Want results? Don’t do your graphic design DIY
Published July 2, 2012 | 
In a world where entire television shows and store departments are dedicated to those who are skilled (and brave) enough to do their own remodeling, it might be easy to assume that Do It Yourself (DIY) is the way to go with all services.
Anyone who has looked at community bulletin boards can tell you what caught their attention first: it was the fliers that were bold and gave the important pieces of information in an obvious way. Fliers, or any form of print marketing, should grab attention and provide the right information to be effective.
Using good graphic design for even the most simple of publications will garner a greater, more positive response to whatever is being promoted. DIY graphic design rarely meets the standard for good graphic design. Continue reading
Posted in Graphic Design, Services, Uncategorized | 
DIY, graphic design, professional design | 
Leave a commentYour graphic design is talking, but what is it saying?
Published May 14, 2012 | Everything about a business sends a message: the type of customer service provided, product quality and of course, the branding. Every activity—or lack of activity—sends some kind of message to the world.
The question is, what message does the branding send? For that matter, what message is coming from any of the graphic design projects completed for a company, be it printed marketing material, logo design or social media icons?
It’s easy to assume that the actual words used with a design, from the company name on the logo to the advertising message on a rack card, are the only message. Every component in a piece of design sends a message, including the typography, color usage and graphic icons. These messages can be both intentional and unintentional. It’s important for the intended message to be effectively conveyed, but it’s equally important to make sure that unintentional or subconscious messages do not override or somehow damage the primary message.
One of the most well-known messages found in corporate branding is the arrow in the FedEx logo. If you've not seen it, look at the forward-moving arrow created by the E and X in "ex." All messages that are generated by a logo should work together towards the same goal. (image courtesy of Flickr user adactio)
In an overall sense, a good design should never:
• Be overly complicated
• Have a message that is too vague
• Incorporate ideas that don’t accurately complement each other
Beyond those over-arching ideas, there are questions each business owner should ask themselves when asked to approve a graphic design piece to represent the company. Continue reading
Posted in Branding, Graphic Design, Services | Branding, branding message, FEDEX, graphic design, marketing message | Leave a commentWant to print AND be green? There’s a way!
Published April 16, 2012 | As Earth Day approaches this Sunday, thousands of tips on increasing environmental awareness are spreading on the Internet. The discussions range from taking personal responsibility to how corporations can be more ecologically conscious.
Last October, we talked about how print materials are still a viable option in the digital age. There’s also ways to use printed marketing materials and keep “Mother Nature” in mind. Continue reading
Badges not just for law enforcement
Published April 2, 2012 | Look up the word “badge” in most dictionaries and descriptions of law enforcement emblems or ideas such as “badges of honor” will most likely be found. The idea of online badges still seems relatively new but they are rapidly becoming an attractive and functional graphic design product that is used on blogs, websites and other online platforms.
QR Codes Merge Online, Offline Worlds
Published February 20, 2012 | We’ve all seen those funny looking little square boxes with either squiggly black lines or some kind of artistic array of black splotches.
What looks like it could be an elaborate form of a psychiatrist’s ink blot is actually a sophisticated piece of technology that opens countless doors for marketing, customer relations and just some plain old fun.
Those little boxes are called QR (quick response) codes. They are a two-dimensional barcode with encoded information such as a website address, text, or lots of other pieces of information. QR codes can be read by a QR code scanner (imagine that!) including QR scanner apps that are available in most smartphone app stores. If you have a smartphone (and the right app), all you have to do is click a picture of the QR code and watch the magic happen.
Continue reading
Posted in Branding, Graphic Design, Marketing | Branding, event marketing, marketing, offline, online, online ads, QR codes, want ads, website | 2 CommentsDesigner Cole Sikes looks into future of graphic design
Published February 9, 2012 | 
Cole Sikes, one of our designers, looks at upcoming trends in graphic design.
When it comes to graphic design, just like everything else, trends come and go. We sat down with one of our web designers, Cole Sikes, to get a feel for what he thinks is going to be the top trend of 2012 and what will last for years to come.
Cole (who shamelessly admits, “Frozen dinners are my friend”) is the creator of the gorgeous custom QR Codes we’ve provided recently for our clients. He is known for his clean, minimalistic designs. He draws his inspiration from modern architecture, visits more tha 30 design blogs daily and has a Pinterest account (though he’s quick to say it’s “too girly” for his masculine self). It’s the people he doesn’t even know who bring inspiration to his designs and guide him towards the next big thing.
Continue reading
Trending in 2012: Graphic Design
Published January 30, 2012 | As our society becomes more instant and rapid, our short attention spans require marketing and advertising to be quick and easy to consume. Graphic design delves into multiple areas including print marketing, website design and even social media. Good graphic design is functional, conveys a message and is attractive.
Top 11 Mistakes of 2011: #4 Proofread those t-shirts!
Published December 28, 2011 | For the final 11 days of 2011, we’re going to take a look at some of the top mistakes made this year in our industry… including social media, marketing, branding, graphic design, web design and SEO.
#4-Bad T-shirts x2
These two companies tie for the no. 4 spot because essentially, they committed the same graphic design sin: they didn’t have anyone proofread the words in their graphics to make sure they were correct.
In no particular order:
This screenshot from wired.com shows the old t-shirts being sold on Old Navy's website. A visit to the website now shows the corrected t-shirts
Continue reading
Posted in Graphic Design, News, Services | graphic design, Michigan, Old Navy, t-shirt mistakes, Victoria's Secret | 2 CommentsWhat is GOOD graphic design?
Published November 28, 2011 | In our blog title What is … Graphic Design, we talked about how graphic design:
- Has a specific function;
- Should convey a clear message that is easy to read; and
- Should be attractive to the eye.
But how do you know if your company’s graphic design accomplishes what it should?
A few questions
Take a look at your printed materials and at your website and ask yourself if your graphic design has these elements: Continue reading
What makes good Marketing?
Published November 14, 2011 | We’ve all heard the phrase that “anything worth doing is worth doing well,” right? The same rings true for any marketing campaign. If you’re going to market your business … pay your hard-earned money for marketing materials…they should be effective and of high quality.
“Give them quality. That’s the best kind of advertising.” Milton Hershey, Founder of The Hershey Chocolate Company
OK, so that quote talks more about providing quality product, but it is still true for providing quality marketing!
So what makes good marketing?
Posted in Branding, Graphic Design, Marketing, SEO Consulting, Services, Social Media, Web Development | Branding, business to business marketing, business to consumer marketing, consumer marketing, good marketing, good printed materials, northwest arkansas, small business marketing | Leave a comment
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