Nov 27
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN People in computer ads make life and death presentations without breaking a sweat. I hate people in computer ads. For real people, at least most of the ones I know, making a big presentation is a daunting task. You must know your material inside and out, practice until at least four in the morning, and if you plan to use visuals, design images that supplement, not circumvent your presentation.
Continue reading "Tools and tips for quick, slick presentations" »
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Nov 27
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN There has never been a better time to own a small business. Mass markets are splintering into micro markets. Rather than hiring and building when demand increases, many companies are opting to buy products and services from outside sources. The business paradigm of the twentieth century is shifting.
Continue reading "Smart marketing for small business" »
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Nov 27
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN With your letterhead and business card, you first begin to build relationships with the people who will make your business a success. With a little creativity, you can turn these run of the mill materials into the kind of marketing tools that keep the mill running.
Continue reading "Create a smart identity" »
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Nov 27
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN You wouldn’t dream of walking into the office of a potential customer and reading a litany of products, services, and prices. You introduce yourself, explore the customer’s needs, demonstrate how your product or service will meet those needs, and tell how you have produced results for others. Your brochure should do the same.
Continue reading "Create a smart brochure" »
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Nov 27
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN Mail it, hand it out, hang it up, leave it wherever prospects congregate—a flyer, printed on one side of a letter-sized sheet, is among the least expensive, easiest to produce, and hardest working marketing tools.
Continue reading "Create a smart flyer" »
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Nov 27
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN On one thing, the experts agree—follow-up is the single most important and least used marketing strategy. A promotional newsletter featuring trade news, customer success stories, and information about your products or services is an excellent way to establish and grow your relationship with customers.
Continue reading "Create a smart newsletter" »
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Nov 26
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN Don’t have the time or budget for a custom logo? Try creating a logo using clip art. Heresy? I think not. Don't get me wrong, if I was designing a identity program for a large organization, I obviously wouldn't use clip art.
Continue reading "Create a clip art logo" »
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Nov 22
November 2006
Not every project requires a “from scratch” solution. When I was asked to create an illustration to promote a program centering on a “reef” metaphor, I tracked down a clip art image from Dynamic Graphics (figure 1).
Continue reading "Clip art parts and pieces" »
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Nov 22
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN The idea is to mix your marketing message with information your audience will keep at hand. In the case of the card used to promote ideabook.com, side one includes inch, pica, millimeter, and point rulers, a basic color palette with CMYK values, charts of line values and shades of black, and, of course, information about the site.
Continue reading "Promote yourself with a card" »
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Nov 22
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN Whether it's print or online communications, one simple way to punctuate the message or feeling you want to communicate is to inset generic images that build on the theme (figure 1).
Continue reading "Punctuate with images" »
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Nov 22
November 2006
BY CHUCK GREEN How do you generate interest in a project without committing to a design—demonstrate the idea architecture. I created this flow chart recently as part of a proposal for a Web to an expert consultant. I used the page to communicate the big picture and linked to other sites to show the client examples of how we might handle each subject.
Continue reading "Idea architecture" »
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