The Best Guide for the South Sunderland Area

" Digi-Scrapping " - a new hobby for the credit crunch

Author: Roger Heywood

Published: 8th September 2009 20:40

Everyone is talking about the recession. But just how has it affected UK consumers? New research conducted by Millward Brown via social media has found that UK consumers are reassessing their priorities in life and are acknowledging that they don't need to spend money to be happy. The research highlighted a renewed appreciation of the simple pleasures in life such as health, happiness, family and friends, home life and leisure time.

More significantly - the research showed that UK consumers were spending more screen time at home. 60% of the respondents said they were spending more time using the Internet, 22% playing video games and 14% watching TV.

In answer to the current UK consumers' plight of having to spend less cash and more time at home; Serif Europe Ltd, the UK's leading independent design, publishing and creative software developer,has announced the release of a completely free version of their popular digital scrapbooking software, Digital Scrapbook Artist Compact, available to download here. It is not a trial or time-limited in anyway and offers all the features expected of a fully functional digital scrapbooking product.

This seems to be perfect timing for the free product launch from Serif as the research results went on to highlight that 72% of respondents felt that now is the time to avoid financial risk - while only 19% say now is the time to purchase goods, taking advantage of special offers or discounts. Furthermore, the results showed that UK consumers are currently the most conservative in Europe when it comes to future spending plans, with 55% (over half) planning to decrease spending compared to a European average of 31%.

Digital Scrapbook Artist Compact does exactly what it says on the tin - think of traditional scrapbooking, but with a modern twist and you are getting there. Go ahead and create your very own ‘memoir masterpiece' by using the tools and creative content such as embellishments, background papers and brushes to get you started in an instant. Your beautiful personalised scrapbooks will present special nostalgic memoirs for holidays, new births, weddings and many more significant milestones in your life in a very unique way. Enter into a whole new hybrid world of ‘old and new' by simply adding in your own photographs, scanning in old leaflets, tickets and other keepsakes. Once you have created your very own unique scrapbook on your PC - you can fuse together the ‘old and new' by printing off and adding traditional embellishments like ribbons, glitter and lace to really bring your scrapbook to life.

Ashley Hewson, Sales Director at Serif, said:

Consumers are increasingly turning to home projects and entertainment to keep them amused. Digital Scrapbook Artist Compact is a free software product download and will make it possible for anyone to enjoy a fantastic and fun way of preserving photos and memories - all within the confines of their own homes. And what's more, the results you can achieve with this software far outshine those of our competitors, while still remaining an incredibly easy program to use and despite the fact that it's completely free. Putting it simply - people are looking for new ways to enjoy themselves that do not involve spending money. Digital Software Artist Compact is certainly one way that can help the new culture of home-lovers do just that ."

 

Serif (Europe) Ltd. has already enjoyed considerable success with the standard version of its software, and its online scrapping community  which were both launched in October 2008. Daisytrail is already listed in the top 50 scrapbooking websites worldwide.

To coincide with the launch of the free version, Serif is running a contest, Serif Super Scrapper '09, in association with Scrapbook Trends and Scrapbook Magazine. The competition will be open to adults and children of all ages and scrapbooking capabilities. A total of 10 winners will be chosen and awarded a variety of prize packs that will include digital cameras, Serif GraphicsPad Tablets and other digital scrapbooking essentials. Click here for further information and to enter the competition.

.................................

About DaisyTrail
Coinciding with the release of Digital Scrapbook Artist in October 2008, Serif unveiled DaisyTrailTM - an online social scrapbooking network for scrapbookers and crafters to share their designs with family and friends, and to exchange creative tips with others. DaisyTrail has already become one of the fastest growing scrapbooking communities on the web. Thousands of users have uploaded their scrapbook designs created in Digital Scrapbook Artist and other digital scrapbooking software and DaisyTrail is already listed in the top 50 scrapbooking websites worldwide

About Serif
Serif (http://www.serif.com/) develops and publishes the award-winning software range which includes PagePlus®, PhotoPlusTM, DrawPlusTM, WebPlusTM, AlbumPlusTM, MoviePlusTM, PanoramaPlusTM and Digital Scrapbook Artist®. Founded in 1987 with the aim to develop better value alternatives to high-end design and publishing packages, Serif has been repeatedly praised for its powerful yet easy-to-use software which enables businesses, educational establishments, and ordinary PC users to achieve professional-quality results - whatever their level of experience. With over 6 million customers worldwide and over 200 independent awards and accolades from respected industry publications, Serif has over 200 employees at its head office, development and European sales centre in Nottingham, UK and its North American sales operation in New Hampshire, US.

About Serif Super Scrapper ‘09
To take part in ‘Serif Super Scrapper ‘09', entrants must use Digital Scrapbook Artist ( using either the free download or the full version of Digital Scrapbook Artist. ) to design a scrapbook on one of the following themes:

• What I did this summer
• My hometown
• My hero
• When I grow up

Entries will be judged in categories, depending on age and experience in digital scrapbooking. A full list of the terms and conditions and prizes can be found online.

........................

Interesting ‘Scrapbooking' facts and statistics:
For evidence of the increased interest in scrapbooking, consider the following facts:

Over 25 million people in the United States alone consider themselves to be scrapbookers.
Almost 30% of all U.S. households have at least one family member who scrapbooks.
Scrapbooking is the fastest growing sector of the craft and hobby industry and now considered to be the third most popular craft in the nation. From 2002 to 2004, sales of scrapbooking products increased by over 27% across the United States.
As of 2003, there were over 4,000 independent scrapbook stores in the United States. Most major craft stores, such as Hobby Lobby and Michaels Crafts, also have extensive selections of scrapbooking supplies.
Although many different types of people have discovered the joy of scrapbooking, EK Success reports scrapbookers are:

• 98% female
• 85% Caucasian
• 63% married with children living at home

A Passionate Lifestyle
Scrapbookers, regardless of their gender, age, or race, tend to be very passionate about their hobby. Consider the following scrapbooking industry statistics:

• The average scrapbooker spends almost three hours per week working on layouts and other related projects.
• Over a six month period, most scrapbookers will work on three different albums.
• In a typical month, at least 75% of scrapbookers read Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, or other popular scrapbooking magazines.
• Over 75% of scrapbookers have a space in their home devoted to the hobby
  

 

Report this article as inappropriate

Comments

You need to log in before you can do that! It's only a quick registration process to join the AMA network and completely free.