generated by me, based on my extensive creative experience, and that turn out differently than you expected because your initial brief was vague and incomplete. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen often but, if it does, I will have to charge you to redo work. All information needs to be submitted via email. Orders made via telephone can’t be processed.
Please be patient. A lot of the time I am really busy and I probably won’t be able to do your work straight away. You might only receive a proof in 3-4 working days from authorising my quote. If you’re lucky and I have some extra time before then (because of extra speedy working on other jobs) I’ll make a plan to squeeze it in.
If I really feel that I can’t meet your deadline, I’ll let you know as I don’t take on work I know my staff or I won’t be able to finish in time. So, sorry if I turn your job down. It’s only because I don’t want to you to have to pay for something you won’t be able to use in time.
When I receive your formal request for work, I will consider all factors carefully before sending you a quotation. This is to ensure you get the best price I can give you. This can take a minute, an hour or even day or two, depending on how involved the work is. When I’ve calculated the approximate amount of time it will take to do your work, I’ll send you an estimate quotation, based on my hourly rate of R280. Please understand that, except for my advertised package deals, this is just an estimate. The final invoice could be more or less, depending on any number of factors. Remember the more changes you make to your job, the longer the work will take and so the more expensive. This is why earlier on I insisted on you supplying me with as much info as you possibly can before I start your work. Sometimes I will award consistent clients a discounted hourly rate or some complimentary work. This is entirely at my discretion.
3. Proofing Too many customers think that proof-reading is the job of the designer. Unfortunately this is not the case. Proof-reading is a whole separate occupation. Because of this, many clients often don’t take their proofs seriously and end up printing mistakes. Please, please, please, check your proofs. Double-check them. Triple-check them. Get someone else to check them after you have in case you’ve missed something. Even though I have a pretty sharp eye for incorrect spelling and faulty grammar, I am only human and also miss these things sometimes. I definitely won’t be taking responsibility for money that you lose if your final printed job has mistakes on it that you didn’t pick up at proof stage. So please, take your proof-reading seriously. If you want, I can proof read your work for you at my standard hourly rate.
The best way to make changes to your proof is to email me the changes you want in point form. If you phone me and ask me to make changes over the phone while I’m busy with someone else’s work, it won’t be happening, so don’t waste your time because I’m just going to ask you to email them to me anyhow. The reason for this is to have everything in writing so that there is no mis-communication. And also to prevent clients from trying to convince me they said something that they didn’t really (yes, this happens). Besides, my handwriting is disgusting so even if I write down your changes given over the phone, I probably won’t be able to read them later when I come to doing them (at least I’m honest). I will keep on supplying you proofs until your final copy is 100% correct and you confirm this in writing. No jobs go to print without this confirmation. No exceptions, no matter how nice you are, or how much you beg me to pass them. Most work includes three proof returns. From the fourth proof onwards, I charge my usual hourly rate of R280. Sometimes I won’t charge for extra proofs, but this is entirely at my discretion, so don’t take it for granted.
If you’re fussy about colour and worried that the colour of your designed work isn’t going to be print correctly, please ask for a printed proof. This is charged at standard per-page colour-digital printing rates and will be added to your final invoice. The same applies to black-and-white text proofs supplied for books and manuals.
Please be aware that digital printing is not a perfect science. If your designwork is being digitally printed, the colour may differ slightly from your proof to the final product and from one print run to the next. There’s nothing that we can do about this and I don’t take responsibility for refunding you or for the cost of reprinting your job if the colour of one run is slightly different from the next. If you are really fussy about your colour-matching then you’ll need to print your work lithorgaphically, which requires larger quantities, but the unit cost is usually less than digital printing. Please remember to provide a printed sample or a colour-swatch of the colour you want, a Pantone code equivalent or Process Colour (CMYK) breakdown. We don’t print in RGB so will convert any RGB files you supply us to CMYK, which will change the print colour.
4. Payment My payment terms may seem a bit harsh to many, but this is only because I have a good credit name and I intend to keep it that way. I also have to eat, feed all my cats, pay a bond, school fees and utility bills, insurance and retirement policies, staff and computer maintenance costs so I can keep giving you great work, plus pay printers and other bills that really have nothing to do with these conditions but are still necessary to be settled at the end of each month. And, just in case you wondered, I don’t smoke, drink, do drugs, splash out on brand-name clothing or other useless items, so my earnings are pretty much channelled right back into my business and personal sustenance. Not that it was necessary to tell you that, but I thought that some of you might just benefit from the extra info.
