by Miriam Hara | Sep 11, 2014 | Interactive, Latest, Social Media
Is our expectation for Online Security unrealistic?
Considering the speed of technology and information, by the time you read this it may already be old news. After Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrity iCloud accounts were hacked resulting in leaked nude photos, I had to wonder if our expectation for online security on the cloud or any other digital “residence” is just not realistic.
When I first heard about the “celebrity hack” my initial comment was, “Really?” and “Why would you put nude pictures of yourself out there?”. I’m not a prude, but common sense dictates that if you don’t want anyone to see certain photos, don’t put them online. Of course, I am no celebrity, so maybe the way I see the world is quite different. Maybe I’m wrong to assume that if online security is so tenuous, it would be foolish of me to think that online privacy would be any different. I equate online security to online privacy.
Hacking is nothing new. Hackers have been around from the inception of the internet. Through the evolution of transactional online stores, online banking and websites, the number one fear online has become security. With all these digital sites, the increased threat of identity theft has become an everyday concern. Information and online commentary about protecting yourself from identity theft is now quite common. Haven’t we heard and seen time and time again that technology providers and law enforcement seem to be behind the eight ball when it comes to trying to prevent or at least curtail “digital” crimes? If there’s already so much hype about the high risk of identity theft, wouldn’t the logical assumption be that photos on iCloud are subject to the same risk? To my surprise, based on all the hoopla surrounding this recent celebrity hack, perhaps not.
So how can we realistically expect online security or online privacy? Do you think that the two are one and the same? What are your views about the celebrity hack?
by Kristina Parker | Mar 31, 2014 | Interactive, Latest
Designing digital properties is more important than ever for business, and no matter what industry you are working in you should make sure that you understand it and know how to work with it. This is especially true if you are designing digital products because you need to know how to create those products in a way that will make them intuitive to use and good to look at. Designing digital properties such as blogs, websites or any online presence if you want to make the most of your marketing initiatives. In an age where every business is fighting for attention online and through other forms of media, creating an attractive and communicative design that is also technologically sound is one of the most effective ways to stand out.
Designing digital properties takes the right tech and the right approach
If your business is not intrinsically a design company though, then chances are, you may struggle when getting started and creating your layouts.Whether you are designing digital products or designing digital properties for your business, you’ll need to understand the digital space is key. Read on and we’ll look at some of the best ways you can give yourself the edge.
The Right Hardware and Software
The first piece of advice for new companies that want to improve their online digital design work, is to make sure to invest in the very best hardware and software. Software wise, big organizations will of course be able to afford more cutting edge programs that come at a premium, and these can potentially give them the edge if you’re still working with MS Paint. Fortunately though, if you know where to look you’ll find a lot of free software out there that is in many cases just as capable – or even more powerful – than the ‘originals’.
A great example of this is GiMP. GiMP is a piece of photo/image editing software that takes a similar approach to PhotoShop and that can do most of the same things that the famous Adobe offering can. The only real difference? It’s free! Likewise ‘Open Office’ will give you Microsoft Office functionality with no fee, while Blender lets you create 3D files for a fraction of the cost.
Hardware wise it’s worth looking into which devices can give you the edge and help your designs to look more professional while saving you money. For instance, rather than use an expensive graphics tablet to input hand-drawn images, many companies can get by simply using a touchscreen hybrid slate computer with a stylus. This way you can draw straight onto the screen using software like SketchBook Pro.
Likewise why not look into getting a 3D CAD scanner? This way you can save hours building 3D models by instead scanning real objects in and getting the files automatically. Anything you can think to scan can that way become a 3D image for your designs.
The Right Approach
While you evaluate and decide which software and what hardware to purchase, you also need to think about how you approach designing your digital properties, and here the right attitudes can make a huge difference.
When it comes to designing digital properties such as web design, or design for marketing material, remember that less is very often more. Minimalism is very in vogue at the moment – particularly on the net – and the good news for you is that this decreases the amount of work you can do. Instead of looking for design flourishes you can add to your pages and layouts, instead think about the design elements you can remove to create a cleaner and more modern looking page and to save yourself time!
This is something that ‘indie game’ developers do very well. They can’t compete with the 3D graphics of blockbuster games, so instead they choose quirky and minimalist graphics styles – working all in one colour, or using silhouettes, or going for a purposefully ‘retro’ appearance. It’s easier for them, but actually just as eye-catching.
Finally, don’t be afraid to outsource. While it’s nice to do things yourself where possible, think about the time factor and obviously the end result. If there is an outside resource that designs digital properties more efficiently, at a value cost, then it’s only vanity to do it yourself.
by Miriam Hara | Mar 29, 2014 | Branding, Latest
Brand value is based upon the sum of all its parts. Those parts are: a brand name, its marketing, the relationship the brand has with its target base, its intent and its history. Additionally, to a large degree brand value or brand equity is based on its level of endurance. A brand’s stamina and staying power are as important as its ability to stay true to its original intention.
