Branding

Magnetize Your Brand and Attract More Customers

What makes a company brand magnetic — one that effortlessly attracts customers,
revenue, media attention and employees alike? A quick examination of the laws of
nature will reveal the answers. Forces such as magnetism and gravity, while
seemingly subtle, have a powerful and constant influence on our lives. They govern
us without our awareness of their presence. Their “pull” is not overt and goes
largely unnoticed, yet they govern so much of what we do. They are natural vs.
mechanical, powerful vs. forceful and attractive vs. coercive.
Magnetism occurs when charged electrons align themselves in the same direction.
As in nature, magnetic companies and brands are ones that are aligned and
“pulling” together toward a common goal. Once that alignment takes place, the rest
comes naturally. Target customers are no longer “targets”, since they will gravitate
towards your message and products. The emphasis shifts from artificially capturing
customers to naturally attracting them.
Magnetism then comes from a distilled and powerful sense of purpose. This
purpose reverberates throughout the organization and intuitively guides the
organization’s members to act and behave in ways that promote this vision. The
cost of top-down internal messaging is greatly reduced. The process becomes
more natural, more fluid and instinctive.
So is this purpose the same as a mission statement or brand strategy?
Yes and no.
Most mission statements are written in boardrooms and sit nicely on the lobby wall.
Purpose is something that comes from the heart, and it needs to come from the
heart of top management, not the ad agency. Again, this is about alignment, and if
top management is all about maximizing the bottom line, it cannot create a
magnetic company whose mission statement expounds the virtues of altruistic, self
sacrificing service.
It just won’t vibrate, resonate and ultimately attract the desired
customer. So it can also be said that magnetic companies are genuine in nature.
Their values are consistent at all levels of the organization. Profit then becomes a
natural byproduct of doing what the company believes in, whether it’s delivering on
price, quality or service.
How does a company find its purpose? It’s already there, waiting to be
acknowledged and promoted. For example, many business owners I deal with feel
passionate about the quality of their products and services, but also feel compelled
and pressured to compete based on price. They are brainwashed by their sales force
and outside influences to believe they can only
compete by selling for less. Once they gain a true sense and understanding of their
core purpose, they become emboldened, and that energy translates throughout the
company- energizing everyone. Soon “the talk” is about product quality and
innovations, new customers appear, and old (time consuming,
complaining, incongruent) ones begin to leave. The company, the brand, the image,
begin to align and “pull” in a quiet but powerful way.
An Optometrist came to me years ago, desperate to create an image of quick
service, in order to combat the one-hour vision centers that were devouring the
market. When I asked him how long it took him to provide the same service, his
reply was “one week, but I think I can get it down to three days.” A customer
needing glasses in one hour won’t wait three days. So I designed a campaign with a
headline that read “We Take Time.” It went on to extol the vital role of vision in our
lives and why it’s important to wait to make sure an eyeglass prescription is done
right by a professional.
The doctor felt I had completely missed his point, but he trusted my judgment and
ran the campaign. The phone began to ring and one lady said “I haven’t had my
prescription filled because I was waiting to find someone who took
more than one hour to ‘grind’ my glasses”. He has run the ad for over fifteen years
and “taking the time” has now become his position in the market. His revenue,
share and bottom line all increased when he became comfortable and congruent
with who he was and what he did best — regardless of the market.
Transforming a company or brand from mediocre to magnetic requires refocusing
on the passion that created it (or now drives it) and aligning everything around it.
Rather than finding the right market, the right market will find you.
A good example of a company that re-invented/re-positioned itself is British
Petroleum. BP recently launched a new look, but more importantly, a new focus —
one that re-engineered the BP acronym to now stand for “Beyond Petroleum”. (In
fact, I could not find one reference to the original name on its web site). In much the
same way that KFC moved away from proclaiming itself “Kentucky Fried Chicken”,
BP moved away from the image of a profit driven, European oil conglomerate to a
globally involved, environmentally friendly organization working to explore new
energy sources vs. exploiting old ones.
How congruent is your company? Are your goals, marketing, name, image and
mission all aligned? Do they all communicate the same message? Are you easy to
summarize and describe. To see just how “magnetic” your company is, ask yourself
the following questions…
*What are your core competencies? (What does your company do well/best?)
*Is that reflected in the name, tag line, logo and marketing materials?
*Which of these attributes best describes your company and it’s products — quality,
price or service?
*Does your marketing match your attributes (i.e. do you preach quality but sell
based on best price?)
*What do your customers most value about you?
*What do your employees value most about you?
*What does management hold as their top priority?
*Do all these match up? If not, why?
Taking the time to align your company with its core competencies can greatly
increase the momentum and effectiveness of any organization. The intuitive, self-
guiding nature of a highly congruent company makes it powerful and memorable.
Apply some of these principles yourself. Rather than chasing indifferent people, you
will begin attracting perfect customers. After all, it’s only natrual.

