Graphic Design « Talk, Inc

Internet Marketing Services, Wilmington NC

Archive for the ‘Graphic Design’ Category

Cost Effective Business Card Design

Friday, June 19th, 2009

pillows I am at the very tail end of redesigning Talk’s business cards. And by tail end I mean – they are being printed right now. The design process was similar to most. I explored three or four options that made sense for our specific needs. Then one of the ideas rose to the top of the list. Why? It offered a flexibility that the other options lacked – the ability to change existing employees cards, add new cards or even change the whole look without breaking the bank. An example of great timeless design couched in today’s most current trends. Speaking of couches, the concept is very much like buying the best couch you can afford knowing you’ll be living with it for years to come. All you have to do is switch out the pillows to reinvigorate and update the look.

Translate that to business cards and here is what you have:

The couch or “main card” is where we’re spending all the money. We are printing a large quantity with a few of the bells and whistles. A really thick stock with die-cuts, 2 sided printing with double hits of black, pms 139 (our signature color), a dull varnish overall and finally a spot gloss aqious varnish. Sounds like a lot but its actually relatively tame – safe even. We are intentionally only using the Talk logo and permanent Talk info on this part of the card. No updating and no reprints necessary.

Now comes the fun part – the accent pillows are labels that are applied to the “main card” in smaller batches. All employee and specific contact info goes on a label that has been customized for each employee. Including a variety of colors that correlate with our new website and custom illustrations of each employee. The best part – the printing will literally cost a few dollars since they are being printing in very small batches on a digital press. We can change and update the labels whenever we see fit without incurring the costs of traditional printing.

Great design. Cost effective. Flexible. I think my work is done so its time to kick up my feet and take a rest.

Tags: business cards, design tips, Graphic Design
Posted in Branding, Graphic Design | Comments

Things We Love 5/6

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Debbie loves Cracker Barrel – I made my first pilgrimage to the Mecca of southern cooking last week. I was concerned it wouldn’t live up to the hype. But it actually surpassed it. The veggie platter was yummy and the service friendly. When they learned it was my first visit, they gave me a beautifully wrapped map detailing all 579 locations across the country. The map (and enclosed Chix Stix candy) kept the Talk team well entertained on the way back from a business meeting in Winston Salem. I got a great lesson on my state capitals. And a delicious reminder on how excellent customer service and smart marketing is the best way to bring your customers back for seconds.

Jennifer loves organization tips – Those who know me know I am an obsessive straightener and organizer. I continue to be fascinated by those who can live and work amongst clutter. So, I was delighted to come across an articled titled “10 Ways to Let Go of Your Stuff - Confessions of a Clutterer” in the March issue of Real Simple magazine. The author, Erin Rooney Doland, makes some wonderful points for those who are trying to recover from this condition. You can read more at Unclutterer.com or RealSimple.com.

Kirsty loves my Share This button – I installed this plugin on my FireFox browser to help me more easily share great content I come across online. With the click of a single green button, I can email, IM, Text or post what I read to more than 30 social networking and bookmarking sites. Now, I never have to worry about looking for a post’s sharing button, or fret if they don’t have a button for my favorite sites.

Nathan loves Twitback – I wrote about a number of elements that really make Twitter better for businesses a few weeks ago, and one of these elements was creating extended profiles, or what some call “twitter backgrounds”. These custom twitter backgrounds work great for branding your twitter profile more, or giving that little bit of extra information that the normal twitter profile just doesn’t provide. It used to be that in order to create this extended twitter profile, you had to have some photoshop skills, or access to someone who did. Well, Twitback handles all that for you!

Shawn loves Birds Of A Feather, Letterpressed Together – Yes, this is another letterpress blog. But this time with a twist. Color. And lots of it. Bright colors have really been catching my eye lately. Perhaps it’s because I am redesigning our Talk business cards and Web site with a fresh new palette, or maybe I’m just feeling it this spring. Whatever the reason, the letterpress experts over at Studio On Fire really hit the ball out of the park with a colorful peacock themed wedding invitation set.

Susan loves periodic table of typefaces – I’m a self-proclaimed font dork. I can spend hours looking through sites like dafont.com and myfonts.com checking out the latest and greatest fonts. And the periodic table of typefaces make finding classic fonts I like (and even ones I don’t) that much easier. Though it only shows one or two letters, that’s usually enough for me to know if the style fits what I’m working on.

