Branding
Before you launch a new logo: checking and registering your trade mark
Many new brands launch in January. Here is how to check a name and logo are free to use, and what registering a UK trade mark involves.
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Ideas, guides and opinion on graphic design, branding, visual communication and copywriting, for anyone who wants their message to look as clear as it sounds.
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Bland documents can become something people actually want to read. A good business idea deserves branding and communications that do it justice. apila is a place to share how that happens, written by designers, writers and the people who commission them.
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logos and identity, stationery, brochures, magazines, packaging, signage, leaflets, banners, infographics, typography, colour, layout, websites, social media graphics, tone of voice, headlines, editing, proofreading, presentations, reports, accessibility, print production & more.
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Graphic Design
identity, stationery, folders, flyers, brochures, magazines and banners: how to plan, brief and judge them
Web Design
simple, easy-to-update websites shaped around what your visitors actually need
Copywriting & editing
putting your message across concisely and effectively, in print and on screen
Latest articles
Print design
Putting QR codes on flyers and packaging without inviting quishing
People are being warned not to scan QR codes in public. If your print relies on them, here is how to design codes customers can trust.
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Copywriting
How to write a clear Christmas opening hours notice for 2026
With Boxing Day moving to Monday 28 December, festive opening hours are easy to get wrong. Here is how to write a notice nobody misreads.
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Packaging
Writing green claims for packaging and ads that stand up to scrutiny
A leaf icon and a shade of green can make an environmental claim on their own. Here is how to write and design eco messages you can back up.
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Digital design
Designing Christmas marketing emails that get past Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook
The best-designed Christmas email is wasted if it lands in junk. These are the sender rules that shape layout and copy this season.
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Branding
Using AI-generated images in your branding: where UK copyright stands
If your logo or campaign imagery came out of an AI tool, ownership is less certain than you might think. Here is the current UK picture.
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Copywriting
Black Friday banners and price copy under the CMA's drip pricing rules
The price in your Black Friday banner now has to be the price people actually pay. Here is how to lay out offers that stay clear and compliant.
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Accessibility
The European Accessibility Act: a design checklist for UK websites selling to the EU
The EU's accessibility law has applied since June 2025. If you sell to EU consumers, these are the design fixes to prioritise.
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Web design
Redesigning your cookie banner after the ICO's 2026 guidance
New exceptions mean some sites can show a lighter banner, but only if their analytics really are limited. Here is what changes on screen.
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Print design
Christmas print deadlines 2026: work back from the last posting dates
The posting dates for Christmas 2026 are out. Here is how to turn them into a working timetable for cards, mailers and printed inserts.
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Graphic design
Write a headline that matches the article
A headline makes a promise before the reader reaches the first paragraph.
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Keep quotations attached to their context
A short quotation can carry more certainty than its speaker intended when the surrounding question disappears.
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Build a small glossary around reader confusion
A glossary is most useful when it resolves words that interrupt the reader's task.
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Put instructions in the order people act
Instructions can be accurate sentence by sentence and still fail as a sequence.
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Ask for editorial feedback that can be used
A request to share any thoughts often produces comments on whatever each reviewer notices first.
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Make editorial approval a specific decision
Approved can mean fact-checked, visually reviewed or ready to publish, depending on who says it.
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Name Your Navigation for the Person Reading It
The language inside an organisation is not always the language a visitor would use to find something.
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Hand Over Copy and Links Without Losing the Context
A handover can contain all the right files and still leave the next person unsure which wording is approved.
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How to Write a Design Brief Your Designer Will Thank You For
Most design projects that go wrong were never quite right at the start. Here is how to write a brief that gets you better work, faster.
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Branding
Building a Brand Identity on a Small Budget
You do not need a five-figure agency fee to look professional. You need a few good decisions, applied consistently. Here is where to start.
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Copywriting
Words and Pictures: Why Copy and Design Should Be Planned Together
Copy written in isolation and dropped into a layout rarely fits. Treating words and visuals as one job produces clearer, more persuasive work.
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