Phil’s life goal of “creating environments where people thrive” reflects his desire to
help others succeed. Phil has named and branded numerous regional, national and
international firms. He resides with wife Michelle and four energetic offspring outside
Asheville, North Carolina. His website can be viewed at http://PureTungsten.com.

UK Calling Cards

Personal Touch: Signing Your Work

I encourage customers to buy books directly from me by noting on my Web site that the books are personally signed by the author. Another author said that, although she didn’t mean to offend, she didn’t know why anyone would want my signature. After all, I’m not famous.
Well, I didn’t take offense at her observation. In fact, I was a little surprised by the phenomenon, too. The fact is that I get a lot of feedback from customers about how much they like getting an autographed book. They respond to the personal touch. Maybe they are hoping that I will become famous (or infamous!) one day, and they will be able to sell the book on eBay for a huge profit. Or maybe they just like the connection to an almost-famous author.
Even if you don’t sell books, you may be able to use this personal touch to reach more customers. Craftsmen, artists and designers often sign their work. Do you produce a product you could sign? Even if your business is installing air conditioners, would saying that “all of our installers sign their work,” be a powerful message to customers about the pride your installers put in to everything they do?
Putting your name to something means that you have pride in it. Backing that up with a signature adds a personal touch to which customers will respond.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the IdeaLady, Cathy Stucker helps authors, entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. To learn more about book publishing and get free marketing tips, visit Cathy at http://www.IdeaLady.com/

Romania – Bucharest Calling Cards

Graphic Design Help: Will A Freelancer Be Enough Or Do You Need A Large Design Firm?

There is a little greasy spoon in my neighborhood that always has a line out the door on weekends. The fried eggs are so greasy they could stop your heart, there isn’t a single homemade pastry or muffin in the joint, and the 99-cent cup of coffee tastes like coffee tasted before the American cuppa joe morphed into a gourmet addiction for the masses. The flowers are fake, the tablecloths are plastic, the cheese is of the fluorescent variety, and the silverware has spots. Yet there’s always a line.
People love the restaurant because they know what to expect, get what they expect, and the service is consistently friendly and efficient. Customers do not expect homemade bread served with homemade butter and fresh-from-the-grove OJ. They don’t come for lunch expecting panini with goat cheese and oven-roasted anything. They don’t come expecting to be served a seven-course meal. They come with a friend expecting to leave full and happy for less than twenty bucks including tip. The bottom line is this: if you want a couple of fried eggs and toast, don’t go to the Ritz for Sunday brunch. You’ll have to pay for the extra food, live music, puffy chairs, perpetual water refills, refined wait staff and crisp linens. On the other hand, don’t go to a diner if you want it all.
This analogy works well for design services. On one end is a freelance designer; at the other end is a large multinational design firm. Somewhere in the middle is probably a service provider to suit your needs.
I have developed a handy reference chart illustrating a range of service providers, what they do, and what they charge for a logo project and a brochure project. When you are looking for design help, if you need a simple brochure, avoid a large design firm; you’ll end up paying for a copywriter, account manager, administrative task master and one or two executive salaries that will not benefit you. On the other hand, if you need diligent project managing, extensive strategy development, copy, and cross-media implementation of a new brand, a freelancer will not give you the services you need. Bottom line: know if you need your eggs fried or coddled.
View the handy reference chart here (PDF file).

Audrey Nezer is an award-winning graphic designer in Seattle, Washington. Her company, Artifex Design, creates playful, edgy and effective marketing and communication materials for companies and organizations throughout the United States. Visit http://www.artifex.net to learn more (and win a prize!)