Tags: Customer Service, Graphic Design, Internet Marketing Wilmington NC, Marketing, Social media, Things We Love, Typography
Posted in Branding, Graphic Design, Internet Marketing, Marketing, Professional Development, Public Relations | Comments

Anatomy of a good ad campaign

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

Have you ever been watching TV or flipping through a magazine and wondered what the ad agency was thinking creating an ad that stupid/ugly/confusing/etc? It happens all the time. And as a marketing girl, I have to wonder what they said to their client to make them agree to pay for an ad campaign that will only get their company laughed at.

Then there are times when you come across an advertisement that is so spot on in every aspect that you kinda want to tell someone about how cool/beautiful/moving etc it was. For these types of ads it all comes down to good advertising anatomy. If you follow these five cannons of advertising, your campaign will get noticed for all the right reasons.

Clever copy is king. When you use words to their fullest advantage, whether through deliberate word choice or creating a play on words, you make the copy inherently easy for the reader/listener. But beware of being too clever. Live with your word choice for a few days to make sure it still makes sense when the copywriting high wears off.

Make each word count. You don’t have much space on a one-page ad or in a :30 commercial, so choose your words wisely. Don’t use ten words when five will do. Don’t restate one idea multiple ways. Choose the best, most effective statement and cut the extraneous ones.

Show don’t tell. Great, well-written copy can only take the message so far. You also need strong visuals to convey the idea fully. Everyone reacts to verbal and visual differently, so an effective combination of the two will attract the most attention.

Don’t be coy. The point of any ad is to make people want to do something in relation to your company. An ad that is clever and visually stunning means little without a clear call to action. It can be as simple as “call to find out more” or as specific as “visit our website to register to win a free vacation.” Whatever your end goal is, make sure to state it clearly.

Give them what they need. When it comes to contacting your company, keep it simple. Make your contact information easy to find, easy to read, and most importantly, easily accessible. The more avenues you offer (phone number, website, physical address) the easier it will be for them to find you.

Tags: Advertising, Copywriting, Graphic Design
Posted in Graphic Design, Marketing | Comments

Things We Love 4/1

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009

Debbie loves Chuck, the cute nerdy (not) guy that comes on NBC every Monday at 8:00 p.m. and makes me laugh out loud for an hour – Zachary Levi stars as Chuck and he’s constantly getting in and out of close calls with super secret spy pal/love interest Sarah. I rarely get this attached to TV characters, but this is one of the few programs that I schedule my evening around. I’ve become a fan on Facebook and I’ve checked out their website a time or two. I usually post something about the show on Twitter or Facebook before or after tuning in. Sigh. I have a TV crush. Sorry dear.

Holly loves parents on Facebook – I know it sounds a little crazy, but I honestly love that my parents and their friends are starting to hop on the Facebook train. My Facebook profile has become such a personal, important component of my life over the last four years, and it’s nice that now my parents are able to take part in it. I no longer have to describe in detail the events I went to or the pictures I took, because all of that is for their viewing pleasure on my page. I’m excited we are learning how to use social media to stay connected as a family - I just hope they keep the stalking to a minimum.

Kelly loves the Wilmington Azalea Festival. By far the best party every year in the South, the Azalea Festival is a five-day celebration of local artwork, tours of amazing gardens, rich history and southern culture. With concerts, fairs and pageantry, there is something for the whole family to enjoy. I first attended the Azalea Festival shortly after moving to this beautiful coastal town five years ago and I have not missed one yet!

Kirsty loves “Living Social” is social cataloging for Books, Movies, TV Shows, Albums, Video Games, Beer, Restaurants and more. Its “Pick Five” is also the hottest trend on Facebook. The site touts itself as the the most comprehensive interest-based online community, helping more than 7.5 million users catalogue their interests, seamlessly integrating with Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, hi5, and Orkut. That’s for sure. Facebook friends across the nation have been bonding over the top five movies they grew up on, the top five albums of all time and the top five TV shows they’ve seen every episode of.

