Welcome to the Toast blog.

Moving your website from WIX to WordPress

If you want to move your WIX site over to WordPress, we can help. WIX is often the go-to website builder for start-ups and smaller companies, but it’s easy to outgrow it as your business grows and you need a more robust platform for content and SEO. As it accounts for around 3.7% of the […]

Demystifying AI Image Generation: Exploring the Latest Trends, Technologies, and Applications

AI Image generation is one of the most exciting and rapidly evolving fields in artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning. It involves using algorithms and neural networks to generate images that resemble real-world objects, scenes, or people, and even create entirely new ones. The applications of AI image generation are diverse and far-reaching, from […]

Are design subscriptions any good for small businesses?

Are design subscriptions any good for small businesses? Small businesses’ design needs are as broad and varied as global brands, so could a design subscription be the answer to their requirements? What is a design subscription? Definitions vary, so we defined a design subscription as: It’s a service where you pay a monthly fee and […]

How to use ChatGPT as a copywriting tool

If you’re a half-decent writer, AI shouldn’t be stealing your job. But it could be making it a lot easier… I’ll preface this by saying I’m old enough to fear AI. I’ve watched enough films to know that when robots take over that it never ends well for humans. After listening to news outlets praise […]

Design Costs: Don’t Pay Too Much

Are you paying too much for design services?  How much is “too Much” As with many things, the ideal design costs differ from person to person: one person’s project design budget for just one project may be another’s annual design budget! The purpose of this post is not to qualify the different scales of spend […]

Do fliers still work as a marketing tool in the digital age?

There is a presumption that if a marketing promotion is not ‘digital,’ it is redundant or backward thinking. We investigate if this is true and if there is still room for a good old-fashioned flier in the marketing mix. Do Fliers still work in the age of digital marketing?   Fly away, digital… Before discussing […]

10 things to consider when planning a magazine

If you want a magazine designed, here are some tips on the planning and initial stages of the project. We have experience designing magazines, but there’s more to putting a magazine together than just the design stage. Here are some points to consider when planning your magazine. Target audience: Identify the demographic group you want […]

How has commissioning a design agency changed?

Everything changes, but the rate of change in how design agencies are commissioned has been incredible over the last few years. We examine why? The 4 Biggest Factors Commissioning a design agency has changed in recent years due to various technological, cultural, and economic shifts. Some of the ways that the process of commissioning a […]

How to choose a graphic design agency that is right for your needs

Finding the right design agency can be guaranteed by asking just five questions. Answer these before you even start looking at design agencies. Hard Questions So much of the design process and industry revolves around asking difficult questions and then finding the perfect solution to the challenge. Honestly answering questions is key, but when looking […]

10 tips for designing magazines

Designing magazines can be a daunting task for some; avoid some common pitfalls with our helpful guide. Magazines are part of everyday life, from weekly chat mags to monthly journals & publications aimed at public or private readerships. The task of creating a magazine or improving an existing one can be a challenge, so here […]

5 tips for rebranding success

Rebranding your business is not a decision that is undertaken lightly. It’s a huge commitment of time and resources, and if not done correctly, it can have dire consequences for your company’s future. One of the most important choices you’ll make is finding the right rebranding agency – we know this because we’ve been helping […]

How to use icons on your website

Adding simple but visually interesting content can help readers navigate and enjoy your website. Icons are the unsung heroes of web design. They first appeared on our computer screens in the 1970s as an alternative to imposing lines of code that could intimidate novice users.     They proved a simple way of communicating ideas […]

10 tips for effective packaging design

When it comes to creating effective packaging design, it is essential to consider both Form and Function What makes for great packaging is open to much discussion, but everyone is more than aware of bad packaging. Ensure that you create the very best packaging possible by considering our top 10 tips for effective packaging design: […]

