Improve your graphic skills

09/08/2014

How To Get 100% Free Advertising On Google
________________________________________

Did you know you can get ranked number 1 on Google for free using Google Local Business Center and Google Maps?
Google Local helps your advertisements show up in Google searches that are made in close proximity to your business which will help you get more traffic, leads and sales.
Let’s use Just Creative Design as an example; if someone who lives around Newcastle (where I freelance from) searches for ‘graphic designer newcast’ my business comes up first in the local search results of which you can see in the image above and that position is 100% free through the use of Google Local.
In the image below you can see the free local google listing again but this time you can also see my paid advertising at the top (highlighted in yellow) which I have paid for through Google Adwords. I use Google Adwords to ensure that I get clicked first no matter what.

Anyway, keep reading to find out how to get to number 1 on google for free.

What You Need To Get Free Advertising On Google

Before you jump in and get your free advertising on Google you will need to have these things:
•An account with Google.
•A short description of your business for when a user clicks on your business name.
•The phone number(s), addresses and any other contact information you want to advertise. Remember that the phone number will show up on the results page.
•A logo and/or image(s) of your business and products.

How To Get Free Advertising On Google

1.Go to www.google.com/local and search for your business to verify that it is not already listed.

2.Go back to www.google.com/local and click “Put your business on Google Maps” found in the left side bar.

3.Follow the simple steps provided by Google. You will be asked to verify your business by phone or SMS. A good tip is to to not put your full address into Google but rather the largest town in your area. For example I live about 20 minutes outside of Newcastle in suburbia and not as many people would search for ‘graphic designer cardiff’ as they would ‘graphic designer newcast’. I also do not want to show my home address on Google Maps as I freelance from home so this is a good way around it.

4.Come back in a few weeks and see if your listing is up. My listing took about 3 weeks to show up and started off in position D and somehow moved to position A… I am not sure how this is controlled but I won’t complain.

5.Well there we have it, you can now get free advertising on Google. You can track and edit your listing by going back to the Google Local page.

Well there you have it, you can now get free advertising on Google. Good luck!

04/08/2014

Public Speaking Tips That Will Improve Your Next Presentation

________________________________________

Public speaking is a daunting thought for the vast majority of us, so in the light of my upcoming presentations (more info at end of post) I thought I’d brush up on my public speaking skills, especially considering the talent of the other speakers. Below I’ve gathered some public speaking / presentation tips from some of today’s most experienced talkers.
In Cameron Moll‘s article 20 tips for better public speaking, he states that:

“The art of speaking is roughly 51% entertainment, 49% meaty content.”

Your primary responsibility is to entertain a room full of people. This doesn’t necessarily equate to jokes and magic tricks, but it does mean that the content of your presentation, and the delivery of that content, should be compelling and engaging. Keeping the audience eyes’ on you rather than their laptops benefits both you and the audience.
Moll then continues on quoting other high profile speakers, such as Jeffrey Zeldman:
“Attendees will apologise for not understanding a talk, but will want an apology for a talk that’s too basic.”
Edward Tufte argues the same, as paraphrased by Phillip Kerman:
Match your presentation to the level of The New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Audiences don’t suddenly become dumber when they sit down to hear you speak — no reason to “dumb down” anything!

Master the 4 P’s of Presentations:

Similarly, in Ben Yoskovitz‘s article 5 Phrases You Never Want To Hear In A Presentation he suggests that we should master the 4 P’s of Presentations:
1.Prepare.
You might not need a word-for-word script, but prepare something. Make sure your story is compelling, entertaining and worth listening to.
2.Practice.
You need to practice. Even veteran presenters practice. Make sure you at least read it out loud a few times to develop a good rhythm.
3.Pronunciate.
You need to speak clearly. There’s no room for mumbling in a presentation. Let me toss another P in there – Project. Speak clearly and firmly to get your point across.
4.Participate.
You should always try to engage your audience. The sooner they feel like they’re part of what you’re doing, the better.

Use a Framework of Some Kind

Chris Brogan, in his article ‘The Anatomy of Good Speech‘ suggests that we should use a framework of some kind:
I absolutely loathe the “I’m going to tell you this; I am telling you this; I told you this” method of presentations. We don’t watch movies that way. Only some books have a table of contents up front (fiction doesn’t do that often). It’s just not fun seeing the “Title, Agenda, About Me” method. We’re too used to it.
Instead, how about a framework like this (for example)?
•Ask your audience a question that frames the speech.
•Tell your audience how you’ll try and answer that question.
•Start with a personal or investigatory story.
•Drill down into the details of how the story applies to your presentation.
•Offer some takeaways or next-actions for this.
•Tell another personal or informational story.
•Repeat the drill down points, the takeaways, etc.
•Finish with a solid set of steps people can use to take action based on your presentation.
•Thread questions in earlier than the end.
This is one storytelling frame. You can do all kinds of other variations on the theme. For instance, what if you did something like this:
•Start with a question about a famous figure.
•Explain that your audience is there to help you figure out if that figure embodies the subject matter you’re covering.
•Ask them to consider the figure at every step in the presentation.
•And present…
Whichever framework you choose, make sure that you check in, frequently with your audience. Be sure they’re moving along with your presentation. If you see eyes glazing, react (either by livening up your speaking tone, or by noting where people start to glaze and fixing it in a subsequent effort). If you see enthusiasm, look at that person for inspiration. But always check in. Often.