Nathan loves delicious – No, not tasty snacks, though he does love those, too, but what is considered a social bookmarking site. In other words, in the same way you can “bookmark” a page in your browser for viewing later, with delicious you can bookmark it online, allowing you to access it from anywhere that has an internet connection. What’s more, you can also share all of your bookmarks easily with your friends! For example, check out what Nathan has bookmarked recently.

Susan loves Clever design – Some people go through life plotting out stories based on random actions they see. Some notice smells wherever they go. Others see designs and patterns in even the most innocuous settings. And then I see pictures like this, where the latter of those types saw something and took the time to make it a reality simply because they could, and I just sit in awe a few minutes.

Tags: Events, Facebook, Graphic Design, humor, Social media
Posted in Graphic Design, Public Relations | Comments

Things We Love 3/25/09

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Debbie loves handwritten notes. As a young girl, I used to write letters to my grandmother all the time. Then came the love letters in junior high. Followed by the long distance hellos when I lived far away from friends and family. Today, email has taken the place of many letters. But there is no substitute for a handwritten note from a friend or business acquaintance. It only takes a few moments and 42 cents to make someone’s day - and make a great impression. So put away the keyboard and pick up the pen. It’s great PR for your personal brand.

Holly loves FirstGiving.com – Not only is this site a great way for non-profit organizations to create donation pages, but it is also super simple and easily personalized. Talk’s First Giving page for the Walk For Those Who Can’t features custom branding like our logo and a personal message. The site also helps non-profits by hosting free webinars about ways to promote and maximize your fundraising efforts. Show some love to First Giving and a great non-profit by donating to Talk’s Walk page!

Kelly loves “The New Influencers: A Marketer’s Guide to the New Social Media” by Paul Gillin. Exploring how and why social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and blogs have gained increasing popularity and credibility with consumers, this book is perfect for anyone looking to take their business to another level through social media. Gillin offers proven strategies for businesses and organizations to leverage new internet-based social media outlets as well as simple ways marketers can effectively benefit from these resources. If you want a better understanding of social media, but don’t know where to start, this book is perfect for you!

Shawn loves working with and for people who have a sense of humor. Bosses, clients, vendors, co-workers and even the occasional wrong number are all included. I’m a firm believer that you can do your job AND have a little fun. I would even argue that some lighthearted laughter here and there can make you a better employee. One of the great things about Twitter and other social media outlets is that you get to know someone’s personality or lack thereof. If you can make me laugh, you have got my attention. And keeping someone’s attention is one of the biggest hurdles. So lighten up and have a little fun.

Susan loves Evil Movie Megacorporation Rebranding – I’ve always wondered if logos created for movies were designed by a real designer or just one of the movie’s crew. Some logos are cool enough that I would want to be a customer, and others are so atrocious I wonder why the characters even trust the company. Now, the folks over at the blog SpaceSick have given facelifts to the brands of fictional evil corporations to make them more appealing. It’s amazing what a little creativity and color can do for a corporate image.

Tags: Graphic Design, Issues Management, Marketing, Project Pet Project, Social media
Posted in Graphic Design, Issues Management, Marketing | Comments

Say What? 3/23/09

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

While brainstorming Talk’s new business card design: Process Icons

Shawn: “We could do a taco. You could be the lettuce.”

Susan: “If I’m the lettuce, would you be the beef?”

Shawn: “Yes. And you could say, ‘Lettuce see where we stand on this’ and I would say, ‘Do you have a beef with me? Let’s ask the big cheese.’”

Susan stares blankly at him.

Shawn: “So no assemble your own taco business card kit?”

UPDATE: When relayaing this story to a friend, she said, “It would be great it you called it a Talk-O kit.”

Tags: Branding in Wilmington N.C., Graphic Design, Overhear at the office, Talk
Posted in Branding, Graphic Design | Comments

Ten ways to build your blog readership

Thursday, March 19th, 2009

So you’ve started a blog. Now what? Now the real work begins – you have to attract readers. Here are ten tips to help build your readership and turn your blog into a must-read.

• Write well and edit better. It’s no secret that good writing is key to getting readers. But you must also be able to edit your entries to make sure they are mistake-free and that make sense to the reader, not just to you.

• Back up your brand. Writing a blog does you no good if no one knows what company (or person) is blogging. Back up all your marketing and publicity efforts with a blog design that reflects your company’s brand – visual identity, core values, tone, etc.

