Six Reasons Why Direct Mail Is Not Dead (and why you should give it a go now)
These days it seems that everyone seems to believe that e-marketing is hands down the way to go.
Of course, with the rise in popularity of email, websites, video, social media, mobile apps, behavioral targeting, etc., magazine advertising and direct mail have seen a steady decline, ad-supported magazines are diminishing, and costs and environmental concerns have taken a toll on direct mail.
But just because there are decreasing numbers for print doesn’t necessarily mean a particularly high return on investment (ROI) for all digital practices.
Branding Your business – Stage.2 Strategy
After Stage One of our “Branding Your Business” series you should have a firmer understanding of where and why to do your homework on customers, competitors and your own brand promise.
Stage two will focus on the strategy of your new brand. Stage one will get you to solidify your target markets, competitive advantage, brand values and your goals.
Get It Down
Once you have this information get it all down on to paper (a brand brief) in the simplest format, preferably a diagram. Below is a schematic of the information you need to get down.
How to brand your small business – Stage 1 Research
For the first part of our bite size look into the world of branding your small business we will be discussing Research. We know it doesn’t sound like the most exciting part of creating a brand but it is the foundation of what your brand will stand for.
If you are starting a company or you already run a business you should be comfortable answering questions like;
“What is your mission”
“Who is your target market”
“What is your competitive advantage”
“In short, why was your company created?”
Kerouacs Dog Mag Interview – Independently published magazine for creatives of all types
Kerouac’s dog magazine is now steadily approaching the long awaited release date! How time flies! Where did the idea come from and why should we get on board?
I wanted to create a magazine that was truly independent. No advertising, just pure creativity, with a free-thinking, underground-press feel. I wanted to give people the opportunity to exhibit their work – be that writing, design, illustration, photography, whatever – to a wider audience, and at the same time, pay homage to the philosophy of the Beat Generation
Featured creative: Madison Silvas
So what is it that you do?
My name is Madison Silvas, I’m from Northern California and I’m currently an aspiring comic artist/digital artist/3D modeler. My main skills lie more in digital illustration though, I think.
Who or what are your main influences?
My influences changed with time and interests, but from the very get go I was mainly inspired by many classical artists like Peter Paul Rubens and DaVinci to name a few. I always wanted to be able to paint that softer dream like look. It wasn’t until maybe a year and a half ago that my style and what I drew became influenced by two of my favorite video games, Call of Duty 4 and Far Cry 2.
Featured Creative: Matt Needle
Time to tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?
My name is Matt Needle i am a Graphic Designer & Illustrator originally from Near oxford, now based and working in Cardiff, South Wales.
Who or what are your main influences?
I am inspired by many Art movements and people including, Salvador Dali, Escher, Massimo Vignelli, Saul Bass, Milton Glaser, Terry Gilliam, Bauhaus, Surrealism, Paul Rand, amongst many others.
Featured Creative: Crouching Kitty
Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?
My full name is Dana Terrace, I’m from New Haven CT, and I’m currently living in NYC as a freshman at the School of Visual Arts majoring in traditional animation. I also do freelance illustration from time to time.
Featured Creative: Charlie and the Fox
Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?
Charlie & the Fox first begun to form together early 2009 in South London, but went online in September 2009. We got our name from my sister’s nickname (Charlie) and my nickname (Fox). There was also a really cute fox family that lived by us, a mother and her two cubs. This also helped with the name, it made it feel right. I drew one of the fox cubs and that became our logo. Our site is an online store for handmade products that we’ve made ourselves, mainly accessories. It has been so exciting, but very challenging too as there is so much to learn about running a business. I’ve learnt quickly, and love looking for ways to improve.
Featured Creative: Schakalwal
Time to tell us a little bit about yourself. Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?
Hi, I am Pino Lamanna, a passionate 27 year old graphic designer with half German and half Italian roots. I am currently living and working in the city of Wuppertal, Germany. After working for a small marketing agency for over 5 years, a few weeks ago I quit to go all freelance and start my own design business. I specialize in branding, character design & typography.
Vid of David Lanham’s Illustration techniques
Really awesome little video that @newsugar introduced me to showing David Lanham’s illustration techniques. Looks easy right? I think other fans of Adobe Illustrator can appreciate the longness involved sometimes. Nice little tricks i might try on mine soon.
My desktop is full of icons from Lanham icon’s. Wicked stuff.
