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Author: Bluestep Solutions

2016 marks the 2nd year that Bluestep have been one of the proud co-sponsors of the Charity Softball League & we’ve loved every minute of it.

And over the past summer months, the charity team have been working closely with the events team to provide these snazzy t-shirts for the charity teams who have been training and competing in the games.

On the LCSL big finale day last Thursday, the Bluestep team, along with the 6 league finalists headed into London’s Hyde Park where the sun blazed all afternoon long and the games went on until the sun went down.

Before the trip down to London, the girls popped into Costco, raided the fridges and clearly bought enough food to feed the 5000 (or enough for 6 hungry softball finalists & their colleagues).

The girls got a quick selfie in before they drove the hefty refrigerated truck down the motorway & into the centre of London.
The charity team roped in the help of some of the other big and small Bluesteppers.

Here are the team all set & ready to go in their matching Bluestep t-shirts (looking good guys).

The sandwiches & crisps went down an absolute storm & despite how many we had, we’d been cleared out by the end of the last game.
It looks like the Bluestep selfie boards did the rounds of the park.

The sunset on Hyde Park as the games carried on through the evening.

As the final game of the day took place, tension was thick in the air and after all those long months of softball sweat, blood and tears, it all drilled down to those last few swings of the bat which would determine who the crowning winners of the 2016 league would be.

The British Heart Foundation Basemakers pulled through and reigned victorious of the London Softball Charity League games for 2016.

Throughout the games, we ran a social media competition and would award the team who posted the best content on Twitter with a shiny plaque after the finals. With their catalogue of epic pyramid photos & hilarious gifs, we named The Sloths as social media champions.

We were even given our very own handmade medal from the amazing kids from Action for Children.

So we want to say a massive thank you to the London Charity Softball League team for selecting us to sponsor such an amazing event, we had so much fun spending a summers afternoon in the park with all of the involved charities. Until next year LCSL.

Rio Olympics 2016 Infographic

Okay, no more puns…I promise. Seriously though, apps are taking the marketing world by storm. With most big name brands already well established on the app download chart, more and more independent and SME businesses are following suit.

It’s 2016, so get involved. Show your customers you’re ahead of the game. Here’s why you shouldn’t miss out on the biggest mobile trend of the decade:

Visibility

Apps are a constant reminder of your brand, constantly visible on a mobile screen. Think about how many times you look at your phone every day. Your customers are doing the same. Get your logo on their home screen.

Speed 

Mobile apps make for a much faster way to engage with your services as opposed to traditional web browsing. Offer booking or purchasing facilities (depending on the nature of your business) making it quicker and easier for customers to connect with you.

Cost effective 

Think of all the letters, leaflets, posters and SMS messages you could save money on, just by installing notifications on your app. Notifications can communicate discount codes, events, reminders and news directly to the people you want to see them.

No more spam! 

No more getting stuck in customers’ spam folders or incessantly checking your open rate on direct mail and mailchimps. Interaction is easy and seamless.

Stand out 

Stand out against your competitors by showing you’re ahead of the game and well versed in modern technology and consumer wants and needs.

Loyalty 

Customised rewards and discounts, first hand communication, loyalty schemes and regular contact are just some of the ways you can build a flawless customer loyalty program into your app.

Fancy getting ahead of the game? Bluestep can help! We offer full design and development services for apps.

Get in touch and let’s talk about how an app can help you.

Don’t panic – our lovely, scenic Northamptonshire office will still be here, but following recent expansion of the company and our evolving client base, we noticed a need for a London presence.

Bluestep will be branching out with a London premise, allowing us to recruit some fabulous new people and making it easier for our London based clients to meet up for coffee, lunch, cake or of course, to discuss exciting projects! Anyone who has worked with Bluestep knows we do whatever it takes to suit our clients’ needs and be as available and efficient as possible – it’s also a big plus that we’re going to be located in the middle of London business hot spot, Bank.

Our new space will be our third UK premises, which is pretty exciting considering Bluestep began at kitchen table (but let’s save that for another blog article!).

We’re so excited at how quickly things are growing and moving at Bluestep and the exciting new clients we are working with. This is a sure sign of big things yet to come.

We’ll be in from 1st Oct so if you fancy meeting up for cake and catch up get in touch and we’ll be happy to give you the grand tour!

Joining us fresh faced from the University of Northampton, Andrew is another local talent we’ve managed to snap up for a 3 month internship. We’re excited to see what more Andrew has to offer here, since his first week has been a real chance for him to show off his talents and skills after gaining his degree in BA Graphic Communication.

