Here’s another of his keynotes. It’s a bit raunchy and in-your-face, but brilliant all the same.

Now go and get excited about what YOU do and CRUSH IT!

“Six Pixels of Separation” by Mitch Joel

If you have been putting off taking your business into the world of Social Media, hoping the silly time sucking craze will just go away, then you must read this book. Even if you have gotten your feet wet on Twitter, you still need to read this book. “Social media is not a fad,” says Mitch Joel. He guides you through the world of Wikis, Twitter and blogging and explains the necessity of getting involved in the conversations going on out there. Take control of your company’s messaging and branding through the great internet tools available now. READ THIS BOOK TODAY!

“Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

If want to learn how to make your ideas stand out amongst the barrage of information that is out there now, you have to read this book. After extensive research, Chip and Dan Heath discovered that ideas that “stick” share six basic principles. This book explains these principles and cites relevant examples from their studies. The authors explain why many people with important ideas can’t seem to get them across and yet urban legends and conspiracy theories spread like wild fire. The presentation of ideas was so fascinating that I ripped through this book like a kid opening presents at Christmas. The sure-fire methods for making your ideas “stickier” presented made me wish I could use a highlighter on Kindle! I recommend actually buying the book (not reading it on your Kindle or borrowing someone else’s marked up copy) because you will want to go back and reread many sections.

Read the Time Magazine article about the book here.

“Killer Brands: Create and Market a Brand That Will Annihilate the Competition” by Frank Lane

Frank Lane’s three basic principles to creating a “Killer Brand” are presented very simply in this fun, easy to read book. Through his years of experience he has narrowed the process down to three things: Focus, Alignment, and Linkage. While reading this book you will inspired to rethink your entire marketing process. I know I was. Don’t ask to borrow my copy though. It has been loaned out so many times I can’t remember who has it now.

NEXT ON MY LIST

Waiting patiently on the shelf are two more exciting books. “Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion” is written by one of my heroes, Gary Vaynerchuk. He is the brilliant, straight forward, although sometimes loony, creator of “Wine Library TV.” His personal story and “in your face” style will inspire you to go out and do whatever it is you do better, NOW.

I have heard wonderful things about “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust” by Chris Brogan. So this one too, sits there on my shelf, staring at me, making me wish I had 4 or 5 more hours a day than everyone else so I could sit and read all day.

Feel free to add your comments on these books and/or add your recommendations. I look forward to hearing from everyone.

There are a constant barrage of business cards left on my front porch from tree trimmers, cleaning folks, landscapers, gardeners and others insinuating that I am not doing a very good  job of these things myself. I don’t take offense because I am busy and don’t put as much attention into my house as I probably should. Hopefully my friends and family get that and don’t think less of me. But, as I am sort of in the market for a cleaning person, I kept two cards in particular from last week. This first one wasn’t too horribly offensive design-wise. With a cute little cleaning girl and an easily legible typeface, I wasn’t tempted to throw it immediately into the trash. Monica and Lucio might be someone I would give a call regarding my need for help with the housecleaning though I am a bit worried about the “Chemical Included.”

But then the next day I found this treasure. I was blown away by the care and thought put into Jackeline & Dalinda’s marketing efforts. I really appreciate that they care enough about their image to create such an adorable business card. I truly believe that they will put that same care into the cleaning of my home.

So tell me, who would you call?

1. What services and/or products do you offer?
2. How would you describe your corporate culture?
3. What makes your company unique?
4. Where do you see your company in 5 years? 10 years?
5. Why do you want a new identity? How should it be different? How different do you want it to be?
6. Who are your target customers?
7. Who are your competitors? What are they doing right and wrong in your mind?
8. Do you have a slogan or tag line? Would you like it incorporated into the new identity?
9. Do you have specific imagery in mind? (Prosaic, abstract, concrete representation)
10. What are your existing brand colors and should they be maintained in the new look?
11. What feelings should your logo convey?
12. Do you have preferences for typefaces? (Script, Sans Serif, Bold, Thin)
13. What are the primary and secondary uses of the logo (website, signage, print, product graphics, etc). This will help designer determine if the logo should be horizontal, vertical, square, etc.
14. What is your deadline? (product launch, trade show, etc)

Typography involves the selection of appropriate typefaces and their arrangement on the page. Bad typography practices can negatively affect the reader’s view of your company. Good ones should be invisible, placing the focus on the content of the document and not the totally cool typeface you chose.        