Expert Presentation Tips

Continuing on from Brogan’s suggestions was this great list of presentation tips from Edward R. Tuftes, as summarised below:
•Never apologise
•Always provide a handout
•Audiences are precious: respect them
•Humour—make sure it’s on point, not nasty or gratuitous
•Do not use masculine pronouns—use plurals
•For complex information use: Particular, General, Particular
•Treat questions carefully
•Show your enthusiasm!
•Finish early
•Work hard
•Innovate
•Drink enormous amounts of water

Public Speaking / Presentation Tips & Resources

Below are some further resources to help improve your next presentation.
•The Anatomy of Good Speech – Chris Brogan shares his tips & resources.
•10 Kick Ass Presentation Tips
•Deliver A Speech Like Steve Jobs – A look at how ‘the man’ delivers his speeches.
•Edward R. Tufte’s Presentation Tips – As summarised above.
•Public Speaking Do’s & Don’ts – Great tips from LifeHacker.
•10 Fail Proof Tips For Delivering A Powerful Speech – Very to the point tips.
•20 Tips for Better Presentations – by Cameron Moll
•Training The Butterflies – An interview with Scott Berkun
•How NOT to use Powerpoint – A humorous, yet useful look at how NOT to use Powerpoint.
•Note & Point - A great gallery of high quality slide show presentations.
•Presentation Zen – A blog on public presentations.
•TED – See other speakers in action.

03/08/2014

How To Boost Your Creativity

I have previously written an article on how to be creative however, it didn’t tell you how to boost your creativity.

Below are some great ways of stimulating your brain to get great ideas – fast.

Change Your Environment

Decorate a wall with old product packages, put up king size posters of your favourite designers, rip out pages of a colour catalogue and pin them up, find music that inspires you, create interesting lighting by sticking distorted paper in front of the lamps and – if you own the place – redecorate in an inspiring manner. Alternatively, cover the walls with paper and let yourself go with paints and brushes. It is a fact that decorating a work environment with flowers increases the generation of new ideas by 15% (Roger Ulrich, Ph.D., Behavioural Scientist, Texas A&M University, 2004).

Why, Why, Why Technique

Why Why WhyAsk ‘Why?’ several times until you explore undiscovered parts of the problem you’re working on. You’re creating an advertisement. Why are you creating an advertisement? Because they need one. Why do they need one? Because they’ve got this interesting product to show off. What makes the product interesting? It glows in the dark. Why does it glow in the dark? Because (:). Suddenly, you’ll find yourself with more information to spin around.

Use Different Mediums

Got process colours? Go mix them and paint something. Draw something. Take whatever ideas you’ve got, redraw them by hand, and see if they turn out different. If possible, cut it into pieces and put it together another way.

Write Your Own Brief

Write your own brief, and include as much information as possible. Try to define the problem clearly. If you’ve got one from a client, rewrite it in your own words.

Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats

White – State the facts and figures
Red – State the emotions.
Black – State the negatives. Use judgment and caution.
Yellow – State the positives.
Green – Ideas that come by seeing things in a new light. Suggest alternatives, proposals, provocations.
Blue – Sum up what has been learned. It controls the debate.

What if? Technique

If you’re stuck half-way in a design, let your mind wander. What if this was seen mirrored? What if these two switched positions? What if I inverted the whole thing? You could also go further by making stories and creating characters. What if this illustration could come over and give its opinion? Sounds too much like an acid trip for me, but some people have success with it. What if it was (put in whatever adjective you can think of)?

Use mind maps

Brainstorm, preferably with a partner, and draw a mind map. There is nothing that is as effective as mind mapping, as it has a tendency to grow and grow as you explore the topic. This can of course be combined with other techniques. Mindomo is a great web based app. Freemind is another good alternative, written in Java.

Don’t be critical

You can’t both be creative and critically judging at the same time. These are two difference processes that should take place in two different phases of the process. Write down everything, no matter how badly you’re trying to tell yourself it sucks. Get it down. There are no bad ideas, just bad decisions.

Criticism belongs later in the design process, when you’ve got so many ideas and concepts that you can begin being selective.

Osborn’s Checklist

Apply the following check list and see if it generates any new ideas or perspectives. Try to avoid being held back by assumptions of how things should be done.

Put to other uses? As it is? If modified?
Adapt? Is there anything else like this? What does this tell you? Is the past comparable?
Modify? Give it a new angle? Alter the colour, sound, odour, meaning, motion, and shape?
Magnify? Can anything be added, time, frequency, height, length, strength? Can it be duplicated, multiplied or exaggerated?
Minify? Can anything be taken away? Made smaller? Lowered? Shortened? Lightened? Omitted? Broken up?
Substitute? Different ingredients used? Other material? Other processes? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice? Someone else?
Rearrange? Swap components? Alter the pattern, sequence or layout? Change the pace or schedule? Transpose cause and effect?
Reverse? Opposites? Backwards? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek? Transpose ‘+/-’?
Combine? Combine units, purposes, appeals or ideas? A blend, alloy, or an ensemble?

