Thursday 23 February 2012

Organising your home with blackboards and notice boards

Blackboards and notice boards are not only fun to use, but they are great for organising a hectic family life. Many designs are also very stylish to have around the home, especially with the rise in popularity of country-chic and retro interior design. This post will take a look at some of the different blackboards and notice boards you can use in your home to get organised and do your own home improvement.

Kitchen blackboards are perfect for writing out shopping lists, recipes or even helpful reminders for the more forgetful members of your family! From small wall hanging kitchen blackboards to entire chalkboard walls, they are a fun and easy way of making sure you don’t forget important information.

Having a centralised family notice board maybe in your hallway or other communal areas can help to ensure that any important pieces of paper such as receipts, school reports, forms or prescriptions don’t go amiss. Everyone will know to check the notice board first before they declare something lost or misplaced – reducing the amount of times you have to hear, “I can’t find it!”. Cork, felt or magnetic notice boards are best for this.

Finally, why not give your kids a notice board of their own in their bedrooms? There are a range of shapes and designs around that are perfect for encouraging them to take responsibility for their own organisation while still being fun. For younger children, message boards are available in shapes including trains, cats and teddy bears but also in bright colours. By allowing them to decorate their own notice board, you will also reduce the amount of sticky tape and blu-tac that appears on your walls!

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Promotional Blackboards

Whatever type of business you run, you need to market it correctly or no one will know you exist. From newspaper advertisements, to emails and online advertising, there are a range of marketing options that can be used depending on your company aims and industry.

For the food and drink industry, blackboards can be a surprisingly good way of marketing your product or brand to a relevant audience.

Think of your average local pub and you will almost definitely see a blackboard in there somewhere! Whether it’s to advertise their desert menu, show off their latest offers or sitting outside drawing punters in off the street, there is an opportunity to get your brand on there. There are two ways of doing this, offer a discounted rate to the pubs on your product in exchange for providing them with branded, promotional blackboards that can be used throughout their establishment, or pay them a monthly fee to have them in. Even if you’re not an alcohol retailer or supplier, you should still consider whether a pub might be the right place to promote your product.

Studies have shown that blackboards are actually better advertisements than posters. This is because people see posters every day and sub-consciously expect that they might be out of date, and that they are selling to them so sometimes just ignore them. The information on a blackboard is far more likely to change in a regular basis so people are more likely to check back time and time again – and they will see your branding each time they do. Studies have shown that on average someone has to see a piece of information 21 times before they actually remember it in their conscious brain!

Blackboard art has been on the rise in recent years with a graffiti-like style spreading around the world, especially in the USA. Think about how you can get your promotional blackboard to stand out and become memorable.

Promotional blackboards could also be used at football matches and other sporting venues where your products are served, corner shops, mobile food vendors, restaurants and even on the high street.

While promotional blackboards may not bring a direct return on investment as some forms of advertising do, it is fantastic for brand awareness, getting people to remember you.

Friday 10 February 2012

Using Notice Boards In Your Home

Decorating your home is brilliant fun. It gives you the opportunity to put your stamp on a house, making it comfortable for you to live in. No two homes are the same. Some are modern and minimalistic, others are cosy and cluttered – each one is personal to the individual.

A notice board can not only be a useful accessory to have in the home, but also a decorative one. Gone are the days of a simple royal-blue felt notice board or a plain pine-framed whiteboard – there are some brilliant designs out there that will suit any person or home.

There has been a rise in popularity of kitchen notice boards recently, especially with the rise of Country-Chic décor. From small wall-hanging blackboards in the shape of hearts, to large whiteboards with images on – there is something for everyone. You can even buy blackboard paint that can be used to transform an entire wall into a blackboard – some upmarket and modern restaurants have used this to their advantage to display their menus and latest offers. You could even let customers leave comments about their meal on there – as long as they’ve enjoyed it!

Many families find it helpful to have a notice board somewhere central in the house – perhaps where school timetables, calendars, important notes or receipts can be kept out of the way. When your life is hectic, a notice board can be very useful for keeping a little bit of calm – if in doubt, check the notice board.

Notice boards are fantastic for kids’ bedrooms. There are so many materials that they can be made from in a range of different colours and shapes. They are perfect for young and older children alike and great for trying to organise them a little bit! There are pin boards in the shape of trains, teddies or cats and in bright colours too.  A notice board is a great way to help your children express themselves and have a creative area that is their own.

Thursday 2 February 2012

The History Of The Blackboard

Blackboards are common place in schools, colleges, pubs and homes throughout the UK and have been for many years now. But have you ever wondered about the history of the blackboard?

Originally blackboards were made from a smooth sheet of black slate which were then frame with wood to stop them from breaking when used. Nowadays there are made from board or more upmarket versions are made from porcelain-enamelled black steel which lasts far longer. They are also know slightly green which is accepted to be better for the eyes.

The earliest recorded use of a blackboard was in 1801 in the USA where they were often used by instructors in military academies for lessons, tactics and drills.

The biggest leap forward in the blackboard world was in 1820 in scotland where a Geography teacher is said to have taken his student's work slates from them and attached them to the wall to make one large slate. This meant that teachers could save a huge amount of time as they no longer needed to write out individual problems for each pupil - all the problems could be displayed at the front of the class and taught to all the pupils at once. This is when the term 'blackboard' was first coined.

Since then blackboards have evolved to become more user-friendly and in many schools and colleges, they have been replaced with whiteboards. However, in recent years with the rise of country-chic styles being implemented into home decor, blackboards often appear in many homes and kitchens.