Designer Meetup

Building & Leading a Marketing Staff

admin — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:21:54 +0000

Continuing the theme of sustainable creative businesses, what does it mean to build and then lead a staff? Few of us received any formal training for it, so we often model our own style on the examples we’ve had in other bosses (and parents). Too bad, really, because learning to do this ought to be a lot less accidental.

If you stop and think about it, there are two big “finding” tasks that occupy much of your mind as a principal or manager. The first is finding great clients and the second is finding great employees. To find great clients, you need a compelling positioning and a strong marketing plan. Come to think of it, you probably want the same two things to find great employees, too! So start by crafting a place where people want to work, and then employ a mix of referrals and active marketing.

Rather than a long treatise on what it means to build and then lead a staff, let me just throw out a few simple thoughts that I find myself repeating when I’m out in the field working with marketing firms on a weekly basis:

First, if you’re doing the wrong things at your firm, your stealing from the time you should be spending doing the right things. So quit solving the same problems today that you solved yesterday and start looking at the bigger issues like culture and processes.

Second, relearn the source of your own significance. No longer do you need to be in the loop for all those decisions. Nothing screams co-dependent quite as much as hiring terrific people and then guiding their every step. You’re the conductor, silly, and you can’t play every instrument in the orchestra.

Third, don’t worry so much about the “craft” side of staffing. That usually takes care of itself. Concentrate instead on the things that your clients are more likely to notice, including how the services are delivered, the communication, and the organization of the details. Most of your craft people over-deliver to the point where no one even notices the difference–but be ten minutes late for a client meeting and your client will notice for sure.

Fourth, recognize that the two most difficult positions to hire are new business development and whoever sits at the front desk. There are very specific reasons for why this is the case, and they have to do with the personality profile of the average principal.

Fifth, be careful about career paths, especially when portraying one position as a stepping stone to another. The “stepping stone” will always be occupied by people who want to move on, for one thing. For another, the skills required for one don’t often translate well for the next one. A classic example is having people support project management internally and then “move on” to managing client relationships. The innate skills for each are very different, and they each deserve people who crave that role.

Sixth, make sure you separate career paths into management paths and craft paths. People ought to be able to climb a career ladder without managing people, especially if they aren’t any good at it.

Seventh, clues to the management environment follow your best people. If they stay, you’re doing something right. If they leave, you’ve got a problem. (Here’s another way to say this: only the rats who can’t swim stay on a sinking ship.)

Eighth, when you try to fix an underlying management issue by paying people more, you set up a hostage situation for yourself.

Ninth, you can’t motivate people. They’re either self-motivated or they aren’t. You can, however, do things to demotivate them.

Tenth, if you hire the wrong person, don’t make a second mistake by not fixing the first one.

I’ve written down several hundred more from working with 600+ firms over the years, but that’s enough for today. Let me leave you with this one thought on leadership, though.

The essence of leadership is articulating a vision, sharing it with others, making small, daily, consistent decisions to support it, and accepting uncertainty in your role by acting before clarity appears.

Creativity @ Work: Seven Simple Steps

admin — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:22:39 +0000

Staying competitive and sustaining success in today’s business environment requires thinking “outside the box”. Patented technologies, improved bottom line, streamlined processes, and market leadership are some of the compelling reasons for unleashing creativity in the workplace. Acquiring skills that help develop creative potential require strategies that are an interplay of art and science. The art is about intuitive wisdom —believing that you and your team have the intuitive ability for creative thinking and giving your mind time to synthesize unconventional, breakthrough solutions through deep, exploratory thinking. The science is about effectively implementing the tools and techniques to spark ideas.

Here are seven ways to ignite and foster creative thinking in the workplace:

1. Hang a large piece of paper on your office door; at the top, write a question or issue that requires a solution. Invite everyone to freely share thoughts and ideas.