Togo Calling Cards

Which File Type is Best for Your Graphics? Sorting Through the Alphabet Soup of Jpgs, Tifs and Pngs

.jpg, .gif, .png, .eps, .pdf, .tif; file format options or a bad accident involving alphabet soup?
Every time a graphic file is saved on the computer, the program saves the artwork with a specific file format. Some formats are high resolution, some are low; some are specific to the native application (like .doc files are MS Word), while others can be used by different computers and different applications.
Just as different software programs are good at performing different tasks, different file formats are good for different purposes. You wouldn’t use MS Word to construct a large table of financial data; you’d use MS Excel. The same principle goes for file formats, some are suited for lower-resolution web graphics and email, and others are high-resolution graphics for printing.
Who cares? You should…
This can be down right confusing for a non-expert. In fact, it can
be disastrous to spend hours working on a file and have it in the wrong format.
Artwork in the wrong file format might be:
* Rejected by a printer
* Incompatible with a computer
* Result in slower download times
* Reproduce over the Internet or on print with unpredictable or awful results.
All of these will result in costing your more time and money. The good news is: experienced business savvy designers will know from experience exactly which file type to use for each specific circumstance.
For those looking for a little extra knowledge, or gluttons for punishment, here is a quick synopsis of when to use which file type:
.jpg – “jay peg”, great for web sites and email, this file format
compresses continuous-tone images (like a picture with millions of colors) down
to a size that can be downloaded of the Internet quickly. The downside to this
format is that compressing the image too much will cause it to visibly degrade
and look jagged.
.gif – “gifs”, pronounced with a “G”, not a “J”, also a terrific
file type for the Internet and emailing. Gifs do an incredible job of compressing
images and making them suitable for fast downloads. In contrast to the .jpg, the
.gif is not suited for non-continuous color images, but solid colored images (some
cartoons or clip art is a good example of this). One added bonus is that the .gif
images can be placed on a web page with an clear background, so you layer them
on a web page. Sometimes the artwork has a sharp, unattractive border when the
image’s background invisible, when this happens, go with the next file type, the
.png.
.png – “pings” or “p.n.g’s:, this format can act as a hybrid
between the .jpg and the .gif, it allows users to compress either non/continuous-tone
color images, and allow you to put the on a web page with a clear background.
.Pngs are usually larger in file size than the previous file formats but they
allow people to save artwork to be layered on web pages or other artwork without
any sharp or disruptive border. .Pngs are extremely versatile, but they usually
result in larger files and longer download times.
.eps – “encapsulated postScript”, these files can be vector or raster – which makes them extremely powerful, this goes beyond the scope of this article. Professional printers and printable advertising media, like a magazine, will typically ask that the artwork be saved as an .eps file or perhaps a .tif. Recently the .pdf document has made some headway into certain areas of printed media as well.
.tif – “tagged image file format”, a versatile color space file
format (CMYK, RGB, Grayscale) and cross-platform between Mac and PC. The .tif
file format was originally intended for scanning, and a lot of scanned images
are saved as tifs. Printers and advertisers will often request or permit final
artwork to be designed in a tif.
.pdf – “portable document format”, Adobe’s native file format
that is read by a program called Adobe Acrobat. Most computer users have Acrobat
on their system, if they don’t they can download Acrobat Reader for free. The
.pdf has a wide range of uses, including a lot of usage on web, interactive forms
and they can even be used for printing.
Top 5 Indications You’ve Used the Wrong File Format
* The printer you are using starts to laugh at you
* The printer you are using starts to cry in front of you
* Colleagues complain that you are filling up her/his
mailbox with large image files
* Prospects visiting your web site indicate your company logo looked out of focus and more like a blob of mustard and relish
* You’ve decided on which file format to use based on a novel magic 8 ball
Did you like this article? Email me at comments@candographics.com, feel free to share it with a colleague that would benefit from it. If you need advice or assistance with determining the right file format to use, give me a shout at 480-391-0704, I would be a happy to walk you through it.

Jeremy runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”
Like the article?
Email Jeremy today at comments@candographics.com for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin:
“How to Choose the Right Marketing/Design Firm for You” or “Top Ten Questions Designers Don’t Want You to Ask Them”.
You’ll also want to check out the “Can-Do Confidence Builder”. Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your marketing/design investments and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.
Remember to include in your email your name, which Insider Bulletin you would like to receive and any additional feedback.
Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com

Iceland Calling Cards

Will Promotional Materials REALLY Increase Your Sales?