Bluestep regularly keeps contact with the University on Northampton and we’re always head hunting for raw talent – Andrew fits the bill perfectly which is why we approached him following the University’s degree show.

Andrew was drawn to Bluestep by the company ethos; the enthusiastic team and the fact that the work we produce can go on to have such an impact on individuals and establishments across the country.

A man of many talents, Andrew is a keen cook and actually chose graphic design over cooking as his specialism! Also an avid football fan, he is season ticket holder at Northampton Town where he regularly supports his local team. He does however, make sure he finds the time to dedicate to his friends and family – be that enjoying a BBQ, watching films or catching up over a drink.
We think Andrew is fitting in just nicely and we can’t wait to see what more he has to offer.

Last week saw the 2016 D&AD New Blood Festival and our design team put down their pencils for the day to soak up all things creative.

The event took place at The Truman Brewery in Shoreditch and hosted 150 speakers over four stages, exhibited some of the world’s best advertising and design and held training sessions and workshops for all visitors. The New Blood section saw some of the UK’s best raw talent showcase their work.

The guys all came back to the office sporting their own personalised Adobe t-shirts created by the team on the Adobe stand. The process started with calligrapher writing up your choice of wording using an Adobe stock which was then uploaded in Photoshop and customised to suit personal tastes with colours and imagery.

We also loved the D&AD branding this year, which tied in beautifully with their tagline, ‘it all starts with a pencil.’
It was a fantastic opportunity for the Blue Step studio to nurture their creative spirits and gain a fresh perspective on current commercial creativity.

The day ended on an even higher note when they were lucky enough to catch the premier of the long awaited Design Disruptors.

If you haven’t caught wind of it yet, check it out!

Last Thursday, a few Bluesteppers headed into the heart of Birmingham to the oh so quirky Spotlight Bar on Lower Trinity Street for the part 2 in the series of Glug’s ‘Craft & Graft’.

When we arrived, we picked up one of these amazing free prints which were created by one of the guest speakers of the night, Supermundane and also managed to grab a few industry mags (thanks Glug).

What we found the most intriguing about the Glug enterprise was their vision for growth, the community strives by 2017 to have presences in 100 plus cities (we predict a TED Talks scenario, any one agree?). Not only that, they have some pretty big names involved with their venture, with the likes of D&AD, The Drum and Google too.

This night was all about championing creativity, centred around the life of hard working designers working in installations, displays and print for some of the biggest brands in the U.K, all of which was to be discussed over a whiskey or two.

The evening kicked off with the sassy duo, Isabelle & Helen. These two ladies specialise in set design and interactive installations. If you’re a dedicated ‘Christmas shop window display’ fan, you would have probably have seen their work in the past. Commissioned by THE Selfridges, the pair created a captivating installation themed around ‘the galaxy’. The pair went into detail about all the hard grafting that went into their crafting for their projects and the tools that were involved, including how they worked in some questionable locations until the early hours of the morning. And it was all for the love of the work.

Another of the girls projects centred around a debate that essentially went viral, ‘Pig or Wig’, a very real trivia that tested and tormented the audience. Take a look for yourself and play along why don’t you. Next up was the girl with an array of skilled strings to her bow, Emily Forgot. Throughout her time on the podium, she went through her work and how the creative was derived from all of her sources of inspiration. These taking the form of canvassed art pieces and architecture, through extensive research (the graft) she created the craft for the likes of Dulux, Computer Arts magazine and an extensive list of exhibitions. Check out her blog here for an insight into her drivers and inspo.

After a quick break where the team grabbed some printed goodies (and beer) from the court yard, we headed inside to listen to Supermundane / Rob Lowe. He captured our attention instantly, with his super bright video that showed his finished craftings, complimenting his super bright personality very nicely indeed. With his hand drawings, work in typography and graphic design, the colours he uses across all of his creative reminded us of 80’s pop / children’s illustration and we were all hooked. And when flicking through his website, we’re sure that you will appreciate our love for his work too.

To find out more about Glug as a brand, take a look at their line up for future events here.
(Images courtesy of inkygoodness)

Meet David, the newest addition the thriving Bluestep design team! David joins Bluestep armed with 25 years experience in the design industry and with many strings to his bow; we can’t wait to see how his expertise will take Bluestep to the next level.