2. Show a stand-up comedy video before every creative session.
Laughter stimulates free thinking. You can also read a book of jokes for a few minutes to break the ice before meetings. Randall Osborne, professor of psychology at Indiana University, cites evidence that developing a respect for humor in the workplace has brought amazing results in large corporations such as Kodak, where it was learned that humor and creativity went hand in hand. Kodak has developed a “humor room” where employees can escape the pressures of their work.

3. Exploit divergent thinking.

Remove the barriers and break down obstacles that prevent your team from taking risks. Allow the opportunity to stimulate, support, and reward creativity. Seek activities that get people out of their comfort zones and encourages risk-free experimentation. If your company has a rigid culture in which a hierarchical structure is the norm, it will be a long time before subordinates feel comfortable in expressing their alternative solutions that don’t necessarily align with the company’s core philosophy and values. Exercise flexibility by actively listening and then acting upon your staff’s feedback and suggestions.

4. Hang a board with “if-only” or “what-if” prompts.
Leave fill-in-the-blank sections on the boards; ask for volunteers to complete the scenarios. Creativity emerges when perspective is changed.

5. Have everyone design and wear a different hat – one that may represent a specific characteristic or profile of a client – then have them participate in the creative session as if they were that client.

6. Change your environment
Going somewhere else to generate ideas—the park, a toy store, or even a different conference room—stimulates fresh thinking and outrageous conversations, pushing through uncreative dry spells. A lot of creative people have their great ideas when they take time away from their work. Daydreaming and “free thinking” allows them to think of their problems in new ways. Many people experience the ‘aha’ moment when they are doing something else.

7. Encourage your staff to do something with their hands during the creative process.
While playing with toys and doodling have been criticized as being “too simplistic,” busy hands stimulate brain cells. These exercises can weave right-brain imagination with left-brain logic. You can also encourage this exchange of communication between the right and left brain by having your staff write with the opposite hand.

Search Engine Friendly Menu Design

admin — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:11:16 +0000

Menu links are some of the most important features on a website in terms of SEO. The keywords in these links tell search engines about the main idea of the content on the connecting page and also give search engine spiders access to other areas of the site. That is – if the menus are search engine friendly.

Many of the more visually elaborate menus are SEO show stoppers. Some ways to ensure that your menus are search engine friendly are:

Use text for menu links: Search engines read texts, so ideally menu links should be text as opposed to graphically designed buttons. Instead, use CSS to create design.
Use some form of expandable menu system so that second tier links are accessible from the home page.
Avoid Flash and JavaScript menus – search engines can’t (or in the case of JavaScript, won’t) read the text or spider them.
If you’re set on cool drop-down effects, use DHTML – but very carefully. When using DHTML menus code cannot be placed in external JavaScript files. Also, DHTML menus have a tendency to get wacky depending on the browser. Here’s a great case study about a site that used DHTML menus and ranks #1 in the search engines.
You’ve certainly heard this before, but include a site map. A good site map is still the best way to ensure that all pages get indexed.

David Williams is an Ethical Search Engine Optimization expert located in Raleigh, North Carolina. He works with people all over the United States marketing their websites. David has also been a public speaker since 2000.

Graphic Design Poster Shows

admin — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:14:49 +0000

Graphic design poster shows are a great way to get one’s work out into the world and to earn accolades and prizes. The HOW Poster Design Awards are an especially great contest to enter your work in because there are no categories. Thus, it is open to all styles and all levels of experience. Thus, it is one of the most inclusive graphic design poster shows available to a designer. To learn more about this contest and how it works, keep reading!

The deadline to submit to this contest is December 1st. The HOW Poster Design Awards accept all poster designs: everything from work that was made for your work or for you and your friends is acceptable.
The prizes for this contest are diverse and well worth the time it takes to enter. Ten winners of the contest will be featured on the HOW website. These winners not only receive $150 worth of HOW books and a year long subscription to the magazine, but they also earn bragging rights and a graphic they can post on any website. This graphic announces that you won the HOW Poster Design Award. What more could you want when it comes to graphic design, contests, and graphic design poster shows?