In short, brand value is tied to its originality.
At the risk of sounding a tad too “mature”, I remember when marketing meant not only advertising the benefits of a brand, but communicating those benefits to the consumer in an original way. This allowed the brand to own its entire messaging, from the logo to the colour and tone used and of course, the imagery.
Today, I feel that some creative has become lazy – reaching for the low hanging fruit. This may be the result of less time and lower budgets, however the drawbacks to brand value by creating “me too” creative are significant.
Brand creative should be a significant contributor to brand value. Here are a few tips to flexing creative to become more original for your brand creative:
1. Start your brainstorming session with a brief. It should outline what the objectives are, who the competition is and what they have done in the market place.
2. Don’t build your creative around a royalty free stock image. It’s important that you completely own your visual identity. Have you ever seen an ad for a technology brand with the exact photo as an ad for an insurance service provider? It’s quite alarming. Today, many print ads and digital creative ads are based on the use of stock imagery – ugh!
3. Go for substance, not flash, unless you can achieve both without alienating your target group. The use of flash and pop up mechanisms on websites intrude rather than captivate attention.
4. Always be clever with the creative for your concept and your approach to copy and headlines. Often headlines are too tactile and lack playfulness and originality.
If the strategy is on point and implemented properly, creative will add considerably to brand value. Brand creative should be based on brand persona. And brand persona should be based on a unique set of characteristics that give it… well a personality. How else will a brand resonate with its consumers? It needs to be attractive and speak to consumers in a way that forms a true connection.
In today’s environment, the brand persona has taken on an even more prominent role. There is another dimension to develop brand personality: its voice and tone. Like every person is an original, to be a successful brand and create brand value, originality is essential.
by Kristina Parker | Mar 24, 2014 | Interactive, Latest
Web design doesn’t only mean website design. If you’re creating any digital product, be that a website, an app or even an eBook, then you may find that the temptation is there to rush out your final product and to ‘make do’ with work that doesn’t represent your very best. The problem is that it’s all too easy to create these products thanks to the wealth of great tools that take a lot of the grunt work out of our hands. With WordPress it’s a simple matter to create a web design for your website by just tweaking a couple of settings, which can make it all-too-easy to just settle for whatever look you stumble on first.
But if that’s your attitude then you need to be careful. When it comes to making a great impression online, the devil is very much in the details. Cutting corners on our web design can have a big impact on the overall appearance of your site while tweaking even the tiniest factor can make everything look more professional and more impressive – which translates as more visitors, more sales and more profit.
If you want to make your digital product look its very best with just a few minor web design tweaks, here are some of the things that you should consider first…
Animation
If you have a website or an app then it may have some basic animations for opening new pages or closing elements etc. If you’ve implemented animations like this at all then congratulations – you’re already one step ahead of much of the competition.
At the same time though, if you’ve just settled for a stock animation then this might not be making the very most of what you could potentially do. Case in point – have you considered an ‘ease-in’ or an ‘ease-out’? These describe slight changes to animations in which the objects accelerate and decelerate at the start and end of the movement. There’s another aspect to consider too called the ‘overshoot’ in which the object will travel slightly too fast – almost excitedly – and then be forced to ‘bounce back’ into the correct position. While these changes may seem almost imperceptible, they can actually make a massive difference to the overall sheen of the app or website by giving it that professional polish and lending your elements almost a ‘personality’ of their own.You can add more elements to an animation too. Why fade in or come in from the left when you can do both?
Orientation
Here’s something you’ve probably never considered: which way are the images on your website facing? In other words, if your image had a face, would it be looking in at the text, or away off to the edge? You might not realize this, but if you look at professional sites and magazines it’s always the former: all elements point in towards the content which has the effect of bringing the viewers’ eyes in that way too. Again, you probably wouldn’t think it would make that much difference, but now that we’ve been trained to expect this setup, your site will look less professional unless it features it.
Rounded Edges
Here’s a brilliant example of a very small design element having a big difference – rounding the edges of your boxes. Even doing this ever-so-slightly will again show attention to detail and give your app, website or book the appearance of being customized by a professional team and not just created in a ‘cookie cutter’ conveyor belt type manner. Add custom edges to your CSS elements and you’ll notice instantly how much better everything looks.
The Date
We’ll end on a really easy one: if your copyright notice still has the date from two years ago on it, then it’s pretty important that you fix that to show your site hasn’t been forgotten. Otherwise the money you spend on those ad slots will be wasted. Would you buy from a site that couldn’t be bothered to update its copyright notice to the right year?
by Miriam Hara | Mar 22, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
Brand marketing, figuratively speaking, has always been about placing a “stake in the sand”.