Yes!
It’s a proven thousands of times every day. A well-defined
business image will increase sales by making your company
more “credible”. The return on investment for using business
Here’s why.
According to Bill Gluth, Creative Strategist with Develop
Your Vision, The 3 main aspects that need to be established
for customers to buy from you are:
* Interest: They are interested in you,
your product or service and recognize a need.
* Trust: They trust you to deliver a
realistic return on investment (ROI)
* Credibility: You have established a
realistic ability to deliver on your promises.
Hiring a business image consultant to establish a consistent,
credible “brand” image will significantly increase your
business’ credibility with prospects.
Coke knows this, Gap Clothes does too, and so does Microsoft
and Apple Computers – they all invest a great deal of
time and resources into creating a recognizable, consistent
and credible brand image.
Credibility leads to trust, in fact, without credibility
trust cannot exist. Once you establish trust and credibility
you 2/3rds of the way home to a sale.
And finally, there’s interest. Can well-executed promotional
materials spark interest in prospects? History has proven
this to be a fact. In fact, every day, well-executed promotional
material creates additional revenues for companies worldwide.
Long after you have left the prospect or even if you’ve
never met the prospect at all your business image is hard
at work.
What this all means is that well designed promotional
materials increases sales. Your image will separate you
from the competition and “position” you as the only logical
company to choose.
Smart business owners will only trust their precious “Brand”
to savvy image and marketing firms; leading to a significant
ROI.

Jeremy Tuber runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”
Like the article?
Email Jeremy today at comments@candographics.com for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin: “How to Choose the Right Marketing/Design Firm for You” or “Top Ten Questions Designers Don’t Want You to Ask Them”. You’ll also want to check out the “Can-Do Confidence Builder”. Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your marketing/design investments and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition. Remember to include in your email your name, which Insider Bulletin you would like to receive and any additional feedback.
Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com.

sprint calling card

Hiring a Graphic Designer? Here are 10 Quick Things You?ll Want to Consider

1. Their guarantee. Only work with designers that stand 100% behind their work.
This is an easy way to identify if the designer is an expert and a reputable
artist – ask how he/she stands behind the work and service.
2. Their current portfolio – Does their portfolio have the quality of work that
you want and expect?
3. Past testimonials – What have past clients said about them?
4. Their willingness to educate you and your staff – Will the designer take
the time to work with you and your staff, and provide top-notch support and
service?
5. The value-added services they can offer (we offer content editing, custom
and stock photography, video services, photo editing, as well as assistance
in marketing/advertising) – If you might need these additional services you
may have to pay extra for them if the designer can’t offer them to you.
6. Their ability and willingness to research your business, your objectives
and your prospects – Without thoroughly knowing you and your business a designer
is not going to be able to design projects that will generate revenue and results.
7. Their background in business, marketing or advertising – if your goal is
to bring in revenue from your investment, it’s crucial that the image firm has
a foundation in business marketing and advertising. This one is critical! If
your goal is to bring in revenue and results, you’ll need a designer that firmly
understands your market and how best to reach them. You’ll only want to work
with business savvy designers who know how to weave proven marketing strategies
into your projects. Ask the designer what expertise they have in marketing and
advertising?
8. How they evaluate the success of your project. Many designers feel they’ve
done an adequate job by just creating something that they feel looks cool or
neat. Your goal will probably go beyond looking cool into gaining market share,
boosting revenue, more brand awareness, etc. Make sure the designers evaluation
of your project’s success is the same as yours. After all, design that doesn’t
bring in any results or revenue is just art – and unless you sell art, it won’t
make you any money.
9. Their demeanor towards you and their other clients – The designer should
function as your marketing and design department, so you’ll end up working closely
with him/her. Do you feel the designer has a good attitude towards you and your
business?
10. Value – notice value is listed here and not price. Smart business owners
know that value rather than price should dictate what decisions she/he makes.
Do you feel you will get results and a good value from working with the designer?
Do you feel you’ll get more than your investment back from working with the
designer?

Jeremy runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”
Like the article?
Email Jeremy today at comments@candographics.com for your choice of a free insider’s bulletin:
“How to Choose the Right Marketing/Design Firm for You” or “Top Ten Questions Designers Don’t Want You to Ask Them”.
You’ll also want to check out the “Can-Do Confidence Builder”. Emailed weekly, the Confidence Builder provides you with essential marketing and design insights that help you get the most out of your marketing/design investments and help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.
Remember to include in your email your name, which Insider Bulletin you would like to receive and any additional feedback.
Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com.