To enter, people need to submit their entries online at the HOW website. The files uploaded should not exceed 500KB or heights and widths larger than 800 pixels. The file’s format should be JPEG. The work submitted to the HOW Poster Design Awards should have been created between July 1st, 2007 and December 1st, 2008. If you are unable to submit work by December 1st, you can submit up until December 15th, 2008, but you will have to pay a late fee of $10 per entry. After December 15th, 2008, no other entries will be accepted for consideration.

You may pay the submission fee by credit card or by using a check. If you are going to pay the fee with a check, the payment must be postmarked by December 15, 2008. The checks should be US funds from a US bank and should be made payable to HOW Poster Design Awards. Entries without payment will not be considered and will be disqualified. When the credit cards are charged, the charge will appear on the statement as F+W Contest. If a check bounces or a credit card is declines, a $10 fee will be charged. Checks should be mailed to:

HOW Poster Design Awards
4700 East Galbraith Road
Cincinnati, OH 45236 USA

If you win the HOW Poster Design Awards, you are agreeing to allow HOW the right to reproduce your work on the HOW website and in other HOW-related digital and printed materials. The entries should all be original and should be the property of the entrant. In no way shape or form is HOW liable for copyright infringement or disputes about ownership of the submitted images.

The winners of the HOW Poster Design Awards will be announced and notified by March 2009. If there any questions about the contest that are not listed above, people can email HOW at HOW-competition@fwpubs.com.

Easy and Creative Online Self Presentation

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:03:42 +0000

In an increasingly connected society, personal image management has moved beyond suits, ties or dresses and into the realm of complete identity control. With every online action recorded for future review by spouses, legal adversaries and potential employers, maintaining a comprehensively professional persona has never been more important.

Identity management starts with careful control of what information is released and through what channels. This control method, known by communication professionals as selective self presentation, is the easiest way to maintain your desired image in both the physical and virtual worlds. By carefully selecting which pictures, blog entries and forum posts are publicly released on the Internet, even someone who spends vast amounts of time online can successfully manage his online image and present a front of professional, intelligent refinement.

Some users simply can not, however, resist posting pictures of college parties, beach blowouts and other less-than-professional experiences. As social creatures, humans naturally want to bond through such outings and share memories with friends and loved ones. With some careful planning and creative use of pseudonyms, this objective can be achieved with only minimal—if any—impact to the fragile professional profile.

A major element in online identity management is careful and meaningful selection of a screen name. While some users take whatever randomly-assigned name is available, others integrate the online equivalent of a pen name into their daily life. A sales executive who happens to be passionate about dolphins, for example, may much prefer an online moniker such as SeaMammal. By subscribing to social networking and other online sites using this “handle,” the sales executive becomes one step removed from any searches on her name that a potential employer may conduct.

Name searching is, of course, not the only way to find someone on the Internet. In addition to a standard name search, many employers, clients and family members attempt to track down other ‘netizens using the unique online identifier on which people rely the most: an email address. For this reason, many users choose to maintain two separate email accounts: one personal account for staying in touch with friends and performing routine online tasks and one account reserved solely for professional communiqués.

When a user signs up for a new email address, she is generally asked to create a screen name for use on that host’s servers. A fun and easy to remember address such as SeaMammal@genericemailserver.com may be a great choice for the aforementioned sales executive, but a quick Internet search on the screen name or full email address may quickly link potential employers or clients to pictures and profiles best left undiscovered. For professional documents, such as cover letters and resumes, a more appropriate choice would simply use the individual’s given name in place of a screen name, rendering a more generic, professional and, likely, untainted email address of JaneDoe@genericemailserver.com.

With a little creative use of email accounts and screen names, online self presentation can be an excellent tool in the professional world.

