So – what was I going to have to do for my free mince pie? Just abseil off the roof of Princesshay in Exeter … dressed as Santa. I knew my kids would love it so I jumped at the chance – and as it happens, – so did many others – there were Santas everywhere! Young, old and lots of different sizes. The last time I abseiled was in the Army, during basic training back in 1989 so I was hoping that my old bones and extra weight wouldn’t be too much of a problem and as it happened … it all went rather well.

An extra bonus was my good friend Michael Blake deciding to join me the day before the event – and my lovely wife treating me to a last meal of my own choosing in Carluccios, prior to the event.

The event was fantastic – really organised. We booked in, picked up our Santa suits – and headed to the staging area. After a quick intro to the ropes and fitting of harnesses etc, we headed up to the roof … 12 Santas in a lift, heading for the roof is quite a surreal sight. Once on the roof it was up a ladder, clip on and away you go. Job done.

Next year they are moving the event to Drake Circus in Plymouth which I am reliably informed, is a little higher. I really hope that I get to do it again as it was great fun and we raised £12,000 for the children too – which can’t be bad thing, can it?

From the off Pete knew what he wanted and it was very much in line with my style and way of doing things. Once I’d convinced him to get a professional photographer on site to do his work justice, we had all the ingredients for a beautiful portfolio website. Shelly Lovegrove took the photos and I am sure you will agree that she did a fabulous job.

My muse (and wife) takes credit for the colours and I immediately started playing with a really simple idea for a logo and brand. I have a problem with doing anything if I don’t think am going to produce a 100% perfect job and I will freely admit that illustration is not my thing. I was tempted to outsource it to make sure this site ticked all the boxes, but at the same time I really felt that I was inside the head of my client to such an extent that – I just ‘knew’ how he wanted it to all end up as far as look and feel. So … I did it myself – and it turned out ok. I know it’s simple, but that’s how I like it and the rest of the site really unfolded from this central point.

Thanks Partner

When I got the logo how I wanted I contacted my new partner Andrew Lathwell who is the real deal when it comes to Graphic Design and asked him to mock up some images of the logo to show how it would look on Pete’s van and as expected, the results were fantastic. It is little touches like this that put my clients at ease, when they realise that they are dealing with professionals.

I could do it all myself but in my opinion, you should stick to what you do well and build partnerships with other professionals that are the best at their thing and then bring it all together. A happy client is a client for long time!

Responsive Design

This is the buzz phrase of the moment – Responsive Design is all about designing your website to work on every and any platform. As a designer you have to make sure that your website looks the same on every PC and Mac – as well as every combination of browser, new and old from every provider – Mozilla, Opera, Safari and of course – good old IE. Well, as if that wasn’t enough – we now have to try and work out how to make the website work on iPhones and iPads too! This website is my first site designed on a whole new framework using HTML5, CSS3 and responsive design. I don’t want to get techy but in essence it involves creating a site just 320 pixels wide to work on an iPhone or any smartphone and then growing the site inch by inch and adding functionality and content as and when you believe it becomes appropriate and/or supportable.

Have a play and by all means get back to me if there is a device on which this site doesn’t look right, all feedback is essential to making sure this is flawless.

The last touch was adding the title boxes to the project pages and I wanted to add a splash of something here – turned out it was just a case of using a script font and trying to give a sense of the project in a snapshot, I think the script contrasts well with the formality of the site.

Going forward

This website will always be clean and maybe projects will come in and out, but I am sure that we can find a way of growing the portfolio, maybe even adding a news section – but I am also aware that Pete wants to keep it clean and unfussy. This website has a very specific role (as a ‘second base’ for people to visit after an initial meeting or quote) and I think it will perform it extremely well.

You can view the live site here: www.jandpturner.co.uk

From the offset I could see that this club understood what RuckinRugby is all about, what I am trying to achieve. It is a pity that more clubs in the UK do not understand, but I think this may be due to at least two major factors – 1) The UK in general is a lot more negative and apathetic and this can hinder any approaches to business for sponsorship – on both sides and 2) The clubs in the Middle East do tend to be younger, more active and maybe run by business people – Ex-Pats, that are used to making things happen in a short amount of time – before they move on.

The Kuwait Saracens are a new club, providing rugby for all ages up to 18 and I believe they will grow very quickly, because they have the right attitude – and we will be there to make sure they look good doing it and reach as many as people as they can. I will do a follow up to this soon with their feedback and also any progress on SMO for the club.

If you like this website and would like one for your club – whatever your sport – then drop an email to me on design@ruckinrugby.com.

I will pop up a link to our photo album which should grow as we get organised but my wife Michelle has been keeping a blog at www.MichelleMaxwell.co.uk and there is a link to photos there.

Most Pig Farmer work has been maintenance although Romantica are about to go release 2 new ranges for Romantica and Opulence Bridal – so I will be busy with that soon. RuckinRugby continues to grow at a phenomenal rate with sites soon to go live for TOA Dubai, Kuwait Saracens and Jeddah – with decisions pending in Australia, Canada and the USA amongst others.

Busy and exciting times ahead with a lot to report on once I get a minute.