Things are changing quite rapidly at Bluestep, and we strive to keep our services up to date so that we are always on hand to exceed our clients’ expectations. Our studio’s capacity was filling up fast, and there was an evident need for a senior figure to help manage workloads and offer creative direction when needed. We want to be in a position to offer our clients only the best, and we believe that with a solid team of talented and experienced individuals we’ll be able to do just that. With a Studio Manager, our studio can continue their fantastic work in the most efficient manner. That’s where David comes in, and with his solid background in design, animation and photography we can’t wait to utilise his talents to maximise the potential of our design department.

Anyone who knows Bluestep will know we’re far from a boring bunch, and personality is at the forefront of everything we do. We’re thinking David will gel quite nicely with the team as he hopes to carry Bluestep to the next level with a sense of humour and a smile on his face.

When he’s not manning the Bluestep studio, no doubt he’ll be busy playing guitar in his mod band; photographing bands, mod weekenders, northern soul all-nighters and hot rod shows (call it sub culture photography); chasing after his kids, or watching Newcastle United all that way up north!

Welcome to the team, David.

Healthy Mind, Healthy Body

We all know by now that a healthy body equals a healthy mind. And with the growing wellness trend that’s flooding our social media feeds, gyms and supermarkets, it’s hard to escape the dawning reality that maybe those mid morning digestives might be better replaced with a banana...

We’ve put together some ideas for how you and your team can implement some healthy habits into your working day!

Nutrition

Office fruit bowls.

Dot fruit bowls around the office and top them up weekly, or twice weekly with a variety of fresh, colourful fruit. If it’s there, you’re more likely to grab a piece of fruit rather than head for the biscuit tin.

A communal blender

In your shared kitchen (as long as cleaned properly after usage) is a great way to encourage staff to have a healthy breakfast or snack. Some people can’t stomach a solid breakfast first thing, but skipping breakfast leads to a dip in concentration and a slow, sluggish metabolism.

A smoothie

Maker is a great option.

Swap things

Like crisps and chocolate for raw veggies. Not doing for ya?

How about adding a nice dip

Such as organic peanut butter, hummus or cottage cheese. It’ll fill you up much better and keep blood sugar levels steady until your next meal.

Sweet tooth

If you have a sweet tooth, dried fruit and dark chocolate are great substitutes for sweeties.

Water!

Make sure you constantly have a large glass or bottle of water at your desk that’s regularly topped up throughout the day. Sometimes thirst is mistaken for hunger, but keep hydrated will ensure you’re not just eating for the sake of it.

Exercise

Exercise Walk, run, cycle to work (if you can). This is the easiest option. And by strategically fitting exercise into the time you’d usually take the commute to work, it makes it much easier to keep up the habit. You’ll feel revitalised and refreshed afterwards, and it’s a great way to wind down at the end of your working day, and better for you than that large glass of Pinot Noir… If that’s not an option for you, try parking further away from the office than usual, or if you take the bus or train, get off at an earlier stop and walk.
Take 15, 20, 30 or even 60 minutes at lunch to go out and walk!

Explore

Explore your surroundings, walk around the shops. Just get up and out of your chair.

Sitting at a desk all day

Sitting at a desk all day is extremely detrimental towards your overall physical health.
Take the stairs. Avoid lifts and escalators at all costs. If you have working legs, use them – you’re lucky! Set a timer.

30 minutes

Every 30 minutes get up from your desk and walk about, do the tea round, go to the bathroom. Anything to stretch your legs and get your blood pumping.
Get up, and talk to other colleagues rather than calling them, particularly if they’re only in the next room!

When the Northampton School of Arts cordially invited Bluestep for an evening of creative exhibition, we jumped straight on the band wagon. Each year the University hosts The Degree Show at the Avenue Campus, and each year we’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to scout out the raw and rising talent amongst the students within the design, illustration and graphics specialisms.

Attending the opening night on Friday 10th June, excitement and anticipation was thick in the air amongst those showcasing their projects to the public, but to be frank we thought that all of the work we saw was not only incredibly creative, but inspiring also. The evening took us through some intriguing exhibitions and art installations, with pieces from fashion and textiles to moving image and animation; giving us some ideas of new skills we can adopt and directions we can take ourselves in.
Amongst those from the agency who attended the evening, we had Tiffany, Ollie and Rebecca from our design department along with Ben, Bluestep’s MD. The exhibition setting brought back some familiar memories for our own designer Rebecca who was snapped up by Bluestep shortly before her own installation at Northampton Uni just a mere two years ago.