Some Important facts of a Logo Design

Jessica — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:22:16 +0000

by Jack Johnson

A logo refers to a pictorial illustration of an organization. A logo is a graphical symbol that reflects the nature, vision or core activities of an enterprise. Entrepreneurs use this graphic symbol to promote the company’s products and services. It carries the brand identity of an organization. They use their trademark not only on their products but also on the rest of the corporate literature. It distinguishes a company’s product or services from the competitor’s products or services. A designer should consider a few aspects that are essential while designing a quintessential logo. While designing a logo a designer should keep a few points in mind. The main purpose of an attractive trademark is to leave a deep and positive impression of the company’s image in the mind of a potential customer. Therefore, you should create few essential features of a logo like design, color or size beautifully. A designer should avoid using designs copiously. A person can use many types of designs in creating a logo. One can use graphics in a logo. A trademark can also be text based or include initial letters of the company’s name. A designer can also use animation in the logo. However, among all these designs one should create a logo that is simple in appearance. A simple design makes a logo more comprehensible and lucid for a viewer. A potential customer retains the name of a company for a longer time. A company uses its name in a logo so that the first thing a customer grasps is its name. A designer should select the color of a company carefully. The shade should be attractive for a viewer. You should avoid using very bright colors that are blinding in appearance. One should use those shades that are pleasing to a human eye. During the printing of a logo on any corporate literature, the use of shade should not hamper the quality of the trademark. The shade should also reflect the nature of the business dealt by an organization. The size of the logo should not be very large so that it becomes problematic while printing. You should not keep a very small size that becomes incomprehensible when printed. A designer should keep a standard size of a logo. If you want to create a logo for your company there are many logo designs available on the Internet. You can also get numerous ideas to design a logo in an innovative and creative manner.

About the Author

Myself webmaster of logochefs.com. We are dedicated professionals providing business logo designs, custom logo designs, logo design services and other design services.

How to Make Game Design Work for You: Get a Career Making Video Games

Meghan — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:06:45 +0000

By: Meghan S.

With the advent in greater technology over the past decade, more and more people are seeing video games more than just a way to relax. Video game design and production is becoming an increasingly lucrative industry, one that invites the best and the brightest to showcase their full potential. However, entering and making a name for yourself in the gaming industry involves more than simply a passion for interactive digital entertainment; you’re going to need a drive like none other, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, a strong work ethic, and above all else, a world-class education.

The world of video games is constantly changing, and schools are certainly compensating to keep up with the ever-increasing demand by the industry for top-quality designers and programmers. As such, colleges and universities specializing in game design offer more than just a general Bachelors Degree in Game Design. Instead, universities offer many programs under the vast umbrella of video game design. Artistic individuals interested in crafting characters and creating game worlds can get their degree in Game Design. Those who feel more comfortable working with code can sink their teeth into the real soul of the games by getting their degree in Game Programming. Wherever your true passion lies, there is a definite spot for it in the vast industry of game design.

Most accredited universities offer four year degrees and even Masters programs in Game Design, Game Programming, and other applicable disciplines. However, just having a Bachelors of Arts or Science won’t make you Lead Designer at your dream studio. Much like any industry, the video game market is looking for individuals who are not only highly dedicated to their craft, but have something worthwhile to bring to the table. This means you’re going to need internships and a high caliber portfolio to ensure that you get your foot in the door at your studio or designer of choice. Most accredited universities offer information about internships with leading design studios and developers in their career services office.

After getting an internship and graduating, you may feel that you need more education to further your advancement in the game design industry. If this is the case, then it would behoove you to get more education and attain a Masters in Game Design. Much like any other industry, having a Masters Degree will grant you a huge advantage over all of the other applicants vying for your position. Being in possession of a Masters Degree will make you more skilled in your chosen field, specifically tailoring you for higher-tier, more in-demand and specialized opportunities that the industry’s most renowned companies have to offer.

Better technology leads to better games. In order to make these games, development studios are constantly searching for more educated individuals to enter their teams. In order to enter your rightful place amongst these design studios, it is absolutely tantamount that you receive the very best education you can in game design. As such, you will be fully prepared to do your part in making the next big video game title.