• Content is King. Write content that your target audience will want to read. They must learn something to want to keep reading.

• Don’t Get Stale. If content is king, fresh content is queen. You have to produce fresh information to encourage readers to come back, and come back often. If you don’t care enough to update your blog, why should a reader care to read it?

• Keep Is Simple. Make it easy for readers to subscribe to your blog by including a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) subscription button. With one click they can get your content to come to them as soon as you update it.

• Be Direct. Don’t simply ask readers to subscribe, offer the RSS feed as e-mail so your posts go directly to their inbox. Use your email database to drive traffic to your blog, then use your RSS feed to capture additional emails to drive your e-marketing campaign.

• Harness the power of e-marketing. If you already have an e-newsletter, link those articles to your blog. If you don’t have an e-newsletter, start one! Then promote it on your blog and link the articles back to your blog.

• Tag You’re It. Use tags and categories to help boost your SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The more relevant your tags are, the better chance your blog has of coming up on a Google search.

• Be vocal. It’s not enough to simply write your blog. You must interact with other bloggers in your industry and community. Become a reader and commenter on others’ blogs to build a reputation for being knowledgeable and social.

• Don’t be an island. Make your blog part of the online community. Link to blogs similar to yours in both your posts and through a blog roll on your site. If you promote other worthy sites hopefully they will link back to you, encouraging their readers to become your readers too.

Tags: blogging, Graphic Design, Marketing, Social media
Posted in Graphic Design, Marketing | Comments

Make an impression at your next company event

Friday, March 6th, 2009

Whether you are hosting a 500-person corporate event or simply a small company gathering of 25, having an invitation that is high on the wow scale will help drive up the attendance. And earn you much deserved kudos for your creativity and attention to detail.

With the right design, a four-color invitation printed off-set or digitally could capture the style of your event beautifully. But if you’re looking to set your business apart from the competition, opt for a printing method that offers a little more elegance, like these for example:

Letterpress – This is the oldest form of printing. Ink is applied to the raised portions of printing plate, which is then pressed onto paper.
Embossing – This form of printing uses a combination of heat and pressure to create a three dimensional effect on the paper. The raised image is embossed, and the reverse side, where the image is indented, is debossed.
Engraving – The most formal printing option, engraving involves cutting grooves into the paper one letter at a time. Though many printers use computerized engraving, it is still a time intensive process, as the entire image is not done in one impression like letterpress and embossing.

These three options are going to set you back a little more than traditional printing, but the extra effort and cost would be well worth it for the right soiree.

Tags: Event Planning, Graphic Design, Printing, trends
Posted in Graphic Design | Comments

4 File types you should know

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

designmatters Have you been given the seemingly simple task of getting a file from one person and giving it to another? Sometimes it can turnout to be anything but simple. Here are a few options right off the bat.

Take your self out of the equation
Put the two parties in direct contact. This is usually the best and most efficient way to keep all parties happy with the least amount of hassle.
Ask the specific questions
What type of file do you need? dot what? .eps, .jpg, .pdf?
What size do you need? What is this for? A brochure? A website? Both?
Educate yourself
The following is a brief overview of the common file types you may be tracking down and what you need to know about them.

There are 4 main factors that combine to determine the file type.

Purpose
What is the reason for the file? Is it for a brochure? Is it going to be on a website? Does it need to have a transparent background? Can it be a flattened file or should it be in layers?
Resolution
This refers to the number of lines or dots in every inch. LPI and DPI. High end printers recommend 300 - 600 dpi. Newspapers need significantly less at around 200 dpi. Anything to do with websites only require 72 dpi. A good rule of thumb is to always have more than you need. You can always decrease the resolution but you can never increase it.
Color
Every file has a color mode. CMYK is for traditional printing also known as 4 color printing. Spot or PMS colors are specific ink colors that are encoded into a file. Very similar to paint chips. Web colors are a predetermined set of colors or color palette that are traditionally accepted for use on the web.
Vector vs. Raster
There are 2 basic types of computer graphics:
Vector, which are composed of paths. These graphics use mathematical relationships between points and the paths connecting them to describe/create an image. Therefore a vector file can be scaled as large as you want without loosing any quality.
Raster, which are composed of pixels. Raster files use a grid of individual pixels where each pixel is assigned a different color or shade. These types of files are best used for photographs and images that require subtle shading.

