Shopping Bags have long been used as a marketing tool by high street retailers and supermarkets. What better way to remind other shoppers to check out your store than creating crowds of shoppers unwittingly acting as walking billboards?

Retailers recognise the value of providing carry bags emblazened with their name and logo to their customers, indeed we’d find it a bit odd now if Next or Marks & Spencer’s provided our purchases in a plain, unprinted bag.

For some, the design of their carrier bags is becoming almost as important as the collections they stock. I read recently that the Saks store in New York spent nine months deliberating over the design of their carrier bag, envisioning it as “a piece of modern art”.

More recently, manufacturers have caught onto the idea of buying advertising space on shopping bags, and using the space to promote their specific product. This has led to some clever marketing campaigns and created some carrier bags that provide a memorable experience. The photo opposite is a great example of an effective, eye-catching advertising campaign for a product to help people stop biting their nails.

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Last month, I completed a design project for an event organised by a previous client of mine, Creative Services. The project involved the design of invitations, a presentation scroll and an 8 page brochure/programme to be distributed at the event - the unveiling of ‘The Emigrants Statue’.

To help smooth the process of getting artwork printed for clients, Saronyx Design have teamed up with Caledonian Print to offer a complete design and print service.

There are some great introductory offers on the Caledonian Print website, including 1000 Business Cards for just £50 or 5000 A6 Promotional Flyers for only £95!

All prices are inclusive of VAT and delivery is free throughout mainland UK.

Earlier this month, a client of mine Karen Knowler commissioned me to design a poster to help inspire her raw food coaching clients.

Using a stunning illustration by Amy De Wolfe and incorporating the three colours used consistently across Karen’s Raw Food Coach brand, I worked on various ideas before coming to the final design below:

Creative Services is a leading national consultancy on culture and the creative industries. The company first approached me early in 2007 looking for a new identity.

The company had a small website, but no clear identity. The logo design was the initial step towards this, followed by their website design and stationery.

Click here to visit Creative Services Scotland