So, before any work is started, a deposit of 50% is required on amounts of R500 or more. This can be actioned by electronic transfer or cash. No cheques, credit card payments or trade-offs are accommodated. There are no exceptions to this so please don’t even think to ask me where your proof or printing is if you haven’t paid your deposit. Also, do yourself a favour and send me proof of payment (by fax, sms or email) as soon you’ve paid your deposit. Sometimes a transfer may take a few days to reflect in my bank account. I don’t check my bank account every day so I won’t start your work until I do any online banking and see it there. As soon as I get your proof of payment, your project will be designated time in my work schedule and I’ll start on it asap. If you order a new project from me but haven’t yet paid the balance for a completed previous project, I won’t be starting on your new job until both the balance of your previous project is settled and the deposit paid for the new one.
Also, if I do work for you and you realise halfway through my efforts, that your cousin’s auntie’s sister’s grand-daughter is a graphic designer who is going to do the work for you for free, please be aware that any work I’ve already done for you will still have to be paid for if it isn’t covered in your deposit! If you’ve already paid your deposit and decide to go somewhere else halfway through the work, then too bad, you’ll lose your deposit. I don’t do refunds.
No final useable electronic files, print-ready files, or printed work are released until the balance of that work is paid for in full. Although I will send you proofs you can view on-screen, the quality of those files (they will be low resolution) will not be suited to printing or using elsewhere. The same goes for printing. All printed work is due for payment on completion, not on collection. As soon as I have the printed job in my grubby paws, the payment becomes due, unless you’ve spoken to me nicely beforehand and we’ve made some other happy arrangement.
And, no, I don’t accommodate accounts. I am not a bank and I don’t offer credit loans to anyone. If you’re desperate for some designwork and can’t afford it, you’ll need to visit your bank for a loan, or borrow the bucks from a family member so that you can pay me. My prices are really reasonable so this shouldn’t even be a problem. To reiterate: all my work is deposit upfront with balance on completion. (I certainly wouldn’t expect another businessperson to just give me something for free - it’s not ethical) If you intentionally stall progress on a project to avoid paying the balance, I’ll know. After three months, incomplete projects that haven’t been paid for in full are deleted from my system and you’ll have to pay all over again for me to do all the work again. I’m not a public storage facility. I only back up work that has been completed and paid for. You are also responsible for keeping a backup of any final files I send to you. Although we do back up all our work regularly, neither myself, my staff, nor Cosmic Creations will be liable for the cost of recreating lost files. I should tell you that sometimes I'm naughty and don't always ask for a deposit, for whatever reason of my own choosing. This doesn't mean that you don't have to pay for the work done. The second you ask me to start your work via email, over the phone, or in person, you are binding yourself to a design contract with me. Only clients who have a proven good-payment track record with me don't have to pay a deposit. If you're one of these fortunates, I'll let you know.
I'm not going to make you sign this. Instead I'm going to stipulate that by commissioning work from me, it is presumed that you have already read, understood and accepted these terms and conditions. What kind of idiot would do work with someone without first sussing out the small print, anyway? If you find yourself in a sticky situation regarding your work with me, then that's your own fault for being slack by going through these conditions.
Oh, and if you don’t pay me, other designers and printers will find out that you are a bad payer via the print-and-design-grapevine. We have ways and means of sharing this information with each other. Obviously if your bank-account was hijacked, you end up in hospital, die, or you have some other genuine, major financial or other payment-related problem, please let me know, or get a family member to inform me in advance. I do have a heart. In case you were wondering, Cosmic Creations is not a VAT Vendor, so any prices I quote you or invoice you for do not include VAT and will not have VAT added to them. Yes, this means you can’t claim the VAT back from SARS because you won’t be paying it to me.
5. Conclusion Before I forget, if there are ever any legal fees to be paid as a result of your misunderstanding of any of my terms and conditions, or because of bad business conduct or unpaid invoices on your part, you will be the one footing the bill for all of these simply because I feel it unfair fair to have to pay for a problem not caused by myself or my staff (temporary or permanent).
Hopefully I’ve covered everything necessary, but if I haven’t then anything missing will be added to these conditions as soon as I remember it, or when a situation comes up that warrants an additional condition. This means that these terms and conditions are subject to change at any time and will still be valid whether you’ve read them or not.
Finally, the end.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:33:00.021+02:00

