Blog · Optical Design
Notesfrom the studio.
What we learned building websites, print, merch, apps and campaigns. Plain language, with sources, no made-up prices.
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How to prepare files for print
What a good app brief looks like
An email signature that stays out of spam
How to choose paper for your business cards
What a restaurant website needs to include
Case studies on your website: how to show your work
LinkedIn for B2B companies: posts that start conversations
After launch: what to update in your app's first year
Digital business cards: QR codes, vCards and what a scan does
An online store for a clothing brand: what it needs
Cookieless analytics: is your website bringing in clients?
Phone or tablet: one app, different screens
Construction site signs for building contractors
A family business website people trust at first glance
Fall marketing: back to school and back to the office
Internal platforms: when one app replaces three spreadsheets
Brand pack: the seven pieces a new business needs
Spa and wellness websites: calm starts on the screen
AI SEO: how to get recommended by AI assistants
Notifications in a service app: the moments that matter
3D printing for businesses: trophies, models and parts
A website for a sports school or club: what parents look for
Social media photos: when your phone is good enough
Why a clickable prototype saves you weeks
Storefront window signage: what people see from the sidewalk
A tattoo studio website: portfolio first
A monthly newsletter for a small business that gets read
Ordering at the table by QR: how to design the flow
Stickers for packaging and laptops: which ones stay put
A seaside resort website: beach, restaurant, bookings
Your Google profile before summer: what to check now
One search across many sources: how an aggregator works
Wrapping a company fleet: from sketch to install
Hotel websites: what guests look for in the first ten seconds
March 1 and March 8 without clichés: ideas for small firms
Live map tracking: what it looks like in a service app
Company merch: the products people actually wear
A beauty salon website: put booking on the first screen
Instagram for local businesses: a profile that gets messages
An app for a service business: bookings, alerts, payments
Paper for posters and flyers: gloss, matte or uncoated
How fast should a website load in 2026?
What changed in search in 2025, and what comes next
2025
Corporate gifts people actually keep
Next year's marketing plan on a single page
App maintenance after launch: what it covers
Small website security: updates, passwords, backups
Custom boxes and packaging for online stores
Hospitality marketing: what to post when nothing is new
PWA: the app you install straight from the browser
Embroidery on caps and hoodies: which details get lost
Where your website's data lives: EU hosting and GDPR
Fake reviews and EU rules: what you can and can't do
A booking app: what the first version has to do
Construction site safety signs: what ISO 7010 says
An About page that actually convinces people
Short video: one clip for TikTok, Reels and Shorts
Recycled paper and eco materials in print: what's worth it
App roles: administrator, employee, customer
Website photo galleries: how many photos, in what order
What is llms.txt, and is it worth adding to your site?
Team T-shirts: sizes, colors, quantities
Accessibility from June 28: a website checklist
Internal business apps: when Excel stops being enough
Branding a local business: from logo to lit sign
Google AI Overviews: how to get your site cited
A business website in 2025: what still matters
2024
The company wall calendar: format, paper, deadlines
Scheduled posts: a month of social media, organized
User data in an app: what to ask for and what not to
A landing page for a campaign: one page, one goal
Food labels: the mandatory details people tend to miss
Keywords: how to find out what your customers search for
From idea to app: the first two weeks
European Accessibility Act: what changes in June 2025
3D printing for prototypes and small parts
LinkedIn for small businesses: company Page or founder profile
The admin panel: the part of your app only you see
Schema.org in brief: how Google understands your page
Signage for offices and shops: letters, light boxes, decals
Email marketing in 2024: a clean list and one-click unsubscribe
iOS or Android: where to start when you can't do both
Website maintenance: what to check every month
Merch for artists and festivals: what sells at the stand
Your Google Business Profile in 2024: posts, Q&A, photos
Direct bookings for guesthouses and hotels
Letterheads, envelopes, folders: stationery still matters
Passkeys: passwordless sign-in, in brief
AI search: what changes for SEO
Pantone, CMYK, RGB, HEX: one logo, four color codes
INP replaces FID in March: what it means for your site
2023
The year-end campaign: a four-week plan
Holiday corporate gifts that stay on the desk
Offline apps: when it's worth working without internet
Mobile speed: images, fonts and scripts
SPF, DKIM, DMARC: Gmail and Yahoo require them from 2024
Wrapping the company car: what to know first
The product page that sells, in an online store
A month-long content calendar, built in one hour
Design systems: why good apps look the same everywhere
Roll-ups, banners, flags: what to pick for trade shows
A company blog: why it's worth it and how often to post
Threads is here: should your business open an account?
Ordering at the table from an app, step by step
Product labels: what has to fit and in what order
Cookies and consent: a banner that follows the law
Reels or static posts: what works for a small business
Business cards with QR codes: what to put in the code
Web accessibility: contrast, alt text and keyboard access
Universal Analytics stops in July: your GA4 checklist
How to test your app with five people before launch
Brand fonts: licensing, pairing and legibility
Business website or online store: the questions that decide
Writing your website copy with ChatGPT: what works, what doesn't
Brand color palette: how many colors, and why
2022
A 404 page that doesn't lose the visitor
Building a newsletter list the right way
The sign-up screen: where most users walk away
Your site on a phone: 10 checks before launch
The one-page brand guide
Local SEO for a small business: the first steps
Push notifications: when they help and when they annoy
Stickers: vinyl, paper and contour cutting
A contact form that actually brings in messages
Google reviews: how to ask without being pushy
An event poster you can read from five meters away
Domain, hosting, HTTPS: what each one is, in plain terms
Instagram posts that don't sound like ads
MVP: the smallest app worth launching
Bleed, safe margin and trim line, explained
Website images: format, size and compression
Google Analytics 4: what changes and what to do before July 2023
Screen printing, DTF or embroidery: which one for your shirts
What to put on the homepage of a business website
Web app or app store app: how to choose
Vector logo or image file? Why printers ask for SVG or PDF
Your Google Business Profile: what to fill in first
Core Web Vitals explained in plain English
CMYK vs RGB: why screen colors look different on paper
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