By: Naoki Sonoda
Every industry experiences a constant influx of new trends. The trends that quickly fizzle are remembered as fads (if remembered at all), while the trends that prove themselves to be highly useful become industry standards. Even the most long-standing industry norms are constantly being replaced with more effective methods and business practices. The web design industry is a great example of how this process is constantly at work.
Design Must Respond to Technology: Responsive Design
When a website is designed so that it has the ability to adapt to different screen sizes or operating systems without a loss of resolution or corruption of the original design, it is said to have responsive design built-in. Although responsive design is considered by many to be a current trend in web design, it will become more of a necessity as the Internet becomes more accessible through portable devices like the tablet and smart phone by more and more people.
Contributed by Naoki Sonoda
Anyone can create a web page, right? Wrong!
With the proliferation of computers in our daily lives, it would seem that anyone capable of learning a design software application could qualify themselves as a web designer. Just buy a copy of Dreamweaver software, Dreamweaver for Dummies, and you're ready to create a web page, right? Well, not even close.
While it's true that anyone who has a working knowledge of design software could create a fully functional web page, they'd be far from executing what an effective commercial web site does, and that is: to establish the importance and value of a company or brand, and to convey to consumers or businesses how they can benefit from their products or services.
Professionally designed websites and advertising materials accomplish this through the use of carefully chosen color, copy, and various multimedia content to create a perception of value in a company or brand.
Facebook, the world's most popular social network, launched on February 4, 2004. That year, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was planning to sell Facebook off to a bigger company, but he ended up building it into a multi-billion dollar business instead, which just filed to go public last week. As of December 31, 2011, Facebook has over 845 million monthly users, over 483 million daily users, and over 425 million mobile users. On Friday, the company turned eight years old. Happy Birthday Facebook!
Let's see what changes Facebook has gone through in the last 8 years. They've continuously broken records, and paved the way for hundreds of other social media outlets that we know and love.
When starting a new business, it can be hectic trying to get business marketing materials together, coming up with a marketing plan, and generally getting everything in order so you can actually run your business efficiently and gain business effectively. The general consensus is that print marketing is not necessary, but this couldn't be farther from the truth.
Print Marketing is very much needed for networking, client meetings, seminars and even when interviewing employees. Having a business card on hand can mean the difference between a sale and nothing. But besides the necessities, what does a new business, or even a business trying to reinvent themselves, need in terms of print marketing? Here's a laundry list of print marketing materials and why you need them.
Logo Design marks are graphic marks or symbols that are widely used by companies, organizations and even individuals to brand and promote their services or products. We see them every day on our Starbucks cups and pads of paper we use. These logos are either only graphic symbols and icons or can be followed by a slogan or the stylized company name. In the following 'round up', we've collected more than 20 examples of awesome abstract, classic and very creative logos for your design inspiration enjoyment. Hit 'read more' to continue!
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is a term many people may have heard but don't understand very well. As a business owner, you need to understand the practice as it is an enormous benefit to online marketing efforts, and it's important to know what it can do for you. SEO can be difficult to understand, but understanding ensures you are investing in an efficient and affordable SEO company. You'll also know what to expect and when. Read below to better understand the basics of SEO and what to expect from your Internet Marketing Company.
New Years Eve and the New Year is prime time to add new products, services, revamp old brands and marketing materials. Especially with the heavy advertising leading up to the Holidays, creative ideas are bound to arise. New Year's Eve and planning for 2012 is no different! You can market your new products with a party on New Years Eve with glossy mailers, Invitations and email blasts with coupon codes to track your success. Beyond that, here are a few more ideas to market your business on New Years Eve and in 2012.
Every year, Google comes out with its most searched content, and this year is no exception. The results are both surprising and not surprising considering all that has happened this year in Technology industry. Steve Jobs' death hit the internet like a tsunami and millions of Apple users cried out at once with a slew of internet queries about his death. In fact, 3 of the top ten Google Searches for 2011 involve Apple in some way. So without further ado...here are the top Google searches for 2011!
During the beginnings of launching your new venture, your logo and branding concepts are possibly the most important things to be thinking about. If you haven't considered them yet, take a step back and refocus. You have to consider not only the foundation and strength of the brand, but a parade of other factors including website design, online marketing, graphics, printed pieces and planning for future marketing strategies and goals. Depending on your business type, you may even start to think about getting in on the mobile party too. It's a lot to consider at once, but there are a few things you can do to prepare yourself and help during the process.
We always recommend that new business owners spend at least a few days brainstorming ideas and concepts before landing on something. The first idea is not necessarily always the best. These brainstorming sessions may include ideas for domain names, logo styles, marks and color combinations. Consider asking yourself this question: "What do I want to portray with my branding?". There is no correct answer, but the answer will help guide you in the right direction.
Google + has a great marketing team. They know how to generate excitement and hype about their product and services. Google should be good at this though; they're Google. However, is Google+ all it's cracked up to be? After all, Facebook is an enormous platform with several different ways to market yourself and is integrated into (nearly) every website on the internet. It's got automation, tools, a developer's only area and hundreds of affiliates all ready and waiting to help you connect. It's a great idea, one that Mark Zuckerberg will be laughing all the way to the bank with.
The question is: Did the world need another social media platform? Especially one that isn't easily integrated, isn't automated and has no API? Granted, they did do some things right, but they fell far short in other ways. And in some ways, they've directly copied what Facebook already does so well. What does this teach the creative community about creativity? A lot actually.