It is a good idea to create some company standards and make sure that everyone follows them for all documents created for in-house use and especially for external usage. This will allow your audience to concentrate on your message instead of being distracted by the layout of the document. Below are some terms you should understand and some tips to follow.

Click here to skip straight to TIPS

Measure: The standard length of a line of type is called the measure. For ideal readability, the length of a line should be 2-3 alphabets (52-78 characters including spaces) long. If a line is too long the reader loses their place when starting a new line and often gets frustrated. If the measure is too short the it is very distracting and the message can get lost. A short measure can be OK if there is only a small amount of type.

Tracking: Also known as letter spacing, tracking can completely change the readability of the entire page. A more airy feel is created by slightly expanding the tracking across a body of text. In a title or headline that is all caps it can look elegant to extend the tracking a bit. Negative tracking throughout a document is a NO-NO. Negative tracking should only be used to adjust one or two lines of justified type. As designers, we carefully use tracking to keep hyphenated words to a minimum. This is the practice of working line by line adjusting the spacing little by little to create visually appealing layouts. The reader’s eye should flow through the copy without noticing the typeface, size or spacing.

Leading: This is a term that has been around since the days of hand-set metal type and it refers to the distance between the lines of type (also known as line spacing). Leading should never be less that the actual point size of the type. If you have created a wide measure (see above) then it is a good idea to increase the leading a bit to allow the reader’s eyes to easily find the next line. If you are reversing type out (making white type on a black background, for instance) then you should increase the leading and tracking. Because of the high contrast the letter forms need to be further apart, lighter in weight and have more space between the lines. You should also use a thinner font, by the way, in this case.

Hierarchy: A typographic hierarchy expresses an organizational system for content, emphasizing some information and diminishing others. A hierarchy helps readers scan text, knowing where to enter and exit and how to pick and choose among its offerings. Each level of the hierarchy should be signaled by one or more cues, applied consistently across a body of text. A cue can be an indent for a new section, or a change in type face color, size or style.

Typeface vs. Font: In this day and age where everyone uses computers the terms have become interchangeable but they actually mean very different things. The typeface is the original design of a style of type family. A font is a variation of a typeface like bold, italic or a particular size (9 pt., 10 pt., 12, pt. etc). I read a great distinction on The Font Feed where they compare typefaces to songs and fonts to MP3’s. You would not say, “I like that MP3,” in the same way you would not say, “I like the design of that font.” The font is the thing you actually use on the computer as a way of delivering a visual representation of the typeface. While we are on the subject of typefaces…

Typeface Selection: Skilled graphic designers choose typefaces based on their knowledge of history, awareness of trends and an understanding of the audience. We are constantly aware of the use of type around us all day long on signage, packaging, television, magazines. We instinctively know which typefaces represent fun, stability, elegance or action. When it comes to setting type for a business document you want to choose a typeface with a high degree of readability that disappears to the reader as their eyes take in the meaning of the words. Good choices are Helvetica, Garamond, Frutiger and Futura.