I just want to say a big thank you to you for the gorgeous newsletter you did for us. Thanks for your creative genius and your hard work! (CINDY NORCOTT, PROAPPOINTMENTS)

Our Invite looks fantastic, specially since we gave you virtually nothing to work with. Thank you so much. (BEV AND EUGENE DU TOIT)

Thanks for the follow up. I cannot tell you what a relief it is to work with a professional again! (SIMON DAYNES, SIQAMBA MEDICAL)

I wanted to write to say that your work was absolutely outstanding. Thanks so much. We feel you went far further than the extra mile. (DR IRWIN FRIEDMAN, HEALTH SYSTEMS TRUST)

The letterhead is a bomb. The business card is amazing. Jo, u r still the best designer I know. Thank you so much. (THAMI MALATSI, AMANXIWA BUILDING AND ROAD CONSTRUCTION)

Wow! You've done brilliantly. I'm always gonna come to you again. Super Star. (HAROUN KOLA)

Wow, Jo. You knocked that one out of the park. Brilliant! Exactly what I wanted. (YOGAN NAIDOO, AFRICA TRADE CENTRE)

Hello Jo. thank you for your prompt attention - I love working with you!! (GLYNNIS DIRKSON, TALLOULA)

Hi Jo. Thank you so much again for making everything so perfect for me. (PAM JOHNSEN, CRYSTAL AURORA)

The invitations are really beautiful. thank you so much; you always do such a great job. (LUNGI NDLOVU)

Thanks a bunch Jo. I really can't explain how happy we are that you are meeting our requirements! And it looks just the way it did in my head! Bonus :) (CASS NAUDE, FIRED UP PRODUCTIONS)

You are a star! Once again a very big THANK YOU for all the hard work. Your creativity and attention to details! Much appreciated! (NAFTALY NGUGI, PAMOJA EXPERIENCE)

You are the bomb! (ALMA MAXWELL, OUTSOURCED COMMUNICATIONS)

I must say, you have been an ABSOLUTE inspiration to me throughout our time together, and you have helped me so much. Great appreciation !!! (CLAUDINE PEARSON)

Hi Jo. Thank you so much for the great work. I really love it! (JENNI RIVETT, PERSONAL TRAINER)

I would just like to Thank you for the very creative, efficient and speedy way that you dealt with our work from the initial brief to the final products. We are delighted with everything that you have done for us. (LUCY WATSON, MONTESSORI SA)

You are a total star! Thank u sooo much! (MICHELLE VAN ECK, DELECTABLE DECOR)

WOW!!! I must say, I AM IMPRESSED :-D…Never have we ever received such prompt and efficient service! It’s such a pleasure dealing with you! I have already referred you to two ppl! (CHARENE, ALU-STEEL)

You are a GENIUS!!! Do you know that...? My... my...! this is great. I am impressed. This is what I was looking for. (NAFTALY NGUGI, CAMP BAMBANANI)

FAB!!!!! You are amazing! Just so you know! xx (SUSANNE VAN NIEKERK, AFRIPHONICS)

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:33:00.020+02:00

Dynamite Design

dy’namite n. high explosive mixture --vt. blow up with this

Dynamite design is just that. Design aimed at exploding your small business into the public arena, to ‘blow up’ your company image so that it is large, awesome and powerful, and to ‘blow away’ your competitors (in a nice, friendly way, of course).

In case you didn’t get the message yet, Cosmic Creations specialises in branding and design for small-businesses, specifically. The face of your business is represented by your logo, company image and branding which are the first elements to attract clients. If any of those aspects are of a lesser impact than your competitor’s, you may find yourself losing business to someone else. In addition, if you don’t absolutely love your own branding and company image, you won’t want be proud to promote it - which isn’t a good thing. Through design, we help you create the perfect look for your business so that you will just love advertising it!

We also design anything that can be printed, emailed or downloaded from the web. That includes everything you’ll ever need for your business as well as posters, banners, magazines, manuals, books, catalogues, whatever... If you’re not sure we can do it, just email and ask us.

Plus we only do great design and will let you know if what you’re asking for is not going to make an impact or achieve the result you want. We also believe that less is more and you’ll find that most of our design work is simple, bold and striking.

If you’ve joined our Facebook Page you’ll find loads of albums of the work that we’ve done to help convince you to take that one explosive step and let us help with getting you ‘out there’.

Click here to read what clients have said about our work!

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:33:00.019+02:00

Legendary Logos
leg’endary a. famous, renowned person or event

Yes, that’s you and your company if you take advantage of what we can do for you: logo revamping, design, or development.