10 Benefits of using a larger design agency (but not one that’s too large)

Choose the design agency that suits the company you are going to be and the results will speak for themselves. Choosing the right design agency is business critical and should be approached in the same way that any significant investment in your company’s growth is, carefully and methodically. We have put together our top 10 […]

10 examples of amazing infographics

We love infographics. We love magically compressing large volumes of information into a simple, effective graphic. Despite our neverending thirst for knowledge, humans actually have an average attention span of 8.25 seconds. So with an average silent reading speed of 238 words per minute, you have a whopping 33 words to get your message across […]

How to use social media to market your business

Everyone and their grandmother are now using social media. We know Grandma is on there because she keeps tagging us in posts about lost dogs at the other end of the country. More than two-thirds of internet users are on social media, so you’d be a fool to ignore the marketing opportunities for your business.  […]

In the digital age, are printed magazines still viable?

If you were to walk down the aisle of WHSmith’s or even the magazine aisle in your supermarket, you would hardly consider the future of printed magazines to be in jeopardy.

How can a design subscription save you more than time and money?

Moving your website from Expression Engine to WordPress

Expression Engine accounts for about 0.1% of the total CMS usage, so if you want to move your Expression Engine site over to WordPress, we can help. Like all content management systems, Expression Engine has some great features, but some people just want to move their websites over to WordPress to make them easier to […]

How to hire a Graphic Design Agency

Chances are, if you are reading this you googled about hiring designers: whether that was how to hire a graphic designer or what questions to ask when hiring a graphic designer or even how you engage a graphic design agency.

10 easy ways to technically optimise your website

Everyone knows that a website needs to be optimised to rank better, but where do you start? There’s little point in having a stunning website if no one ever sees it, and website optimisation (site speed) is one of the (many) ways that you can help your website rank higher in search results. If you […]

What is a Corporate Identity?

Asking the internet for a definition usually gives you a lot of surface-level waffle. While sites like Wikipedia offer an informative answer for corporate identity, it’s important to dive deeper and really get to know it. They explain it as: “The manner in which a corporation, firm or business enterprise presents itself to the public. […]

How to get the best from a branding workshop

As with many things in life, what you get is very dependent on what you put in! The same is true for branding workshop activities.

10 Tips to achieve the best poster design

Want to know Toasts poster design ideas? The following tips outline our thoughts on what makes a good poster design and avoid having to rely on free poster design templates which aren’t worth the money!

6 interesting PowerPoint template examples

Slideshows don’t have to be boring – take inspiration from PowerPoint templates that keep audiences engaged. Even if you’ve never created a PowerPoint presentation, you’ve probably sat through one. And if the creator has 50 slides of boring information cut and pasted into the example templates, you probably don’t remember much about it. PowerPoint presentations […]

Why an infographic works so well on your website

7 ideas for a new leaflet design

In this increasingly digital landscape, we believe there’s still a space for great leaflets that connect with new and existing customers. Leaflets are a cost-effective way of mass marketing to your potential new customers, and there’s nothing quite like a physical piece of marketing collateral that your customers can keep, rather than just bookmark. Effective […]

Unlimited graphic design services – too good to be true?

New doesn’t necessarily mean better for what you need.  If you’ve been on the hunt for a new design agency in the UK, you’ve likely noticed a surge in websites promoting unlimited graphic design UK services. However, the concept of unlimited design services isn’t entirely new. Unlimited design services by another name. Subscription-based design services […]

Top 10 Tips to get the very best corporate brochure design

Corporate brochure design should not be a difficult or troublesome experience, so we have compiled a list of Toast’s top 10 things to consider. Toast has helped businesses with corporate brochure design ideas since 1997. We have created business brochures that have allowed clients to sell everything from the smallest plastic grommet to the largest […]

Point of sale design for beginners

All your hard work has paid off and you’ve secured a spot on the shelves for your new product. Great point of sale design will help your wares stand out from the crowd. What is point of sale design? Point of sale design (POS design, what is this?) covers a wide range of promotional items […]