Typography Tips

1. Ideally in Word documents, you should set the left margin at 1.25″ or 1.5, while the right should be at least 1″ for easy legibility if you are using 10-12pt type.
2. Do not double space after a period. If you learned, as I did, to type in the prehistoric typewriter era then you are probably guilty of this type crime. When they invented the word processing software we all use today they built in certain spacing functions such as the perfect “space and a half” after periods as a signal to our brains to rest before continuing on to the next sentence. So stop doing it manually because it creates an unsightly (to us graphic designers) triple space and large visual gaps that create “rivers” throughout your document. Typographic rivers are a subject I will save for another blog.
3. When creating marginal notes or captions try using Flush Right on those sections to add visual interest.
4. BOLD, ITALIC, AND UNDERLINED CAPS should be used in moderation for emphasis. Never use all three in the same document. You only need one to get your point across.
5. Use 10-11pt type for documents that have a lot of copy (type). 9pt is often too small for some typefaces and people over 35 like me. 12pt can look clunky and elementary on an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper.
6. When you need a bold or italic font if at all possible use the pull down menu to choose the particular font (Helvetica Bold, Garamond Bold, Arial Bold, etc) instead of the toolbar icons provided in applications such as Microsoft Word. This may seem ridiculous to you but your eye does understand the subtle differences. Typeface designers carefully create each character in the entire type family (bold, regular, thin, italic, bold italic, etc) to ensure proper legibility of each letter and numeral to enhance the readability. The bold tool bar command will often just make the font thicker regardless of the thicks and thins inherent in the typeface and decrease overall legibility.
7. Using all caps in a headline can convey formality or power. But be careful not to make the headline too long or people will have a hard time reading it. Our eyes are trained to recognize word shapes in lower case so we tend to skip over long lengths of all cap type. A headline is supposed to stand out and be easy to read, not ignored.
8. Script fonts indicate formality and should be used sparingly for invitations, awards and other short important documents. Do not type an entire document in a script typeface. Also, never type anything in a script font in all caps unless you don’t want people to read it.
9. To create a clean professional document stick to fonts in the same family. Avoid pairing fonts that are only slightly different like two sans serif fonts (Univers Bold and Helvetica Regular) or two serif fonts like Garamond and Times New Roman. It is OK to make your titles in one typeface and your body copy in another as long as they are visually very different. It is always safe to use fonts within the same family (Bold, Italic, Thin). This is what they are designed for.
10. Don’t try to be edgy or cool by choosing a funky font for large amounts of copy. If you feel the urge to choose a crazy typeface to be different, again, use it sparingly. These typestyles can be draining on the eye if used for entire paragraphs at a time. The reader will become frustrated and likely lose interest in the information presented. So if you are trying to create a fun document go ahead and make the title in a crazy typeface and then set the rest in a more casual sans serif face like Helvetica, Gill Sans, Futura or Univers.
11. Don’t justify your type if you have more than one paragraph. The application you are using to create your document will stretch and squish at random to force the words and spaces to fit. Designers spend many hours of tedious work to type­set jus­ti­fied text that is truly well-​proportioned and leg­i­ble. A ragged-​right com­po­si­tion will give the text a more har­mo­nious appear­ance and make it easier to read.
12. When creating lists use bullets instead of hyphens or asterisks. Use Control+Shift+L on a PC and Option+8 on a Mac.

Look for more tips to come in future blogs and remember that all these seemingly small details can have a large effect on the professionalism of the overall document.

1. The flashing, pulsating, blinking bright yellow boxes with the red text on your home page look pretty.
2. No one ever contacts you from your site anyway…or at least they don’t stay long enough or dig deep enough to find the contact information which was supposed to appear on the home page but for some reason shows up on the third page of services and you have to scroll to the right to see it.
3. Your site loads rather quickly. By the time you make a cup of coffee and get back to your desk the home page is almost completely up.
4. It doesn’t matter that your site is all messed up when viewed in IE6 or Firefox because it looks just fine in Netscape.
5. Your IT guy says it looks awesome.
6. You don’t care that your company’s site shows up on page 126 of a Google search. It’s OK because you still have a yellow pages ad and people would rather lug out one of those big books than search on Google anyway.
7. The flapping flags and rotating globe let everyone know just how truly global your company is.
8. Those dead 404 Error links were fixed like two years ago.
9. You already spent an exorbitant $200 on your site back in 1999.
10. Your animated step and repeat logo background is outstanding. And so is your 3-D rotating logo with the flames.
11. The little visitor counter at the bottom of the home page is informative and cool.
12. Your MIDI background music ROCKS!

Do you relate to any of these? Contact us today so we can work with you to modernize your site. We can give you an attractive and functional web presence that will make customers want to pick up the phone and call you.

You really, really like Comic Sans and think it is perfect typeface for all your business documents.

OOPS! That’s eleven. We were on a roll here at Pi Design this morning. Perhaps it was more of a rant. Please comment below, especially if you’re a designer. We would love to hear more reasons why we should not be getting paid for what we do.

Today people expect a strong online presence. If you don’t have one you are losing potential customers daily. Everyone between the ages of 20-40 is online for at least part of the day, everyday. They are more likely to search for something on Google than in a phone book. Come on, when was the last time you actually picked up that huge yellow book and thumbed through pages? I used to heft it out to find the phone number for the pizza place. Now I even order my pizza online! Below are some things you should be doing to promote your company (and yourself) if you’re not already:

BLOGGING

Your website should have a blog for search engine purposes but it should also provide useful information that your clients and potential clients will find interesting. Give advice on topics that you know about. Write about news in your industry. Provide quick tips to something you’re an expert on. Like an architect could provide hints on choosing a great contractor. People love these types of quick tips. They can read them fast and get back to work.