Once again, we believe that bold and simple works best. A bold and simple logo is more effectively imprinted on the memory (in case you’re thinking this is nonsense - this is based on research).

And you have options.

Logo revamping is the first. If you quite like your existing logo but just need it zooted up or modernised a lot or a little. You let us know. We can revamp your logo within 24 working hours of receiving your order.

With the logo design option, you let us know exactly what you want, (e.g. a purple square with a white thumbs-up in the centre). We draw it for you in a few different styles and you choose the one you like best. We can design you a logo within 36 working hours of your order.

Logo development is a bit more complicated and takes a little bit longer than the previous two options because this is the option you’ll choose if you’re not exactly sure what you want. You may have a basic idea but want an awesome image that will represent your company and what you stand for, perfectly. With this option we do some research. We look at your market, your competitors and even send you a form to fill in to help us narrow down your needs and requirements. It takes about 3-5 working days and you’ll get 3 different concepts with variations of each to choose from.

Click here to check out some of our latest logo designs.

Remember to visit our Packages page for prices and to decide which option is best for you.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:33:00.018+02:00

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:31:00.018+02:00

Brilliant Branding

brill’iant a. shining, sparkling, splendid, very clever, distinguished

All of the above can epitomise your company branding if you do it right!

Logo design, company image and branding are often confused with each other. To ensure that your branding is really brilliant, you need to understand the differences between the three.

Your Logo identifies your business in its simplest form, using a symbol or a mark. The bolder and simpler that mark is, the more effective will be its impact.

Your Identity is the visual system that forms your company’s ‘dress code’, your business card, letterhead, website and other stationery, signage and banners, adverts, packaging inserts, staff dress. Basically, all visual elements that represent your business.

Your Branding is the perceived emotional image of your company that your clients develop over time (i.e. years, not overnight). This is created by how you deal with your clients and how they feel when they make use of your product or service. So, your brand comprises everything that your company does, and should harmonise with your logo and image.

And, yes, small-businesses can be brands. You don’t have to be a huge corporate concern to benefit from great branding. But not many small-business owners aware of this. Which is where we come into the picture to educate you on ways to make your little company splendid and get it to stand out from the crowd of your competitors.

Our part in the whole scheme of getting your small-business ‘out there’ and in helping you ‘reel in’ great clients, is to lay the foundations for your company branding through design. Although we will give you lots of ideas on how to use the designs we create for you and how to market your company with them, what you actually do with them and how you keep your promises to your client is up to you.

This is why it is so important that the work we do for you is an accurate representation of what your company is all about, and why we insist on you completing a comprehensive form before we undertake any logo design work for you.

Please remember to visit our Freebies page and take advantage of the free information supplied to help you use your logo and marketing materials effectively so that your branding becomes brilliant!

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:31:00.017+02:00

Perfect Printing

per’fect a. complete, finished, excellent, of highest quality

Although we are not a printing company, we do work with a really great, friendly printer who supplies us with superb digital and lithographic printing.

If you don’t already have a regular printer who delivers the goods for you, then we can make a plan. And our rates are really competitive. Anything from a few business cards, a banner or two, or signs; to thousands of brochures, training manuals or books. We can handle it all.

But if you prefer to use your own printer, we will supply you with your final files in the highest print-ready format for the type of printing you want...

Just a little note on the two basic types of printing we offer, to help you establish what you need ...

The Digital Printing process is perfect for small quantities like business cards, flyers, posters, invites or postcards. This process uses a powdered toner mix of four colours (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). Even a one-colour print uses all four colours to make it up. This is the most economical option if you’re wanting quantities of less than 1000 units of anything - and the turnaround time is fast! The only downfall is that the colour isn’t always consistent and may vary slightly from one print run to the next.
Wide-format Digital printing is used for printing large signs, canvases, banners and posters and works on a similar principle as standard digital printing, but uses sprayed ink instead of toner.

Lithographic Printing is carried out on a big printing press and uses a computer-to-plate process and specialised ink. It is more suitable for large quantities. Colour mixing is precise and can be matched from one print run to the next.

Click here to download a pdf file (170kb) of our latest basic printing prices.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:30:00.038+02:00

Cosmic Creations is based in the breathtaking province of kwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Please email us at cosmic.creations@mweb.co.za for any queries or to request more info on what we can do for you. We don’t process verbal orders or instructions so, even if you phone, you’re still going to need to drop us an email with what you want.

