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...as I sit here in my car waiting to go to see a new client.

I'm half an hour early, so what better way to pass the time than sitting by the sea!

...Bueno Productions are a media production company which develop Commercials, Corporate Videos and Showreels for individuals, businesses and small organisations around the UK.

They've also co-produced the award winning documentary Beware The Moon: Remembering An American Werewolf In London for Universal Studios, as well as producing Cleanin' Up The Town: Remembering Ghostbusters, charting the creation and evolution of the much loved Ghostbuster films.

To see their new website visit: www.buenoproductions.com

 ...for the 'Cycle The Lights' fundraising event, which will involve Simon Curtis cycling around the UK, this March, visiting every on-shore lighthouse along the way.

He'll be aiming to raise awareness and money for two ovarian cancer charities 'Ovarian Cancer Action' and 'Overcome'.

To find out more about this event and to help raise as much money as possible, please visit the website www.cyclethelights.co.uk

Good luck Simon!!

...then check out Qik Video Camera for any iPhone.

It only costs £1.19 from the App Store and is perfect for older iPhone and 3G iPhone models which haven't got video capabilities built in.

I downloaded it to my iPhone last night and was very impressed.

Check out the App Store at the following link: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/qik-video-camera-for-any-iphone/id348396029?mt=8#

...as our beloved old Peugeot 306 took it's final road journey towards the car maker in the sky, to be replaced with our new Peugeot car.

All that remains of the old one are these Peugeot 306 badge letters that my wife insisted I picked off the car before leaving it behind at the garage in Exeter!

It was in the family for over 7 glorious years and we'll miss it greatly...

...Right, that's enough sadness for today, let's get on with some design work!

...with the launch of their new iPad!

In the words of Apple, it's "The best way to experience the web, email, photos, and video. Hands down."

If you'd like to watch the keynote speech from Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiling the revolutionary new iPad, click on the link below;

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/1001q3f8hhr/event/index.html

...No?!! Well if you did, wonder no more. Here's what they both look like when photographed and then manipulated using the Lego Photo app on the Apple iPhone.

Check out the LEGO Click website for more info or download the app from the iTunes store.

...finally goes live this morning!

A new website was something Southernhay Cleaners had never had before, mainly because they had always used traditional forms of advertising like the Yellow Pages, to promote their business.

Sarah at Southernhay Cleaners, wanted a website which would show potential customers the large range of cleaning services they could offer.

They also wanted to include a news/blog style page where they could keep new and existing clients up-to-date with any offers or job vacancies, plus a chance to add some fun and more light hearted information about the Southernhay Cleaning business and team!

With the new logo, which I designed back in November, and a newly sign written van which was completed shortly after, they now have this brand new website to help promote their cleaning business.

As the whole design, layout and branding compliments their new look, it will massively help them stand out from all their competition and show themselves as being a more professional & trustworthy cleaning business for the Exeter & Torbay area.

If you'd like to have a look at their new website, visit www.southernhaycleaners.co.uk

...Your feet are cold?! You don't have any feet!

...and Best Wishes for 2010 to All my clients, family and friends, past, present and future!!

...and enjoy your day!

...with my new logo design and refreshed Frankman 'f' icon.

500 glorious pounds worth of print including letterheads, comp slips, folding business cards and double sided postcards, all compliments of Printing.com



All for sending in a pic of myself dressed up like Freddie Mercury and acting the fool, I managed to then win 3rd prize in their popstars competition way back in January. Thank you, Printing.com



My website is now finished, now too is my stationery, so I'm full on ready for the big 2010 marketing push.

 ...with his fundraising event 'Cycle The Lights'.

Simon will be cycling around the UK, next March, visiting every on-shore lighthouse along the way, in a bid to raise awareness about ovarian cancer whilst raising as much money as possible for the charity 'Ovarian Cancer Action'.

To find out more about this event and to help raise as much money as possible, please visit the website www.cyclethelights.co.uk

Good luck Simon!

...I shall be working up until 3pm on Wednesday 23rd December 2009, before switching off my lovely computer and stopping work over the Christmas period. I will, however, be contactable by email or mobile if you experience any website or email problems/emergencies (my clients only!).