Cayman Isl. – CELL Calling Cards

Learn Now or Pay Later, How to Know if Your Logo is Going to Be a Source of Joy or Pain

You might just use your logo on your own computer in Microsoft Publisher, or you hired a designer to create your logo that will be deployed across your web site, apparel, brochures, banners, advertisements and more. In either case, I promise you that taking a moment to internalize this article before you really settle on a logo will save you loads of time, money aggravation in the long run.
Knowing a little about logos ahead of time will save a lot down the road.
There are essentially two main categories that logos, and for that matter, graphics
can be designed in: raster and vector. Both have pros and cons,
and you’ll ideally know what format the logo is going to be in before it’s created
for you. Having the logo designed in the right format will allow you to easily
transfer it to a t-shirt, a business card, a trade show banner, whatever you
want – this format is called vector.
In order to get the most out of your logo, you’ll want to ensure that
it’s designed in a vector format. Vector logos and graphics are comprised
not of tiny pixels like raster graphics but mathematical equations. Logos designed
in vector format can be enlarged to banner size and beyond. As the graphic enlarges
the mathematical equations and relations change and the logo never experiences
loss of quality or degradation. This means your logo will always look crisp
and clear.
I know, who cares?
Well, if you or someone you hire creates your original logo in a raster format,
you may run into problems down the line. Take for example, Mindi, she’s a good
friend and client who had a designer create some DVD cover art for her a while
back. In the process the artist quickly created a sort of a logo for her and
slapped it on the DVD cover. The logo was designed in a raster format.
On the DVDs her logo looked fine, so Mindi didn’t think anything of it. Recently
she made a decision to have a trade show banner created and wanted to use the
same logo. That’s where things got complicated. Mindi’s logo was created in
a raster format, and when you enlarge it to banner size it doesn’t look so good.
In fact, it looked “fuzzy” or “jagged” – not the professional image she was
shooting for.
Mindi was faced with a difficult decision because her logo was not created
correctly in vector format. She could just not use the logo or have
the logo recreated in vector form, which will cost her some time and money.
Either way, the decision was not a fun one.
If you intend on using your logo for more than just business cards you print
out on your computer you want to ensure you know your logo is being created
in vector format so you can avoid the quandary Mindi found herself in. So remember,
even if your logo looks good on the computer screen it may not look as good
when printed, this is especially true when printing a logo in what they call
“large format” printing (banners, etc.).
The best way to ensure your logo will look good on whatever you place it on
is to work with an experienced, savvy graphic designer. He
or she will create your logo so you can use it, your staff can use it, and it
will be welcomed and accepted by any printing professional. You will have the
peace of mind knowing your logo will look outstanding whether
it’s on a business card or a banner. If you have any questions about your logo
or feedback about this article, give me a call at 480-391-0704, or email me
at comments@candographics.com. I would be happy to talk to you about your logo
and how to get the most out of it.

Jeremy Tuber runs the only business savvy graphic design firm who helps companies build more confidence and credibility into their business identities. “I help you take your business’ vision and shape it into a company identity that will make you look better, feel better and have more confidence about your business.”
He is an atypical designer with a passion for marketing as well as design. Jeremy infuses solid marketing expertise into design projects that he guarantees to bring satisfaction and results. Clients often remark that he brings a terrific enthusiasm and a “can do” attitude to each project. In 1st quarter 2006, he will introduce his first book aimed at helping aspiring artists run a more profitable and more enjoyable design business called, “Being a Starving Artist Sucks”.
Learn more about Jeremy and how you can gain a competitive advantage with a better brand by visiting http://www.candographics.com