We prefer emailing because phoning tends to interrupt our brilliant creative process, but if you must phone, the numbers are 031 701 9356 or 083 459 5852.

Click here to fill in and send us an order form and we’ll get back to you!

To keep in touch on a regular basis and up-to-date with our latest projects and designs, please Like our Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/cosmic.creations or follow us on www.twitter.com/ @cosmicreations.

Because we work on an appointment-only basis, let us know if you want to schedule a meeting at our awesome Cowies Hill studio. Talk soon.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:30:00.037+02:00

We like to share what we know because it helps your business grow!

Usually free stuff is some sort of ploy to get you to buy something, or to extract your email address for illicit bulk email advertising. This is neither of those. Although what we do as a company will help you grow your business, you are in no way obliged to use us for your designwork just because we’re giving you free useful information, but we hope you will anyway, simply because we love to help small businesses become great.

The following free downloads have been created by us to give you inspiration and affordable, creative ideas on making your small business. We know that marketing a business is hard work! Especially if you don’t know where to start. But persistence, consistency and creative thinking are key elements to success.

Just click on each of the icons below to get started on your fun, exciting and inspirational small-business adventure. And watch this space because we’ll be adding new free stuff whenever we can. And you’re welcome to share with friends, family, colleagues, clients, on Facebook or Twitter.

.....

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:30:00.034+02:00

This is my secret website page that no-one's supposed to find.

If you've found it, lucky you, but you're probably wanting to know what it's for.

Those two engraved metal plates you see below are called yantras, and have been specially energised for prosperity and abundance. They are kept in my studio in strategic positions and have worked so well that I thought, 'what the heck', I'll put them in my online studio too, so here they are, sitting quietly energising my website.

Om Shri Kubera Mahalakshmi Satyadeva
Dattadaraya Om Kubera-ya Namaha.
Om Shreem, Shreem, Shreem.
Om Bhur Bhuva Swaha, Om Tat Savitur Varenyam,
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahee, Dhiyo Yonaha Prachodayat.

2012-01-14T10:29:00.028+02:00

Handmade jewellery photographed for Kenshinsei.

Smudge products and gemstone jewellery for Pod Products

Pet bedding accessories photographed for House of Poochy.
Golfing accessories photographed for SimarkiHandmade mosaic products for Bijan Mosaics.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:29:00.027+02:00

Does your company sell small to medium-sized products that can be photographed for your marketing? Examples of products that are easy to photograph for a small business are toys, jewellery, sporting goods, shoes, candles, foods, ceramic goods, appliances, etc - you get the idea.

Or do you have photographs that need to be deep-etched. Deep-etching is design lingo for ‘removing the background’ from an image. Not all photos can be edited in this way. They need to be in high-resolution and have a clearly defined edge. Just send us your photos and we’ll let you know if we can deep-etch them.

We have a mini photo studio and a great camera so we can photograph your products on a brilliant white background so they look clean and professional and available for you to use wherever you want to.

Obviously we can’t photograph large products like cars, heavy machinery or buildings and please don’t ask us to photograph live animals as all photography is done on our premises and that would just be awkward.

Plain, straightforward photographic work is charged at our standard hourly rate of R280 and we can probably take about 30 good shots in an hour. If file conversion and editing is minimal, then you can get a great set of photos for a really good price!
Just click on this little camera to check out some of our product photography, or check out the Product Photography album on our Facebook Page.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:29:00.026+02:00

It’s so much easier to decide what you need when everything is grouped nicely into categories. From experience, we know that small-businesses need to watch their finances, so each of our packages is created in a way that can easily be accommodated into your marketing plan and budget as and when you can afford it.

To save you having to visit our website every time you want to access our packages, we’ve created a downloadable file for you save to your desktop and revisit any time you like. Or to share with clients and friends who you feel might also benefit from our great deals.

Just remember that the current packages are valid for 2012 only and that you’ll need to download a new file when our prices change.

Just click the package to download the 3.6 mb PDF document. (Depending on the speed of your connection, it may take a couple of minutes, so go and get a little snack while you wait).

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:29:00.025+02:00

Book design, layout and typesetting is a specialised field and there are not many graphic designers who also do this. We manage a number of book projects for numerous publishing houses and private authors and have designed and created more than 100 books over the past 5 years. Book design involves a number of steps, as follows.

Typing your book

Usually the author does this themself in MS Word or its Open Source equivalent. We don’t really do book typing any more because it’s so much easier for authors to just do it themselves.