Force associations and connections

Pick a random word from a dictionary, a magazine, a website or wherever, and try to force connections between the word and the problem you’re solving. This could and should be combined with mind mapping and sketching.

02/08/2014

Branding, Identity & Logo Design Explained

A logo is not your brand, nor is it your identity. Logo design, identity design and branding all have different roles, that together, form a perceived image for a business or product.

There has been some recent discussion on the web about this topic, about your logo not being your brand. Although this may be true, I haven’t seen any clarification of the differences between ‘brand’, ‘identity’ and ‘logo’. I wish to rectify this.

What is brand? – The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.
What is identity? – The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.
What is a logo? – A logo identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.

02/08/2014

What is branding?

Apple - Photo by ronaldo f cabuhat

Branding is certainly not a light topic – whole publications & hundreds of books have been written on the topic, however to put it in a nutshell you could describe a ‘brand’ as an organisation, service or product with a ‘personality’ that is shaped by the perceptions of the audience. On that note, it should also be stated that a designer cannot “make” a brand – only the audience can do this. A designer forms the foundation of the brand.

Many people believe a brand only consists of a few elements – some colours, some fonts, a logo, a slogan and maybe some music added in too. In reality, it is much more complicated than that. You might say that a brand is a ‘corporate image’.

The fundamental idea and core concept behind having a ‘corporate image’ is that everything a company does, everything it owns and everything it produces should reflect the values and aims of the business as a whole.

It is the consistency of this core idea that makes up the company, driving it, showing what it stands for, what it believes in and why they exist. It is not purely some colours, some typefaces, a logo and a slogan.

As an example, let’s look at the well known IT company, Apple. Apple as a company, projects a humanistic corporate culture and a strong corporate ethic, one which is characterised by volunteerism, support of good causes & involvement in the community. These values of the business are evident throughout everything they do, from their innovative products and advertising, right through to their customer service. Apple is an emotionally humanist brand that really connects with people – when people buy or use their products or services; they feel part of the brand, like a tribe even. It is this emotional connection that creates their brand – not purely their products and a bite sized logo.

02/08/2014

What is identity design?

Coca Cola - Photo by taylorkoa22

One major role in the ‘brand’ or ‘corporate image’ of a company is its identity.

In most cases, identity design is based around the visual devices used within a company, usually assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines that make up an identity usually administer how the identity is applied throughout a variety of mediums, using approved colour palettes, fonts, layouts, measurements and so forth. These guidelines ensure that the identity of the company is kept coherent, which in turn, allows the brand as a whole, to be recognisable.

The identity or ‘image’ of a company is made up of many visual devices:

A Logo (The symbol of the entire identity & brand)
Stationery (Letterhead + business card + envelopes, etc.)
Marketing Collateral (Flyers, brochures, books, websites, etc.)
Products & Packaging (Products sold and the packaging in which they come in)
Apparel Design (Tangible clothing items that are worn by employees)
Signage (Interior & exterior design)
Messages & Actions (Messages conveyed via indirect or direct modes of communication)
Other Communication (Audio, smell, touch, etc.)
Anything visual that represents the business.

All of these things make up an identity and should support the brand as a whole. The logo however, is the corporate identity and brand all wrapped up into one identifiable mark. This mark is the avatar and symbol of the business as a whole.

02/08/2014

What is a logo?

IBM - Photo by Boomberg News

To understand what a logo is, we must first understand what it is for.

A logo is for… identification.

A logo identifies a company or product via the use of a mark, flag, symbol or signature. A logo does not sell the company directly nor rarely does it describe a business. Logo’s derive their meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolises, not the other way around – logos are there to identity, not to explain. In a nutshell, what a logo means is more important than what it looks like.

To illustrate this concept, think of logos like people. We prefer to be called by our names – James, Dorothy, John – rather than by the confusing and forgettable description of ourselves such as “the guy who always wears pink and has blonde hair”. In this same way, a logo should not literally describe what the business does but rather, identify the business in a way that is recognisable and memorable.

It is also important to note that only after a logo becomes familiar, does it function the way it is intended to do much alike how we much must learn people’s names to identify them.

The logo identifies a business or product in its simplest form.
Summary:

Brand –The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.
Identity – The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.
Logo – Identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.

01/08/2014

30/07/2014

30/07/2014

Design i like

The aid organization CARITAS/Steiermark in Austria offers help by organizing streetwork and a special drop-in center in the field of drugs. Annual reports normally don't create any enjoyment in reading. This one does. moodley has translated all facts and figures in a subtle visual language, that almost doesn't need many words to express a lot: about the commitment of the streetworkers and people working in the center, about visits, risks, prospects and survival assistance. It's an interplay of images and text that focuses on the human beings and emphasizes the importances of drug assistance services.