TWITTER

I, myself, am new to the Twitter thing (just got on in Feb 09) but it is basically taking over the world. You may be hesitant about getting involved in yet another time-sucking device but I believe that Twitter may be the future of communication. It is one of the best ways to connect with people out there these days. People are using it more and more as a business communication tool and less of a “what are you doing right now” thing.

VP of Marketing at Hubspot, Mike Volpe describes social media as being similar to a business cocktail reception. I like this analogy because I personally don’t have time to attend many functions but I am online all day. With Twitter I can listen in on conversations to find out what people are talking about and I can join in by just typing quick notes. I don’t have to leave my desk. Don’t get me wrong, I love to go to those happy hour networking things but I just can’t most of the time because I spend my early evenings running around town picking my daughter up at the dance studio, taking my son to his guitar lesson and trying to squeeze in a trip to the market.

Another great feature of Twitter is that you get to try out and improve new ideas, expand your communication skills and enrich your knowledge of popular culture. It is important to understand your customers so you can spend your marketing dollars more effectively. Hang out where they are hanging out. Find out what they’re talking about and make yourself available. On Twitter you can ask questions and people will answer. They love when you give advice or point them to a useful website. If you are an entrepreneur then please read this article Why CEO’s Should Use Twitter.

If you’re still hesitating joining the Twitter world download this Beginner’s Guide to Using Twitter for Business.

Once you’re there though be sure to tweet me and say hi.

FACEBOOK

Endless opportunities here if you have the right market and a good idea. Look at what TripAdvisor.com did with their App “Cities I’ve Visited.” They now get somewhere around 10,000 hits a day to their website because of this cool application on Facebook. The dance studio that my daughter attends, Camarillo Academy of Performing Arts, has created its own Facebook page and is adding fans by the day. And since we built their website (shameless plug) Camarillo Academy.com we are tracking the increase in hits they are receiving to their regular website. This is cheap advertising and spreads virally through the largest growing website around these days. If you’re not on Facebook already, do it now.

IN GENERAL

Have fun with your social media marketing. Humanize your company. People want to interact with people they like. If you make your social media marketing fun and interactive it will draw in more and more potential business. This type of marketing, as all others, requires time and thought. You will have to participate by providing valuable and interesting information that people will want to check out. Flaunt your knowledge about your industry and people will flock to you. Also remember to direct your efforts towards your target market. Don’t waste your time trying to reach everyone on Facebook. Join communities where you will meet people who will use your product or service. Just experiment a bit. These sites are all great for finding out what will and won’t work.

Your home page content should do these three things:

1. FOCUS on your differentiation – Choose one and only one differentiation because that is all people can remember. Do not list and describe all of your services on your home page. Make the decision to choose your company easy because your difference is obvious. The less information we are given, the more likely we are to remember it later. This FOCUS is fundamental to branding and should be maintained throughout all marketing materials.

2. FOCUS on your buyer -  Make sure your differentiating factor is relevant to the client/customer. Get to know your audience. Talk to your customers and listen to their problems. Then provide solutions to these problems. Build a relationship with your website visitors explaining how you make their life easier. And do it in plain English. Do not use fancy jargon that only your CEO and CFO will understand. do it simply without a lot of words. People are turned off by obvious selling techniques.

3. FOCUS on your offerings – Create content that is interesting and valuable to your customers/clients and then offer it for free. Remember to keep it current and authentic. This will keep them coming back. It will also give them a reason to send their colleagues and friends to your site. Be informative, clever, and entertaining if at all possible in your presentation.

We can help you develop ideas for relevant, focused web content to draw your visitors in and keep them coming back. Feel free to call us (805.383.0054) or email me (sharene@pidesign.com) to discuss the opportunities you may be missing. For more information on this subject and branding in general, check out two of my favorite books these days:

Killer Brands by Frank Lane

World Wide Rave by David Meerman Scott

In reading other people’s tweets, I have run across many interesting articles. One of which is about the many ways social media is changing the way we, as designers and marketers, work.

Check it out: The 10 Ways Social Media Will Change in 2009

This one gives good insight into The 90/10 Rule of Successful Twittering