Logo Design: What You Need To Know

Jessica — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:39:50 +0000

by Kevin Kidder

First of all, I would like praise you for doing a little homework. Not only will you be better educated in directing the image of your company, but you will also learn how to get the most out of your company image.

I want to discuss logo design in general. A logo should be easy to read and easy on the eye. Let’s look at some of the national brands, that we all know and recognize: AT&T, McDonalds, Nordstroms, etc. Maybe you have even heard of Starbucks…… and I bet you could recognize their cup lying on the side of the road!

We all know what the company is, even if we only see a portion of the name or logo. Each is easy to read and recognize. Many also adhere to a certain theme of colors. This is called “Branding” or Brand Identity. It permeates every aspect of the business from cards, to cups, to buildings, to vehicles, to advertising. Sounds simple enough!

How do we build brand identity for your business?

Font:
First, make sure that your name is legible. The script, tribal, or gangster font might look cool, and even go with the image of the business that you are in. BUT, to be honest, if a potential client has to decipher the puzzle, just to find out who you are and where to find you, they are most likely to go with someone else, a more recognizable name.

Colors:
Colors may have more of an impact on a person’s impression than you may think. Are there any colors that you can readily associate with your type of business? Perhaps the image that you are trying to portray?

Let’s look at an example:
You are opening a day spa. The basic premise for a day spa is what? Relaxation, tranquility, and so forth. We want to relay this message in the colors and tones that we use. Red, bright orange, bright yellows (what we refer to as “hot” colors) won’t work well to relay the “feeling” that we are trying to present. How about softer tones of greens, earthtones, maybe a splash of gold for that upscale, pampered touch. Skulls, flames, and tribal graphics…… probably not a good idea! But then again, maybe that is just the “odd” approach that you may need to make your business different…..or attract the client base that you are marketing to.

What type of “feel” do you want your company to have? Sophisticated and professional? Fun and whimsy? Energetic and exciting? Get the picture?

Now that you have come up with a basic look or feel for your design, how does it translate to the rest of your business?
Will it work for letterhead? Business Cards? Window Signs? Vehicle Graphics? Web site? Pens? Shirts? ……..

Bottom Line:
To get the most out of your logo (and design dollar), make sure that your logo is fitting to your business and image. Make sure that it can be used for more than a fancy business card. Design does not have to cost an arm and a leg, but quality will surely have an impact on your business.

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Make sure that your “graphic designer” truly has your company’s best interests in mind, not the quick lining of his pocket book. Don’t settle for the “I’m the designer, therefore I know” attitude. If something does not look quite right, don’t be afraid to ask “why?”.
Why did you choose those colors?
Why that font?
Why that layout?
You may even end up teaching them a thing or too.

About the Author

People use MiNeeds.com to get competitive bids from local professionals, such as: photographers, lawyers, home contractors, wedding services, accountants, web designers, movers, etc. For more details, please visit: Riverside Graphic Design & Designers – Get Bids & Save | MiNeeds

6 Best Web Designing Tips

Jessica — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 20:28:07 +0000

by Nauman

Have you ever wondered what makes a great website? Regardless of subject matter or industry, there are a few key elements that the best websites get right, making them popular and successful. Follow these 6 Best Web Designing Tips to make sure that your website is the best it can be.

