Welcome to the Escape Blog

So, I did try and download Firefox at 0:00 on “Download Tuesday” but their server crashed. An hour later I managed it and am pretty pleased with the new version of the browser.

Seems I’m not the only one - see the live download counter - with over 10.3 million downloads less than 38 hours later. Hopefully the hype of version 3, Microsoft’s snail-like approach to software updates and Apple’s more closed approach to development, may see even more in-roads to the web browser’s market share ( Firefox currently has about 13.8% of the market).

It’s easy to promise with marketing.

And, it’s also easy for people to know if you live up to your promises. Which is why it’s always best to shorten the promise and over-deliver.

It’s 6.44pm on ‘download Tuesday‘ and I am still waiting to get on the Firefox website to download Firefox 3. Great browser, but I think your marketing boasts have just come back to bite you on the arse.

My Twitter account is already showing some disgruntled noises and Techcrunch has 115 comments from their post less than an hour in.

Paper prices are set to increase on 1st July with uncoated stock rising by as much as 8%. Current market rumours suggest there may be 2 or 3 rises this year.

As markets cross-over and starting up a business is as accessible as it’s ever been, it is inevitable that audience confusion can set in with increased choice. It makes sense then, that a cohesive brand is as essential as it’s ever been to differentiate your business and create engagement.

Here’s our new whitepaper - How To Create An Effective Brand For Your Business

A nice design with a serious message for this recent report for Gas Regulator Corgi.

Despite the numbers of deaths and casualties that occur as a result this ’silent killer’, there continues to be a great deal of apathy among consumers around the dangers of carbon monoxide. Research has shown that 65% of consumers still do not have a carbon monoxide alarm and over 50% of carbon monoxide incidents could have been avoided if consumers had their gas appliances annually serviced by a CORGI-registered installer.

The Escape transformed a large amount of statistical data such as this into an accessible format, helping to communicate important safety messages in a vibrant and creative way without losing the clarity of our core message.

The report has been received positively by national and regional media, generating a large amount of radio and newspaper coverage and helping to echo our message of gas safety across a wide range of audiences.

For more example of our creative, why not visit the creative case studies on our website?

If you are in the process of choosing a domain name for a new website, why not check out our new white paper, appropriately titled How to choose the right domain name for your business website.

It’s an interesting subject to review and can make a hell of an impact on your search results - especially in niche and vertical markets, as highlighted to me recently when I chose a niche domain name.

From the horses mouth and a nice little updated refresher about duplicate content - on your domains, and others.

So, the ladies from Testway threw down the gauntlet. Oh yes - we love a challenge!

You’re lucky we didn’t show the behind shot.

Typography is an art form that truly amazes and inspires me. Unfortunately, with the advent of computers and libraries of fonts, quality typography is very rare these days. People type, stick with the standards and let it ride.

Great typography, however, is so, so, so, much more. When I work with type, which isn’t very often these days, it’s about spacing, as much as the actual font itself. The leading (space between the lines) and kerning (the space between the letters) are so overlooked these days that it really (more…)

For those of you who don’t know or haven’t received one yet, we are currently sending out a Direct Mail piece to raise awareness of The Escape and our never-ending talents. It has taken the form of a tube of various ‘briefs’, from the trusted Y-front to the racy poser pouch, each having a label explaining the personality of said brief. The call to action is ‘Now we’ve shown you ours, will you show us yours?’

So far it has generated great reaction but none so impressive as the response from our beloved clients at Testway. Theres nothing like fulfilling the call-to-action ‘and’ sending in the evidence…

Thank you ladies, you’ve made our day.