Designing your book

The design of your book involves the sort of layout that will be used throughout and includes the size of the pages, the page margins, page number and title-header positioning, heading sizes, fonts, content and imprint pages, chapter part-pages, positioning of images, and indexes and appendices.

Cover Design

The design of your book cover has to take many factors into account from the size of your book, the type of book, how many pages it has, whether a spine is required, the type of binding necessary, who you’ll be selling it to, where you’ll be selling it and how you’ll be printing it.

Illustrations and Photos

If you need illustrations for your book, Cosmic Creations can create digital images, depending on your requirements. Depending on the illustration style you are looking for, sometimes it is necessary to hire an illustrator. We can also take photographs for your books, depending on their nature. Just ask us.

Book Layout

Once the design of your book is finalised, an electronic layout template has to be created for your book with all the pages in their different formats. We use either Corel Draw or Adobe InDesign for this.

Typesetting

This is very different to typing. Typesetting involves streaming the final corrected text through from a supplied text document into the electronic layout template that has been created and adjusting it so that everything fits nicely. It also involves making sure that the word-spacing is even (kerning), justification is balanced and images are the correct resolution, among other things.

Printing your book

Your book needs to be configured in a specific way for print. Any respectable printing company won’t reproduce a book from a Word document, unless it’s merely loose sheets for proof purposes. The colour settings have to be correct and the whole book has to be packaged with fonts and images before it is ready to print.

Self-Publishing your book

This involves obtaining an ISBN number and barcode for your book and promoting your book yourself via book-launches, talks and presentations.

eBooks

These are great! Maybe you want to sell your book online, or you want to supply it to students as part of a training course so they can print it out themselves, or maybe you just want an e-booklet to supply your clients with extra information about your product or service.

Whichever of the above options you’re after, we can do them all. Just give us a call, drop us an email and let us know what you need and we’ll send you a quote.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban

2012-01-14T10:23:00.007+02:00

The World Wide Web is an amazing, never-ending marketplace for what you do. Any small-small business who does not use the internet to promote their product or service is just silly. If you can afford to have a telephone then you can afford the internet. And you’re never too old to learn something new.

There are so many ways to market your business for free online that we thought we would include some of them here for you.

Make use of email
There are myriad free online email platforms. Our favourite for a starting business who doesn’t want to pay an email service-provider every month is Google Mail (or Gmail). A Gmail account has so many related applications like a task-list, calendar, file-storage facility, chat, and many others. The only downfall with a Gmail account is that prospective clients might thing you’re just small-fry if they see gmail.com at the end of your email address. Fortunately if you have a Google-generated custom-domain website (like Blogger), you can also have a custom email address. So if your website address is www.mybusiness.com, then your email address can be set up to be me@mybusiness.com. How cool is that?
Ways you can use email for marketing your business include letting your clients know about specials you’re running, events you’re hosting or new product launches. Try and send out an email to your clients every week keeping them up to date.

Make use of social media
So many small-businesses think that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other online media platforms are stupid. Really, they are absolutely not! They are free and a great way to get people to know about what you do. So, if you aren’t already using one of these platforms, now’s the time to get started. Give us a shout if you need help because we can even help you set them up.
Ways you can use social media for your business is by sharing interesting website links related to your product or service, uploading photos of your products or events and, generating interaction with your clients regarding your products or their interests.

Get a website
There are numerous free online platforms that you can use to create your own website, so there’s really no excuse not to have one. Most of them allow you to upload photos and even attachments for download.
Ways that you can use a website to promote your business is by using it as an online catalogue of what you do, by making sure that all your clients know you have a website that they can visit for info on your business, and by ensuring that your website address is included on all your company stationery and advertising media.

Get a blogsite
A blogsite is different to a website. A standard website is stagnant and merely serves as a place where visitors can find out all about what you do. A blogsite is a sort of online diary that clients can subscribe to. When they do, they are called ‘followers’ and will receive your latest message directly into their email inbox every time you share something. There are a number of free online platforms that you can use to create a blog. Ways that you can use your blog to promote your business. Try and write something every week. It doesn’t have to be long but should be related to your product or service. You can let your followers know how they can benefit from individual products, tell them about upcoming events or special promotions and even invite guest bloggers or clients to write a related article that you can share.

We can help you set up and manage all of these. Just tell us which one you want and we’ll let you know what’s involved.

Graphic Design, Graphic Design Durban, Logo Design, Logo Design Durban, Small Business Branding Durban