We are always hugely keen to hear from local students and to see their work, so if you’re looking to enhance your portfolio with internship opportunities, would love to hear from you!

If you are you interested in going along to the exhibition yourself for an afternoon of creative insight, you can book a space here. Tickets for the show are free and the installation runs up until Sunday 19th June.

Bluestep is proud to be supporting the London Charity Softball League for the second year running! So today, we thought we’d make the most of the sporadic British sunshine and use the opportunity for a garden photo shoot. Squinty eyes aside, we think the team look pretty good showing off a selection of the softball team kits we produced.

As the second biggest softball league in Europe, we have supplied the kits for up to 1,700 players including every team in the league and even personalised umpire tops. Working with and providing daily support for over 250 charities, we love having the chance to make our contribution and support them in whatever way we can.

There’s a pretty nice story behind the league too. It actually started when a few charity workers came together to play softball on some old football pitches…who’d have thought it would go on to become one of the biggest softball leagues in the UK?!

The Bluestep team will be supporting this year’s final in August. Who knows, maybe next year we can get a team together ourselves. We’re a pretty young and fit bunch, don’t ya think?

With Bluestep seeing such a rapid growth and increase in workload, especially in recent months, it’s only natural our team should grow to facilitate every area of our clients’ wants and needs. With five new faces joining the team in the last couple of months, allow us to introduce our newest recruits.

Shanice Martin

Meet Shanice

Graduating from De Montfort University with a first class degree in Creative Management and Marketing, Shanice quickly snapped up a social media executive role. Running social media campaigns, advertisements and developing content plans for some big well known clients, Shanice took to the industry like a duck to water, before giving in to the urge to flee the pond and do some travelling overseas…

After spending some months in the most beautiful areas of the world including Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand, Shanice was soon drawn back to her homeland where she sealed the deal on an account management role as part of our healthcare team. When not in the office, shopaholic Shanice can be found in Zara buying shoes, eating doughnuts or in the gym!

Alice Goddard

Meet Alice

Another victim of the travel bug, Alice joins Bluestep armed with an impressive worldly wisdom as a result of travelling South America, South East Asia and New Zealand and Fiji. After graduating from Leeds Metropolitan University, she also lived in Australia for a year, before setting up base in London where she worked as a Lettings Negotiator at a popular London Estate agent. With her effervescent personality and cast iron work ethic, it was clear that Alice had a talent for sales. After experiencing the fast paced London life style Alice wanted to continue to pursue her passion for sales in a less corporate and more creative environment. Enter Bluestep.

Alice has settled right in to her role on the Charity team looking after clients such as Alzheimer’s Research UK, Crohns and Colitis UK and Sue Ryder. When she’s not working you’ll find her cooking, out socialising or engrossed in an episode of Game of Thrones!

Josh Crawley

Meet Josh

Account manager Josh comes to Blue Step with a colourful background, and his cracking fashion sense isn’t an accident…he actually worked in fashion for five years prior to Bluestep! Running and managing a women’s clothing boutique for three years, it didn’t take long for Josh to put his experience into action setting up his own fashion agency – Mono Fashion.

However, a craving for new challenges and financial stability led Josh to seek out a career change and with a background in people, sales and creativity; Josh is an invaluable asset to the Bluestep charity team. Not only a fashion guru, he also plays semi professional football in his spare time. Josh is passionate about growing Blue Step, and aspires to become a central part of Bluestep’s core team, using his wide skill set to grow relationships and sell our services. He also hopes to travel the world one day with his fiancé by his side…sounds like he’s got the right idea!

Nikki Risi

Meet Nikki

Nikki joins the team with a background in creative account management, a degree in English and a lasting love of writing compelling copy. Another one running out of passport pages, Nikki travelled Australia after graduating from Coventry University, and although she detests the cold weather, homesickness soon brought her back to the UK where she went on to take a CIM marketing course alongside an account executive role. Armed with newly learnt skills under her belt she was oh so quickly snapped up by Bluestep to take on (and smash the target out of) a new challenge, helping clients and Bluestep maximise their marketing efforts.

Nikki is as determined and competitive in the workplace as she is in the gym, with stamina to hold the plank for six minutes (and PLUS) this is no mean feat to her drive to deliver outstanding marketing and communication campaigns. Also a keen baker, she has been feeding the team with sweet treats since her arrival (keep them coming) and has settled into the team very nicely indeed.