Great Look! Your site should look fresh and modern, while upholding the same brand image that you have offline. Choose similar colours for your website as you use in other marketing materials, as well as the same logo. The site should be visually appealing, with plenty of interesting features, but not too fussy or distracting. The layout should be easy to understand, letting site visitors easily navigate to the pages that they want.
Put Your Customers First. Thinking about search engines, and how your page will rank in Google is great, but there is no point if your visitors will simply click away from your site within a few seconds of landing. Your goal is to convert visitors into customers, so you should make sure your site is customer friendly. Keep popular items and contact details easy to find, and avoid multiple menus where visitors have to click several links before finding the information they need buried within your site structure.
Don’t Be Spammy. This follows on from the point above, that your site should be designed primarily for visitors, with SEO as a secondary consideration. Don’t stuff your pages so full of keywords that the content doesn’t make sense. You should also steer clear of bad tactics such as adding lists of keywords to the bottom of your pages, and cluttering up the site with too much advertising.
Make it Fast. Visitors online want information fast, and they have no patience to wait around while a large image or fancy graphic loads. Make sure that your pages load quickly, with the most important information loading first. If you are using large image files or videos, place them in a position where the reader can still browse the rest of the page while the bigger elements load. If you have a flash site think about offering a plain html alternative link for visitors with a slow internet connection.
Do Your Homework. Think long and hard about your target keywords before you start your website as this will make your SEO challenges a lot easier in the long run. Take the time to find out what keywords your customers are searching for, and how much competition there is.
Quality Content. Visitors and search engines alike love genuine, quality content. Fill your site with plenty of interesting information about you, your company, your products and services, and your industry.

About the Author

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Software Application Development, Affordable Website Design, Web Development and Internet Marketing Service have always been our core focus. Design Soft Studios is a UK base company providing a high quality Web Application Development

How Important is Website Usability

Jessica — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:42:33 +0000

by Kate Henlay

Usability on the Web is vital if you want to have customers continue to come back. A research has found that only 42% of Web users find what they require on any given Web page which leaves the remaining 58% still searching. This means that Usability of a website is central in order to get sales and make money. If your customers can’t find what they’re looking for, they won’t be purchasing, and odds are, they won’t be returning. It doesn’t matter how new and inventive your site is, the fact is cool doesn’t cut it.

Many people believe that graphics make the Web site more usable. Another group feels that they make sites unusable. Neither group is right. According to a study, the amount of images on a page has no perceptible effect on the collection of information, with two exceptions that include animation and download time. These are the findings that website designers should always keep in mind.

It’s also important for the website designers to know that when searching for information, users want information, not fancy, arty sites. A really common format for sites right now is called a “Shell Site”. These sites are where the navigation is developed and then the content is tossed into that format or shell. It is found that when a user is searching information, shell sites are very difficult to use. Because the links are the same on all navigation within the site, they don’t add anything new once they have been assessed. Therefore, when a user is searching information, the navigation shell is generally abandoned as an information source instantly.

If a user doesn’t click on the Search button, they are 50% more expected to get the information they are searching than if they do. This is alarming until you think about how most search engines control searches and results. A lot of sites have numerous different search engines for the Web site. These may be intuitive to the Web designer, but often the user doesn’t know what the difference is (or even recognize that there is a difference). Users don’t know what they will get when they search. They may be getting a list of pages on this site, the Web as a whole, a sub-set of this site, or something wholly different. Often the search results are apparently unrelated to what the reader searches on. There’s a perfect solution for this problem in the shape of web content . The web content will get people to your site and give them the information so they keep coming back. It’s also recommended to put lots of links on your site so that your readers can navigate as easily as possible. What is intuitive to you might be unclear to the user, so give your readers a lot of different ways to find to the information on your site.

About the Author

Kate Hanley is an expert on online media solutions, web development and search engine optimization in Dubai, UAE along with 360 online media solutions. He has vast experience of working in Dubai online solution providers market.

Designer Meetup

Building & Leading a Marketing Staff

Creativity @ Work: Seven Simple Steps

Search Engine Friendly Menu Design

Graphic Design Poster Shows

Easy and Creative Online Self Presentation

Some Important facts of a Logo Design

About the Author

How to Make Game Design Work for You: Get a Career Making Video Games

Logo Design: What You Need To Know

About the Author

6 Best Web Designing Tips

About the Author ???? ? ??????

How Important is Website Usability

About the Author

About the Author

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