Now on to the 4 common file types.

.jpg or .jpeg
These are always raster files. They can be viewed in most applications. Digital cameras create RGB .jpg files in a variety of resolutions. The default color setting on most .jpg files is RGB, but this can be changed to CMYK with the right software. These files are usually for web or digital use. The larger the file the better the quality. A .jpg file offers compression which allows an image to be optimized for faster download without losing much quality.

.pdf
A .pdf is a Portable Document Format. This is a common file type and is often requested because it can support vectors and runs a low reisk of altering any of the graphic information within the file. A .pdf is also very user friendly and is supported by many applications such as Adobe Acrobat Reader. All color modes can be used and the resolution is usually independant and can be resized as needed. These files are sometimes used for print but are most often used as online documents.

.eps
This type of file can be created from just about anywhere. Photoshop, Illustrator, QuarkXpress, etc. An eps has become the standard for graphic designers, printers and everyone in between. Most often these are best for transfering vector files. All color modes are supported and the resolution is the same as a .pdf file.

.gif
This file, much like the .jpg is always a raster file, though it may begun as a vector file. The colors that are used are very limited, resulting in very small file sizes. Using a .gif allows for a transparent background and animation. Transparent backgrounds allow the file to be placed on pages without seeing the bounding box. And animation uses a series of frames that resemble flipbook. You can select the palette of colors ranging from 2 all the way to 256. The fewer the colors the smaller the file size. These files are almost always used for web/digital use.

So there you have it. Four file types and what you need to know about them.

Tags: Graphic Design in Wilmington N.C., Marketing
Posted in Graphic Design, Talk | Comments

Things We Love

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

Debbie loves being Camden’s voice on Twitter – I opened up an account for her on Twitter this week. You can find her under the alias, “TalkBarketing.” She waxes eloquent on a daily basis on the trials, tribulations and rewards of her position at Talk, Inc. as chief motivational officer. For those who don’t know, Camden is my dog and she is Talk’s official mascot, chief cheerleader, and provider of unconditional love to all who seek it. Follow Camden at Twitter. She’s got a lot to say.

Holly loves celebrity twittering – As the king (or queen) of blogging, I knew Perez Hilton would be on Twitter. Once I began to follow him, I realized that his @ replies and comments were often directed to many of my favorite celebrities. Thanks to Hilton, I am now a follower of Taylor Swift, Ashton Kutcher, Lily Allen and many more. I am able to read first-hand about Solange Knowles’ night at the Grammy’s with sister Beyonce or Shaq’s big win at the game last night. It might sound silly, but I think Twitter has a way of bringing people together, and I can only hope Taylor Swift will @ reply to my request for concert tickets.

Kelly loves designer Sherwood Forlee’s anti-theft lunch bags – For those who are tired of co-workers helping themselves to your lunch or who want to give that bully at their child’s lunch table a run for his money, anti-theft lunch bags are the perfect solution. The bags are regular sandwich bags with green splotches on both sides to resemble mold. Once you put your sandwich inside, no one will want to touch it. Genius!

Kirsty loves the Oscars – Here is the ultimate example of how an awards program can be an excellent marketing vehicle. The day of, people are glued to their TVs to see what Wolfgang Puck will be making for the Governor’s Ball, the day after women will be trying to find replications of their favorite red carpet gowns and weeks after movies will see a spike in revenue from ticket sales. This year it will be interesting to see if the glitz and glam is toned down a bit due to the economic climate, but I sure hope not.

Shawn loves international brands – It’s always fun to see what common brands, logos and packaging look like in different parts of the world. Here are a few examples of Western logos and packaging with an Arabic twist.

Susan loves Pandora radio – This free web-based radio is dedicated to helping people “listen to and discover new music.” The site allows users to create their own stations based on music they want to hear. Pandora lets users share their stations and crate online relationships based on musical preferences. It’s social media for the music lover. The only drawback- you cannot play songs on command.

Tags: Graphic Design, humor, Social media, Social Media in Wilmington N.C., Talk
Posted in Graphic Design | Comments