Iceland – CELL Calling Cards

Building a Logo

All businesses have to have some sort or other logo of their own. This logo is the media wherein they introduce themselves to their clients. It is a known fact that visual processing is a very important way of gathering information as a good design is always remembered for ages. Keeping this in mind, most of the multinational companies spend millions of dollars on the development of their logo and any other branding material they need.
There are some logo design tips that ensure that the logo design becomes a successful logo for your business. Have you ever noted that most of the greatest logos around are simple? This is because it is then easier to remember and recognize a simple logo than to identify a complicated logo design. The typeface of the logo design too makes a lot of difference in the success of the logo. Make your logo design using vector graphics as these graphics can be easily resized without suffering any loss of details and image quality and take lesser memory capacity in the computer.
However, it is better if you employ a specialized logo design firm to help you in creating your logo design, than you trying to do it yourself. This is because they know how to produce a better logo than you can, and actually, a logo design is not always very costly! Remember, the successful logo has to be one that is able to communicate your image well to the market. It should work well not only in color, but in black and white too as forms and faxes are all in black and white, should be able to draw a second glance from your potential clients and should work well both in large and small formats as in a t-shirt and a business card!
It is always good to spend time going through business cards and letterheads from other companies before meeting your logo designer, to decide what you may need in your logo. When thinking of your logo design, keep your target market in mind, and what designs may keep their attention and respect. Have an idea of the material you intend to use the logo on like forms and brochures. The paper of the logo design also goes to your image as paper is not only seen, but can also be felt. The color you use in the logo affects your logo design as the colors you use send different messages to people.
Make your logo design as unique as possible as it increases the likelihood of getting a trademark protection. Make sure you check up with the trademark lawyer to ensure you do not run into the risk of infringing another company’s trademark symbol or logo. If you run a small business, you may not be keen in investing in enlisting the services of a logo designer. In such cases, you should try to use some high quality royalty free clip art, combined with a suitable typeface for your company name. However, clip arts do not give the effect a custom logo gives, as they can be easily duplicated or stolen

Thomson Chemmanoor a professional Logo Builder who owns and operates the follow websites http://www.articlenetworks.com and http://www.logodesignexpert.com To know more details visit these websites.

international free calling card

Professional Corporate Logo

A corporate logo is actually a part of a brand entity. It is something in which it’s shape, color and typeface are all different from others in a similar market. An effective logo has to be one that is recognized instantly, while evoking some emotional response to the public. The well-designed or professional logo always works well in different sizes, and even in one color. Take for example Apple computer’s logo of an apple with a bite out of it. It started out with many colors, but now is still recognizable throughout the world in a single color, red. Most think that a logotype is just a graphic symbol or sign, while it actually consists of either a name, or a sign and a name. Sometimes a slogan too is included in the logotype.
When it comes to creating a professional corporate logo, there are two approaches to adopt from. One says that you should maintain your own business identity close to your competitors’ while another says that you should stand out from your competition. The better one is the image you project of your capability of giving a competitive advantage over your competitors. Hence, you should create an identity to prove that you are an innovator, and something different from others. Many things help you establish your identity, but nothing is as critical as your logo. You may feel that you cannot afford the services of a professional logo designer. However, in the long run, an inefficient or amateurish professional corporate logo costs you more in terms of lesser sales in your company, than a professional corporate logo!
While working with your professional logo designer, it is best to notice other company’s logos to ask yourself what kind of image they project and why. Keeping this in mind, you too can get an idea for the proper logo for your establishment. Avoid a complicated logo. The simpler and more understated your logo is, the greater the impact it gives. not only that, simple logos are easier for the public to remember. Take for example the golden arches of McDonald’s. Choose the colors wisely for your logo design as it is a significant element of the logo. Bright colors are always the strong attention getters, and can very much excite people. If you want to project the image that your company is hot and trendy, it is better to use the color red, yellow and orange.
Bold blocks used in the typestyle of the logo design invoke the image that the company is a strong and large one. For a classic or upscale image, it is better to use italics to evoke the image of the company. Once you determine the color and typeface of your logo, you may consider embellishing the logo with a single element like a line or border. Taglines too play an important part in the promotion of a logo. A tagline is the short and snappy group of words found underneath a logo. While you may stick with your logo permanently, the tagline may change as the company grows. In addition, the last point to remember in making your corporate logo stand out from the rest is by creating a unique logo as this avoids confusion in the marketplace, suppliers, clients and to the general public.