I will return to work on Monday 4th January 2010 (subject to hangovers and over eating!) and will be ready for all your NEW design and website projects for 2010.

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!

Kind Regards,

Mark Vallance

...in the Frankman household. The tree and decorations are now up and the last full week of work begins in the run up to Christmas week.

...and it has been a very busy week. Might even put the Christmas decorations up this weekend!

...the Frankman Design 'Conga' line of clients.

A little bit of trivia, but did you know the Conga is a Latin American carnival march that was first developed in Cuba and became popular in the United States in the 1930s and 1950s. Dancers would form a long, processing line. It has three shuffle steps on the beat, followed by a kick that is slightly ahead of the fourth beat.

True or False, who knows?! but thanks to Wikipedia for that info.

Click here if you'd like to see the work I've been doing for Smarter Accounting.

...the weather this weekend is miserable, it's dark, and I've loads of work to do next week, so I thought I'd get ahead of myself and add a little festive cheer to my website a few days earlier than planned. Ho, ho, ho?!

...on the Grand Opening of their new Skin Therapy & Beauty department.

On Thursday I popped along to see Kate, Gary and the team at K2, in Newton Abbot, to check out the new look salon with it's revamped shop frontage and interior.

I was amazed just how good it now looks, especially the whole new skin and beauty department. I was especially pleased to see the old K2 shop signage had finally come down and been replaced with the new logo and colour scheme, which looks fantastic and matches in perfect with their website.

Congratulations K2 and I wish you all the best!

...like an old college project about my cartooning past, called 'My Cartoon History 1982-1992'.

It was a collection of some original illustrations and cartoons that I'd created between those years, which was put together in a year by year catalogue of my ever changing cartoon and illustration styles.

The project book itself is just over 17 years old, and some of the illustrations inside it are nearly 27 years old!

The picture of 'Skull Island' is the oldest illustration in the book. I created this at school for a piece of story writing when I was about 9 years old.

Big hair was all the rage back then (I think?!) which seemed to be a popular theme throughout some of my cartoon characters at the time... so was my need to draw pillar boxes with people inside them!

Who knows what was going on inside my head at that time, but whatever it was, I totally enjoyed my drawings!

...of my new clients this month.

Southernhay Cleaners SW Ltd are a firm of Commercial and Domestic cleaners based in Exeter, Devon, who contacted me as they required a new logo and website.

I've been busy creating their new logo design (see right) which has now been carried across onto some new vehicle signage I designed for their brand new van, so you should see that whizzing around Exeter very soon!

Over the coming weeks I'll begin work on their new website, and once it's all ready and live, I'll let you know!

Bye for now...

...about my new website, which is much appreciated!

I've been working on this new website for the past 2 to 3 months and I'm so pleased that it's just about finished. I still need to do some checks and adjustments here and there, which is to be expected, but on the whole it's pretty much as I wanted it to look.

If you'd seen my old website you'd probably agree that it was all a little dated in style and content. Not to mention built using old web technology and techniques.

But not this new one!

I wanted this website to be far more visual and show potential new clients exactly what kind of work I could produce right from the very start. Hopefully visitors will be able to find all the info they need, as well as see examples of my work, quicker and easier than the old website.

I admit, my English is a little rough around the edges and my grammar could certainly do with some help in places, but I hope visitors will cut me a little slack in that department and just enjoy browsing around my site and looking at my work.

I also wanted the website to be much easier to update with new work and projects. Only time will tell, but I'm reasonably confident there. Another plan is to be able to easily change the colour scheme and background image to keep the site looking different and perhaps make it fit in with seasonal themes or big events. Even I don't know whether that'll work yet, but I'll soon find out come Christmas.

Finally, there's 'my blog'. I didn't have a blog/news page on my old site, but as everyone else seems to have one nowadays I thought it was time I got one too! I'll try to keep the boring text to minimum in the future, but as it's all a bit new to me at the moment, I'm just going to type a little bit more.

On that note, I think it's time to end it just there, so thanks again for visiting my new website and please check back every now and then to see what I've been up to!

Thanks, Mark

...then it means you're now looking at the BRAND NEW Frankman Design website.