Literally, this means determining a stance composed of strategy, a slew of tactics and the commitment to stay the course. However in today’s workplace and at today’s speed of business, maintaining a commitment to stay the course is more complex and difficult than it has been in the past. Adding to this is the very real fact that marketing people also change positions frequently – typically staying in a role 2 years or less. This often adds challenges for the brand and its direction. In my years of working with brand marketers, I have seen many make pitfall errors.
1) Don’t jump to conclusions:
Take the time to know the brand and understand the basis for the strategy being employed. Too often with new marketers coming on board, the want (or need) to make “their personal mark” takes precedence over the strategy in place for the brand.
2) Step aside:
The building of a brand is not about your likes and dislikes. Even if you are part of the target market profile, the mere fact that you’re a marketer, distinguishes you from the target market of the brand. It’s not about how you feel or whether you personally like the direction – it’s about the brand. Let’s face it, a brand’s life cycle may span over the course of many brand professionals. It is important that the brand’s character, consistency of tone, style and voice be maintained – evolved but consistent.
3) Don’t sweat the small stuff:
Brand marketing relies on the marketing professional’s ability to make sure that the brand attributes and physical demeanor are maintained. I agree with the notion that the “creative” is the fun part (that’s why I’m in advertising!). Although just because one is in marketing, doesn’t make them creative (sorry). Changing the creative is often the low hanging fruit. In other words, the quickest and easiest way for anyone to leave their mark is by making small visual changes that are “visible” to everyone. However this is often superficial. The bigger issues surrounding a brand take time to assimilate and change. The elements that make up the “brand being”, are those that are often, not seen instantly. Prioritize for what adds value.
Ultimately, I have found that patience is a good thing when brand marketing and brand making is at stake. The temptation to change direction too quickly can be strong; however, it often leaves the brand jumping around, trying on new approaches and never able to build on its own momentum. Instead, the brand is left yearning for what could be.
by Camille McClane | Mar 19, 2014 | Branding, Latest
Who you are and how other people see you are sometimes two completely different things. Have you ever been surprised by seeing a celebrity behave differently than you had them pegged? Their personal brand, the self they sell to the public, was convincing enough that it become more real than their genuine self.
You have your own personal brand, whether you like it or not, a way that you present yourself to the world, even unintentionally.
If you aren’t paying special attention to it then there is a good chance it’s floundering. Here are some tell-tale signs that your personal brand is in trouble.
You Don’t Network to Get Work – Networking events are a terrific way to meet new contacts and potential clients, in fact, that’s the entire point of these events. If you already know people and choose to give them the majority of your time, then you’re missing the point. If you don’t have a clear enough brand to sell and aren’t sure how to approach new people, you can rest assured you won’t learn about it by spending all your time talking to your current friends. Reach out and attach your face to a positive idea in another’s mind.
You Can’t Summarize Yourself – Quick: What is your personal brand? If you’re struggling to think of an immediate answer, you don’t have one. What is George Clooney’s brand? What is Donald Trump’s brand? Hillary Clinton? Even if you would describe these people differently than they would themselves, you almost certainly know what they’re about. They have a strong, specific personal brand. You need to know your own brand clearly if you ever expect anyone else to do the same. Find your skills, find your goals and bind them together into a plan of action centered around yourself and your public image.
You Don’t Take Care of Yourself – Nobody is suggesting that you have to live your life by other people’s standards to be found worthy. If you aren’t concerned with fashion, you don’t have to pretend in order to “take care of yourself’. Though spending any time at all each day considering your appearance is hardly the same as selling out to public opinion. If you put in little effort, it reflects the value you give to yourself, and to some degree the rest of your life, both business and pleasure. Treat yourself, and your brand, with the respect you deserve as valuable part of society.
You Aren’t Promoting Yourself Properly – Whether you’re over-eager in your self promotion, or too docile to grab any attention, you’ll be able to judge the success of your social media impact by the size of your following. Now, if you’re just starting out, you need to give it some time before you measure your success. However, if you’ve been at it for awhile and are still struggling, it might be time to revisit your self promotion strategy. Do you have your own website in your name? Do you post too much on twitter or not enough? Is your LinkedIn profile up to date or outdated? Your self-promotional efforts are your only voice to the public. If you want people to know who you are and what you can offer, it starts with communicating with them in a way they can hear.
Your Business Cards Aren’t Up To Snuff – When you make a new contact in person, they are often left with only a fading memory of who you are, a conversation you had, and a business card with your contact info. This card ought to reflect not only your personality, but also your brand. If you got a bit lazy and picked whatever was easiest or cheapest, then you’re unlikely to leave a lasting impression on the recipients. If you spend some creative time to really come up with a design that screams your brand’s name, you won’t have to rely on that fading memory of a good conversation. They’ll be able to remember exactly who you are because of the card in their hand.
