If you want to be a great designer,One key thing is you should always be on the lookout for great design. Start making a collection for inspiring and educating yourself. Paging though a great design book can even kick start a creative spell and get you in the mood to create something great.
Obviously the Internet is a way cheaper and more direct resource for design. Some nice blogs to follow are, www.smashingmagazine.com, http://designm.ag, and http://spyrestudios.com, This is where inspiration is constantly posted. Also a great way is to join popular online communities like www.behance.net, www.coroflot.com, and www.deviantart.com to view work from fellow artists.
Also in the real world don’t forget to look at great design around you. It could be anything from amazing signage in a store window to a really cool birthday card you just received.
Now that you are always looking at great design, the key is to collect it. A great idea is to start a design scrapbook. Including a digital scrapbook, saving screen shots of all the work you love. www.evernote.com is a great tool for this.
Collecting the great design that’s all around you will help your work stay relevant while inspiring you to get better.
If you were anywhere on the east coast yesterday, you are well aware of the 5.8 earthquake out of Virginia that shook not only people and buildings, but the internet as well. The earthquake was documented at 01:51:04 PM, and some say that if you were in the New York area( iFuel’s HQ), you actually read about it on Facebook or Twitter before you even felt it.
I was recently e-mail this great speech (Thanks @ReubenIngber) presented by the Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, from the Institute for Public Relations Strategic Communications Summit.
His speech outlines the Navy’s use of communication and he gives details of recent examples of how the Navy used Facebook to help those in crisis.
Some of his key points are:
**Note: This is my favorite part of his whole speech.
I am trying to send a friend flowers, and finding it almost impossible to decide what method I want to use to buy them. I have two options: to call a local florist in her area and order the flowers over the phone, or use one of the major online florists (1-800 Flowers, ProFlowers, or Teleflora). I have racked my brain to compare the pros and cons of each, and have yet to find a clear answer.
On the surface, the online florists have the upper hand in ease and convenience. I am able to quickly narrow down my flower type (roses), color preference (pink), and then browse different arrangements, and know exactly what the flowers will look like. Sometimes, they even offer the same arrangement in various sizes, so you can send the flowers that best fit you price range.
As the summer slowly starts to fade away, and yellow school buses begin to flood the roads, many are enjoying the last few weeks with a much deserved vacation. Many look forward to few days away from the office, and find great joy in setting up their “Out of the Office” auto responder. However, one must ask, why do we pack our phones, iPads and laptops, if we are trying to get away from it all?
As we start to pack our suitcases, we make a mental note to not forget our cell chargers, the cord for the laptop, and put great effort in deciding a tote bag to carry everything to the beach, without getting sand in it. Quite clearly, the best way to not get sand in our precious toys is to not bring them with us. However, we just can’t seem to unplug.
In the NYT from last week, Bruce Feiler writes about how he and his family benefited from staying on the grid, saying that it helped with answering every day questions; What type of leaf is this? What is a home remedy for bug bites? How to I fix a garbage disposal?
All of us has seen them – the website that looks like the sixteen year old down the block created it, with badly placed graphics, horrible fonts, and are impossible to navigate. Companies with poorly designed websites never seem to have a large customer base. Especially when potential users go and research the competition.
To have the best chance at success online, you really need to have a website designed professionally. One that will capture the users attention, and allow your company to climb to the top of the search engine result pages, and increase business.
The goal of any website is to increase conversion rates, and the more attractive your company’s website is, the more likely your users are to stay on your site and give you their business. A website only has a few seconds to get the users attention, and if their website doesn’t look professional, users are more likely to move on to the competition. If your site looks professional, users are going to believe that you are a financially successful business. Poorly/Cheaply designed websites are usually a sign of a poorly funded and unmanaged company (those who are barely making enough each month to get by). Not only can a well-designed web site make you look successful but it can also ensure the user of the business’s trustworthiness.
When you hire an online marketing company to build your website (like iFuel interactive) you not only get professional web design, but also the ability to get social media marketing, per click advertising, search engine optimization services, and potentially even online reputation management.
So what are you waiting for?