Thomson Chemmanoor Writer of this articles is a Professional Coporate logo Designer. To read more about this article and my website visit Article Submission and Affordable Logo Design

China – Shanghai Calling Cards

How Creative Branding can Help Boring Businesses

I come across a fair number of clients who apologize for their companies… “We’re sorry that manufacturing label paste is not the most interesting thing in the world.” Or, “There’s nothing we can do to stand out… we’re in the business of finding cheaper ways to for demolition customers to dump trash. We don’t dump the trash. We just research the cheapest way for them to dump their own trash. It’s really dry stuff.”
Yes, neither of these companies is selling gourmet food, creating colorful board games, or packaging imported tea. Photographers often hear, “I’m not remotely photogenic,” to which they usually respond, “It’s my job to take a good picture—you just be you.” Design is the same. You do your job well and you know your market. It is a designer’s job to make you look interesting.
The potential for creativity is everywhere. Just because you’re in a boring industry doesn’t mean you can’t be creative and use design to make your organization more effective and successful. Industries that support creative design include food, lifestyle, and entertainment. Industries that don’t generally support creative design (the boring ones) include construction, accounting and law. If you are in a boring industry, you’re actually in a better position to benefit from having a creative brand, or even just a slightly controversial brochure or ad. That’s because your industry simply hasn’t caught up with the rest of the world in terms of creative marketing. For example, great packaging abounds in the supermarket. It’s harder to get a new cereal box on the supermarket shelf than it is to become a brain surgeon. The saturation of product packaging at a grocery store leaves little room for any new idea to stand out. On the other hand, a gravel yard or an accounting office is expected to be boring. What would happen with if the gravel company got a little creative in the form of humor or style in their sales materials? What if the accounting office created materials that were stylish and made tax season a little friendlier? As long as a company doesn’t go too overboard and sacrifice trust, creative marketing can only help.
How about the company that researches the costs of waste disposal? They need to look at what they do from a different angle. Bottom line is they save their demolition customers money by informing them it will cost less to haul garbage 100 miles to a landfill in Walla Walla than dumping it in the city transfer station which charges much higher fees. They prevent their customers from throwing away money. And there it is — play with the idea of throwing away money, dumping money, and the creative ideas start to pour in. They can tell their customers to stop dumping money in a clever, well-designed package.
I once re-branded a construction supply company. Construction supply is not a very progressive, creative industry, but the new owner of the company is an innately savvy marketer. His store is only a few blocks from Safeco Field and Seahawks Stadium. He rents his parking lot during games. Knowing his market is full of sports fans, we developed a promotion rewarding his customers with free game tickets and parking when they give his company a certain level of business. The summer promotions have the feel of baseball game—a little retro with clean, bright colors. He stands out in his industry; very few companies like his take advantage of the fact that no one expects clever, well-designed promotions from a construction supply company, let alone free game tickets and parking.
There was once a time when a pen was a Bic, a stapler was painted steel, a computer was a big metal box, ketchup lived in a glass bottle and a paperclip was a paperclip. With the help of design (and, of course, technology) these products are no longer confined to their prescribed forms. Pens come in all sorts of ergonomic shapes, colors, and materials; staplers come in animal molds sized for a child’s pocket; computers now cheerfully match the décor in which they live; ketchup squirts from squeeze bottles and even comes in blue; and paperclips have more variations than there are pages in the Library of Congress. Those items have evolved. However, some items still haven’t: most offices I visit still have the same heavy, scratched metal file cabinets found in a guidance counselor’s office in 1975, suspended ceilings are still tiled with the same textured tiles hung high above in circa 1955 high school auditoriums, and our society has accepted the fact that paint comes out of a can that will invariably crust over and dry out whatever leftover paint we hope to save for touchups. (One manufacturer has introduced a plastic pouring bottle with a screw-top lid and another company makes little sponge-top bottles to store paint for touchups, but stores still stock their shelves with cans).
Design has touched many thousands of the products we use every day. It has transformed the food industry and the entertainment industry. Design created an industry now known as “lifestyle.” But like the file cabinet, suspended ceiling tiles and paint can, many organizations still believe that design lives in the realm of toy stores and supermarket aisles. If you work for one of them, it’s your turn to let creative marketing make you a more effective, efficient, and successful organization. Who knows? I just may make you the leader in transforming your entire industry.

Audrey Nezer is an award-winning graphic designer in Seattle, Washington. Her company, Artifex Design, creates playful, edgy and effective marketing and communication materials for companies and organizations throughout the United States. Visit http://www.artifex.net to learn more (and win a prize!)

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Why use a prepaid calling card? Prepaid calling cards were invented in Italy in
1975 in response to a coin shortage. Invented for the convenience of their users,
calling cards are widely used today as an inexpensive alternative to “landline,”
or home phone services.

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